#spacephone

[vaniariveros]

[fatrabbitky]

There’s a joke in there somewhere about connecting a spaceship to a landline, but I just can find it right now…. Anyways: STAR TREK PHONE! In great shape, but untested because it’s 2022. $15 takes it! #startrek #ussenterprise #landline #fatrabbitky #spacephone (at Fat Rabbit Thrift & Vintage) https://www.instagram.com/fatrabbitthrift/p/CZCkyX_FpgD/?utm_medium=tumblr

[agybaysm-blog]

Galaxy Fold II #apple #samsung #galaxyfold #smartphone #spacephone #future #followmeto #following #followforfollowback #followforfollowback #followforlike #follow4followback #like4likes #liketime #likeforlikes #лайкзалайк #лайкивзаимно #лайкподпискавзаимно #подписказаподписку https://www.instagram.com/p/ByPwRQShtGP/?igshid=1mja4t905fszw

[fanficsforheartandsoul]

Padawan!Reader: Food

Ahsoka: My food's too hot. I can't eat it

Reader, winking at her: You're hot too but I still eat you.

Obi-Wan, slamming his hands on the table: ONE DINNER!!!

Anakin, sighing while staring at his spacephone with padmé as his background: Here we go again-

Obi-Wan: ONE NORMAL DINNER IS ALL I ASK FOR!!

[teodora-s-f]

Space Telephone // Technical Notes

HACKING AN ANALOGUE PHONE :: NOTES

CIRCUITRY:

The phone I have is a classic British GPO746 replica -> this means the circuitry is slightly different from an older phone of the same type; upon opening it, there is a large PCB board that is connected to landline, headset, ringer, dial, etc. This PCB handles all of the operations of the phone. As I aim to run a portion of the components off of the Arduino in order to simulate a phone conversation, I do not think this central ‘control’ piece will be of use for my project. My aim is to get the headset, rotary dial and potentially ringer to be controlled by the Arduino, so I will start by reverse-engineering how these components work with the main board and hopefully interfacing them with my micro controller based on these observations.

Headset:

Bottom receiver has one basic microphone, 2x wires, yellow & black

Top receiver has one speaker, 2x wires, red & black

The four cables are fed into the curly cable and extended inside the case through the connection in the base

Observations:

Tops screw off easily by hand - this will make it easier to replace components

It should be easy enough to connect the speaker inside the headset to an Arduino sound output device and use the speaker to play back my own sounds.

Microphone is not required for the purposes of this project; it could, however, have nice recording applications in a later development stage or in a different project.

There is a spring system that lifts the weight of a plastic cap over a button in the inside casing of the phone; it is used to tell whether the headset has been picked up or not (switch is normally on when headset is down and released when it has been picked up.

Rotary Dial:

12x photocells hidden inside casing

2xLEDs for backlighting, inside casing

Gear system for turning the dial + small pushdown component that interacts with the switch

1x click switch with 3 connections (C,NO,NC) that is pressed when a number is keyed in on the rotary dial

Observations:

The rotary dial mechanism uses a photocell system to register the number dials and a small click switch to tell whether a number has been dialled in or not (i.e. when rotary is pushed all the way). How it works: there are two basic LEDs at the back of the circuit board; in between them and the board there is a plastic circular attachment that has a hole which allows only the photocell of the number being dialled to be exposed to light, whilst the other are left in the dark. I cannot tell straightaway how the photocells, button and LEDs are all connected to the main board - there are 11 cables on the ribbon config and 5 on the button and led one, although the button seems to connect to both configs; First step is to figure out how every component relates to each other and how power and GND are connected to the components.

