SENSEable GUIDE TO B BOLZANO SENSEable CITY GUIDE

COPYRIGHT ©2011 by SENSEable City Lab. All rights reserved. Cambridge, Massachusetts.

PRODUCED BY The SENSEable City Lab, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology

WITH SUPPORT FROM Bolzano: TIS Innovation Park

PRODUCTION MANAGER Prudence Robinson

EDITED BY Prudence Robinson Jennifer Dunnam Adam Pruden

AUTHORS Ari Kardasis Jennifer Dunnam Matthew Bindner Sagarika Suri Tony P. Vanky Dietmar Offenhuber

CONTRIBUTION FROM Catilin M. Zacharias Lindsey Hoshaw Eugene Lee

GRAPHIC DESIGN studio FM milano

PRINTED BY Puritan Press, Inc.

PUBLISHED BY SA+P Press

ISBN 9780979477478

SENSEable City Laboratory Massachusetts Institute of Technology Building 9-209 | 77 Massachusetts Av. Cambridge, Massachusetts | 02139 USA T++ 1-617-2537926 | F++ 1-617-2588081 senseable.mit.edu BOLZANO SENSEable City Guide

B1 / B4 / FunVia Mnemonic Bolzano by Ari Kardasis by Sagarika Suri

B2 / B5 / SENSEable Seeds goSticker! by Jennifer Dunnam Ambient Navigation by Tony P. Vanky B3 / The Bozenblimp by Matthew Bindner

SENSEable CITY LAB, MIT

6 SCG BOLZANO / INTRODUCTION 7 SCG BOLZANO / INTRODUCTION tourists and link them with locallytourists and link them products. Theavailable services and design should collect information provided on about tourist behavior, fora voluntary basis in exchange for theinformation that is valuable allowtourists. The system should touriststourists to learn from other in real time. and locals and vice versa 2. Synthesize information and activities A wide range of infrastructures, services and sources of information exist in the region. However, currently these infrastructures lack coordination. address To this issue, the system should capitalize on the various attractions that currently exist and imagine new areas to address the changing market of tourism. mobility 3. Orchestrate is widespread in Tourism than throughout the regions rather specifically focused on a few single hotspots – therefore mobility is a key element of the design. Currently but there most visitors come by car, are good public transportation and cable services – buses, trains these systems are cars. However, with each other and poorly integrated information is not readily accessible. The designed system could use the infrastructure existing transportation for expansion, as a framework encapsulating tourist movement at same the At scales. and speeds various should be possible in a time, diffusing the more personalized way, paths” and avoiding peak “elephant season congestion. In response to the five students working on the brief, Bolzano workshop proposed a series that help of adaptive infrastructures to connect the whole region. Jennifer Dunnam proposes an infrastructure The regional government of SouthThe regional government partnered with SENSEable City Tyrol strategies Lab in order to develop region tothat would enable the andlearn more about the dynamics throughpreferences of local tourism The workshopreal-time technologies. aimed to explore new technologies servicesthat could provide innovative touristsfor improving the way experience the region. Students each envisioned dynamic solutions for between connections strong fostering people, place and service. Through the creation of a participatory environments, the students developed scenarios where visitors could share their experiences in real-time. By utilizing and mediating and existing tourist infrastructures connecting them through a seamless eachprojects the information, of layer highlight the diversity of attractions of local products offered and range throughout South Tyrol. invited students to articulate We such a system and consider its technical and social broader cultural, relevance and context. Relevant theoretical background included classical writings on urban perception such as J.B. from the visitors view, Jackson or the seminal work of looked at game-like Kevin Lynch. We as approaches to , envisioned and implemented by Jane studied twittering Mcgonigal. We foodtrucks and manifests of ubiquitous computing,. Based on this background, the students developed a brief that guides us through the following design process, with three main points of action: 1. Connect people and places to people and places The goal is to design a system that helps to understand the activities of

by Dietmar Offenhuber by Dietmar Bolzano is the capital of South Tyrol, a mountainous region in northern has political and South Tyrol . autonomy as well as a diverse cultural multilingual population speaking Italian, German and, in some remote places, the ancient language Ladin. The multilingualism presents both challenges and opportunities – for example, on the one hand it makes the region more international, whilst on the other it can lead to confusion and disorientation given the complexity of signage and communication. The region also faces a number of other challenges, such as an aging local population, of the region’s the vulnerability communities and ultimately rural climate change, which is threatening the profitable winter sports in the Alps. In dealing with these Tyrolean issues, the population of South Tyrol is searching for new types of tourism that equally benefit locals, visitors and the environment. heritage and delicate ecosystems. Tourism is a complex system of is a complex system Tourism both physical infrastructures, concreteand virtual, each with a itseconomic dimension. Besides of services physical infrastructures tourism operates and practices, meaningsas a network of images, These elements and narratives. the way weare constantly in flux - has changed substantially travel over the past decades: increased communication and cheap mobility, opportunities have lead to travel unprecedented numbers of travelers. As a result, tourism can assume while it has juxtaposing characters; the potential to bring wealth to a region, tourism can also threaten the social fabric, including cultural

