Plot | strategic design & innovation agents

Pet and chips shop

Remote post. Trying it out. Hello.

This is a London pet shop which advertised chipping pets (as in RFID, not Fargo).

Plot and Chips

Here's a piece we did last year for a magazine who decided they didn't want it after all. It reflects our perspective on RFID for current industry users — like the retail sector. A little piece to whet your whistle!

Enjoy.

Download Plotrfid.pdf (153.0K)

Now showing at the Forum

The recent announcement of RFID tags now down to 5 US cents promises more activity. Hopefully it starts moving in the directions Bruce Sterling (who was here in London fleetingly last week) challenged us with in his intense book Shaping Things , reviewed here .

From the higher education technology review point of view, Rob Van Kranenburg (and others) recent report for the JISC echoes concerns of ensuring trust is built into these systems, and sees the prototype explorations by library services as a good start. You can find the report here.

I've just finished putting the final touches to a proposal in the form of a film — that is, its a film that sets out a proposal for a project on what RFID-enabled service futures could be and should be. Note that gap between could and should. Thats the difference between raw technology and quality design. It's called Everyday Intelligence — and explores 'intimate media' — built on top of RFID enabled service infrastructures. Great insights from Tamara and Chris at live|work , Richard from Prospect, Matt from firsthand., Alex McKie (and her Three Wishes ), Richard Oliver, plus the Radarstation guys Ré and Toke who've just been making and playing with RFID objects for the BBC Future of New Media exhibition this month. They've all spilled out wonderfully diverse and articulate perceptions and reflections.

The reason for making this is not to indulge in an RFID tech-fest, or indeed a 'real user' study; but to get together some evidence about designing interactions with intimate media. The upshot? They need sensitive handling, with new forms of etiquette that we don't yet have, but that are very much within reach. Three themes come up, which I'll explore another time - intimacy, empathy and agency.

It's showing at the RFID networking forum on Thursday 25th May, followed by what I hope is a passionate discussion!