In most cities, even though sidewalks are occupied by pedestrians throughout the day, they are neglected spaces. People waiting at bus stops, for example, are often frustrated by inhospitable conditions and a lack of information about arrivals and other schedule details. With smartphones, applications like Next Bus, and 511 services, many people are able to access public transport data. However, when transport services are not connected to an “app,” or serve those without technology in their pockets, the solutions fail.
UCLA cityLAB‘s Ambient Informatics project explored the potential for ambient informatics to impact the city experience, the sidewalk experience, and the waiting experience. It brought aesthetics, technology, and design together to create a public experience in Westwood Village, Los Angeles, and advance research of pervasive computing that communicates information in everyday environments without the use of language, numbers, visual icons, or screens. The process sought to contribute to the study of Intelligent Transit Systems in new ways, by connecting urban transit’s complex data streams to people’s everyday lives with elegant, non-symbolic representations.
The trans-disciplinary collaboration yielded the design, fabrication, and installation of an illuminated bench at the Weyburn Terrace Bruin Bus Stop next to the main UCLA campus. Architect Jason Payne (UCLA’s Department of Architecture and Urban Design) designed the bench, and REMAP contributed lighting design & programming (Jeff Burke) and controlling software (Alex Horn).
Named “Ida and Dactyl” for its resemblance to the asteroid and its moon, the sidewalk installation employed a beacon system within the core (Dactyl) of the bench (Ida), using TCP/IP-controlled, solid-state, energy-efficient LED lighting that could be seen from a distance. Drawing on real-time data on Bruin Bus positions, the bench glowed, changing intensity and color to communicate information about bus arrivals, and create new atmospheres along the sidewalk.
UCLA cityLAB and UCLA REMAP, with support from the UCLA Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research—2012-2015.
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