*Juha van 't Zelde writes in:
"We have come up with a first sign of a platform for controlling networked objects in the built environment. Our prototype Android app has successfully controlled the lighting grid of one of Amsterdam's biggest music venues. We would like to use this joyous moment to invite developers, urban designers and other imaginative people to join our research and think about possible scenarios for the future city."
http://urbanode.net/2010/12/prototypes-for-discoverable-services-in-public-space/
(((So, Javascript for towns, is it? Well well, who can't like that?)))
"One of our main research objectives at VURB is to explore the possible dynamics between a digitally empowered citizenry and their increasingly ‘smart’, reactive public environment. What types of network services in public space will become institutionalized public infrastructure, taken for granted like transit systems? How will public and private domains of network services interact? Who will be allowed to make changes to environmental systems in public contexts? And whose role is it to make any of these decisions?
"In order to investigate these questions, VURB has embarked on a series of software development projects to enable real-world prototyping of scriptable public space, where environmental controls like lighting, audio, and projection can be controlled via a local javascript server. This local server can then present scripted applications, built around specific tasks and user scenarios, as dynamically discoverable services to citizens in the space, whether via a mobile browser or through gesture and voice commands. Ultimately, the aim of these projects is to understand the implications of ‘digital experience architecture’ as an aspect of urban design, where public space becomes dynamically adaptive to the needs of it’s occupants and the city weaves together a mesh of these dynamic locations into a platform for citizen-enabling network applications.
"VURB has just completed an initial development effort toward enabling such programmable spaces. The Urbanode project, a research partnership with Digitale Pioneers, begins the process of creating public system software by wrapping the controls for lighting control systems, such as those found in theaters and nightclubs, in a javascript programming framework. Currently, a prototype of this system is deployed for testing and development in the Melkweg, one of the premiere venues for live music in Amsterdam..." (((Okay, I can't say if this code is gonna run or not – but it's impossible to get any Euro-hipper than the Melkweg.)))
(((But wait, there's more!)))
"In thinking about designing for programmable spaces, it might be useful to consider a few user scenarios. (((Oh boy! Interactive architecture-fiction!))) In this first pass at understanding the design opportunities, lets look at use cases in 3 separate categories of interaction:
- Direct Manipulation
- Environmental Control
- Ambient Information
"Direct manipulation is perhaps the most straightforward example. A user might come into a danceclub or other venue and open their Urbanode browser on their mobile device. The Urbanode browser would query the local server and return a list of applications available in the space. In this scenario, let’s suppose there is only one called “Light Commander”. The user selects this application and the browser retrieves the appropriate web interface, which initially presents a schematic view of the lighting in the space, with each light color-coded to indicate whether it is under the control of the venue operator, another user, or available to be controlled. The user taps on an ‘open’ spotlight and is presented with a control interface with a color wheel, directional controls, sliders for focus and brightness, and light pattern icons. There might also be a timer counting down a short interval until the light reverts to ‘open’ and must be re-acquired. (((Now imagine that, since it's a dance club, all the users in this scenario are also totally wasted on Dutch sensemilla!)))
"Environmental control is oriented around locations within the space, rather than specific pieces of controllable hardware. In the scenario we will consider here, let’s imagine a restaurant in which each table has network-accessible properties like “mood” or “energy level”. When the diners first sit, they can open the Urbanode browser and scan a a symbol on the table with their phone’s camera to log-in to that space. The application presented is a simple scrolling list of mood choices like “romantic”, “party”, and “family”. Each choice dynamically effects the table-specific lighting brightness, color, and variation over time. These mood choices might also reconfigure the music stream or other audio, and also be displayed to the staff on a separate monitor so they might choose to service tables differently depending on selected mood. (((This scenario is so rich in possible dramatic mayhem that I don't even know what to say. Somebody would have to HIRE me to contemplate how potentially messed-up this is.)))
"Ambient information applications serve as ways to map data from network sources [webservices data, mobile device polling, or sensor data] to attributes of environmental mediation like lighting or audio. Let’s suppose the spotlighting on an obelisk in a public square is programmable using Urbanode. A citizen with permission to control those lights could build an application that displayed realtime sporting information using abstract color patterns and sequences. As citizens entered the square, they could consult their mobile devices, open the Urbanode browser, choose the “SportsMonument” application, and learn what the color mappings represented [say a soccer match in which the team colors of the team in the lead would be displayed, brighter depending on how big the lead is].
"These examples are by no means an exhaustive catalogue of possible uses..." (((Man, that's for sure. Welcome to the 20-teens, here at last.)))