Introduction BOLZANO who used it,who used a guestbook similar to peaks. mountain installed on often was inspired by theAri Kardasis and proposes asystem of funivias, windows augmentedcable car with information bywith additional displays. means of transparent path in reaching theseThe students’ one, solutions was not a straight detours,but contained many corners, approachesand loops. Intermediate in thethat seemed promising it into thebeginning did not make andfinal designs. Conceptualizing infrastructures evaluating abstract in itself. is a challenging exercise show The results, however, how real- interesting examples of cantime services and technology regions into help to connect rural landscape.” a shared narrative of food trucks that connect customers connect that trucks food of of producers and local to farmers a bottom up approachfood; assuming schedules andit would organize customers.routes to accommodate dynamic and context Vanky’s Tony facilitate orientationsensitive signs a personalized andby offering system;serendipitous navigation permanentwith static and moving, displays embedded and temporary within the local environment. Matt systemBindner proposes a delivery suchfor serving remote locations, in theas solitary mountain huts based on crowd- alpine terrain, Sagarikasourced helium balloons. furniture forSuri designed outdoor in the region.marking special places toThis furniture has the ability of peoplerecord and store memories

8 SCG BOLZANO / INTRODUCTION

By knowing the distance and the distance By knowing point of interest, of some direction can superimpose anythe FunVia onto therelevant information It is paramount display. transparent FunVia experienceto make the This includes not onlyuser-specific. information of the userthe personal preferences, etc), (demographics, that thebut also the time and place user occupies. FunVia, fully being a fixedaware of its position along for the spatiallinear route, accounts of personalcomponent of this type must aspect data but the temporal live,be handled by accumulating cityreal-time information about travel events, ski condition, weather, instantaneous etc. Incorporating systemfeedback into the display immediacy by furthers FunVia’s the present,situating information in without the obstacle of delay. The touch-enabled transparent display in the FunVia is a multi-faceted system that has to manage a variety of technological challenges while making itself as invisible as possible to the user. The nature of immediate AR is that the machine providing the augmentation must in no way experience of obstruct the user’s do this, the her surroundings. To location of the funivia on the cable is collected and combined with the spatial location of the registration point. Using these geometrical data,fairly straightforward calculations will allow any GIS information to be precisely overlaid onto the exterior scene. The display mechanism itself is a transparent,color electronic paper. This technology allows for a high resolution, full color image to be displayed with each pixel capable So, of a variable degree of opacity. in conjunction with the tracking processes, we can place specific information onto an area outside of the FunVia while leaving the surrounding screen clear. FunVia is a treatment of the funivias of the is a treatment FunVia transfers that Tyrol in Bolzano/South and of the physical the iconic aspects into a media space whilesocial world the specifics of placemaintaining in the funivia.that are inherent What space and in the mindsnow exists in is of those nearby and imaginations the into an identity for transformed beyond theregion that can permeate informationlocal. Through networked FunVia acts as a beacon technology, an image offor the region, projecting acting asBolzano to the world while information. The a hub for the area’s mechanism for this transformation is twofold. First,is the FunVia resourcesconnected to information from thethat can be read and written this information is input Second, car. thatto and output on a touch-display overlays information transparently onto the glass windows of the funivia. The reciprocal nature of the flow of information allows users to gain from the vast resources of the web while simultaneously being able to connect at a personal, local level. This project aims at creating an immediate augmented reality recording AR involves (AR). Typical video, layering it with information and redisplaying it on screen that acts as a barrier between the user and the place. FunVia eliminates this step by superimposing information acting as directly on the scene itself, that activates the user’s a membrane experience instead of obstructing it. of data into the The integration FunVia is more a problem of omission than selection as copious data is available and readily found. In order to engage tourists, dining, lodging and sightseeing data is included in format, allowing not a Yelp-style only for users to explore available information but also to upload their own. Riders can also bring along personal data such as routes they’ve or preferences they have. traveled The FunVia can then individualize GIS data Additionally, the interaction. so that from the easily is integrated located FunVia, relative positions of local sites can be determined. PROJECT DESCRIPTION

SCG BOLZANO / B1 / FUNVIA 10

A plan of the FunVia showing the registration plan of the FunVia A has in the cab. The seating arrangement points occupiable space at to allow for more been altered the exterior skin of the car. GIS database including topographical topographical including GIS database data. as building as well This allows trace to accurately the display mountains,individual buildings, celestial bodies. Therivers or even the route allows forlinearity of location of the car atvery precise so the relativeany given moment of thepositions of objects outside and projectedcar can be determined isonto the screen. This projection bydone using onboard computers computation.means of a geometrical The FunVia can also communicate throughwith devices of the riders and /orBluetooth technology such asstandard WiFi. Information uploadedpre-recorded routes are to ato the car and can be projected if a rider is interested Also, given user. in something they’ve seen on the screen, they can download it to their device for later access. The technology in the FunVia is elaborate because it is designed to disappear. The point is to have an immediate augmentation of reality and this is accomplished with technology that takes great pains to be invisible. The FunVia works by aligning works The FunVia the and the landscape the screen, do this, To the user. viewpoint of from eachthe trip is recorded points and theof the vantage horizon line is This horizon traced. because of thehighly articulated landscape and can bemountainous theused by the viewer to find point in space. This registration point is adjustable registration vertically to allow for people find it easily. of different heights to minimally inBecause it only changes location ofthe vertical direction, the always theoverlaid information is point same for a given registration the route. and a given distance along display system The transparent for the screens is accomplished paper onusing a color electronic This technology a clear substrate. is very low energy and is highly legible in daylight and at night in the well lit FunVia. It provides crisp, high resolution images allowing with the registration for accurate landscape. Because the information that the FunVia displays is dynamic, it must have access to a robust 3D TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION

SCG BOLZANO / B1 / FUNVIA 14

ARI KARDASIS working with theAri is currently Group at MIT on theComputation design and theidea of non-linear as space. He is trained structure of and a mathematicianan architect to sort out some of theand is trying we start usingissues that arise when He receivedtechnology to do design. SoA wherean MArch from Princeton thehe participated in expanding of the schoolcomputational profile focusing onand completed a thesis vis-a-visthe nature of information he spentarchitecture. While there, time working with Front, a facade a New consultancy and Aranda/Lasch, firm focusing based architectural York in on computational explorations SENSEableform. He is working with WheelCity Lab on The Copenhagen and the Responsive Environments group in MIT’s media lab.

