The Project
A six-month Smart Barbecue trial is being undertaken at President’s Park, Wyndham Vale and Bloom Street Reserve, Werribee.
A Smart Barbecue uses sensors fitted to the hotplates and via the internet sends device data to a centralised dashboard. The information provided includes:
- Real time visibility of barbecue usage;
- Real time alerts when hardware faults occur so that they can be resolved quickly and efficiently;
- Insights into the types and regularity of faults as well as the time taken to resolve them;
- Historical barbecue utilisation data to allow analysis of use based on location, season/weather, time of day, day of week, etc;
- Improved understanding of barbecue cleaning and maintenance.
Future Plans
Following the trial, council will review the rollout across the city of this innovative technology and the benefits of the captured data for planning purposes. Some options include installing factory fitted smart barbecues at new sites, installing factory fitted smart barbecues at sites that become due for replacement (e.g. as part of the Wyndham Parks 2021 Project) and/or retrofitting sensors to existing barbecues.
If rolled out more widely, it is planned to provide the community with a real time view of barbecue availability, so they can plan their outings accordingly.