UN uses Apple's iBeacons to create 'virtual minefield' in new awareness exhibit
Visitors to New York's New Museum of Contemporary Art on Friday will be able to get some idea of what it is like to walk through a minefield thanks to a new iBeacon-powered installation sponsored by the United Nations Mine Action Service.
Museum-goers who download the accompanying "sweeper" app to their iOS or Android device will be asked to don headphones and try to make their way through the exhibit without setting off the virtual mines, represented by iBeacons. Those who are unable to make it through unscathed will hear a "jarring, visceral explosion" as well as a short audio clip from someone who has been personally affected by land mines.
The exhibit is timed to coincide with the United Nations' International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. Other events including photo exhibitions in Ethiopia, Mali, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Geneva and New York will take place concurrently as the international body hopes to draw attention to an issue that affects millions of people around the world.
During the exhibit's run at the New Museum of Contemporary Art from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 4, visitors will be asked for a $5 donation for each virtual mine that they set off. The exhibit is hosted by UNMAS, digital agency Critical Mass, and renowned Swiss photographer Marco Grob.
Museum-goers who download the accompanying "sweeper" app to their iOS or Android device will be asked to don headphones and try to make their way through the exhibit without setting off the virtual mines, represented by iBeacons. Those who are unable to make it through unscathed will hear a "jarring, visceral explosion" as well as a short audio clip from someone who has been personally affected by land mines.
The exhibit is timed to coincide with the United Nations' International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action. Other events including photo exhibitions in Ethiopia, Mali, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Geneva and New York will take place concurrently as the international body hopes to draw attention to an issue that affects millions of people around the world.
During the exhibit's run at the New Museum of Contemporary Art from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 4, visitors will be asked for a $5 donation for each virtual mine that they set off. The exhibit is hosted by UNMAS, digital agency Critical Mass, and renowned Swiss photographer Marco Grob.
Comments
Um. I doubt anyone kept copious records of every mine they laid.
Great.
Quote:
Do people (even uneducated people in Africa) ever try to walk through minefields? Wouldn't the locals just know there are mines in that area, and everyone keeps away from it.
Mines are used by the militia/military, civilians can only guess, but only after some casualties.
Imagine the fear/lost of lives, innocent ones, regardless of one’s academic degree.
I think - awareness exhibit - is very clear.
What a great application for something that is generally seen as 'simply' a marketing feature to drive retail sales.
https://www.icbl.org
Indeed it is.
Take Korea. They need the land. Doesn't matter what's underneath it.
Take Korea. They need the land. Doesn't matter what's underneath it.
Yep, that's what I thought the main problem with minefields would be: denying valuable land, not so much people consciously trying to walk through one.
If they intend to use iBeacons in advertising, the suggestion of 'walking through a minefield' is hardly the image they want to convey, lol. :rolleyes:
I'm guessing that it didn't need any type of approval. It's a risk you take when you allow companies/institutions to use the tech how they see fit.
The same people that approved the existence of Xcode, I’d guess.
I think he meant who approved the idea of what it is like to walk through a minefield over at Apple.
I don’t see any problem with approving it, particularly since it’s the UN and they could have just given Apple a ring explaining what it was.