Rotting Car

Rotting Car

I am using this project as a means to evoke thought about using olfactory display as a mediating technology in urban spaces. In Rotting Car, when a parking meter expires and a car remains in its associated spot, a scent is emitted.
Created by Dan Melinger


In Rotting Car, when a parking meter expires and a car remains in its associated spot, a scent is emitted. The area around the car smells for as long as the car remains in violation. The scent emitted is not entirely unpleasant but should remind passersby of the scent of organic matter rotting, such as in a forest bed. People walking on the sidewalk would smell the scent from the car and realize that the car is in violation of parking rules. This could provide social pressure for people parking their cars to feed the meter, would serve as a general reminder to those walking by to keep meters filled, and would possibly help meter maids to do their job.
Background Scent affects our experiences in urban environments all the time. The smells of neighborhoods (think Chinatown vs. the East River vs. Central Park vs. the Upper East Side). Food is a big part of this; think about the popcorn you smell as you walk by the movie theater, the bread you smell near a bakery, the coffee you smell near the cafe, and the pizza you smell next to the pizza joint. In urban environments, where people are often walking on the street, or at least driving down streets rich with various shops, vendors, and restaurants, scent plays an integral part in our experience of the city. But more than that, they give cues as to where you are and whats available around you. However, scent is rarely used to convey time-sensitive or personal information. It has been shown through a large volume of research that scent is closely connected with human memory. Scents quickly trigger memories, both recent and from the past unlike words can do. Emotional reaction to scents can also be both visceral and strong. That is why I think that scent, connected with the transmission of information, could have interesting effects on people or at least bring up some interesting ideas.	Technical System The installation consists of a modified vintage, analog parking meter from Duncan Parking Technologies. When the meter expires, an electronic switch is triggered. When the switch is triggered, a small custom computer installed into the body of the meter checks the status of a photosensitive sensor embedded in the road within the parking spot. If the sensor reports that a car is in the spot, a scent is emitted on a regular basis until the spot is vacated or the meter is refilled with time.

User Scenario If this were ever implemented (which it wont be!), users would include anyone who uses parking meters, meter maids, and people walking on the sidewalk near the meter. When users detect the scent emanating from the parking meter, they learn that the car in the associated spot is in violation.	Additional Information Class: Mediated Urban Spaces Instructor: Anthony Townsend bionicdan.net/itp/rotting_car