The Internet of Natural Things

At a time when we’re rightly exposing the negative impact of technology, the ever-optimistic Simon Collison is exploring the benefits, particularly where digital tools reconnect us to the living world and enrich our lives.

To begin, Simon will lift the lid on his research, challenging our idea of nature and its relevance to technology. To follow, he’ll hypothesise bold ideas for products that better fit the spaces through which we move, asking us to reimagine user experiences and consider a more meaningful future relationship with digital technology.

Transcript

1. The Internet
   of Natural Things
   Simon Collison
   @colly
   

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3. Achmelvich
   

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5. Part one / Research
   

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6. Introduction
   

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7. Embracing technology
   

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8. The new image of nature
   

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10. Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, Caspar David Friedrich, 1818
    

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11. Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, Caspar David Friedrich, 1818
    

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12. Nottingham Trent University peregrine
    I live my life
    in the citeh…
    

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14. British Birds by mydigitalearth
    

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15. Merlin Bird ID from Cornell Lab
    

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16. Song Sleuth from Wildlife Acoustics
    

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17. iNaturalist
    

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18. Merlin Bird ID (Cornell Lab), and British Trees (Woodland Trust)
    

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19. Echo Meter Touch 2 (footage from BBC Springwatch)
    

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20. Brian Suda — Sensors and Sensibility
    

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21. CAT S61 smartphone
    

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22. Senses
    Research
    

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23. Techno
    

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24. Techno
    biophilia
    B
    

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25. Design
    biophilia
    c
    B
    

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26. Some brain science
    

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30. Restorative reprieves
    

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32. Senses / Mental stimulus
    Research
    

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34. what3words
    

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35. what3words
    

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36. what3words
    

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37. 3WordPhoto
    

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38. 3WordPhoto
    

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39. Ordnance Survey subscription, AR mode
    

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40. Looksee app / British geological Survey
    

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41. Viewranger
    

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42. Urban Good London National Park City map
    

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43. Senses / Mental stimulus / Place
    Research
    

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45. Animal Tracker app
    

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50. 50,000
    wild animals equipped with GPS units
    

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51. Ospreys of Newfoundland Facebook community
    

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52. Technobiophilia
    

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53. Firewatch
    

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54. Future Unfolding
    

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55. Farmville
    

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56. Grand Theft Auto V
    

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57. Dorothy Howard —photo from Nottingham Post
    

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58. A new beauty
    

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59. I am
    SO GORGEOUS
    

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60. @anna_debenham
    I’m just a scrag —
    but I’m YOUR scrag
    

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62. Senses / Mental stimulus / Place
    Connections / Data / Simulation
    Research
    

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63. Nose to Tail measure
    

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66. Nose to Tail measure
    

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67. Only 10% have ever played in wild places
    Kids and nature
    Only a third know that acorns come from trees
    Less than 50% have found frogspawn in the wild
    Every Child Wild survey by The Wildlife Trusts, 2015
    

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68. Cornell Lab’s Bird Academy
    

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69. Bird Sounds, an AI experiment from Google
    

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70. Naturebytes
    

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72. Senses / Mental stimulus / Place
    / Knowledge
    Research
    Connections / Data / Simulation
    

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73. Part two / Development
    

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74. Senses / Mental stimulus / Place
    Connections / Data / Simulation / Knowledge
    The web / Nature
    Space / Light / Time
    Research
    Material
    

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75. Physics is a language of light
    Music is a language of time
    Architecture is a language of space
    

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76. Senses / Mental stimulus / Place
    Connections / Data / Simulation / Knowledge
    The web / Nature
    Space / Light / Time
    Research
    Material
    how fancy
    

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77. Guiding principles
    

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78. Ideation
    Scriptwrite the experience, with real words
    Explore the highest-level experiences
    Don’t think within rectangles: think without edges
    Consider intentions and resulting events
    Think about designing moments in time
    1
    Bullet points!
    

