Digital cloud may hang over Olympics
MIT researchers propose creation of 'digital cloud' for London in time for 2012 Olympics
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Saturday, 14, Nov 2009 06:30
By Jack Clark.
Researchers from MIT have proposed the creation of a 'digital cloud' for London, in response to a competition to build a tourist attraction for the 2012 Olympics.
The Cloud, as the project is known, will be composed of several 400ft towers housing a series of interconnected plastic bubbles which can be used to display data.
Google has already announced its interest in the project, with a spokesperson for the search giant saying: "We particularly like the idea of the Cloud in the sky above London displaying information to the city and beyond, which makes it a powerful symbol for the openness and diversity of London, befitting the first truly digital Olympics."
The search giant is keen to provide "useful and visually interesting content for the digital display, via Google tools such as Google Trends, Google Maps and Google Latitude. For instance, we could provide a custom feed of (aggregated and anonymous) searches made by Londoners during the Olympics to give a real time 'barometer' of the city's interests and mood".
Carlo Ratti, director of MIT's Senseable City laboratory and a key co-ordinating figure in the Cloud team, told inthenews.co.uk that the project should be viewed as a "community 'smart meter'" and that Google "will be involved both with the global, bottom up fundraising and with the real-time data feeds".
Mr Ratti said that a range of architects had influenced the Cloud team, but reserved special mention for Cedric Price, because of "his obsession with process instead of form".
He added that the Cloud team hoped to make their ambitious design a "true symbol of global ownership".