Augmented dérive and City visualisation

Resumen

In this paper we present an on-going research project that aims at constructing new modes of interaction with the city using poetic real-time data visualisations. The project uses a mapping device that measures and stores the intensity and direction of the signals coming from Wi-Fi routers and cellular antennae, together with two augmented reality prototypes that modify what their users see or hear. The prototypes created allow us to re-visit the city, intervening on our perception of it as well as allowing us to explore the geographical and perceptual disruption that arises when using one city's data onto another. The project, building on theoretical works by the Situationists, proposes an alternative to traditional cartographic representation, on the understanding that effective urban data-visualisation needs to incorporate the experience of living in a city, and not purely resort to abstract representation.