We’re fascinated by new technology and its possible uses. Ever since beacons appeared on our radar, we’ve been simultaneously intrigued by their potential—and a bit disappointed by the majority of their use cases.
James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem once said, “the best way to complain is to make things,” and that’s exactly what I did. Along with Sam Patteson, Heath Pecorino, and Shaun Dubuque, I created a beacon-based app I would actually be excited to use.
The App
Asunder is an experimental app that uses beacons to push narratives instead of ads. When an iPhone with the app comes within range of one of our beacons, it unlocks part of a story. For audiences, Asunder offers site-specific and immersive stories in public spots around the city. For writers and artists, it provides a unique platform to create hyper-local content for a mobile audience.
As we told CityLab, “the Internet of Things doesn’t have to be a vehicle for advertising or for surveillance, it can be an opportunity for expression.”
The animated video above is a teaser from “Live at the Dead Horse Drum,” the debut story. This story segment is located at The White Horse bar in east Austin. The entire tale is distributed among eight beacons over several city blocks.
You may have done an audio tour of a city before—bland, canned, generic, safe, touristy fare. This ain’t that. Asunder is more Hunter S. Thompson, less Mister Rogers. And the stories don’t stop at audio narration. Asunder throws at you all a smartphone can—videos, images, music, sound effects, haptics, and augmented reality. Whatever it takes to knock your socks off!
If you live in Austin (or plan to visit), go experience Asunder and tell us what you think. If you dig it, stay tuned—new content will be added quarterly.
SXSW 2015
Creating Asunder led to a speaking engagement at SXSW. This in turn caught the attention of an interaction designer from Amsterdam. Across the world, Klasien van de Zandschulp had been creating her own site-specific projects on her HearUsHere platform. The Asunder team knew immediately that we had found a kindred spirit, so we promptly invited her to join the panel and present her work at thirteen23.
Our panel reflected many points of view. As designers, software engineers, writers, and visual artists, we offered diverse perspectives on how and why we are experimenting with beacons and storytelling.
Our presentation began with sample content from HearUsHere, the Amsterdam Museum, and Asunder. Then we spoke in detail about creating site-specific, nonlinear, and dispersed stories. You can learn more about the IoT story patterns we discussed here.
Results
Since SXSW, we have received several offers to collaborate on new site-specific stories and projects—which is awesome. But mostly, we are glad to have had the opportunity to reflect upon our work and discuss it with attendees.
Conclusion
At thirteen23 we love to engage with new tech. Through making we explore it, hack it, embrace it, and critique it—sometimes simultaneously.