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Ambient Intelligence and Urban Design: the futur of our cities?

LaBoule

Hi all,

Is there anyone interesting about the possible links between Ambient Intelligence (check this adress, if you don't know what it is: http://www.soumu.go.jp/menu_02/ict/u-japan_en/index.html) and urban design? Finally it's the futur of our cities, which is concerned...

There was a japanese architectural design competition about it (http://www.japan-architect.co.jp/docomo/2006/) but the results weren't kind of freaky... The last honorable mention is not too bad but I'm sure we can expect more from this technology.

Some comments about these new horizons?

 
Apr 1, 07 10:43 am
LaBoule
LaBoule

The MIT is working on it too:

http://ambient.media.mit.edu/

Apr 1, 07 11:21 am  · 
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postal
primer for those interested - written in 91

also the tangible media group at MIT's media lab is a good place to look through...

my comments: it's on it's way, there's a lot of promise in bringing more and more industries online with RFID tagging and the likes, i can't wait till my fridge can inventory itself and generate a shopping list, and maybe compare it to proposed recipes and see if i'm missing anything, let alone tell me when I should throw away that carton of milk sitting in the back left corner... i guess we're just waiting for more ubicomp to become financially feasible.

Apr 1, 07 11:25 am  · 
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LaBoule

Nobody interested?

Apr 1, 07 4:54 pm  · 
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Carl Douglas (agfa8x)

I entered the JA competition and didn't win.

For me, the interest in the competition was that it looked to describe the new possibilities for space, rather than focussing on the technical or object-design levels.

Apr 1, 07 5:28 pm  · 
 · 
Carl Douglas (agfa8x)
[img=http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/790/gardenwindowdetailtx8.th.jpg]

detail from my entry.

Apr 1, 07 5:56 pm  · 
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liberty bell

I'm guessing you've already read Everyware?

Chock full o' info.

The conservative/cynic in me thinks that ubicomp won't necessarily change cities in physical appearance. If anything, I imagine those who might want to utilize ubicomp in any kind of security/control way would want to hide it as much as possible behind non-threatening aka "traditional" design. Think of Seaside swarmed by not only CCTV but RFID tags that can tell if you are a first-time visitor, a stranger, and maybe one who has recently made a credit card purchase of "Fight Club": that is scary. But I think an extreme example.

Apr 2, 07 12:58 am  · 
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liberty bell

Oh, and cool image agfa8x!

Apr 2, 07 12:58 am  · 
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LaBoule

I entered the competition too, and as agfa8x didn't win...

But I did something too extreme. My thesis statement was to give a new physicality to the street, which could partly loose its social life (replace by an artificial, protected and virtual social life). Our panel was symbolizing the movement in architecture (a theme which Claude Parent used to work on it) by a first movement of opening and the use of 3d glasses to integrate more dimensions...

If anyone is interested i'll try to post it.

For sure it will not change the whole graphic appearance of our cities, but I keep in mind that as the environmental architecture, there is some ways to find new design possibilities on the subject.

Apr 2, 07 4:35 am  · 
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rfids in our clothes sounds like it would be itchy.

are you not allowed in seaside if you own fight club?! damn deed restrictions...

Apr 2, 07 7:20 am  · 
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liberty bell

I'd like to see it, LaBoule. Walking around the city wearing your ipod and texting your pals re: a meeting place seems very close to what you're talking about, but I'm sure your idea is far more in depth.

There are definitely aspects that will change the city. As I said, my view posted above is only a conservative view. I am very open to ideas of ubicomp, and think the possibilities for wayfinding are endless. I already use a GPS in my car to find places I've never been, and it has substantially changed my experience of place. I feel I can't get lost, yet I also feel my natural directional abilities starting to slack.

Apr 2, 07 8:30 am  · 
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postal

that everyware dude looks like a cult leader...

Apr 2, 07 9:28 am  · 
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