Sensing in the wild: A DCODE DRS Lab exploring a more-than-human approach to distributed urban sensing

Conference paper (2022)

Authors

G.L. Turtle Human Information Communication Design - IDE
Carlos Guerrero Millan The University of Edinburgh
Seda Özçetin Umeå University
M.S. Patil Hogeschool van Amsterdam
R. Bendor Design Conceptualization and Communication - IDE
Research Group
Design Conceptualization and Communication (IDE) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2022 G.L. Turtle, Carlos Guerrero Millan, Seda Özçetin, M.S. Patil, R. Bendor
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2022.912
More Info
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Published Date

2022

Language

English

Faculty

Industrial Design Engineering

Department

Human-Centered Design

Research Group

Design Conceptualization and Communication

Abstract

The Sensing in the Wild Lab is a speculative experiment in designing a de- centralised urban sensing system from a more-than-human perspective. It is part of DCODE, an H2020-ITN project that explores the future of designing with AI. During the Lab participants assume different identities – roleplaying as children but also as moss, as municipal authorities, as CCTV cameras, as pigeons, and as undocumented immigrants trying to evade the authorities – and are asked to feed into the sensing system data that reflects their particular perspectives and interests. The data partici- pants share, in the form of an image and text uploaded to a dedicated WhatsApp channel, helps to reveal both frictions and alignments among actors. In this, the Lab offers municipalities an opportunity to shift their thinking about the future smart city from a “system of systems” that is optimised for a few city dwellers to a much more distributed, inclusive meshwork in which data is contributed, circulated, and negoti- ated by humans and nonhumans alike.