The streets of St George are set to get an intelligence boost.
Outdoor public spaces across the region will feature integrated smart technologies, including 'smart' furniture, created as 'chill out' zones.
The sustainably-designed ChillOUT hubs will help to ‘green up’ the area and increase community connectivity.
It comes as Georges River Council received $380,507 to boot up the project.
There will be new furniture at three outside sites, each IT-enabled that have solar-powered charging points and environmental sensors to capture urban heat data.
Funding was made available within the second round of the federal government's $50 million Smart Cities and Suburbs Program.
Council mayor Kevin Greene says this is a great win for residents, after the successful roll-out of the Smart Social Spaces Project as part of the first round in 2018.
“As technology becomes more integrated into our lives, it’s important for councils to harness new technologies to better serve the needs of their communities and improve services," he said.
“Sensors on smart furniture will enable us to access information on the daily use of public spaces and obtain data for more efficient maintenance and waste services.
"[This is] combining our expertise and passion for innovation to bring wired-up facilities to our community."
The $879,338 partnership is between the council, University of NSW and Street Furniture Australia.
Associate university Professor, Nancy Marshall, says data collected from the hubs will also help guide council's decisions around the use of public spaces.
“The project will measure urban heat microclimates, to monitor how people experience the urban climate," she said.
“This data will be linked into the council’s 'Smart City Management System’ to help inform decisions about future open space design and public infrastructure management.”