winged/wicked things

Things are starting to happen in the RFID world. A RFID tag is one of those small things that for example are inside your commuter cards, you know, all those plastic cards that have started to pop up around the world in various cities commuting networks. I.e. the Tag On-Tag Off systems. Inside these cards are the RFID tags, programmed to send certain information to RFID readers.

The thing is we can program these to do anything, we do not only need to use them for commuting network systems. We can put it in any object, and program it to send any information. So, you can for example program it to play an iTunes playlist every time you reader “sniff” the RFID tag, or play a certain film, or read a book for you, or, if you are connected to internet, read out todays weather forecast, download and play your favourite podcast, and so on.

Basically it gives room for a new way of interacting with objects, and interact with digital things. It is part of The Internet of Things.

As this is still kind of new, and is slowly adapted into everyday technology there is no symbol for it. However, Touch Projects of Nearfield.org did an interesting experiment where they visualized the RFID digitalness, and so created a logo that can possibly be adapted to be used for objects using RFID technology. Watch the interesting film about it below. Also watch their other films about the objects they put RFID tags in, think about what this means to everyday interaction with objects.

Then, read more about these cool stuff at BERG, have a look at SKÅL’s website, and Violet.

This video is about exploring the spatial qualities of RFID, visualised through an RFID probe, long exposure photography and animation.

It features Timo Arnall of the Touch project and Jack Schulze of BERG.

More here
http://www.nearfield.org/2009/10/immaterials-the-ghost-in-the-field
http://berglondon.com/blog/2009/10/12/the-ghost-in-the-field/

Skål is a media player designed for the home that lets you interact with digital media using physical objects. You place objects in a wooden bowl to play back related media on the TV. Skål makes media playful. http://www.skaal.no

This is Sniff, a soft toy dog in green cotton plush. His carefully crafted exterior qualities don’t reveal that he is anything but a cuddly toy. But wireless technology allows him to ‘sniff’ and react to objects that come close to his nose.

By focusing on non-visual interactive qualities such as tactility, sound and vibration, Sniff is designed with the particular needs of children with sight impairment in mind. But Sniff also works for everyone, young and old, where he becomes a companion in play, work and everyday life.

More here: http://nearfield.org/sniff

By Sara Johansson, Timo Arnall & Einar Sneve Martinussen
Music by Andre Borgen http://www.myspace.com/aborgen

posted: 09 October 28
under: digital, inspiration