Media Sandbox projects' progress
This January, four out of the six projects joined iShed at the new Pervasive Media Studio, making the most of the desk space, technology and the expertise of others. It has been great to have the Studio buzzing with ideas and new faces and it has also been a good vantage point to watch how the groups have gone about starting on their projects…

Interestingly, all the projects have approached the idea of Pervasive Media as an opportunity to engage the public with digital technology in a playful fashion. Two of the projects - BDH & Plot and Thought Pie - are concerned with monitoring the concept of 'happiness'; two more - Licorice Films and Simon Evans & Simon Johnson are examining the role of Pervasive Media in urban games; Aardman & HMC are bringing cartoons to life in the real world and Altern8 is looking at public art installations as a playground for audience involvement. There is a strong feeling that the medium is an opportunity to test and challenge human responses and emotions.

However, the projects have all approached their research from differing starting points. Simon Evans & Simon Johnson are deeply immersed in bookish research into the nature of swarming, whilst Thought Pie bombed straight out into Bristol to do some initial gopping tests on the public. Plot & BDH are looking for interviewees this weekend from a diverse range of backgrounds and experience to inform their research - if you're interested in contributing, read more here.

Piecing together the appropriate technologies has been a shared challenge, and some solutions are emerging. Aardman & HMC have been investgating face recognition software; Thought Pie have collaborated with Venue on an SMS events/mood matching service; and Altern8 is working with producer Nathan Hughes to break down a complex software solution to provide multiple users influence over a single art installation.

Even at this early stage, as the projects are just starting to take shape, the interest of Guardian online and Digtial Arts has been sparked.

Alistair Darling opens The Pervasive Media Studio
Chancellor of The Exchequer, Alistair Darling, opened the Pervasive Media Studio in Bristol on 14 February last week. To find out more about the Studio, a new initiative from HP Labs and Watershed, read more here

Next events

Media Sandbox will be holding open events on the following dates - please mark your diaries and watch out for more information…

31 March | Watershed | Work in Progress Presentation | 6pm
6 May | Watershed | Final Showcase | 6pm

Your input

As well as reading the journals online we would encourage you to add your suggestions and thoughts. This is not a closed research process and the projects will respond to your comments.

We have set up a tag for delicious so if you see a useful website, please include the tag 'mediasandbox'. There is also a flickr group and a youtube channel to add pictures or video. This will help build a body of knowledge from which everyone can benefit.