SCG BOLZANO / B1 / FUNVIA 18

SCG BOLZANO / B2 / SENSEABLE SEEDS 23 0 % 1 - 9 % 10 - 29 % 31 - 74 % Farm Distribution Farm Around 40 million apple trees thrive in South apple trees thrive in million 40 Around have become one of valleys, which Tyrol’s largest self-containedEurope’s growing apple regions. 16 at altitudes ranging varieties are grown 3,300 They 700 and feet above sea level. from valley system Venosta/ the Val thrive in in the west, and in the Bressanone/ valley The Isarco/Eisacktal Valley. basin in the Valle the diverse by nuances of are influenced flavor Seed A SENSEable climates of the orchards. about this abundant instant information provides fruit and suggests decision when a more informed is similar choosing amongst a pile. This approach is given to a wine tasting event where each product come alive as you the many flavors a story and more about the skillfullearn practice of farming. cattle farms horse farms goat farms fruit farms arable farmland arable vineyards sheep farms livestock woodlands cultivated farmland

SCG BOLZANO / B2 / SENSEABLE SEEDS 28 SCG BOLZANO / B2 / SENSEABLE SEEDS 29 JENNIFER DUNNAM JENNIFER in holds a BFA Jennifer Dunnam a BA in Sculpture Design and Graphic at Austin. of Texas from the University MIT’sJennifer joined SENSEable City of 2009 and hasLab in the Spring Copenhagen Wheel,worked on the and AUDI projects. In Track Trash the SENSEableaddition to her work at herCity Lab, Jennifer is pursuing degree in Architecture at MIT. Master’s lab reflects anHer research within the andinterest in digital environments real- facilitate that interfaces dynamic comingtime communication. Before Jennifer worked as a fabricator to MIT, a varietyand product designer for of artists including a blacksmith, sculptor and ceramicist.

SCG BOLZANO / B2 / SENSEABLE SEEDS 30 B3 The Bozenblimp by Matthew Bindner

SENSEable CITY LAB, MIT to deliver the goods based on their specific location. The Bozen Blimp GPS delivery systemGPS delivery Blimp The Bozen yet extensive and the supplements complex network ofpainstakingly public transportation personal and goods. It transporting options for and yet straightforward does so in a engaging the usersplayful manner; a unique and convenientby offering use even in theservice which they can lodge. most remote mountain fromThe Bozen Blimp is constructed metersrip-stop nylon and is ten diameter, long and two meters in gondola,powered by an electric and navigated by GPS coordinates. airship, itBecause of the size of the amountswill not carry significant the items and replace of deliverable but existing delivery infrastructure, traditional presents a critique to the two partiesmethods of connecting good. Thewith a desired tangible ease of receiving digital information and correspondence through our is astonishing, cell phones and PDA’s and yet there has been no attempt to create a physical representation data.of this transferred The Bozen Blimp, in its flying patterns, trajectory the and movement celebrate deliveries throughout the interactive region, making visual and concrete an otherwise virtual framework of communication. The delivery, although personal in nature, provokes visitors curiosity amongst the region’s and residents below in the mountains and valleys. The direct material connection being made between the user and the locally produced goods through the activity of the Bozen Blimps will contribute significantly to the change of the physical and landscape of the South ephemeral available data Region. The Tyrolean networks for mobilizing this sort of delivery system already exist, and will be the critical component for locating example, if a For user. the transient were interested in South Tyrolean procuring local goods during the middle of the day while having a hike or a day of skiing, the Bozen Blimp has the capabilities of seeking out the customer at any given time of the terrain forests is difficult to forests is difficult terrain of the used seldom and they are access boasts South Tyrol commercially. winter andmany adventurous activities and rural summer outdoor the region. The winterthroughout skiing, cross-countryactivities include hikes, winterskiing, snowshoeing ice skating,walks and hikes, sledging, ice sleigh rides, and horse-drawn activitiesclimbing while the summer Nordicinclude walks and hikes, andwalking, , mountain mountainalpine tours, cycling and , biking, horse riding, golf, the regionand fishing. Meanwhile, also prides itself on a multitude thatof locally produced products vicinity ashappen to be in a similar Unfortunately, the outdoor activities. roughdue to the aforementioned of the mountains and the terrain accessibility to some of the local producers, many of the visitors of the region are not exposed to the locally produced goods. Most the outdoor activities commonly, are not conducive to exploring local honey, products, such as raspberries, milk, speck, medicinal & aromatic bread, apples, plants, strawberries, wine, vegetables. The fusion of South many activities and its rich, Tyrol’s diverse local products (through an effortless delivery system) presents a unique opportunity to physically connect two dots. has no physical not limited by deliverers and system that is Imagine a future of light deliveryImagine a future device that issystems, a floating customer its destined able to track or roam, wander, anywhere they gallivant.that A delivery system by surface is not constrained forests, ground cover, infrastructure, or even population rough terrains, delivery system A smart density. andthat is not limited by deliverers address. has no physical “send to” Much like digital communication andsystems, it will have a sender no physical middle but a receiver, whichman. This delivery system, call the Bozen Blimp has been we’ll andintroduced to serve residents region of visitors of the South Tyrol covers an South Tyrol Northern Italy. area of seven thousand four hundred square kilometers, eighty percent of which is classified as mountainous and only eight percent of which lies suitable at altitudes and in terrain for human habitation. It is located on the southern side of the Alpine vegetation ranges Divide, and it’s from palm trees and vineyards in central the sub-Mediterranean valleys, to deciduous, then dense coniferous forests up to the barren regions of rock and eternal ice. Forty surface four percent of South Tyrol’s is covered by forest. The steepness PROJECT DESCRIPTION A smart delivery “send to” address.

