Amsterdam Real Time

Amsterdam Real Time

During the months October through December 2002, inhabitants of Amsterdam were invited to be equipped with a tracer-unit. The tracer unit is a portable PDA (Personal Digital Assistant such as an i-Paq or Palm Pilot), which is connected to a GPS unit (Global Positioning System). Using satellite data the tracer calculates its geographical position accurate to 5-7 meters. The data from the tracer is sent in real-time to a central point. By visualizing this data against a black background, lines appear. From these lines a (partial) map of Amsterdam constructs itself. This map does not register streets or blocks of houses, but consists of the sheer movements of real people. Another component of RealTime is that it shows the intensity of use. The longer you stay or the more often you visit one certain location, gradually the intensity of color that represents this location changes. White is the least visited, changing to yellow to red for most often visited locations.