Happy Holidays!
We hope you’re having a relaxing holiday and getting rested up for an exciting new year. 2020 was interesting to navigate, and we thought it would be fun to take a look back at some of the successes. From becoming an emerging partner with Esri Inc., to turning 1 year old and launching Q11 on both Alexa and the Google Assistant, we hope you enjoy our year in review, and we’re looking forward to what’s to come.
Matt Pietryszyn
CEO / Co-founder
In response to the pandemic, we integrated authoritative data curated by Esri Canada and John Hopkins University with Alexa and Google Assistant. Just ask Q11 how many COVID-19 cases are in your area.
We also built the COVID-19 Alerts system in collaboration with Safuture Inc, that anyone in North America can register for, to receive free custom text messages with daily updates for your region.
To enhance their citizen engagement and reach during this presidential election, Collin County in Texas, implemented Qwhery’s Where to Vote solution, effectively allowing their residents to find their nearest voting centre and the current wait times.
The Alexa skill and Google Assistant action were available during early voting as well as on election day and helped Collin County reach a record voter turnout.
Q11 Released to both Alexa and Google Assistant
The incredible thing about Q11, Qwhery’s first government voice app, is that it can be used across many different platforms and devices.
- Any Google Assistant enabled device
- Any Alexa enabled device
- Embedded as a chatbot in your website
This interusability is exciting because your users get a similar experience, no matter how they’re engaging with your citizen-focused content, on the device they choose. Q11 is connected to your source of authoritative data, so you know that your citizens are getting the most current and up to date information.
We started Qwhery with a focus on voice technology, connecting your smart speakers and voice assistants to your Towns, Cities and Regions and the services and information that they provide.
When we were faced with the pandemic, we decided to try and do something for everyone by bringing COVID-19 related case data to you via SMS text messaging, Facebook Messenger, Alexa and Google Assistant.
Today, you can register for free COVID-19 alerts for any Health Region in Canada or County in the United States.
On December 9th, we participated on a panel discussion during IT World Canada’s Technicity event.
The conversation included local government officials from the Town of Orangeville and the City of Hamilton, as well as leaders in the gov-tech sector.
The panel focused on the changing conversation between citizens and their local government through the use of technology and open data.
Every year, Haltech Regional Innovation Centre chooses five of their clients to take part in a pitch competition – Hi5.
This year, Qwhery was picked to compete with SPOT App, Cubby, My Well Self and XProEM and pitch their business to an audience of business owners, investors and subject matter experts. 5 companies, 5 pitches, 5 minutes!
We launched Q11 with a set of capabilities to help citizens get information from their municipality quickly from their Smart Speakers and Virtual Assistants.
Since it’s initial launch we’ve added the following integrations that any city can connect to with our API:
- Planning & Development Applications
- Capital Improvement Projects
- COVID-19 Case data by region or state
- Where to Go to Vote
- Search for nearby parks by amenities
Our initial integrations:
- Councillor Information and Meetings
- Nearby Parks
- Community Events
- Property Zoning
- Waste Collection Schedules
Coming in 2021:
- Receive Notifications
- Construction Projects
- Upcoming Events
- Waste Collection Reminders
- Recreation Programs
- Permits and Inspections
- Where’s My Snowplow?
- and more!
Have an idea? Want to try out Q11 and Voice Technology for your city?
Email us at hello@qwhery.com – we’d love to work with you to experiment and build something useful and innovative for your community.
