« Interactive Tree | Main | Sound Domes »
December 02, 2005
SMS Guestbook
It isn't uncommon in art exhibitions to find a simple guestbook to leave comments, questions or requests for future contact. The ITP Winter show should also have such a mechanism, but perhaps with a bit of a technological twist. My final project for Spatial Design involves the simple use of a display within which visitors to the show can post short messages using SMS mobile phone messaging. Placing a flat screen display near the entrance/exit of the floor would:
1. Put visitors in a more observational state as they enter2. Encourage them to post ideas/comments/etc. upon leaving
3. Facilitate a new mode of communication between visitors and students
The technology involved includes a computer running Kannel SMS gateway software and a Bluetooth-enabled mobile handset. Visitors would send messages to the handset's phone number, which would in turn trigger an event on the computer, storing their message in a MySQL database. A full-screen Flash movie would simply poll this database every few seconds for updates and place new messages at the bottom of the list.
The display intentionally draws on the existing Tisch identity to help make the design as transparent as possible. If successful, this is a project that could remain on the floor and repurposed for other things outside the context of the show.
Posted by Phiffer, Daniel at December 2, 2005 01:30 PM