Tele Protest

Counter surveillance, 2014
That cameras, microphones or online services are constantly watching us is well known by now. This project is about creating a counter surveillance tool. The goal is to hide either WHERE you are or WHO you are.

We created a modular prototype that either distorts your location or hides your identity. It is a low cost Prototype with the goal that political activists can easily build one by themselves. The base consists of a little cart that automatically randomly navigates itself through the city.

To distort your location you can stick a print of your face to a balloon that is attached to the cart. This way the CCTV cameras detect your face in random locations even when you are not there.

To also confuse social networks about your whereabouts you can put your phone on the cart that will automatically take pictures of your second identities’ trip around the city and upload them to Facebook.

Activists often put themselves in danger by protesting on the streets. In order to hide your identity but still be present at demonstrations you can send your Tele Identity to deliver the message. Since a silent protest is not as good as a loud one there is an integrated speaker module which allows you to deliver your acoustic messages live onto the street while actually staying safe at home. In case the police find your Tele Protester, the self-destruct function will be triggered.

With this project we want to explore the possibilities of Tele Presence in order to confuse the systems that constantly watch our lives.

In collaboration with Sam Nguyen