POMO LAB
We build technology that makes public places work better.
POMO Lab is the research, development, and technology arm of POMO. It is where we test ideas that sit outside the boundaries of a standard consultancy engagement, develop products that solve persistent problems in placemaking practice, and deploy technology that keeps working long after a project closes.
The Lab operates as a sandbox. Some things we build become products. Some stay as experiments. All of them start with a problem worth solving.
WHAT WORKS
A community evidence platform for placemaking and place activation.
Most placemaking projects end the same way. A strategy document is submitted, the consultants leave, and implementation depends entirely on council's capacity and willingness to act. Community groups that formed during engagement disperse. The evidence that would justify investment decisions never gets collected. The vision sits in a drawer.
What Works is built to break that pattern.
What Works is a two-interface digital platform that connects community-led test and trial activity directly to council decision-making. It creates a continuing evidence pipeline between the people who use a place and the people who make decisions about it, operating independently of the original consultants after the project closes.
How it works
The community interface is a short, mobile-optimised form. Community members, traders, and local action groups use it to submit evidence from small interventions they have run in their precinct. What did they do, how many people showed up, what changed, would they do it again? The form takes five minutes to complete on a phone. No login. No training required.
The council dashboard receives that evidence and presents it in a structured, decision-ready format. Council officers see, by precinct and by specific recommendation, how many times each idea has been tested, what the results showed, and a traffic light status indicating whether the evidence supports scaling, further testing, or deprioritisation. A recent activity feed shows incoming community submissions in real time.
Between those two interfaces sits an AI analytical layer. Each community submission is processed into a structured evidence note, translating raw observation into the kind of language a council officer can take into a budget meeting.
What it solves
Three problems that no other tool in the placemaking market currently addresses: the implementation gap, where vision documents sit inactive because there is no low-cost testing mechanism; the evidence gap, where councils make investment decisions without knowing what is actually working on the ground; and the community capacity gap, where engagement-born community groups disperse because there is no continuing structure or purpose to keep them together.
Technical architecture
Hosted at pomo.com.au/whatworks/[projectname]. No login required for either interface. Community input form built in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, mobile-first, backed by Google Sheets. Council dashboard desktop-optimised, pulling live from Google Sheets. AI analytical layer processes submissions into structured evidence notes. No maintenance burden on the client. No ongoing POMO involvement required to operate. Replicable for any project type: activity centre revitalisation, main street renewal, park activation, precinct planning, neighbourhood engagement.
What Works is now in active deployment. It is the first community evidence platform of this kind in placemaking practice globally.
WHAT COUNTS
Anonymous public space occupancy and behaviour counter.
What Counts is a compact, self-contained sensor unit that records people movements in and out of a public space, continuously, anonymously, and in any environmental conditions. It does not track individuals. It counts behaviour.
The device is deployable indoors or outdoors, can be configured for large or small coverage areas, and multiple units can be networked to create an overlapping data web across a precinct. Data is cloud-based and available in real time, with outputs configurable to compare hours, days, weeks, months, or longer periods.
Local governments and public space managers have used What Counts to answer the kinds of questions that typically go unanswered: How much use is this park furniture actually getting? Is anyone on this path at night? Is there a business case to expand this space or not? The data builds the evidence for investment decisions that would otherwise rely on assumption.
What Counts is available for deployment and can be customised for specific site conditions and measurement requirements.
Anonymous Public Space Occupancy & Behaviour Counters
This public space and open space people counter records data about occupancy and behaviours in public places in a designated area. It does so anonymously and records data 24/7 regardless of environmental conditions. The data is cloud based and is available in real time.
This anonymous public space people counter records the number of people movements in and out of a space at programmable intervals. The data can be presented to compare hours, days, weeks, months or longer periods.
Multiple devices can be used to compare locations, identify trends in movement and use patterns. Anonymity of subjects is preserved - individuals cannot be identified.
WHAT COUNTS IN THE WILD
Local governments and other owners of public spaces have deployed our What Counts product in 2023. These organisations have a need for anonymous people counters that can capture data which tells them valuable metrics such as how many people are using public and open spaces, where and when.
When mapped and analysed, this information allows for data-driven decision making such as; “how much use is our park furniture getting and therefore when should we budget to replace it? Is anyone using our new bike path at night and therefore do we need lights? How many people came into this outdoor car park in the last six months and is there a business case to increase its size or not?”
Our What Counts anonymous public space occupancy & behaviour counters are unique in the market and ready for customisation for your specific circumstances and needs.
LIGHT DANCE
Programmable light sequencing and MIDI-responsive control.
Light Dance is a control system for programmable lighting environments. It sequences lights in any pattern, at any interval, with outputs ranging from structured choreography to fully randomised behaviour. The system is designed for public realm applications where static lighting is insufficient and where the goal is to create a night-time experience that draws people in and extends dwell time.
The system also supports MIDI input, allowing a musician or performer to control the lighting directly through their instrument. Each note triggers a corresponding light response. The result is a live, unrepeatable relationship between performance and place.
Light Dance is available for specification into public realm lighting projects, activations, and permanent installations.
6TH SENSE
Human-only motion detection with triggered response capability.
6th Sense is a sensor and software system that detects human movement and distinguishes it from all other movement types. Vehicles, animals, and objects do not trigger it. People do.
When a person enters the detection zone, 6th Sense can trigger a response: activate lighting, initiate audio, or control a mechanical or robotic output. The detection hardware is designed to be concealed within or alongside public infrastructure, making the system invisible to the public but responsive to their presence.
The practical application is interactivity at scale. A public space that responds to the people in it without screens, interfaces, or instructions. Increased dwell time. A reason to return.
6th Sense is available for integration into public art, placemaking infrastructure, and activation design.
WORK WITH THE LAB
POMO Lab operates at the intersection of placemaking practice and technology development. If you have a problem in public space that technology might solve, we want to hear about it.
