Making Sense. Advances and Explorations in Participatory Sensing.

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This workshop aims to demonstrate how citizen generated environmental measurements can inform evidence-based dialogues that enhance agency, and can potentially lead to healthier, more social and liveable cities.

What you will get out of this workshop
Experts in the field of participatory sensing will deliver a comprehensive introduction and state of the art. Secondly, participants will engage in a hands-on exploration of citizen-driven measuring tools and strategies using a novel participatory sensing toolbox comprising maps, scenarios and technologies. We conclude with a discussion on how we might critically deploy the imagined devices in scenarios of desired futures to achieve positive change, while negotiating and sharing concerns and challenges with policy makers.

Workshop theme
In the past five years, the broad availability of open hardware tools, the creation of online data sharing platforms, and the wider access to maker spaces have fostered the design of low cost and open source sensors that communities can appropriate to engage in environmental action. By collectively measuring and making sense of environmental phenomena citizens can become aware of how their lifestyle affects the ecosystem and be inspired to adopt more sustainable behaviours and drive collective action.

This workshop will demonstrate how open source software, open source hardware, digital maker practices and open design can be used by local communities to appropriate their own sensing technologies, make sense of their environments and address environmental issues. It will discuss how tools and methodologies can empower citizens and communities to enhance their everyday environmental awareness and to adopt more sustainable individual and collective practices . Finally, it will stimulate reflection and knowledge sharing.

Organisers
Frank Kresin, Waag Society
Frank Kresin is Research Director at Waag Society, which is an institute for art, science and technology. Over the past 20 years, the foundation has developed into an institution of international stature, a platform for artistic research and experimentation, and has become both a catalyst for events and a breeding ground for cultural and social innovation. The research programme consists of six research themes, aimed at healthcare, education, culture, society, the government and the business world. Frank has a background as filmmaker and holds a masters degree in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Amsterdam.

Mara Balestrini, Ideas for Change
Mara Balestrini is a partner and Director of Research at Ideas for Change where she consults on innovation, user engagement, open and collaborative strategies, and exponential growth models. She is a PhD candidate at the Intel Institute for Sustainable Connected Cities at University College London (UCL), a member of the UCL Engineering Exchange, and co-organiser of the Ouishare Collaborative Economy Research Network. She teaches the course “Cities for citizens” at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IAAC).

Tomas Diez, IAAC & Smart Citizen Kit
Tomas Diez is a Venezuela-born Urbanist specialized in digital fabrication and its implications in the future of cities. He is the director of Fab Lab Barcelona at the Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia, the Fab Academy global coordinator, and the European project manager of the Fab Foundation. He works as a close collaborator in the development of the Fab Lab Network together with MIT and the Fab Foundation. He is a tutor in Design at the Royal College of Arts in London; co-founder of the Smart Citizen project and StudioP52 both in Barcelona, and has been the co-chair of the FAB10 Barcelona, the 10th international fab lab conference and annual meeting hosted by IAAC in 2014.

Mel Woods
Mel Woods has extensive experience leading interdisciplinary teams across art, design, computer science (Artificial Intelligence, Open Data and Semantic Web) HCI and ethnography, and is working with external partners and businesses. Mel’s practice led research in Art and Design has developed interfaces and explored interaction between people to foster creativity and affect. Throughout her academic career she has published nationally and internationally, created digital artefacts and exhibits. Mel recently won the Imperica Prize 2013 for Installation using data from the British Library ‘Booksight’ at British Computer Society, EVA Conference 2013

Date and location
Workshop 13
Title: Making Sense. Advances and Explorations in Participatory Sensing.
Date: 22/4 14:00 – 17:00
Location: TBA

More information on this workshop
Website: http://waag.org/en/event/making-sense-advances-and-explorations-participatory-sensing
E-mail: Frank Kresin: frank@waag.org

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