Connect or Not: Exploring Seamless Infrastructures through Out-Bodied Interaction

Wireless communication relies on high-frequency signal transmission between communication nodes. The signals are at the same time the message and the infrastructure for communication. Questioning the current wireless signals space occupancy in a playful way, Connect or Not is an exploration that shifts the utilitarian debate on seamless infrastructures towards architectural and urban design discourse. It fosters an awareness of wireless infrastructure through design of tangible interaction with wireless network signals. A series of interactive installations were designed and tested in different spatial and social contexts. The installations juxtapose people’s physical presence and their activity within the wireless communication layer. This research contributes to a growing discourse on situated computer-human interaction and design research methodologies. It explores the possibility for a design practice to advance acquiring of knowledge, through new insights in the constitution and perception of environments.