Science/Tech

Use This App to See the Radio Waves that Constantly Surround You

By Kanika Gupta | Update Date: Nov 30, 2015 10:25 AM EST

You may not know this but you are constantly surrounded by radio waves that are washing over you. Thanks to all these cellular towers and Wi-Fi routers, the air is almost always charged with energy. The new app, Architecture of Radio, visualizes the flow of data in your surroundings. The creator of the app, Richard Vijgen, tapped into a database of 19 million Wi-Fi routers, 7 Million cell towers and countless satellites that create an amplified reality experience where you can point your iPad or iPhone and you will be able to see a representation of radio signals that are present in your area, reports Engadget.

Even though this app sounds it is interesting, it cannot be used for functional purposes. The Architecture of Radio will not point towards places in your area with weak signals, as you hope for it to do. It is more a work of art that can be called ambitious at best. The app has been displayed at the ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe in Germany but you can also try it out at home. By paying $3, you can buy this app from the App Store if you are using iOS 9. Android version of this app will be available in 2016, according to The Verge.

The presentational, rather than informational aspect of the app does feature the interesting labyrinth of wireless communication that takes place around us. Call it something of a Google Map, minus the radio signals. The visualizations on this app shows the density of the signals that are gathered based on the area. Since the data presented in the app is not real time, it can not be used for functional purposes or to measure the network speeds or to determine where to place your device for best connectivity, says Slashgear.

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