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Entertainment

Floating Orb Records And Replays Its Surroundings

"Space Replay" is a grownup Red Balloon for the surveillance age.

Like a wiser, digitally-enhanced Red Balloon, Francesco Tacchini’s helium-filled sphere might make us feel less alone. As shown in Prosthetic Knowledge's GIFs, Space Replay hovers in hallways and elevators, recording ambient noise and conversation via battery-powered Arduino and a hacked Adafruit Wave Shield. Then it constantly replays its sonic experience, bringing a delayed echo of activity to public spaces.

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To make Space Replay, the Royal College of Art Information Experience Design student collaborated with Julinka Ebhardt and Will Yates-Johnson, students on the Design Products side of RCA. Hopefully the project eventually expands to a cluster of chattering balloons which—even if they don’t fly—will keep us company with the morning’s water cooler gossip and phantom footsteps.

Special thanks to Prosthetic Knowledge for the tip and GIFs. See more from PK here