Kristin O'Friel

User Experience Researcher

Operator

A switchboard that calls public payphones.
Operator is a physical installation that puts the user in the role of a switchboard operator. Presented with a patch cord and a grid of U.S. states arranged by timezone, live calls are placed to public payphones (a few still exist!) around the country by plugging into one or more of the switchboard nodes. Public telephones in that state are then dialed and all answering parties are bridged into a call together. Lively banter insues!

MAKERS

  • Mitch Said
  • Kristin O’Friel

MATERIALS

  • Laser Etched Anodized Aluminum
  • Analog Phone
  • Phone Adapter
  • Asterisk
  • Microcontroller
  • XPort
  • Ethernet Cable
  • Audio Jacks
  • Audio Cable
  • Shift Registers
  • LEDs
Operator switchboard and telephone
Installation switchboard and telephone

Operators switchboard closeup
Talking with people on public payphones in Vermont
Operator in use at the ITP Winter Show
Exhibited at the ITP Winter Show

Operator in use at the ITP Winter Show
Operator in use at the ITP Winter Show

Operator

A switchboard that calls public payphones.

Plott.me

An iPhone and web application for creating and sharing guided tours.

CO2RSET

Couture that responds to CO2 levels in the atmosphere.

Momo

A haptic navigation device.

Synaesthesia

A networked installation of sensory exchange between audial, visual and tactile data.

Keyhole

One of eight networked installations about surveillance.

Network Boxes

A CarnivorePE client that visualizes wireless network activity.

Hopscotch

An intervention that inserts play into the crosswalk.