Radical Networks: PESCA
I loved the Radical Networks class in Berlin, but it has been an absolute ride getting back from Europe and straight into a new job and spring term and thesis etc. so this post is going to be bare bones. Maybe one day I’ll write more, but for today, I just need this entry to exist.
For the Radical Networks class, I decided to make a portable mesh network using three nodes that were read each other’s wifi signal strength and alert when one node wandered too far from the others by having LEDs light up. Each node was assigned an LED color (red, green, yellow). If the RED node wandered too far from GREEN and YELLOW, then RED’s yellow and green LEDs would light up, and GREEN and YELLOW’s red LEDs would light up.
One of the reasons I was interested in this concept was because I mainly was uninterested in building an “app” or a website as a way to demonstrate a network. This was a way to demonstrate signal strength in a visible way. It was also generated from a moment while about 7 members of our class got on a train in Berlin together and got off the train together to go to class. We had a self appointed group leader who signaled to everyone that it was now time for us to exit the train, and I got a kick out of the signal not only being “we’re a group” but also that were were tourists. I also liked the way different members of the group arranged themselves on this train. A couple people moved a bit far away, more people congregated to be in the group. There was something about this particular project that made me happy.
