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effectively
collapsed the cognitive
mediating distance
between the
plant and the scientist. This effect
was spectacular evidence that
Sean was meeting his goal “to
support being
in
the world and
part
of the world.” Indeed, some
scientists expressed a sense of
being physically part of the en-
vironment, no longer bounded
by their physical bodies.
Several organizations are
doing work with sensors that
can be attached to smartphones
or developing other technologies
for public use. For example, the
Citizen Science research project
supports citizen science by developing a host of sensors for atmospheric
gases, temperature, and humidity (
www.urban-atmospheres.net/Citizen-
Science/)
. Eric Paulos at Carnegie Mellon University heads a group called
the Living Environments Lab (
www.livenv.net/
). Among their many highly
relevant and engaging projects is a participatory sensing effort called Com-
munity Sensing:
Figure 6.5.
Sean and his team also produced an iPhone
version of LeafView. (Photo courtesy of Sean White.)
. . . place-based sensing that invites non-experts to move and leave mod-
ular sensors in public spaces, allowing for a range of interactions from
personal sensing to more public experiences. Our study of sensor appro-
priation, data sharing, and public authorship across four urban commu-
nities of bicyclists, students, parents, and homeless people reveals design
opportunities for merging grassroots data collection with public expres-
sion and activism (Paulos 2011).
The Center for Embedded Network Sensing (CENS), a ten-year proj-
ect at UCLA (2001-2011), did remarkable work in urban sensing and other
human-centric civic and scientifi c projects. In collaboration with The Center
for Research in Engineering, Media, and Performance (REMAP), CENS had
a deep commitment to enhancing civic life. The CENS project suggests a
model of participatory sensing in which individual “citizen scientists” con-
tribute data to a larger view of a space in terms that deal with the quality
