The Field: space-based mapping

The first element of The Field was to investigate further into the concept of hertzian space by carrying out a space-based mapping exercise. The task was to select a hertzian frequency to investigate and a location in which to study and then map the frequency at that location. The size of the location was dependant on the frequency chosen due to the range that each frequency could span. Similarly the ways in which the hertzian space could have been investigated was dependant on the frequency due to the technologies that could investigate each. For example bluetooth can be investigated using mobile phones, while wifi can be investigated using stumbling software on computers.

For my space-based map I first chose to investigate wifi using my laptop in my accomodation at Alexandra Works. I thought this would be an interesting hertzian space to investigate as I have a wireless network in my room, but I was intrigued as to how many other students in the building decided to do the same thing and what other networks were accessible. After investigating the building a number of times with my laptop I discovered a surprising amount of wireless networks and then made the map to portray their location and range(shown left). This demonstrates an interesting use of the hertzian space around the building, especially in areas where the signals overlap as the hertzian space is shared by more than one signal at these locations. To find out more about the production of this map view the post Hertzian Space.

However this space-based map was not all that accurate as the actual ranges of each of the networks were likely to be more obscure due to the interference of the building. I therefore decided to do a second map using bluetooth in the Roland Levinsky building of the university. The map I produced is shown right. This was an interesting area to investigate as the movement and range of the Bluetooth devices could be monitored due to the recognition of Bluetooth names on different floors. It also demonstrates where the hertzian space is most dense with Bluetooth signals and where it is not. To find out more about this second map visit Roland Levinsky Mapping.
Overall the space-based maps I produced were both realtively successful. By investigating the areas described it introduced a new way of viewing the space in which technology reaches as well as a different way of viewing the environment as a whole. It demonstrated an interaction with the environment relating to human ecology which may previously have been ignored and increased the awareness of the hertzian space used around us.