senceablemoscow:

PROXIMETER

Ambient social navigation

With all the communication tools available to us, we sometimes forget how to just run into a friend, or to keep tabs on where family is. Social networking services provide a constant, low-resolution stream of what friends are doing, but they require attention to check and filter. This calls for a divergence toward simpler, more appropriate tools.

The proximeter is a wall instrument that tracks the past and future proximity of one’s family and friends. By abstracting existing calendar and social network feeds into a glanceable pattern of paths, it nurtures a sense of the general state of our scattered tribe and nudge us toward more face-to-face interactions when opportunities arise.