Interface[s] Montréal

Mobility

Michael Longford

Université Concordia, Hexagram, Réseau mobile numérique communautaire – 29 novembre 2005

Médiascapes: le design des expériences mobiles

View the presentation [In english]

The Mobile Digital Commons Network is a collaborative research project involving designers, engineers, urban and communications scholars. We investigate traces of the ‘digital city’ – from rapidly expanding wireless networks to the potential for new mobile communications technologies to transform ourrelationship to public space in urban environments. For this presentation we will present scenarios for location based immersive experiences and mobile games for handheld PDAs and cell phones played in a downtown city square in Montreal and along the Hoodoo Trail in Banff National Park. GPS, environmental sensors, community WiFi and ad hoc networks contribute to a shared authoring environment exploring the potential for mobile technologies to reframe the role of public space as creative site for play, collaboration and exchange.

Michael Longford is an Associate Professor in the Department of Design and Computation Arts at Concordia University in Montreal. His creative work and research activities reside at the intersection of photography, graphic design and new media. Currently, he is a co-principle investigator for the
Mobile Digital Commons Network (MDCN), a joint research project launched by Concordia University and the Banff New Media Institute. He has organized numerous workshops, artist talks, exhibitions and conferences. He is a founding member of Hexagram: Institute for Research and Creation in Media Arts and Technologies and belongs to the Advanced Digital Imaging and 3D Rapid Prototyping Group.