I live on the border of Jackson Heights and Elmhurst in Queens, the most diverse county in the United States and probably in the world. Here, Colombian street vendors selling arepas outside Sari stores blend seamlessly with Korean spas and Chinese bakeries. Every store has a sign in at least two languages, and not always one in English.
I love this neighborhood. Where else in the world would you find a store that specializes in selling electronic translators? It’s the perfect place to do my first assignment for Physical Computing: Take a walk around your neighborhood and take a count of every interaction with a sensor you see.
On the Jackson Heights side of my block, Tibetan flags drape most of the windows and balconies. On the Elmhurst side, pristine plaster Jesus and Mary statues stand solemnly atop bright green lawns. But one common thread among the two is quite visible: satellite dishes. All pointing East
I also noticed these new parking receipt dispensers. Gone are the meters from the days of Cool Hand Luke.
It was also serendipitously laundry day. I’m not particularly fond of washing machines, but I’ve gained considerable respect for them considering the sensors it takes to recognize a quarter (which I must admit this particular model is terrible at doing), to start the timer along with the machine, to lock the door until the timer goes to zero, and to shut itself off and reset when the time is out.
In fact the sensor-based economy of my neighborhood appears to run on quarters, which would make this change dispenser.. wait for it… indispensable.
Outside this fish store, a particularly sweet pelican ride awaits the kiddies’ quarters, while a claw machine that dispenses ipods extracts the dollar bills off of adults.
But the goldmine of sensors is my local 24 hour Deli. A phone booth, kids’ ride, claw machine, lotto machine, cash register, and satellite dish populate this store.
Not to mention several CCTVs
I took photos of several other sensors in my neighborhood, like my front door buzzer, a blood pressure test in a pharmacy, and one of those card readers outside a bank to access ATMs after hours. But they are pretty self-explanatory, so I’ll leave you with this slideshow.