Making sense of the rotary dial circuit board:

Notation:

Ribbon cable wires => R1 - R11 (left to right)

Button & LED wires => B1-B5 (up-down)

Photocells:

After carefully observing the photocell mechanism and the circuit board it is configured on, I was able to trace the ribbon cable connections to the components (photocells are marked 0,9,#,* as per the phone):

R1:  *,1,4,7 R2:  5,8,0,2 R3:  6,9,#,3 R5: 1,2,3 R6: 4,5,6 R7: 7,8,9 R8: 0,#,*

Observations:

Whilst R1, R2 and R3 seem to be connected in a strange sequence, R5-R8 seem to contain the numbers in order

Both photocells have two have a + and GND connection, yet they use only 7 cables to feed information to the PCD

After considering their layout and the way they are connected, I suspect they’re arranged in a matrix fashion, similarly to making an LED matrix or to how Arduino keypads are configured. Looking at some keypad schematics seems to confirm this. I will attempt to wire these photocells to my Arduino in a matrix fashion to try and work out the format of the matrix.

LEDs:

2x basic cathode/anode LEDS

+ goes to B4 - doesn’t seem to connect to anything else but B2 (’NO’ terminal on button)??

- goes to B5 and then connects to R9

Switch button:

Pretty sure it is a momentary switch (remains active as long as it's actuated. If it's not being actuated, it remains in its “off” state) => after many Google searches, I have discovered it is a microswitch with three terminals

Potential issues: 2A 125V AC can be highly problematic when interfacing with the Arduino. It would be a hassle to feed so much power into a project for just the switch.

C,NO,NC pins - what do they mean? I assume C = connection and NC = no connection. Some research has to be done into this type of 3-terminal switch.

Is the button necessary? If I can get the Arduino to register the photocell number, is this switch a necessary component for making the installation work?

Logic of switch button and LEDS: When the switch makes a connection, the LEDs light up so the photocell mechanism can register the number - alternative idea: the light is always on (this could be a workaround if the button does not work in the end).

Button connections on circuit board:

C - connects to R11 NO - connects to B2 but to nothing further (potentially to LED power - small link on PCB, might be cut off though) NC- connects to B3 and then to R10

=> both C, NC connect to the main board via ribbon cable

Explanation of microswitches + schematic:

Logic of microswitch circuit: power comes in through C port and exits out the normally closed terminal; if switch is pressed, it is rerouted to normally open terminal, feeding power to a different source (in our case, the LEDs - as I was speculating before, NO connects to + for the LEDs); this is a clever mechanism as the lights would flash as the rotary motion has reached the end point (the switch acts as a trigger to register the value). 

Problems left to work out: voltage! The 2A 125V notation on the switch is worrying - how is that much power even rerouted to the LEDs without burning them? I am speculating that the notation represents the limit rather than the power requirement, which would make all the sense in the world and would also mean that I could feed it 5V from the Arduino; an alternative would be to search for a similar microswitch configured especially for Arduino - could be tricky as circuit is built around the specific shape of this component. 

=> Update: problem solved; after scouring some forums and consulting an electronics book, my suspicion that 125V was indeed the limit is confirmed. Last investigation before attempting to actually wire to Arduino is figuring out how the photocell matrix is laid out.

PHOTOCELL MATRIX:

I realised the photocells were arranged in a matrix format because of the keypads made to interface with the Arduino

4x rows, 3x columns

I need to investigate whether sensors can be arranged in a matrix and how to read the signals - I have limited experience with basic LED matrices only

PROGRESS UPDATE:

Switch and backlight LEDS working!!

After tinkering with the rotary system for a while, trying to figure out how it all works, I decided to re-assemble it and start testing with the Arduino. First step was to get the microswitch and LEDs working, because I needed light input to start figuring out the matrix (when in the dial casing, the photocells are covered unless the backlight is working). I fed 5V into the COM terminal, hooked up the No Connection port to a loose LED on a breadboard and the Not Open terminal to the LEDs inside the casing; as soon as I turned on the power, the breadboard LED was lit up; when the switch engaged, the breadboard LED went dark and the ones inside the casing lit up. Time to hook up the dial to the Arduino and hack interface with the matrix.

