Measuring the World

Learning how we use sensors and other measuring tools to gather data about the world, and the processes that have to be taken to turn that raw data into useful information.

An interesting course where we not only discussed the methods of measuring the world but also the ethics behind it. For me and my thesis on energy management and how people can sense this it was important to also realize the implications of this on data and peoples privacy. 

Team Project

Throughout the week, we tried to apply all this knowledge into a 3-day long group project, where we focused on applying data to solutions that could be implemented in the real world. In our group, we decided to focus on the question: “How can we navigate cities in a healthier way?”. Which then led us to the brief of: “How might we use publicly available sensors and data from repositories to create a healthier city navigation experience?”

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Narrowing our research

After we realized our main interests and what we potentially wanted to focus on we worked further to develop the brief further. We ideated over various terms of health and things we could measure. We realized that in the short time frame of 3-days we needed to narrow the field to one aspect. In the end we chose to focus on these two questions:

- Is it possible to navigate through the city of Barcelona on a morning commute and expose yourself to the sun at all times or immerse yourself in shade entirely?

- At night, is it possible to walk a in a street with the least amount of light pollution, so you can try and see some of the stars in the night sky?

After we had these questions the randomized part of the exercise came. We could only use one sensor and for this we needed to bid on a certain sensor. In the end we ended up bidding and winning the Raspberry Pi!

Final Posters + Presentation

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Reflecting on Measuring the World

As the week went by I was really interested in the project we were doing but also in the expertise Oscar brought to the class. I found it super interesting to learn more about the struggles of sensing and measuring data in not only a time crunch but also with equipment restraints. This I felt simulated real life as in realty researches have constraints and you can not do everything you want. While it impacted the quality of research it also meant we had to think more outside the box and really had to be flexible.

Furthermore this course helped me understand the implications that my thesis might have on data collection and privacy issues. With energy management and measuring energy, it is not only personal but could also function over systems. How would this data be stored? How could we ensure the people still feel in control?

Finally, I learned the value about turning data into information. With all the data that exists the reward that comes from transforming that into something everyday people can understand and use holds a lot of power. For me this is interesting as a designer as the benefits of data and information often lie on the business side but I feel that it really is the people who use the devices that should have the reward. In the future this is a topic I feel could be interesting to explore even further.

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