Thesis Research

Source: Spectropolis:

Spectropolis projects: UMBRELLA.net by Jonah Brucker-Cohen and Katherine Moriwaki

About UMBRELLA.net: UMBRELLA.net is an experimental platform for developing ad-hoc networks based around coincidence or chance occurrences. The project utilizes the haphazard and unpredictable patterns of weather and crowd formation as a catalyst for network formation. This approach is meant to challenge traditional conceptions of how networks form and function by correlating their existence to circumstances beyond people’s direct control. The system consists of a set of umbrellas as nodes that can spontaneously form based on weather conditions. UMBRELLA.net establishes a visual footprint of a network in public space and creates a framework for sharing localized information among connected nodes.

The project consists of 10 Bluetooth-equipped umbrellas each with an accompanying Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) that is running the networking software. When opened, the hardware on the umbrellas, communicate to the PDAs to initiate a network connection to a nearby umbrella. The umbrellas illuminate their states with bright LEDs. There are 3 states: 1) Pulsing red if searching for nodes, 2) Pulsing blue if connected to other umbrellas, 3) Flashing blue if transmitting data between umbrellas. These visual cues allow the general public to engage with the project. Those holding the umbrellas will be able to use the built-in chat program on the PDAs to communicate with other participants. There is also a visualization of the network displayed on the iPaq screens to show each person where they are in relation to others in the network and illustrate the multi-hop routing structure of the project.

About Jonah Brucker-Cohen and Katherine Moriwaki: Jonah Brucker-Cohen is an artist, researcher, and Ph.D. candidate in the Disruptive Design Team of the Networks and Telecommunications Research Group (NTRG) at Trinity College Dublin. He is currently an HEA researcher in the Human Connectedness Group at Media Lab Europe in Dublin, Ireland. His writing has appeared in numerous international publications including Wired Magazine and Rhizome.org and he the co-founder of the Dublin Art and Technology Association (DATA Group).His work has been shown at events such as DEAF (03,04), UBICOMP (02,03,04), CHI (04) Transmediale (02,04), ISEA (02,04), Institute of Contemporary Art in London (04), Whitney Museum of American Art’s ArtPort (03), Ars Electronica (02,04) and others.

Katherine Moriwaki is an artist and researcher investigating clothing and accessories as the active conduit through which people create network relationships in public space. Currently a Ph.D. Candidate in the Disruptive Design Team of the Networks and Telecommunications Research Group at Trinity College Dublin, her work has appeared in IEEE Spectrum Magazine, and numerous festivals and conferences including numer.02 at Centre Georges Pompidou (02), Break 2.2 (03), Ubicomp (03,04), eculture fair (03), Transmediale (04), CHI (04), ISEA (04), and DEAF (04). She is a 2004 recipient of the Araneum prize from the Spanish Ministry for Science
and Technology and Fundaci?n ARCO.

http://www.undertheumbrella.net/background.php : UMBRELLA.net uses ad-hoc networking as a means to connect people who share the same physical space and who might engage in similar, yet individual activities. Since ad-hoc systems exist as networks that can spontaneously form and dissipate based on the amount of clients present, they are a perfect testing bed for examining how new relationships can form based on proximity and chance conditions. “Coincidence of need” can be defined as seemingly individual activities that are also common experiences based on factors beyond the individual’s immediate control. In the case of UMBRELLA.net, this is the act of opening one’s umbrella when rain begins to fall: an individual action spurned by an environmental effect that is part of a collective social network. Therefore UMBRELLA.net attempts to discover how coincidence of need provides the context for looking at co-location of individuals and how this need could lead to new types of connections amongst strangers or friends in public space.

// Scenario //
In Dublin, Ireland, rainfall is frequent and unpredictable. Often individuals carry umbrellas with them in case they are caught in a downpour. It is common to witness during a sudden and unexpected flash of rain, a sea of umbrellas in the crowded streets sweeping open as raindrops first hit the ground. This collective, yet isolated act of opening an umbrella creates a network of individuals who are connected through similarity of action, and intent. The manifestation of open umbrellas on the street could be tied to a temporary network which is activated through routers and nodes attached to the umbrella, which operate only while it rains. While the coincidence of need exists, the network operates. When the necessity of action and intent ceases, it disappears. We believe these transitory networks can add surprise and beauty to our currently fixed communication channels.