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WELCOME & CONTENTS EDITOR’S COMMENT Litter bins and data silos


‘Litter bins have been collecting MAC codes from the mobile phones of passers-by’


LAST YEAR, we reported on the website about an unusual DOOH installation in the City of London – bombproof litter bins with inbuilt advertising screens. However, it’s now been revealed that a dozen of these bins have another onboard technology: they have been collecting the unique identifying MAC codes from the mobile phones of passers-by. The company behind this technology, Presence Orb, says that it only measures footfall, in the same way that a website measures traffic: the bins only recorded “extremely limited, encrypted, aggregated and anonymised data”, according to a BBC report. But the City Of London Corporation asked for the code logging to be switched off, and referred the matter to the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office. Not too long ago, I would have regarded this as a story of bureaucrats meddling where they’re not needed. After all, companies that sell advertising like to know how many people they reach, and with just about everyone carrying a phone, why not count them using the signals they emit? Recent events, though, have changed my mind about the importance of this stuff. This particular example makes me uneasy on two counts: the data was being taken without people’s knowledge or consent; and more information was being taken than, arguably, was necessary for the task. The consent issue should be a no-brainer. We're used to signing up for all kinds of free online services, apps and the like, in return for a few items of personal data. As a general rule, the higher the perceived value of the product, the more data we’re prepared to give. And that’s fine – we’re adults, no-one is forcing us to do this. (Though sometimes the exact uses to which our data will be put is often buried in impenetrable terms and conditions.) My unease about taking more data than is needed has been heightened


following the recent revelations that the security services of the US, UK and other countries have access to enormous swathes of our online and phone communications. I think that most people have always accepted that net- based communications aren’t 100% secure – but I thought it was opportunist spammers, scammers and identity thieves we had to be vigilant against, rather than the day-to-day workings of the state. And while it’s a given that certain communications are ‘read’ by computers – how else does Google serve up relevant adverts into Gmail? – there’s a big difference between on-the-fly scanning for keywords and the steady accumulation of data for possible later examination. The latter, as well as being a massive assault on individual freedom, is a horribly blunt instrument. Now I’m not suggesting that the scanning of mobile phones by some bins is part of the surveillance state. But these very different examples lead to the same point. No personal data – however small or seemingly innocuous – should be taken, or passed on, without people’s prior agreement. As advertising and marketing become increasingly technology-driven, the stakes are going to get higher for the marketeers and their audiences. It’s as well we all agree, sooner rather than later, what the rules of the game should be.


Paddy Baker, Editor, Installation – paddy.baker@intentmedia.co.uk


NEWS & DATA 4 News 8 Appointments 10 Expos and events 12 Pro Sound Awards: We name two high-profile winners


14 Installation Showcase: Entertainment: More details


16 Industry data: The science behind outdoor advertising


PEOPLE 18 Opinion: Taiden’s Nicolas Mreches on customising conference kit


20 Interview: HoloVis’ Stuart Hetherington on visualisation


FEATURES 22 Medical AV: Technology encourages efficiency and effectiveness


28 Directional audio: Beam control technologies explained


35 Technology for Architects: collaborate for the best results


40 Regional voices: Portugal


SHOW PREVIEW IBC p42


TECHNOLOGY 46 New products 52 Showcase: LED lighting


SOLUTIONS 56 Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth: Bringing the historic ship to life


60 Brain Surgery Conference: Sending a complex set of signals around the world


62 Caryl Churchill Theatre, Royal Holloway University: Flexible facility


Cover image Clinical Anatomy Skills Centre, Glasgow, courtesy of AMX


www.installation-international.com


September 2013 3


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