SCG BOLZANO / B3 / THE BOZENBLIMP 32 SCG BOLZANO / B3 / THE BOZENBLIMP 33 delivery content,delivery quantities, dates, begin to inform would and routes administration the South Tyrolean serve the patronsof how to better of the region, as welland residents a dialogue between theas open up system and the Southusers of the The Bozen administration. Tyrolean and iconic,Blimp is revolutionary bridging information technologies ofand the undulating landscape region, and giving the South Tyrol we thinknew meaning to the way direct and about modes of delivery, andphysical exchange of goods, a new formnomadic positioning as address. of personal residential DEPLOYMENT STRATEGIES DEPLOYMENT delivered by theSince the products are all locally producedBozen Blimp voluntarily by theand distributed Bozen native farmers, the region’s as a matrix of de- Blimp can exist of This strategy entities. centralized allows for quicker decentralization to theirdeployment of the airships reactivecustomers, a constantly (dependingnetwork of Bozen Blimps for anon the statistical necessity per thatairship in a particular area month, or year), and time of day, protection against long-distance As the delivery system travel. frommatures, the data gathered ADDITIONAL USES ADDITIONAL supplementary The Bozen Blimp’s also endless. For functions are delivery to smallexample; mail small quantitydensity populations, inaccessible farmsdeliveries to locators forand villas, visual hikers,adventurous thrill-seeking and aslocally based advertising, as ana collective, could be used billboard announcing ephemeral local gatherings or events.

MATTHEW BINDNER MATTHEW is a Master ofMatthew Bindner Studies Science of Architectural the Massachusettscandidate at research His Technology. Institute of passions reside in theand academic of public architectureinvestigation catalyst ofand urban design as a successful urban development. Prior Matthew was an to attending MIT, 2001 AIA firmintern architect at the Herbert of the year award winner, in DesLouis Kruse Blunk Architecture Moines, Iowa. During his employment AIA Iowaat HLKB, Matthew earned for hisExcellence in Design Award squarerole in the design of a 7000 in Dakotafoot private residence Dunes, South Dakota. Matthew Bachelorearned his Professional Stateof Architecture from Iowa University in 2007. Although most of his personal interests find expression in his design profession, Matthew also enjoys the experience and consumption of fashion, food, film, art and music.

SCG BOLZANO / B3 / THE BOZENBLIMP 40 B4 Mnemonic Bolzano by Sagarika Suri

SENSEable CITY LAB, MIT Bolzano provides rooted to a place an augmented and experience” experience of memory as Mnemonic Bolzano augments the augments Bolzano Mnemonic a memory of recording act traditional a time and place withspecific to recounting making the technology, more wholesome.of that memory where uponImagine a scenario a place you had visitedreturning to ago, you could relive themany years rightmemory as if it were happening like having ain front of you, almost but from conversation with yourself, the past. of the Within the framework of memory, recording and replaying collection ofthe project enables the the data about specific and general a place.people visiting and revisiting visitors toThe interface allows the by to be found leave behind traces in turn if they desire, other travellers loop, which iscreating an information more personal or social as desired. “Mnemonic MNEMONIC BENCHES MNEMONIC in the ten o’clock “It was about on a bench facingmorning. I sat had at once, I River…..All the Charles of having lived thatthe impression before.” moment once Jorge Luis Borges Book of Sand The The Other, THE TRADITION OF RECORDING MEMORY is of recording memory The tradition recollectionown our as old as perhaps behindof time. The act of leaving of ourselves, either consciously traces only to be ‘found’ or unconsciously, be ‘chanced again upon return or to an intrinsic by another is upon’ tend to We part of human nature. and desire reminisce time gone by, to make our presence felt long after we have left the scene. These acts of recording memory have found many manifestations from the prehistoric flags cave paintings to tying prayer atop mountains and threads to trees, carvings on rocks, geocaches or even the age-old message in a bottle. today offers a whole Technology new dimension to the idea of in recording and capturing memory, special moments and replaying them at will. The process has become simultaneously more and imaginative. social, interactive Beginning from the convenience and and ubiquity of the digital camera the cell phone, we can now carry our memories in our pocket and access relay them whenever and wherever, them on the internet, promote a cause or advertise a destination. offers the dual Technology possibility of voyeurism and privacy, social networking and individual It creates tremendous gratification. potential for an augmented past. with an individual’s interaction PROJECT DESCRIPTION

