Cisco TORONTO 2015 Countdown Clock Unveiled 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
TORONTO 2015 Countdown Clock, a made-in-Canada technological innovation, was unveiled last month in Nathan Phillips Square in front of Toronto City Hall where it will continually connect fans with the upcoming Pan Am and Parapan Am Games being held in that city in a year’s time.
“It will be an important landmark for local residents and visitors alike to announce that the Games are quickly approaching,” said Nitin Kawale, president of Cisco Canada. “But this is more than just a clock. It’s a social portal, enabled by the ‘Internet of Everything.'”
The Cisco TORONTO 2015 Countdown Clock, which is decorated in the colourful and dynamic sport pictograms for the TORONTO 2015 Games, features a traditional clock counting down the days and minutes to the start of the Pan Am Games on July 10, 2015, as well as the Parapan Am Games on August 7, 2015 — but that is where the similarities end.
The second component is an interactive touch-screen kiosk that provides visitors with comprehensive Games information at their fingertips. Using the kiosk’s photo app, visitors can take a shot of themselves in Nathan Phillips Square, download the photo with their smartphone, and email it or share it via social media from the clock’s photo page at ciscotoronto2015.ca. Further, the kiosk gives information about the games, and other information will gradually be added.
“For athletes, the Cisco TORONTO 2015 Countdown Clock is a reminder of how close the Games are getting,” said handball goalie Ryan Homsy, a two-time Pan Am athlete and Cisco I Can Achieve ambassador. “On behalf of Cisco and as a member of the Canadian handball team, I’m proud to have been there to unveil the clock and look forward to helping my team win a medal on home soil!” Cisco is a Premier Partner of the TORONTO 2015 Games and its Official Information and Communications Technology Provider.
The Cisco TORONTO 2015 Countdown Clock stands 5.5 metres tall and weighs 7.3 metric tons. Its uses five kilometres of fibre optic internet cable and took 7,000 hours to build. Fully funded and constructed by Cisco and its partners, it contains similar technology to that used for Cisco’s installation of a kiosk at at Whitby Abilities Centre last May, although there is no audio at the countdown clock. Students from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and George Brown College helped erect it. It features five screens, each measuring 119 centimetres: one on the kiosk and four on the clock. The kiosk screens in easily accessible for wheel-chair-bound users, and the fonts can be lowered for easy reading of content.
The TORONTO 2015 Games are funded by the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, as well as Lead Partner CIBC and other partners and sponsors. The Pan American Games will take place July 10–26 and the Parapan American Games August 7–15.
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