Single Pixel Wifi Camera

The single pixel wifi camera is built from a directional antenna made of wasabe pea cans, which have the perfect diameter to act as a highly directional wave guide antenna for Wifi radio waves, which have a wavelength of 12.5 cm.

This directional antenna is moved around by two motors to cover a view step by step, like a single pixel camera, from pixel to pixel. Our customized wifi router is registering the various network names and signal strengths at each given point, and stores this into log files. We load these log files into custom made visualizations software and look for patterns and information in this data.

See a video summary about this camera and the visible wifi images

The very first camera we built, as exhibited in Riga for RIXC/Waves in 2006

And the same model with a much more refined visualizations software in Dortmund, HMKV, 2007

This single pixel camera has a built in visualizations netbook and a traveling case - it is touring now with an exhibition called 'New Trends in Architecture 2009-2010' and will go to many Asian and European cities.

These single pixel cameras where set up at the Beijing National Art Museum, during the China International New Media Arts Exhibition 2008 These where made of Chinese coconut flavored peanut cans.

And some wasabi pea can versions from 2006 at Folly gallery, Lancaster, UK

This camera looking out form the studio window has an added single pixel light camera as well, the aluminum tube with a light sensor in it. this way we could compose the images below

the B/W window image in the background is produced from the light sensor data, while the various colors represent the various networks flowing the the apartment.

This outdoor camera is powered by some large camcorder batteries while scanning in the streets of London...

...on Hoxton square.