SCG BOLZANO / B4 / MNEMONIC BOLZANO 42 SCG BOLZANO / B4 / MNEMONIC BOLZANO 43 OFF THE BEATEN TRACK IN BOLZANO TRACK BEATEN OFF THE of attractions One of the primary proximity to interestingBolzano is its vineyards, breweries,sites like castles, lakes and picturesque trails often unfrequentedand peaks. These elephant path, affordplaces, off the typesopportunities for different provide aand scales of activities, therebywide variety of experiences value ofincreasing the touristic Bolzano. In turn, they provide for the city. alternate narratives anotherBuilding on these assets, the possibilityaspect to the project is like hiking,of engaging in activities the touristsbiking, skiing, which take them closeroutside the city and bring oftento nature. These activities involve the rush of accomplishment end of an oftenand fulfillment at the Many of the hiking arduous journey. and bike paths take people trails to places which are exclusive and special, away from the typical and mundane. Almost 80% of the tourists are long region in the South Tyrol term, loyal visitors with almost 18% times over of them returning several a period of 20 years. Hence many of them perhaps make the same journey again, to relive a moment, or experience what their loved ones or the friends experienced. These ‘off places add a certain beaten track’ charm to visit to Bolzano, and a memory special, extraordinary related to achievement. They are indeed an asset which enhances the touristic value of Bolzano. Mnemonic Bolzano taps into these patterns to augment the traveller’s experience of the landscape around Bolzano and to connect these places to the city. BIOSCOPE equipped with a still/ The bench is message and digital video camera which recordsboard component of a presence. The recollection one’s the superimpositionmemory involves recorded image,of a previously timevideo or text with the real anlandscape, hence creating of the past,augmented experience instance, arooted in the present. For records a video describing traveller which he the events of the day, friendsdecides to email to his deviceback home. The recording Using depthoffers another option. blocks outanalysis technology it only thethe background and retains The traveller. audio and image of the returns to this bench same traveller the memoryafter five years, he finds through the interface, much like a google search, using his name and password, which he had specified at the time of making the recording. He views the memory through the which superimposes his viewer, image onto the real time landscape; it appears like he is in his own presence, sitting on the bench, relaying the events of the day. The device works on the principle ghost illusion. A of the pepper’s clear glass sheet located at an angle between the viewer and the view having the recorded image projected on it and hence superimposed with the real landscape to complete the image. MNEMONIC BENCHES MNEMONIC proposal comprisesThe project the collection oftwo components, its recollection. Thememory and the memory occursact of recording located en route and aton benches like the path or journey, the end of a the edge oftop of a mountain or at functionala lake. As a ubiquitous, the bench becomes object in the city, for a fixedan appropriate choice can bemnemonic device which It is a embedded with technology. a utilitarian type of place marker, tied to themascot of unusual places, Thespecifics of the place. a traveller bench offers a place where read acan rest after a long trek, book, take a nap or a photograph, It signifiescontemplate or socialize. beinga point of repose without obtrusive in the landscape.

SCG BOLZANO / B4 / MNEMONIC BOLZANO 44 SCG BOLZANO / B4 / MNEMONIC BOLZANO 45 NETWORKING POTENTIALNETWORKING memories,Besides personal has a digital messagethe bench also where one could leaveboard console, cues for other travellers messages and These could be personaland friends. a passwordmessages requiring anyone accessible to or public the bench.coming in contact with around Because the environment over the bench is being recorded be relayed a period of time, it can a to other benches, creating interested network of travellers in and experiencing places off the elephant path. around theThe changing scenarios in morebenches could be projected within thegregarious, social spaces popular plazas and public places in Bolzano, bringing a real-time locales component of the faraway and the people visiting them to the typical places in the city. that he is in fact looking at an image at an is in fact looking that he on the opposite sitting of himself he tries tobench. Disconcerted, and the phenomena rationalize his hand is resting onrealizes that for Mnemonic console an interactive interface guides himBolzano. The process, where hethrough the is a devicerealizes that the bench his ownwhich enables him to record place and timedistinct memory of the retrievedand leave it behind to be person. another time or by another FIRST VISIT AND RECORDING VISIT AND FIRST OF MEMORY Bolzano in the visit Two travelers and take a hike tomonth of August on the Salten mountain.high plateau their arduousUpon completing find they journey, and invigorating on thea bench. One of them sits decides tobench while the other savor thewalk around the top to The seatedviews from all directions. on notices some movement traveller He realizesthe bench opposite him. PERSONAL INTERACTIONS