HACKING THE MATRIX:

I decided to start by looking at keypad matrices and how they work. I found a useful tutorial clearly explaining how matrix keypads work:

Keyboards use a matrix with the rows and columns made up of wires. Each key acts like a switch. When a key is pressed, a column wire makes contact with a row wire and completes a circuit. The keyboard controller detects this closed circuit and registers it as a key press. Here is a simple keyboard matrix:

Conceptual Matrix Circuit +    Switch Open:

This keyboard only has 4 keys: A, B, C, and D. Each key has a unique grid location, much like points on a graph. Key A is at node C1R1, key B is at node C2R1, key C is at node C1R2, and key D is at node C2R2. In reality this is pretty useless which is why real keyboards use many more rows and columns.

In order to detect key presses, the keyboard controller will scan all columns, activating each one by one. When a column is activated, the controller detects which rows are "activated”.Now, let's say the the A key is pressed. 

The matrix will look like this:

Key A corresponds to node C1R1. By going back to the circuit, we can see how C1R1 is detected. 

(Schematics from  https://www.dribin.org/dave/keyboard/one_html/)

Observations:

=> keypad logic seems quite straightforward; my photocell matrix has the same format as a standard phone keypad (3x col, 4x rows), but I still need to investigate whether the photoresistors can be treated the same as buttons in a keypad matrix. The PCB does not have any resistors (like a voltage divider circuit would). After a quick look at the chip on the main board in the telephone, I found this schematic:

The main board chip reads the matrix in the same row/column format as a keypad would. This means that there must be a way to compute this dial system and integration with Arduino is possible.

I tried experimenting with the photocell matrix by hooking it up to pins on the Arduino and using the Keypad library to try and read the rows and columns - this was not successful!!!, but to some extent; all keys seemed to return ‘1’, with some erratic readings of other, non-corresponding numbers that seemed random. The good part is that the Arduino can indeed communicate with the matrix; the bad part is that the results are erroneous.

I wired the pins directly to Arduino as one would a keypad. I am wondering now if resistors need to be added to create voltage dividers for the rows, or for both r/c.

Found this query on stack exchange from a person attempting the same thing:

https://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/299879/reading-an-ldr-array-with-a-raspberry-pi?rq=1

They created a circuit diagram for the LDR matrix:

With no luck in finding many solutions to scanning matrices of analog sensors (most of the forum advice is for multiplexing LEDs - really confused about what code to write in order to identify resistance changes in this type of multiplexed array of analog sensors, I decided to focus on getting the other parts of the installation up and running and creating a contingency plan for the case in which the dial will not be functional.

Hacking the headset:

From what I can tell, the top part of the headset features a speaker and the bottom a microphone that can be interfaced with the Arduino. I won’t be using the microphone now, but it could have e interesting applications later.

I tried hooking it up to the DF Player mini in order to play some mp3 files through it. This worked!! The basis of the installation is working - there are alternatives to the dial, but the headset was essential.

Important headset notation: SPK1 on DFPlayer is GREEN headset wire, SPK2 is the RED one!

Switch button circuit to detect headset on/off:

Underneath the headset there is a spring system that puts weight on a small switch button when the headset is down, and releases it when the headset is lifted.

It only had two wires, so I used the Arduino’s internal pull-up on a digital pin in order to check whether it is being pressed or not. The experiment was successful. I can now automatically start a tune/ sound file with instructions when the headset is lifted, and halt all operations when it is down. !! I can also arrange for the phone to ring at certain time whilst the headset is down.

With the headset playback and position detection sorted, the rotary dial and ringer remain. For the ringer I’ll be needing to check how much voltage it needs to be fed in order to create sound - I could then use a relay with an AC power source to switch it on when I want it to ring. 

