Tuning

Tuning is an open system and reference design for connoisseurs of complex systems and information.

The project is by Henry Holland. It began life during his MA in Design Interactions at the Royal College of Art.

Design is often called upon to make things simpler... but I'm not convinced that all complex systems can be simplified. As the world fills with ever-more complex systems, is it right to shroud everything in a neat façade of simplicity? We live in-amongst complexity. If we can see and interact with it, can we use it to understand the world we live in and locate our own position in that world?

Design projects that deal with the tangible interface are often centred on concepts and technologies which offer instantaneous feedback. My work uses systems as lenses to allow people to view complex systems, view shifts and subtle nuances over time. Instead of providing an efficient tool, or a fast user experience which goes no further, I aim to provide people with 'slow technology' that they can actually 'live with', in order to let them take stock and reflect.

I am designing tuning - an open system and reference design for connoisseurs of complex systems and information. With my system, the pro-amateur technologist with a penchant exploring and displaying information and data from different sources. As a reference design, individuals are encouraged to self-assemble and configure their systems to match their own needs and interests.

By using freely available information and repurposed technology, my aim is to use existing material in novel ways. Techniques and qualities from information design, data visualisation and other screen based media can be utilised in interesting, tangible ways. The project is experimental, I aim to unite the screen based, print and electronic/making things aspects of my previous work and interests. I use re-purposed technology and software as much as possible, my belief is that we have most of the components needed to explore this area in the things that surround us.

My work sits in the context of the meta-layer which surrounds us in our interactions with information through large complex systems. Ideas such as the Sematic Web, social networks and Web 2.0 folksonomies represent a very human use of what has been hitherto very technology-led. While I admire these efforts, i feel that there is a place for more 'feel' in products, services and human interaction with information in general. In the past, non-digital technology has included subtle and interesting experiences as by-products of human-system interaction, the one i find most interesting is 'tuning'. With the advent of digital technology, engineering has 'ironed out' tuning, and with it the magic and the intrigue and the possibilities that it created. These possibilities and anomalies could give rise to happy accidents via unexpected discoveries, which digital technology removes by nature of its precision. While i believe that information technology is particularly capable of being globally inclusive and available (taking for granted that people have electrical and computational power at their disposal) - information technology seems to lack the __________ which was so admirable in amateur radio and home-brew computing

The project builds on work which can be described as Information Art, Information Design and visualisation. Particularly (but in no particular order) gCensus Project, Ambient Devices Datacasting, Touch Graph Amazon Browser, Intel's Place Lab, WiFiMaps.com, Presence Project, FLIRT

I aim to produce a collection of socially + globally conscious 'products /objects/prodjects' which will be derived from a new specification for personal information devices. The project should: . communicate the need for agency in interacting with complex systems . create a means for everyday exploration of the subtle nature of systems . create a platform for individuals and groups to explore information and share their understandings and achievements . ensure that non-commercial interests and developments can have recognisable and comparable value . provide a platform to demonstrate the value of knowledge and interest which is social group specific, and allow this to be expressed in a product/object/prodject

My work is centred around a large scale, wall mounted 2D mapping/tracking system. The system consists of wall area with fixed sensors mounted on or within it, and a moveable component which is tracked by the fixed sensors. The moveable 'puck' contains a mark making mechanism which is autonomously controlled. The devices are controlled/monitored by a PC which is hidden away since in the 'real world' the computational aspects would be handled by embedded systems. The technology is a mixture of bought|hacked consumer electronics, and custom built microcontroller based electronics. This serves as a platform for exploration of the various subtle user experience details, and as a springboard for exploring different systems, such as internet radio, television, video, tagged media, social network metadata, scientific data etc... The project is supported by a narrative based around a group of people who build (or would like to build) their own device for tuning into information of their choice.

My intention is to complete a working high standard prototype, configured as an internet radio/ worldmap which displays the light level of the point on the earth that the puck is over. This allows people to tune to internet radio streams based on location and time of day at the location, which in turn would allow such activities as chasing the wave of breakfast radio that circles the globe on a daily basis. The prototype is intended to be presented people who I suspect would be potential early adopters/ enthusiasts of tuning. By demonstrating my version, i hope to stimulate a dialogue which will inform several iterations of configurations and modifications. These iterations will inform and excite me, and will facilitate the development of a final working prototype prodject.