The Water Within (Hertzian Field #3)

The Water Within (Hertzian Field #3) is an interactive wet sauna: an intimate multi-sensory environment of complete immersion combining a cutting-edge sensing system based on WiFi waves, machine listening software, embedded 3D sound, hot steam and architectural design.

Steam rooms, saunas, hammams and public baths have been an integral part of the social network of many cultures – a place to refresh one’s body and mind, but also to meet, talk, listen, socialize. The Water Within (Hertzian Field #3) re-imagines the form, function and experience of a bathhouse within the context of an art exhibition or festival and from the perspective of today’s world of wirelessness, ubiquitous computing, and continuous connectivity. It provides visitors a space to slow down and recharge, but also engage with their bodies, with technology and with other visitors in unexpected ways. The piece uses a new sensing technique developed by Stelios Manousakis for the Hertzian Field series. Inspired by radio astronomy and obscure surveillance research, the system analyzes the interference patterns of ordinary WiFi waves to detect and respond to the flow of water molecules in the space – those of the steam, and those within the bodies of visitors.

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