FeltRadio

TLDR

Radio waves permeate our environment yet remain largely undetected by human senses unless specialized hardware such as FM radios, cell phones, or WiFi modems is used. The study introduces FeltRadio, a portable system that converts radio signals into visual and tactile cues, and investigates how users experience sensing wireless traffic such as WiFi or Bluetooth. FeltRadio is a portable device that transforms radio signals into visual and tactile stimuli, and the authors conducted two exploratory studies to examine users’ experience of sensing wireless traffic. The exploratory studies suggest that users can perceive and interpret wireless traffic through visual and tactile cues, revealing promising qualities for embodied sensing and indicating directions for future experiments.

Abstract

Radio waves surround us but still they remain largely undetected by our senses. Unless we use specifically tuned hardware, such as FM radios, cell phones or WiFi modems, human beings cannot perceive wirelessly transmitted data. This paper presents FeltRadio, a portable and wireless technology that makes it possible to turn radio signals into visual and tactile stimuli as a form of sensorial augmentation. FeltRadio explores and makes us reflect upon what it would be like if we could sense, and feel, wireless traffic such as WiFi or Bluetooth. We present the technological design behind FeltRadio and the outcome of two exploratory studies with the technology focused on people's experience of being able to suddenly sense and make sense of wireless traffic. We discuss the possible qualities of this embodied experience of FeltRadio and point to future experiments with the technology.