Public Interface: Reimagining Urban Experience

The increasing capabilities and market saturation of mobile devices presents opportunities to use them to interact in public space in new ways. Through the continuous collection of environmental information, user contributed content, and situational awareness of devices, systems can be developed to augment and engage with our public space in ways previously unimagined. The presentation was given as the keynote at the Zentrum fur Kunst und Medientechnologie Karlsruhe App Art Awards 2014, and features an overview of mobile apps which make creative use of public space, art installations which invite public interaction through personal devices, as well as speculation about the potential future applications of mobile devices in urban environments.