In 2001, wireless systems and devices capable of tracking people and objects were being touted as technologies that would provide added security and convenience. Wireless watchbands would allow parents to track their children. Chips could be embedded under the skin for the purpose of tracking cattle, paroled convicts, or Alzheimer’s patients. Cell phones with tracking technology would make it easier to locate people dialing 911 emergency calls. The safety and security provided by these devices, however, often required a trade-off of one’s private information.

Nomadika: No Strings Attached? was a live, interactive media installation that utilized and critiqued the complexity of wireless technologies and devices. The project had three main components that together educated and informed the public about the future of wireless technologies and data mining: 1) storefront with fictional product line, 2) interactive audience survey, 3) data mining and visualization of survey data. When audience members entered the “store,” we encouraged them to take a survey about wireless devices in exchange for a free Nomadika mug.

1) Storefront: Members of the collective posed as employees of Nomadika, a fictional marketing firm. The window display advertised four consumer product “prototypes.” These objects were artfully repackaged versions of existing devices.
• LoveConnector, a device that stores an individual’s preferences and beeps when someone with similar preferences is nearby
• PrivatEye, a personal digital assistant (PDA) and camera that shoots photos and compares them to those in a criminal database. It alerts the user when the photo has a match.
• TeenTalk, a phone for teens that allows parents to track their children’s location
• BioWatcher, a biofeedback device that tracks the wearer’s heart rate, blood pressure, and wirelessly transmits this information to the doctor and other authorized users.

2) Interactive audience survey: Audience members were provided with a handheld PDA (personal digital assistant)and headphones. Although they remained “anonymous,” users were required to provide a zip code, birth date and gender before starting the survey. The survey was illustrated, and in narrative form, and consisted of a series of everyday situations that utilized our wireless devices. Viewers indicated their preference for usage on the touch screen, and their answers were wirelessly sent to the Nomadika database.

3) Data mining and visualization of survey data
Nomadika’s database sorted the results and created a visual image of the information for the monitor in the storefront. The zip code, age and gender information was shown to be sufficient to determine the individual identities of the “anonymous” participants if combined with the conference registration database. Surprisingly accurate inferences were drawn when these data were combined with geographically specific consumer data from a data mining company. One display window in Nomadika exposed the results of “mining” one individual’s personal information: a figure is shown filled with facts about him/her: income level, probably hobbies, car, food choices, magazine subscriptions, location of home, employer, etc. By exposing the various methods used by corporations, the FBI, police, and internet users to collect personal and private information, Nomadika encouraged citizens to become aware and actively engaged in issues surrounding their increasingly limited privacy in an era that purports to offer unlimited convenience and freedom.

Nomadika was presented at the International Sculpture Conference in June 2001 in downtown Pittsburgh.
Nomadika was presented by TnA, the Technology and Art collective based in Pittsburgh, co-founded by Heidi Kumao and Beatriz daCosta. The Carnegie Mellon TnA collective consisted of artists and scientific researchers in the School of Art, Computer Science, Robotics Institute, and Human-Computer Interaction and included: Sonya Allin (Human Computer Interaction) Alison Bruce(Robotics), Beatriz da Costa (Art), Heidi Kumao (Art), Anat Pollack (Art), and Brooke Singer (Art).