City Voices is part of “Extended Senses” – an exhibition that combines Internet of Things (IoT), data from the cities, and a final artistic installation. The final outcome is shown in Helsingør in April and Helsingborg in June.
The intention of this project is to raise general awareness about tech and sustainability, giving the citizens a feeling of the state of the two cities . The IoT sensors will detect the following: temperature, air pollution, air pressure, humidity, and noise. Citizens have access to a dashboard where they can input their daily mood (🙂 😐 🙁). All this data will be manipulated and expressed through a light installation crafted by two Swedish artists.
Students from BGK Artlab and U/Nord HTX are taking care of the sensors and they are interpreting the incoming data from Helsingør. To create a common awareness of our nature, the students write about their thoughts about having the extended sensor system with them throughout April. They share it online and with exhibition visitors on this website.
Body & Sensor data
Body & Sensor Data is where the sensor caretakers are posting their thoughts and insights related to their exploring process within three different topics: Sensor Data Discovery (Bodystorming), Mood and Data Correlation (Colorful Emotions), and City Nature (Sensing Nature).
All of these topics fall into a discovery process where the students are gaining knowledge and spreading their outcomes out here.
Even if I don't feel nature in numbers, my body sends me signals about the temperature. I do not always feel cold, but sometimes I still have goosebumps. My body tells me that I need to dress warmer to avoid getting sick. If I don't do this, I start to shiver and feel cold sweat. This makes me realize that the actual temperature is lower than I expected.
It searches for narrow gaps under my doors,
exploring the crawl space and up through the floors,
after a minute it clearly calms me down,
I’ve always been in love with my windy town.
No matter the season,
I love it outdoors!
In Summer, I’m out there
in t-shirts and shorts.
Come Fall and then Winter,
it gets chilly and wet,
I feel more melancholic,
Watching the sunset.
The sun is shining. It is bright and warm and I feel happy, fit, and energized.
To use an IoT device detecting nature is quite tricky: in an organic biome like this one, it's complex to grasp its entirety with a sensor. Most of the time it cannot really be taken apart into its components. I wonder if the were a way to detect different kinds of inputs from it and combine them holistically to get a more valuable result.
On my balcony I expected a high rate of air pollution, since I am living directly next to the main road in the city center. My sensor data show me that the air quality is surprisingly good. I assume that my hundreds of plants on the balcony clean the air. I really appreciate now even more sitting there in the bright sunlight.
Future of IoT
Future of IoT is the place where the caretakers use their obtained know-how about the connection between sensors and nature.
Many ideas and different active propositions are posted: the future of technology, how humans and their environment are intertwined, and even how a more sustainable future might be possible with the help of Internet of Things devices.
Small air pollution sensors make sense in public parks. Since we can only smell air pollution sometimes, but it's hard to feel it, this IoT data provides important information about the nature for us. Not only we are affected by air pollution, but also the colorful plants and green trees. I think people would use less parking space for cars right next to the park if they would sense nature more detailed with extended senses like the IoT sensors.
Open Discussion
Open Discussion is a place where students freely share their insights about unexpected topics they find during their caretaker journey. Here it is also possible to share some custom DIY ideas for the sensors cases, previously provided to them.
If caretaker or not: Everyone can take part in this project by dropping some lines, using the box below.
What if we made the same sensor but portable? Could we have a sort of live sensing while walking? Maybe there might be some advantages to using it in this way.
This beehive custom-made case looks very neat! It is also quite easy to print it out with a 3D machine.
Become a part of the discussion!
City Voices is a project made with ❤️ by IxD Master's students from K3, Malmö Univerisity 🇸🇪.
In collaboration with Catch 🇩🇰 and Healthy Mind Tech 🇩🇰.
2022, All Rights Reserved.