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View From Above. Proximate

The tools to discover the location of resources whether you're in a hurry to find helicopter landing pad (on the Tokyo hospital roof, above) or somewhere to buy a decent pair of flying goggles are becoming increasingly mainstream and increasingly pocketable - using technologies from base station triangulation, GPS to WiFi Positioning.

I'm intrigued about the knock-on effects of proximate awareness - the ability to sufficiently understand location based on the knowledge and mediation of other people who themselves have access to this technology. Think of all the services offered by a well equipped information kiosk made mobile, in the hands of a service provider. Or street hustler. We first came across proximate literacy during our research into illiterate communication practices [essay PowerPoint 6MB]. The idea of proximate anything should interest you because it speeds up the mainstreaming of technology - you get many of the benefits and drawbacks of a technology without having actually purchased it yourself.

Thought for today - the ways in which ready access to a product or service differs from actual ownership - in terms of cost, maintenance, use. Certainly topics for next week's Systems, Cities and Sustainable Mobility conference.

Cheers PFW for the view.

Writing from Tokyo | February 3, 2008 | Permalink