We are all living in the year 2022. For many of us, it has been challenging to keep up with change and disruption. Maybe this is due to the ripple effects of the Coronavirus pandemic. Perhaps political leaders or social movements have shifted the culture of the city where you live. And, of course, technology continues to develop at whiplash speed. This year is over halfway over. So, today we’re taking a moment to overview smart locker solutions in 2022. These sorts of reflections help us to appreciate what’s happened so far. Additionally, this is how we plan better for the future, too. 

 

Smart Lockers On Campus

 

In 2022, most students simply expect smart lockers to be available. These students need speed between classes. They need secure storage in dorm buildings. A competitive learning environment mirrors the proper facilities and appropriate systems upgrades. This is true from campus bookstores to dorm room common areas. It’s applicable to the library, common areas, and sports facilities. We see this as a big trend for Universities now and in the future. 

Smart lockers have updated the package delivery systems and IT rental. With the lockers, delivery and rental are safer. Efficient, simple smart tech like automated lockers will be one piece of the puzzle for empowering learning and improving campus dynamics. 

 

Smiota lockers seen at the Stevens Institute campus.

 

Broader Public Use

 

Not everyone finds tech advances to be exciting or easy. For many folks in our society, it can be a wide gap to bridge. 

However, even the most tech-averse among us made big changes over the course of the last few years. Obviously, this is in response to the global health crisis that continues to unfold. In the midst of that, smart tech was able to fill in many gaps when person-to-person contact was unsafe. As we struggled to understand the virus, smart lockers were a means for multi-living apartments to safely handle mail. Smart lockers cropped up in grocery stores, simplifying the BOPIS process right when people most wanted to minimize their time indoors. And in special cases where pharmacies depend on anonymity to get medicine to patients, smart lockers offered a simple solution. The lockers provide needed privacy and efficiency. 

Smart lockers are already used in various public spaces and situations. The areas utilizing this technology will continue to broaden. Areas of industry where this may occur include technician lockers, banks, elder care, and rehabilitation centers to name just a few. 

 

Smart Lockers And Community Aid

 

As our communities become more integrated with systems like smart lockers, we are seeing great ideas – utilizing this technology – to manage and maintain systems of mutual aid and redistribution. For example, groups of students is organizing food redistribution for their peers experiencing hunger. This is an urgent problem as young people shoulder more and more debt. Libraries and community centers are able to safely rent and return expensive technology to folks who may not otherwise have access. Smart locker locations in grocery stores and coffee shops provide a reliable location for deliveries in residential areas impacted by porch theft. 

 

Minority-Led Business Successes

 

Finally, in our 2022 overview of smart locker solutions, it’s important to note that some smart locker companies are Minority-led companies. These businesses have exciting success stories that continue to unfold. Smiota was awarded and certified as a MBE (Minority Business Enterprise) through WMSBC in 2022. So many of our best ideas come from diverse communities and contexts. By understanding this and moving into the future, there’s more exciting news to come in the future, too.