Thursday, March 27, 2008
OpenSpime, Sensors, Internet of Things, and Technology-Supported Human-World Interaction
Have you heard of the Internet of Things? Spime? OpenSpime? I've posted some information about these future-is-now concepts for those of you who are interested in keeping up with how technology is evolving "in the wild".
Royksopp's "Remind Me" video, is full of animated information visualizations that compliment the theme of this blog. The video also sets the stage for exploring the concepts behind the Internet of Things, Splimes, and OpenSpime.
According to the Internet of Things 2008 conference website, "The term "Internet of Things" has come to describe a number of technologies and research disciplines that enable the Internet to reach out into the real world of physical objects. Technologies like RFID, short-range wireless communications, real-time localization and sensor networks are now becoming increasingly common, bringing the Internet of Things into commercial use. They foreshadow an exciting future that closely interlinks the physical world and cyberspace - a development that is not only relevant to researchers, but to corporations and individuals alike."
According to futurist Bruce Sterling,"a Spime is an object that can be digitally tracked through space and time...Six emerging technologies converge to create new user experiences that connect networked data to physical things:
radio frequency identification (rfid)
global positioning systems
search engines
computer-aided design
digital fabrication
recyling"
The Spime Arrives is a good demonstration of the concept.
David Orban's OpenSpime Introduction: The World of OpenSpime: Infrastructure for an open Internet of Things, from ETech 2008
OpenSpime demonstration, using overlay on Google Maps:
Futurist Bruce Sterling, along with Scott Klinker, the 3-D Designer-in- Residence at Cranbrook Academy of Art, discuss the "big ideas" from the history of technology as they relate to the Internet of Things and Splimes this 49-minute video from Google Talks:
The Internet of Things: What is a Spime, and Why is it Useful?
"World-renowned Science Fiction writer and futurist Bruce Sterling will outline his ideas ... for SPIMES, a form of ubiquitous computing that gives smarts and 'searchability' to even the most mundane of physical products. Imagine losing your car keys and being able to search for them with Google Earth."
(inspiration for this post via Andrea Gaggioli's Positive Technology Journal: Mind, brain, and emerging technologies)
Interesting concepts.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Interactive Information Visualization: UN's release of millions of data records
I want access to great interactive information and data visualization content, anywhere, anytime, on any type of display!
As more publicly-held data becomes released, ordinary people, not just scholars and university students, will want to get their hands on it, especially if it is done in a user-friendly manner.
Below is something I posted on Ryan Lanham's Leading as Enabling blog, after learning about it from the EagerEyes website.
After I uploaded this post, I started to think about how interactive information visualization "for the people" could be played out in the day-to-day lives of people- as they shop, visit historical settings, attend cultural events, and so forth.
The optimization of web-based interactive information visualization applications for use on iPhones, PDA's, large multi-touch displays, interactive whiteboards, public kiosks, navigation systems, and the like, is something that deserves further work!
Post:
Robert Kosara, author of the Eager Eyes blog, recently posted information about the United Nation's release of data records for public download and use:
"Data is being set free: the United Nations have started a new website called UN Data to share the data collected by a number of UN agencies. 55 million data records are waiting to be explored and visualized. The search interface is very nice and usable, but still lacks power."
Why is the release of this data important?
Every day, people in leadership positions must make decisions based on the accurate interpretation of data. If the data is difficult to understand or presented in a way that might be confusing to some, the likelihood of negative consequences is high.
Those in leadership positions historically have had access to data, collected with public funds, but often inaccessible to the public. Publicly available data is often in a format that is not easy to organize, manipulate, or understand. As a result, many people do not have a means to fully scrutinize, or question, the decisions made by business, health, education, and government leaders.
The Gapminder website is one example of the movement to make data accessible and easier to understand. Hans Rosling, the director of Gapminder, provides an interesting overview about this in the video below, from his presentation at TED:
"This software unveils the beauty of statistical time series by converting boring numbers into enjoyable, animated and interactive graphics. The current beta version of Trendalyzer is available since March 2006 as Gapminder World, a web-service displaying a few time series of development statistics for all countries."
"Gapminder is a non-profit venture for development and provision of free software that visualize human development. This is done in collaboration with universities, UN organizations, public agencies and non-governmental organizations."
High resolution Gapcasts and video lectures can be and found on the Gapminder website. Gapcasts are also available on YouTube.
Information and Data Visualization for the People:
"Many Eyes is a bet on the power of human visual intelligence to find patterns. Our goal is to "democratize" visualization and to enable a new social kind of data analysis."
"Swivel: Where Curious People Explore Data"
Related:
Breakthrough Analysis: Make Your Data Tell a Story (Seth Grimes)
-Lynn Marentette