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79. Physicality
    Be spatially aware of what you’re building
    Visualise it as spaces, with rooms and doorways
    Imagine it in 3D, and draw how that feels
    Design an open-ended experience, find natural boundaries
    Imagine someone moving through your experience
    2
    

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80. Purpose
    Less tasks or goals; more open learning
    Encourage exploration without being too abstract
    Help people accomplish new and unexpected things
    Build a lens through which the world can be seen differently
    3
    Is this… powerpoint?
    Bullets
    

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81. Choice
    Don’t paralyse with too much choice
    Offer the right amount at the right time
    Trigger choices in the right context
    Provide clear, simple, minimal prompts
    Define realistic expectations
    4
    I chose
    bullets
    

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82. Tone
    Craft machine personality gently, and cautiously
    Know when to use humour, and don’t overdo it
    Offer warmth, but avoid over-familiarity
    Be kind, patient, and act as guide
    Be forgiving, and allow the system to be forgiven too
    5
    I learned nothing from
    that TED book
    

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83. Trust
    Set out to improve lives; avoid guilt or addiction
    Make as few demands as possible
    Avoid ambiguity and unguided assumptions
    Catch errors before they happen, be honest when they do
    Allow consent
    6
    FFS
    

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84. Learning
    Create experiences that are open and inviting
    Consider multi-sensory inputs
    Increase learning through repeated experience
    Build system knowledge through habit
    Offer gently persuasive feedback, non-addictive rewards
    7
    WTF
    When will it end?
    

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85. Onboarding
    Get started quickly
    Unobtrusive guidance, always available
    Slow and thoughtful steps; a little at a time
    Encourage discovery, ensure early results
    Support failure and gently correct
    8
    I bet they’re really
    sick of bullets
    

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86. Notifications
    Quietly serve without continuous distraction
    Manageable, concise, polite, and actionable
    Contextual to time, place, and learned routine
    Consider levels of urgency, and alternatives to sound
    If a notification doesn’t improve quality of life, kill it
    9
    zzz
    

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87. Context
    This is everything!
    10
    OK last one!
    

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88. OS
    

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89. A B C D
    OS Default apps
    

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90. A B C D
    OS
    

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91. A B C D
    1 2 3 4
    5 6 7 8
    9 10 11
    OS Third party apps
    

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92. A B C D
    1 2 3 4
    5 6 7 8
    9 10 11
    OS
    

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93. A B C D
    1 2 3 4
    5 6 7 8
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    OS
    “Spaces Compatible”
    

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94. A B C D
    1 2 3 4
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    OS Spaces
    Work Home Study Social
    

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95. A B C D
    1 2 3 4
    5 6 7 8
    9 10 11
    B D D 1
    1 3 1 3 1 9
    6 10 10
    Spaces
    OS
    Work Home Study Social
    A D A D
    

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96. A B C D
    1 2 3 4
    5 6 7 8
    9 10 11
    B D D 1
    1 3 1 3 1 9
    6 10 10
    Spaces
    OS
    Work Home Study Social
    A D A D
    

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97. A B C D
    1 2 3 4
    5 6 7 8
    9 10 11
    B D D 1
    1 3 1 3 1 9
    6 10 10
    Spaces
    OS
    Work Home Study Social
    A D A D
    

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98. A B C D
    1 2 3 4
    5 6 7 8
    9 10 11
    D
    B D 1
    1 3 1 3 1 9
    6 10 10
    Spaces
    OS
    Work Home Study Social
    A D A D
    …
    …
    …
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99. A B C D
    1 2 3 4
    5 6 7 8
    9 10 11
    D
    B D 1
    1 3 1 3 1 9
    6 10 10
    Spaces
    OS
    Work Home Study Social
    A D A D
    …
    …
    …
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    …
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106. Spaces compatibility
     Guides app contains modules that enhance
     appropriate Spaces. You control which Spaces
     the app will enhance.
     Nature
     Fitness
     Indoor Explorer
     

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107. Nearby
     Recent
     There’s a popular park two blocks East
     View popular sightings near here
     Shana pinged from Southern Cuba
     4 new images from your backyard camera
     Save Fave
     Open
     23 observations submitted to Movebank
     

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111. ‘Place-onas’
     

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114. Big questions
     

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115. The future?
     

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116. Our computers should be like our childhood: an
     invisible foundation that is quickly forgotten but
     always with us, and effortlessly used throughout
     our lives.
     Mark Weiser / The World is Not a Desktop, 1993
     “
     ”
     

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117. A new environment
     

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118. Thank you
     @colly
     tinyletter.com/colly
     fictivekin.com
     }
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     Please subscribe!
     

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