Ambient Informatics

Year: 2012–2015

In most cities, sidewalks are neglected spaces despite being occupied by pedestrians throughout the day. In particular, citizens waiting at bus stops are often frustrated by inhospitable conditions as well as lack of information about when the bus will arrive. Through “ambient informatics,” a type of pervasive computing that communicates information in everyday environments without the use of language, numbers, visual icons, or screens, this project connects urban transit’s complex data streams to people’s everyday lives through elegant, non-symbolic representations. Ambient Informatics creates a new public experience in Westwood Village with an illuminated bench at the Weyburn Terrace Bruin Bus stop next to the main UCLA campus. Playfully named “Ida and Dactyl” for its resemblance to the asteroid and its moon, the sidewalk installation employs a beacon system within the core (Dactyl) of the bench (Ida) using TCP/IP controlled, solid-state, energy efficient LED lighting that can be seen from a distance. Drawing on real-time data on Bruin Bus positions, the bench glows brighter and changes color to communicate information about bus arrivals and create new atmospheres along the sidewalk.

Ambient Informatics is a transdisciplinary collaboration between cityLAB and the UCLA Center for Research in Engineering, Media, and Performance (REMAP), with support from the UCLA Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research.