Reflections on the dial issue and potential solutions:

For the dial problem, I will continue to try and debug it (hopefully someone at the Hatchlab may provide some info on how to scan this kind of matrix), but I have also created a contingency plan due to time restriction - if I will not be able to get number readings from the dial in time for the show, I will be laser cutting an extra layer for the front of the phone (where the dial sits) and fit it with an Arduino keypad of 4x3 similar to the dial. In hindsight, I feel like obtaining a phone with push buttons might have been a much much easier alternative. Initial tests with an old pulse-based dial worked splendidly, but unfortunately that phone is no longer available to me and I don’t know where to find an authentic 70s/80s phone apart from keeping an eye out at vintage sales.. who would have thought that an interface that is more new, even computational would pose more problems! 

Apart from interfacing with the Arduino keypad rather than the original dial, I could also focus on the sound aspect of the installation (either just make the phone ring intermittently and have the installation be available only like that, when the phone “chooses” to call - ideally I would have liked to also have user input in addition to this. I can detect when a key, any key is pressed at the moment, but cannot pinpoint the specific key, which poses problems to my initial idea of having the user “call” a celestial body by inputting their coordinates or code number. Hacking the Matrix - continuation

From online forum questions, I’ve been able to glean that the matrix that I am dealing with is an array of photoresistors arranged in the format of a multiplexed switch matrix. I am still at a loss about how to approach writing my own code for this. Unfortunately, even with the help of the lab assistants, I was unable to make the dial work. 

  REFLECTION :: WORKAROUNDS & TIME RESTRICTIONS:  I decided to implement a keyboard easily interfaced with the Arduino and modify the design of the phone a little bit - this allows for ease of use so I can focus on the visuals and the overall feeling of the piece in the remaining time. In the end, I would say it was a successful workaround that allowed for achieving a similar effect - I would have still liked to implement the tangible feeling of the dial, however this will be reserved for a secondary iteration due to time restrictions. I will also limit the first iteration to a “speed dial” system, using only single-key input, as tinkering around with the phone and reverse-engineering the way it works, as good a technical exercise as it is, has sucked up too large of a time component; I need to move on with the technical aspect now so that I can focus on creating the visual and sound elements and making sure they work together with the interface.

  VISUALS AND SOUND:

Creating the visuals was an interesting exercise in programming in 3D using Processing; the process really helped me better understand how to create and import 3D models, assemble a scene, wrap textures on an object, work with text in 3D space and create an overall feeling for a scene. The implemented sounds are planetary data sonification samples released into the public domain by NASA - further planned developments for the project include exploring my own data sonification system and experimenting with generative planet objects.

[ao3feed-jaytim]

How many bars do you get in space?

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3eYAQwI

by TimTheToaster (tabletoptime)

Jason had been waiting for his phone to ring for the past twenty minutes.

It was a shame Tim was too much of a public figure to just drop everything for a couple of years in space, but Kori had asked for Jason’s help in freeing Tamaran and a few of its colonies from invading oppressors, and he wanted to do this with his friends.

He just wished it hadn’t meant leaving Tim behind.

Words: 1207, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Batman - All Media Types

Rating: General Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Tim Drake, Jason Todd

Relationships: Tim Drake/Jason Todd

Additional Tags: JayTim Week, i heard "space" and decided to do that x2, so we have literal SPACE and also metaphorical space, a little angsty but mostly just boyfriends on the SPACEphone, some light swearing

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/3eYAQwI

[match-your-steps]

the year is 2050. I am running for president. on your tiny intergalactic spacephone, you are holographically projecting your news feed and see my political ad:

[thefiresontheheight]

Sheev: “the dark side is a path to abilities some consider unnatural”

Anakin, already on his spacephone: “yeah my dad says I can’t and also says you’re probably the Sith Lord we’ve all been looking for I gotta go.”

Qui-Gon would’ve been such a good dad to Anakin it’s unreal. That little kid would’ve been all horny and bothered for Padme and Qui-Gon would’ve just handed him some condoms and said: “I sense your mind is troubled, young one. Make sure to prioritize her too.”