SCG BOLZANO / B4 / MNEMONIC BOLZANO 46 SCG BOLZANO / B4 / MNEMONIC BOLZANO 47 Interface The interface for Mnemonic Bolzano is integrated with the bench and located on its the bench also attempts Alternatively, armrest. in its with the smart phones to synchronize the Mnemonic By downloading proximity. can also Bolzano application, the smart phone interface the bench. The be used to interact with offers him the choice of making his experience or keeping it on the internet, by publishing public, by a password. secured it private, SECOND VISIT AND RECOLLECTION VISIT AND SECOND OF MEMORY to Bolzano returns The same traveler in This time he visits after five years. it has snowed everywhere,winter and summer to the warm in contrast from his lastcolors he remembers visit. and finds He completes the trek, bench.himself sitting on the same in his smartThrough the interface fromphone, he locates his memory replays it.half a decade ago and opposite a He finds himself sitting andyounger version of himself of that day. hearing the goings on The project proposes the use of the use proposes The project device as a mnemonic the bench and usedas it is ubiquitous a place where It is unselfconsciously. find themselves inevitably travellers and taking in a view. sitting, resting are envisaged asThe Benches the elephant the ‘off landmarks of They would be found at city. path’ and stops along hike trails strategic be locatedbiking routes, they would region andat mountain lakes in the all placesthe vineyards. Basically of a certain amount which warrant also be theeffort in reaching would makingdestination for the benches, of adventurousthem a sort of mascot stories. memories and exciting they would be found Within the city, where the trails along the periphery, and journeys often start. Mnemonic Bolzano also aims at also aims Bolzano Mnemonic of the awareness a greater creating Bolzano which doplaces around end up on thenot automatically they are unless itinerary, tourist’s repeat visitors. It aimsthe regular the ‘off the far away, at connecting in and around places beaten track’ places inBolzano to the more popular images from the cameras The the city. in thein the benches are relayed public plazas, creating a real-time bringinglink with these places and landscape a sense of the rural Theywithin the urban city centre. interaction offer the opportunity of in the rugged between travellers in the city. places to the travellers URBAN INTERACTIONS

SCG BOLZANO / B4 / MNEMONIC BOLZANO 48

Depth recognition and frame differencing to doctor and frame differencing Depth recognition images in realtime The Mnemonic benches would be would benches The Mnemonic device of a recording comprised be able to record bothwhich would and videos with audio. still images the original imageOnce captured, to retain thewould be doctored while the traveller, image of the (in would be eliminated background techniquesone version) using such frame as depth recognition and act ofdifferencing. During the memory retrieval, the processed onto theimage would be reflected transparent, reflected film mounted when glass. This image, on structural opposite itoverlaid with the bench wouldand the real-time landscape, interacting provide the illusion of memory. with one’s PEPPER’S GHOST TECHNIQUE GHOST PEPPER’S TECHNOLOGY WITH AUGMENTED MEDIA AND DIGITAL ghost is an old illusionary Pepper’s back to thetechnique dating in theater and used Victorian era to give the illusionmagic tricks ghosts.of floating objects or The technique uses transparent makemirrors and lighting to appearan object in one place versions Modern in another. use digital light processing projectors and thin reflective results. films to achieve similar TECHNOLOGY DESCRIPTION

SCG BOLZANO / B4 / MNEMONIC BOLZANO 50

SAGARIKA SURI SAGARIKA currently pursuingSagarika is Degree in Urbanism her Master’s at Program within the SMArchS her Studies She completed MIT. from The Centrein Architecture Planning andfor Environmental India in 2006 Ahmedabad, Technology, in as an Architect and has practiced opportunityDelhi, where she had the projects ranging to work on several adaptivefrom interior environments, campuses. reuse and educational While pursuing her undergraduate in makingstudies, she was involved systemsdocumentaries on the whichthat function within focused on garbage collection, construction workers, immigrant systems informal urban transport studiesand the city police. These of the dominant and peripheral components of the city lead to a comprehensive understanding of the urban habitat. The Senseable Cities workshop has been an opportunity for continuing such explorations within a multidisciplinary setup. The project in Bolzano demonstrates the possibility of a systemic intervention in tandem with and to highlight the existing potential of a place. Of particular interest has dimension been the socio-cultural of how networked technologies can enhance the experience and of the local inhabitants interaction and the visitors with the physical and the psychological landscape.

SCG BOLZANO / B4 / MNEMONIC BOLZANO 52 B5 goSticker! Ambient Navigation by Tony P. Vanky

