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Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference: EP/K001396/1
Title: Tales of Things: Exhibition and symposium on the Internet of Social Things.
Principal Investigator: Speed, Professor C
Other Investigators:
Hudson-Smith, Professor A Burke, Professor M Rogers, Professor J
Karpovich, Dr A
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department: Edinburgh College of Art
Organisation: University of Edinburgh
Scheme: Standard Research
Starts: 01 August 2012 Ends: 31 July 2013 Value (£): 10,000
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:
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Panel History:  
Summary on Grant Application Form
The creative explorations across the TOTeM project have defined the many ways of articulating the potential for a social form of an Internet of Things. Often characterised by logistical solutions for manufacturing and distribution, artistic and playful uses of the Tales of Things platform have introduced the principle that objects may be linked to the internet in a benign and accessible manner to people. Therefore it seems only appropriate to continue to use this genre to explore the broader opportunities and fears that 'ubiquity' creates.

Subsequently we propose to have an exhibition and symposium showcasing the variety of work that TOTeM has been involved in and setting it within the context of wider research on the Internet of Things by other institutions and artists.

An exhibition would be held in a high profile venue such as Media City, Salford, National Galleries Scotland or The Lighthouse (Scotland's Centre for Architecture and Design) in Glasgow. This offers a large exhibition area in a big city to maximize audience and open up the debate to a wider public outside the academic field. The symposium would be focused on the academic research aspect of the project and would be hosted by the TOTeM team resulting in a small publication of the project's outputs to date. This would be available at the symposium but also sent out to key stakeholders in the field.

It is envisaged that the exhibition would be a pilot for a national touring exhibition with applications made to the Arts Council of England, the Arts Council of Wales and Creative Scotland. As a touring exhibition of arts, design and industrial works the exhibition will be unique in introducing the public to the cultural and social complexity of an Internet of Things.

The exhibition and symposium would follow the theme of social uses of the Internet of Things. The emphasis on the exhibition would be on creative uses of the Internet of Things creating a visually appealing exhibition made understandable to a general public. We would invite artists and designers such as Anab Jain, Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino, Durrell Bishop, Christian Nold, UsmanHaque and Anne Galloway, as well as extend our existing relations with Microsoft Research Labs, Mozilla and NCR to explore a continuum between creative and industrial platforms. It is envisaged that this continuum would allow the public to engage with the complex social, ethical and technical issues that are emerging as more of our personal and business networks become 'hooked' up to the environments, artefacts and people that constitute society.

Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Organisation Website: http://www.ed.ac.uk