Using BLE Beacons to Simulate Proxemic Surveillance for an Interactive Art Installation
Simone Ashby, Julian Hanna, Ricardo Rodrigues · 2017
In this paper, we describe the use of Bluetooth low energy (BLE) beacons and floor projections to track participant movements and indicate crossed paths in an interactive art installation. Beacons have typically been used in static locations for broadcasting data to nearby mobile devices. The newer generation of beacons, e.g. Estimote Stickers with their small size, long battery life, and low cost make it easier to enhance portable objects with smart capabilities, broadcasting data about environment, location, motion, and interaction with other Bluetooth devices. In the first trials of our installation on James Joyce's Ulysses and proxemic surveillance, we chose to avoid interaction through mobile devices, instead making everyday portable objects (and the people who carry them) into 'nearables'. This enabled the tracking of human-human, as opposed to human-object, proxemics. We discuss the advantages and limitations of using small adhesive beacons to capture human-human proxemic data, and effective ways of visualizing these patterns.