It looks like hiding time for almost 7 million cell towers, 19 million WiFi routers and hundreds of satellites is over. Beginning this month, iOS device users will be able to download the “Architecture of Radio” application that will present a 360 degree visualization of signals around them. The $3 application is the brainchild of the Netherlands-based studio of artist and programmer Richard Vijgen who has created a site specific version of an app which includes wired communication infrastructure embedded in the exhibition space to provide a comprehensive window into the infosphere.
“We are increasingly dependent on a global ecosystem of digital signals. We use them for so many things, yet we cannot see them,” said Vijgen’s website. “We can see the roads we use to travel, the buildings we live in, but not the infrastructure that is changing the world.”
The Android version is still in the works but expected sometime in January, 2016. The app takes the location of the user, and compares it to a global database that tracks wireless signals. The screen acts as lenses to visualize the wireless signal flowing around the user. While the signals are simulated, the app gives the user an idea just how much the modern world depends on wireless communications. For more information, see http://www.architectureofradio.com
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