SENSEable CITY LAB, MIT THE PROJECT attempts to placeThe goSticker! data onto the physicalpersonalized ambient manner. world in a calm, from many augmentedThis differs in that it relies onreality projects environment to sharethe physical digital screeninformation without a Upon arriving in the as mediator. icon selects an region, the traveler her phone orfrom an application on designatedfrom a kiosk at various the her , spots in the region. On can select her next intended traveler Tyrol destination from the South Thatapp or SMS that information. network ofinformation is sent to a signposts.e-ink signs, storefronts, on her phone’s When the tourist turns goSticker! can Bluetooth functionally, and track can identify the traveler through the urban her as she travels streets of Bolzano or the alpine trails. As she moves around and explores the urban setting, goSticker! updates a series of signs within her line of sight with new directions relative to her current location marked with her unique icon. This allows her to put away her phone and feel comfortable to freely explore without fearing that she will get lost. As she moves far enough out of sight from her previous locations, the directions and icon disappear to allow for anonymity and select avatar, pick an Simply, privacy. the destination, and go. Aside from guideposts, these serving as figurative signs can also appear in business windows to highlight restaurant windows to highlight restaurant or shopping preferences, translate native menus and events into one’s language, and appear on public to help guide the transportation tourist through multi-modal trips. to take her This allows the traveler eyes away from map in hand, on screen, or a their mobile phone’s guidebook, and visually reconnect with the sights and sounds around This act of eliminating a point her. to allows the traveler of distraction again be Charles Baudelaire called one who walks the city in a flâneur, order to experience it, and to re-open the visitor to the culture and life of the city to which the tourist is visiting. directions The need to identify one’s becomes vitally from another’s important in more populated areas of some, or provide too much or provide of some, Bothgreat expense. at a information well exampled by theextremes are Museum of Archaeology, South Tyrol mummy is housed,where the Ötzi into is translated whose website and English, yetGerman, Italian in many languagesprovide maps plus Dutch,which include the three andRussian, French, Spanish information,Japanese. This excessive in his bookto journalist David Shenk difficult forData Smog, makes it more individual to sift through the average to thatto find relevant information person, thus getting lost, alone the let financial costs. of ourWhile the solution to many linguisticproblems—be it directional, throughor logistical—can be solved thethe panacea of smartphone, introduction of another point of focus has the unintended consequence of pulling out attention away from the the tourist has come very attractions to see. By staring at the pulsing blue screen notating dot on our phone’s where on the planet we are located, we miss the excitement and life of that environment around us. that moment, For the technology competes with the surroundings it was meant to augment or inform, and psychologically the user could be anywhere. By staring at the pulsing blue dot on our phone’s screen notating where on the planet we are located, we miss the excitement and life of that environment around us. THE PROBLEM In a famous scene in the film Minority Report, John Anderton walks through a mall as the signs change the tone and message of their advertisements to personalized ones for John, going so far as to refer to the protagonist to reach a broad by name. Currently, audience within a tourist experience, the information infrastructure must rely on either lowest common denominators at the exclusion PROJECT DESCRIPTION to know tourists, being able many For to go and how towhere one wants important.get there is As a result, much spending up end travelers many staring into a paperof their time smartphone,map or the screen of a of the GPS- following the blue line thecalculated route, and missing aroundenergy of the environment destination.them en-route to the final the phone’s GoSticker! removes from directions,screen the personalized in theand places the information individual,landscape around the the person’s adjusting in real-time for andcurrent location, in a contextual unobtrusive way. region, as wellThe Südtirol-Alto as the city of Bolzano, invested in printed material, websites and even smart phone applications, however have the tourist doesn’t the average ability to sift through or carry all this information to make it worthwhile or even relevant. The use of two languages—German and Italian—and the lack of prominence of any other languages add further complexities to tourist comprehension. In the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty, the Magic Mirror serves as the Queen’s to enchanted advisor and transform truthfully inform his master of what is happening in the town around the Queen, namely who is most fair in Bolzano, there is her kingdom. For an opportunity for the environment around the tourist, through smart, connected signage throughout the region, to serve as the means to guide the tourist in a relevant, unobtrusive amd exciting way.

SCG BOLZANO / B5 / GOSTICKER! AMBIENT NAVIGATION 54 like Bolzano or at popular tourists environment it is designed to serve with the entire region on their trip, 55 sites. A tag of the user’s choosing yet becomes rich with the individual and sample many facets from speck marks her itinerary, and thus her information it provides. It becomes to skiing, in a connected, information- SCG BOLZANO / B5 GOSTICKER! AMBIENT NAVIGATION directions. This digital icon, takes a a tool for smarter tourism, inciting rich manner. cultural cue from “sticker bombing” the ability for the tourist to engage that exists in the area now as well as in virtual communities through “tagging” with virtual graffiti, yet serves the important function of identifying one’s information through an anonymous way.

For local businesses, goSticker! provides a means of advertising and attracting tourists, especially those who do not speak both Italian and German. By placing a screen in their store, it can communicate to a broader audience who may not be able to understand menus, placards, etc. It also allows another venue by which an avatar can appear, attracting new customers and travelers whose preferences match the store’s offerings. With the language preferences set previously, a traveler can now walk up to a sign and have the text change to their language of choice. As the person moves away, or another tourist gets closer, the signs fade to adjust for the next visitor alleviating the difficult linguistic problem. When two or more people are on the same Bluetooth antenna, goSticker! knows there As part of the need for the regional are two users close by. The system can check tourism bureau to collect data whether they have similar preferences and can of “where people go, not where make suggestions to both parties. Otherwise, people stay”, goSticker! can begin the system can display each’s information separately, allowing for anonymity or can to track what destinations tourists have the avatars interact playfully. In this case, are wanting to go to, and the signs avatars play during a long Funivia trip. can sense visits to attractions in the region, and provide the regional tourism organization with data of popular locations, popular types of activities throughout time, where people tend to congregate, how much area a person covers through the region, how people move through the region. This data, for the most part, is collected invisibly and is powerful through aggregate. A level of privacy is ensured, as identifying information on the individual is not collected, but their trip as points in space. The result of goSticker! is a system of an interface-artifact that is camouflaged and ambient in the environment; they are relevant only when you need them and blend into the urban visual fabric when not. As The present condition: What is missed with a a result, it does not compete with the map, and the irrelevent sign. predict what additional amenities what additional predict and act traveler the may interest taking users to bothas a tour guide knew they wantedthe sights they as they walk aroundto see but also their avatar can makethe region, en to other sights recommendations and can enhance the trip, route which add surprises, for the traveler. useThese signs, through the and avatar, the of iconography, may relievecustomized information with associated problems the of many as informationa multi-lingual society that isis only shown in a way in their primary useful to the user, they needlanguage, and only when it, for the thus eliminating the need written inubiquitous, crowded sign signs many languages. Text-based languagesnormally written in many can morph to the most appropriate language of those standing closest— menu in the imagine a restaurant’s window always being in a language one can understand. Thus, there is incentive for businesses to also become involved as the avatar can to stores now also welcome travelers whose specials, services and wares may interest them. For many travelers who wish to many travelers For andof Bolzano the sites explore without having to South Tyrol books and maps canrely on tour to guide them. Theuse goSticker! to allows travelers system also their destination onsimply choose having their than demand, rather those For entire trip pre-planned. inwho have a specific destination the goSticker!mind, they can rely on inputtingmobile application. After their destination and selecting goSticker! calculates their avatar, than the best route and, rather phone likedisplaying a map on the goSticker! many applications today, the mounteddisplays the avatar onto pointingscreens around the user onwardto the next screen, then trail. to the site as a breadcrumb Though proposed as a system that orients from point A to B, one can imagine that this and existing to, at technology allows a traveler some point, input their preferences into and must-see attractions the system from the web or their phones. This information, can build a database much like online shopping recommendation lists, which can like menu boards, to overcome linguistic to overcome barriers. like menu boards, GoSticker! factors signs can be adapted into form PERSONAL INTERACTIONS

