Informant38

Interface to the Future

A version of real-time developed for the Montefoire Children's hospital, the 'Interface to the Future' (IF) is a public device that is simple to use and understand. The interface is in the foyer, the public context of the hospital, in which people often walk past or gather. The interface contains a (directional) microphone that is recording at all times. The interface also has a speaker that is near the microphone (within visual distance but some physical distance for audio separation). The speaker plays back constantly. There is exactly a one year lag between the recording and the playing of the sound.
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Trigger the Loma Preita Pony

Trigger the Loma Preita Pony is an information display that uses movement to represent movement. When you put 25 cents in this adapted kiddie ride the motor follows the ground motion acceleration profile of the 1989 Loma Preita earthquake. This renders the US Geological Survey (USGS) public data as a shared experience, exploiting proprioceptive sensitivity to changes in acceleration. The data is the same, however the genre of representation is altered from 'fact' to 'experience.'
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The tree(s) will become a networked instrument that maps the microclimates of the Bay Area, connected through their biological materiality. People can view the tree(s) and compare them, a long, quiet, and persisting testament to the Bay Area's diverse environment.