A compelling new project from Liam Young and his Tomorrows Thoughts Today team sees a novel re-appropriation of aerial recon and police surveillance components, using them instead to provide a "pirate" internet service. Taking inspiration both conceptually and mechanically from the U.S. Government's drone / u.a.v. developments, the "Electronic Countermeasures" project, presented at the 2011 GLOW Festival in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, looks to explore the design and manufacture of an air-borne nomadic infrastructure.

The key role that the internet has played in the last year of protests and activism was one so important that it saw Governments cut off internet access nationwide in a bid to slow the momentum of demonstrations, an act that has led to the creation of the project which would act as a solution to that precise scenario. A fleet of GPS enabled quad-copter drones, which float in formation out of harm's way have been created that transmit their own wifi network temporarily before dispersing to escape detection before reforming elsewhere.

The public can upload files, photos and share data with one another as the drones occupy the space above them acting as a mobile infrastructure that passers-by can interact with. Upon being communicated with and through, the drones glow a series of vibrant colours prompting 'impromptu augmented communities' to form around the flock with their increasingly dramatic flight patterns serve as a visual expression of the city's spontaneous digital communities.



Electronic Countermeasures
A project by: Liam Young, Tomorrows Thoughts Today
With: Eleanor Saitta, Oliviu Lugojan-Ghenciu, Superflux
Drone pilots: Oliviu Lugojan-Ghenciu, Eleanor Saitta, Tobias Rosenstock
Project Team: Denis Vlieghe, Mond Qu, Dessi Lyutakova
With support by: Mu Gallery, NL; GLOW Festival, NL; Buzzflyer, UK