The Internet of Things describes a growing interest and economy around the production of buildings, vehicles, objects and clothing with built in sensors and computer networks which allow 'physical things' to communicate with users and with each other. This trend is inspiring technologists and product designers across the world so Watershed and The Crafts Council thought we'd get together and put on a workshop exploring what this might mean in the world of craft?
We are busy planning a workshop in November that will bring together makers, designers and artists with engineers, technologists and funders, but in the meantime, here is a list of articles and project examples gathered together by The Pervasive Media Studio's Dan Williams that relate to this subject:
Spotify Radio, a physical radio for listening to spotify
Glowcaps, medicine bottles networked to the pharmacy to ensure you take your pills
The good night lamp, a family of lamps which allow people to communicate the act of coming back home to their loved ones, remotely.
The Ambient Umbrella, lets you know when rain or snow is in the forecast by illuminating its handle
DIY Pen, a laser cut pen that arrives in kit form
Instaprint prints polaroids from hashtagged instagram photos
Stickybits - create your own tagged objects
USB Typewriter, an Etsy shop retro-fitting old typewriters
Liquid Robotics, tiny robots that float around the ocean measuring pollution and other stuff
City Tickets, reusing parking ticket machines
For further reading and browsing we also suggest
Tinker London's Defining the Internet of Things
Russell Davis on BBC.co.uk on Internet of Things