Fifty billion objects will be connected to the internet by 2020, according to React, the knowledge exchange hub supported by the Arts & Humanities Research Council.
The hub’s latest project, Objects Sandbox, will explore how the creative and cultural industries can best utilise that mind-boggling array of networked devices, objects and spaces – known collectively as the Internet of Things (IoT).
The IoT has become a catch-all term for machine-to-machine (M2M) technology that allows once-inanimate things to communicate with each other, track data and respond to stimuli such as smartphones or even eye movement.
Practical benefits
According to the Centre for the Future of Museums, part of the American Alliance of Museums, the IoT could potentially revolutionise areas such as visitor studies and collections care.
It shouldn’t be long before museums are widely using embedded sensors to remotely supervise environmental conditions and visitor behaviour, while security systems could be transformed by individual biometric monitors worn by staff to verify their identity.
The Louvre in Paris has already installed a network of software to help coordinate cleaning, heating and lighting at the museum, cutting its energy bills by as much as 40%.
Creative uses
But cultural organisations are also exploring more creative, outward-facing possibilities for IoT technology to engage visitors, bring objects to life and customise content to suit individual tastes.
QR codes and other simple forms of M2M communication have been in use for some time, but more ambitious technology has become increasingly accessible in the past couple of years.
“Hardware programmes and the language to operate them is all available through open source media,” says Tom Metcalfe, the producer of React’s Objects Sandbox. “Connecting an object to the internet is now relatively straightforward – you can watch tutorials online. You don’t need to be a technologist.”
React hopes this latest funding scheme will open some of these possibilities up to the wider cultural sector.
The hub, which supports strategic partnerships between creative companies and cultural organisations, recently awarded £50,000 each to six teams made up of academics, artists and product design entrepreneurs for a three-month project to develop prototype internet-connected objects.
Switched-on ideas
Rather than just showing off new gadgets, the focus of all the projects is on the objects themselves, the stories they can tell and how people can interact with them, says Metcalfe.
“All projects question the value and quality of the interaction with a screen. This is especially relevant in a museum context where touchscreens often detract from the artefact we should be engaging with.”
A prototype showcase is likely to take place in September. As the Centre for the Future of Museums forecast last year, this is a trend that the museum sector should not ignore.
Our project aims to breathe new life into old taxidermy mounts and displays by prototyping an internet-connected personalised curatorial device: the Curpanion.
Although taxidermy displays are popular at museums, they are static and engagement is often one-dimensional.
Curpanion technology aims to break free from the constraints of traditional display and interaction by enabling the user to unlock augmented taxidermy exhibits onsite while also creating their very own online menagerie of animals.
We imagine the Curpanion as a much-loved toy or keepsake, and aim to prototype it as a “pocket beastie” that the user takes to the museum and uses to document shared experiences and stories.
By empowering users to collect, explore and share content related to any museum object, our project aims to extend the educational scope of the museum into the lives of users.
Merle Patchett is the co-creator of the Curpanion prototype, which she has developed with a colleague, Andrew Flack, at the University of Bristol, and the multi-disciplinary studio, Play Nicely
The hub’s latest project, Objects Sandbox, will explore how the creative and cultural industries can best utilise that mind-boggling array of networked devices, objects and spaces – known collectively as the Internet of Things (IoT).
The IoT has become a catch-all term for machine-to-machine (M2M) technology that allows once-inanimate things to communicate with each other, track data and respond to stimuli such as smartphones or even eye movement.
Practical benefits
According to the Centre for the Future of Museums, part of the American Alliance of Museums, the IoT could potentially revolutionise areas such as visitor studies and collections care.
It shouldn’t be long before museums are widely using embedded sensors to remotely supervise environmental conditions and visitor behaviour, while security systems could be transformed by individual biometric monitors worn by staff to verify their identity.
The Louvre in Paris has already installed a network of software to help coordinate cleaning, heating and lighting at the museum, cutting its energy bills by as much as 40%.
Creative uses
But cultural organisations are also exploring more creative, outward-facing possibilities for IoT technology to engage visitors, bring objects to life and customise content to suit individual tastes.
QR codes and other simple forms of M2M communication have been in use for some time, but more ambitious technology has become increasingly accessible in the past couple of years.
“Hardware programmes and the language to operate them is all available through open source media,” says Tom Metcalfe, the producer of React’s Objects Sandbox. “Connecting an object to the internet is now relatively straightforward – you can watch tutorials online. You don’t need to be a technologist.”
React hopes this latest funding scheme will open some of these possibilities up to the wider cultural sector.
The hub, which supports strategic partnerships between creative companies and cultural organisations, recently awarded £50,000 each to six teams made up of academics, artists and product design entrepreneurs for a three-month project to develop prototype internet-connected objects.
Switched-on ideas
- Breathing Stone: A stone that senses and reduces stress by generating music from heart rate and breath.
- Curpanion: An internet-connected, personalised curatorial device that “animates animal afterlives”, bringing new life to museum taxidermy.
- InTouch: A device enabling people in different locations to share stories through audio and touch.
- Fans on Foot: Jewellery that guides cult TV and film fans to locations from their favourite shows.
- The God Article: Replicas of neys – Turkish flutes –embedded with breath sensors to enable learning online.
- Reflector: Rare archaeological objects from the Transatlantic slave trade embedded with technology to bring their stories to life.
Rather than just showing off new gadgets, the focus of all the projects is on the objects themselves, the stories they can tell and how people can interact with them, says Metcalfe.
“All projects question the value and quality of the interaction with a screen. This is especially relevant in a museum context where touchscreens often detract from the artefact we should be engaging with.”
A prototype showcase is likely to take place in September. As the Centre for the Future of Museums forecast last year, this is a trend that the museum sector should not ignore.
“A pocket beastie”
Our project aims to breathe new life into old taxidermy mounts and displays by prototyping an internet-connected personalised curatorial device: the Curpanion.
Although taxidermy displays are popular at museums, they are static and engagement is often one-dimensional.
Curpanion technology aims to break free from the constraints of traditional display and interaction by enabling the user to unlock augmented taxidermy exhibits onsite while also creating their very own online menagerie of animals.
We imagine the Curpanion as a much-loved toy or keepsake, and aim to prototype it as a “pocket beastie” that the user takes to the museum and uses to document shared experiences and stories.
By empowering users to collect, explore and share content related to any museum object, our project aims to extend the educational scope of the museum into the lives of users.
Merle Patchett is the co-creator of the Curpanion prototype, which she has developed with a colleague, Andrew Flack, at the University of Bristol, and the multi-disciplinary studio, Play Nicely