SCG BOLZANO / B5 / GOSTICKER! AMBIENT NAVIGATION 56 SCG BOLZANO / B5 / GOSTICKER! AMBIENT NAVIGATION 57 their preferences and receive a guided tour of the the and receive a guided tour of their preferences to map directions from point A it up region, or pull to B and send it to the goSticker! screens. Travelers can use their mobile devices to input use their mobile devices to input Travelers can Users can use their mobile devices to input their Users can use their mobile devices and interests to have a guided travel prefernces to map it up the region, or pull tour through send it to the from point A to B and directions goSticker! credit: flickr/Bergsteiger screens. Photo aus Seattle Travelers might be able to navigate the region’s be able to navigate Travelers might buses, trains and cable cars without worry of getting lost as the goSticker! system can guide tourists visually. update their directions back to the back their directions update but with goSticker!destination, final automatically. that is done environment,Within the urban are intended to blendthe screens when notinto the environment on the form of thein use—taking sticker tag. As electronicubiquitous theirdisplays, they can change As near. displays as users come by an avatar, people are identified whiletheir anonymity is preserved relaying information commiserate to the ideals of calm technology. can between avatars Interactions multiplealso begin to occur when users are on the same antenna screen,neighborhood and same which may also incite networking well.in the physical world as factorWhile the primary form is the “sticker” intended for the one can imagine goSticker! avatar, to be a larger network of sensing based signs such and forms. Text as tourist information signs and kiosks, plagued by numerous languages, can be simplified to show information in the language of the user nearest, and event posters may only show performance information the passerby is interested in. Indeed, goSticker! is a network of functional objects rather than a discrete design proposal. Throughout the fabric of Bolzano, the fabric Throughout and the local towns surrounding a network of screensenvirons is a antennas that offer and Bluetooth where people aremeans of knowing when their phone’s within the region is captured inspecific ID-number of each antenna.the neighborhood at theBy looking at these captures regional level, we can understand through thehow an individual moves of touristsregion, where densities are paved.and where elephant paths as it allows theThis data is important a meanslocal tourism organizations people go” of understanding “where on their visits to the region. can also These Bluetooth traces tobe used as digital breadcrumbs is relativeknow where someone allowingto their destination, thus amendsigns and directions to directions or point to the next one as a step toward the final destination. Though a destination may be laid out, tourist might wander to the along explore a store or attraction their route. As that individual moves away from the determined path, they will begin connecting to other antenna neighborhoods. This location information can then be used to update signs with a new path relative to their current location. If existing mobile phone mapping applications were used, the user would have to URBAN INTERACTIONS

SCG BOLZANO / B5 / GOSTICKER! AMBIENT NAVIGATION 58 SCG BOLZANO / B5 / GOSTICKER! AMBIENT NAVIGATION 59 navigation markers and stickers seen in already the region. goSticker! screens fit into the existing context of

62 CALM, AMBIENT, Calm technology, a principle created mainframes, each shared by lots of CONTEXTUAL by noted scientist Mark Weiser, people. Now we are in the personal SCG COPENHAGEN / describes technology that informs computing era, person and machine but doesn’t demand the focus or staring uneasily at each other across attention of the user at all times. In the desktop. Next comes ubiquitous his words, “Ubiquitous computing computing, or the age of calm names the third wave in computing, technology, when technology recedes just now beginning. First were into the background of our lives.” Finding roots in the tradition of 63 postering and sticker bombing, as well as the hiker tradition of carving SCG COPENHAGEN / one’s name into benches and stones at the top of mountains, goSticker! places itself among this context and demands the attention of its users in an ambient manner. TONY P. VANKY P. TONY is a Master of Science Vanky P. Tony candidate Studies of Architectural Institute ofat the Massachusetts interest whose research Technology, relationshipis in the potential technology andbetween situated has Tony urban design. Prior to MIT, of theserved as the Vice President American Institute of Architecture on the boardStudents and a director of the Association of Collegiate where heSchools of Architecture education,specialized in issues of andinnovation-based processes professional development. has He in economicalso spent time working cultural, development focused on economiescreative and innovation Tony’s in Southeastern Michigan. design work has been exhibited, notably including the 2006 Venice Architecture Biennale. He also an online recently finished curating exhibition on the future of the received discipline. Tony architectural his M.Arch and B.Arch from Tulane University in New Orleans, double majoring in Architecture and Political Science. On occasion, he is known for making a mean gumbo, New Orleans- style.

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