Research into RFID and the Internet of Things

Can smarty objects transfer the agency of memory storage away from the person and instead, in an automated process of continual information capture and storage, provide a new memory repository that supports, relieves and occasionally replaces natural memory?

Draaisma (2000) provides us with a metaphor of memory as objects, referring to memories as a‘store of precious items’.  Like objects they too have a lifetime, part of a persons own cradle to grave cycle, where death erases memory in but a moment.  The advancement of technology has assisted us in ‘arming ourselves against the transience implicit in the mortality of memory by developing artificial memories’ (Daaisma 2000).  The development of writing surfaces, from clay or wax tablets, to parchment and vellum, and later on paper, provided the oldest of memory aids, not only accommodating natural language but also drawings of all kinds.  Photography allowed for images to be directly recorded and the invention of cinematography meant moving images could also be captured.  The preservation of sound became a reality through Edison’s phonograph, and now a days numerous ‘artificial’ memories from MP3, DVD and computer memories are available to record what the eye and ear take in.  ‘Image and sound are transportable in space and time, they are repeatable, reproducible, on a scale that seem inconceivable a century ago… our views of the operation of memory are fuelled by the procedures and techniques we have invented for the preservation and reproduction of information (Draaisma 2000).

However the Internet of Things not only has the capacity to serve as an interface for human memory storage, it can store the memory of the object itself.  Sterling (2005) terms these objects Spimes, made possible through the convergence of emerging technologies, related to both the manufacturing process for consumer goods, and through identification and location technologies.  Technologies that allow us track the entire existence of an object, from before it was made (its virtual representation), through its manufacture, its ownership history, its physical location, until its eventual obsolescence and breaking-down back into raw material to be used for new instantiations of objects.  These objects when recorded can be archived and searched for, as databases of specific item/location/relationship information which track the lifetime of an object through space and time are generated.

Draaisma, Douwe (2000) Metaphors of Memory, Cambridge University Press,  Cambridge

Sterling, Bruce (2005) Shaping Things, Cambridge: MIT Press

Research proposals are invited from applicants who have an interest in undertaking a practice-based PhD to examine to focus upon the implications of memory objects on architectural design. The research programme will establish theoretical and practical methodologies for the consideration of new spaces in the context of TOTeM.

I have submitted an application for the PhD studentship at the Edinburgh College of Art.  The research context directly relates to my undergraduate studies, and means I would be working alongside my former final year project supervisor Chris Speed.

Based upon the experiences gained over the course of my degree I’d like to extend my enquiry into architectural, social and environmental questions, and research the emerging space where objects move beyond inert items, into artefacts that have the genuine ability to be unique not only in their own right, but also to the people who own and cohabit with them.

The “NORDLICHT BLITZ PLAY” (Blitz Play Hero III) is an urban game that reads its boundaries from embedded RF transmitters scattered around the city and receivers in mobile devices carried by players. When the devices receive data from the city nodes, they create sounds that are played back on modified Nintendo DS game systems while ultra bright LEDs illuminate from each player’s “utility” belt. Seems like a pretty interesting way of integrating city space into networked gaming.

Originally posted www.makezine.com

I have been a gaming freak since childhood and don’t miss any opportunity if given a chance to try my hands at some new game. I just came across this game called NORDLICHT BLITZ PLAY and was about to dismiss it as just another game but it caught my attention since it was using RFID.

This is an urban game reading its boundaries from RF transmitters around the town and cell phones with receivers being carried by game freaks. The data received by the devices leads to sounds being emitted which are played on customized Nintendo DS gaming systems besides ultra bright LEDs getting illuminated from utility belt of every player. Nothing better than using RFID to light up Christmas tree badges this festival season. Definitely a nice way to utilize technology around!!

Originally posted www.rfid-weblog.com

I’ve just got back from Vienna after presenting kurator software (beta version 1.0) with Joasia Krysa (KURATOR) as part of Cont3xt’s Curatorial Contexts event at Depot. The evening went well with some lively discussion about the work afterwards, over a few beers. It helped with clarifying what needs to be done in the final stages of development, and I’ll be meeting with Joasia later this week to implement them. It also gave me time to meet up with Margarete to discuss upcoming play at the Piksel festival.

All in all a flying visit which consisted mainly of work so I had little time to see the sites of Vienna, so I shall definitely return as a tourist at some point. None the less I had a great time and would like to thank Franz, Michael and Sabine for their warm hospitality.