Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
The Critical Art Ensemble (CAE), argues: “At one point in time the control of
the street was a valued item. In nineteenth century Paris the streets were the conduits
for the mobility of power, whether it was the economic or military in nature. If the
streets were blocked, and key political fortresses were occupied, the state became
inert, and in some cases collapsed under its own weight. This method of resistance
was still useful up through the 1960s, but since the end of the nineteenth century it
has yielded diminishing returns, and has drifted from being a radical practice to a
liberal one.” (Critical Art Ensemble
1997
).
Some see the Occupy movement as fitting CAE's classification having achieved
very little in the form of political change. Yet the movement spread over 951 cities
across 82 countries inspiring a global community of activists (Bell
2011
). The power
of the digital network and the effect it can have is unquestionable such as the cyber
attacks which shut down the Estonian internet in 2007. Yet human beings are social
creatures who will naturally form communal groups when oppressed by those in
wielding power. AR is the medium that has the power to bring CAE's electronic
civil disobedience and the actions in the street together.
AR allows ideas and messages to be overlayed onto the real world digitally with
the purpose of achieving activist goals. Activists can create work with AR software
such as Layar and Junaio to make their own inexpensive AR protests using their
personal smart phones. Having access to low-cost tools allow more freedom to
create and distribute activist messages rooted to the physical world. The goal is
generally for the message to reach and mobilize the largest audience possible. AR
can turn the global community into an audience while at the same time giving them
a voice.
1.4
The Case for Augmented Reality
AR is a technology which has recently become much more accessible to the general
public in parallel with the invention of the smart phone. Mobile technology is
sweeping the globe. A trickle down effect has mobile technology beginning to reach
developing countries (Carter
2013
). More and more people worldwide will have
access to networked mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.
Mobile AR gives activists the ability to make anything anywhere with no cost
besides access to a computer and an Internet connection. The borders that separate
public and private space no longer restrict the activist's vision. An activist can
trigger a protest in a city even when he or she is sitting half way across the globe.
AR can never replace the physical presence of people just like it can never replace
reality as a whole; it is merely a tool just like the other tools used by the activists
such as placards, sign boards, graffiti, fliers and blogs and so on.
AR is ideal as a social tool to generate conversations in and around the
community. It's often experienced in public space at the site of a problem which
creates an opportunity to engage people in conversation. AR can create experiences
which make people laugh, cry or think deeply. These experiences can be shared in
