WAVES

by

Where is information traveling from as you read these words? What would the world look like if you could see the radio waves traveling around you?

Radio wave technologies are the foundation of modern information and communications systems. Cellular signals enable smartphone communication, Wi-Fi routers facilitate internet access, and various other technologies such as Bluetooth and satellites provide additional layers of connectivity. Although radio waves are crucial to our daily lives, economic development, and technological advancement, they often go unnoticed.

Invisible Waves seeks to make the invisible signals of our connected world visible and comprehensible. It combines design and science communication to demystify and visualize how radio wave technologies work, and how we rely on them for everyday tasks.

The project integrates perspectives from Science and Technology Studies (STS), design, physics, and media theory to create a rich, multidisciplinary narrative. Through interactive visualizations of various scenes where radio wave technologies are used, we demonstrate how these technologies support human interaction. These visualizations offer an engaging way to understand how radio wave technologies are embedded in our daily lives, enhancing public understanding and appreciation of the hidden technology that shapes our world.

This work was produced in 2023-24 by a team of mostly student researchers and designers at Harvard's metaLAB. This work is a speculative design project, if you notice factual inaccuracies, please let us know! For more information, contact: [email protected].

Project Team