Meshed has worked with Sunshine Coast Council to establish LoRaWAN gateways across the council region, from Mount Coolum to the Caloundra Lighthouse, Mary Cairncross Lookout at Maleny and the council's Maroochydore office. Those gateways have allowed thousands of IoT sensor devices to connect at no cost or very low cost, and they carry one project the community feels directly, understanding how its favourite coastal places are used.
A Network Across 2,254 Square Kilometres
The region-wide network comprises more than 30 gateways across the council area. The council boundaries encompass 2,254 square kilometres, from the coast to the hinterland.
The network is free to use for members of the public, businesses, schools, universities and not-for-profits. The council also connects private network sensors on the same infrastructure, including devices from Meshed partners ICT International and Minnovation. One build, serving both the council's own operations and the region's wider community.
Counting Visits Without Watching Anyone
At Point Cartwright, the council is using Meshed nCounter devices to understand pedestrian usage of the recreation area, gathering 24/7 data on pedestrian flows along the walking trails and around the beach carpark areas.
Privacy is imperative to Meshed, to Sunshine Coast Council and to the public. The nCounter supports that by recording only aggregated counts, never individual movements. The result is people counting that a council can put in a public park without a single privacy trade-off to defend.
Evidence for a Masterplan
The study exists to serve a decision. Its outcomes are being used to develop a masterplan for the Point Cartwright reserve and the adjacent open space areas, so the investment follows the evidence of how the area is really used.
That is how Sunshine Coast Division 4 Councillor Joe Natoli framed the project, adding that the council wants accurate data on how much the community loves the area and what types of visitors it attracts, to feed future planning.
Why Region-Wide Beats Site-by-Site
The Point Cartwright study would be an expensive standalone project. On a region-wide network that already exists, it is close to marginal cost, and the same is true for the next study, and the one after. Coverage first, then every question the region wants to ask gets cheaper. It is the same economics that drive Connected Cities Adelaide and the Smart Shires consortium.
Safe, shared spaces and a preserved natural environment are planning outcomes. They start with knowing how a place is used.
