Last year, Pieter and I were working for OKNO, doing research and experimenting with wireless mesh networks. To expand an existing Brussels wireless network called ‘Reseau Citoyen’, we were looking into ways of making small nodes. These nodes had to be self powered, using wind or solar energy, and completely autonomous to be employed anywhere in the city.
Out of this research came forth ‘A tribute To Karl L Nessler’. A piece that deals with some of the above mentioned elements, but is somewhat different in scale. For an exhibition in the Flemish Ardennes we realized a first prototype, a big windmill, self powered, autonomous, capable of capturing images and transmitting these to other locations. The work was still incomplete, but reflected already the ideas and possibilities.
After the exhibition, the work on this project was put on hold for almost a year.
Now Electrified seemed to us the perfect occasion to get development going again.
What we propose for the workshop, is to work on some specific elements, like for instance building a generator or refining the image capturing device. There is still a lot that needs improvement so the leaves us with lots of possibilities. At the same time we would like to port this installation, which was built for the country side to a urban environment. The workshop could be a first step in that process.
So that is more or less our point of interest. From this we start and we’ll see how we can relate this to the work and interests of other participants. We try to leave it really open and see where the workshop will take us.
footage material of the prototype
http://atkn.org/stuff/movs/edit_velzeke_lowres.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesh_network
http://www.reseaucitoyen.be