[garden-ghoul]

SLIGHTLY BELATED aprica week 12 update! here’s a rough picture of Onatan Station that I drew in roll20. It is described as “a bunch of 5-dimensional seashells smashing into each other.” Thank Phi for this aesthetic. Highlights:

Joy got stepped on by an enormous girlfriend. A 20-foot-tall girlfriend. She then apologized very sincerely for bringing her domestic disputes into public hallways.

Our heroes arrived at their target’s empty office and proceeded to really freak out her secretary by being a party of mostly large weirdos without the social skills to explain why they’re so weird

Joy, in the tone of someone telling a receptionist they have an appointment: we have a prophecy.

They hung out in the office waiting for the time coordinates from the prophecy to approach and getting shrimp chips all over their target’s desk. 88 and Qisha are having a poetry slam. 5/ is playing with a fidget spinner despite having no hands (they have a special tool just for this). Bachir has space bejewelled on her divine gift crystal locator spacephone. Joy and Yichidl are playing cat’s cradle. Jaimlatto Glacquio walks in.

Everyone loved Jaimlatto Glacquio’s goofy exuberant British professor voice. I need to plan out more character voices, except I never plan out characters. whoops

Next episode: drifting with an Aprican seed crystal.

[xblackfinch]

SPACEPHONE L U X

i added guitar to this track and i think it really changes the dynamic of the song. let me know what you think!

[vaniariveros]

[tinfoilscribbles]

Pay your spacephone bill.

Battletech MemriTV memes! By Blake, you never knew you needed them. (with much assistance from and thanks to @landysbear)

[i-am-the-hype-blog1]

ASK THE PRINCE THINGS!

1. You woke up naked next to the last person you texted, what would you say?Why the hell is Kakarot is naked? Did he turn into a Giant Monkey again?

2. What’s going on between you and the last person you kissed? She got pregnant, I got off the planet!

3. If your boyfriend or girlfriend was into drugs, would you care? I am the drug!

4. Is your last name longer than six letters? I have no need for a last time, I am the prince!!

5. Was your last kiss drunk or sober? Drunk! With RAGE!

6. Have you ever wanted to have someone but you messed it up? Yea. I blew up the wrong planet.

7. What does your last received text say? Please don’t blow up my planet!

8. How many times have you kissed the last person you kissed? Once!

9. Where was your last kiss at? Exactly where it should be!

10. When is the last time you saw your sister? Right before my planet got blown up

11. What do you drink in the morning? V8

12. Where did you sleep last night? Space pod

13. Do you think relationships are hard? I have no need for relationships!

14. If you could go back and change something in the past 5 months, would you? Go back and get my immortality!

15. You’re locked in a room with the last person you kissed, any problems She’s a complete bitch!

16. Would you rather it be sunny or rainy? Sunny! So everyone can see how awesome I am more clearly!

17. Do you know anyone with the same middle name as you? I have no middle name.

18. Are you wearing jeans,sweatpants,or pajama pants? My armor. Always my armor

19. Do you think you will be in a relationship 3 years from now? I hope not

20. Does anyone like you? Everyone likes me. If they don’t ill blow their planet up!

21. Have you ever kissed someone with a name that starts with an S? No

22. Is the last person you kissed gay? I didn’t kiss Nappa. Why do people keep asking!

23. Is there a person you CANNOT stand? There was. I killed them!

24. Have you ever considered getting a tattoo? I shall not mark my perfect body!

25. In the past week have you cried? A Prince never cries

26. What breed was the last dog you saw? A poodle. Love poodles

27. Do you dry off in the shower or out of the shower? I drip dry. Where everyone can see!

28. Have you ever kissed a football player? Stop it with the Nappa questions!

29. Do you think you’re old? I shall live forever!

30. Do you like text messaging? Better than seeing the idiots in person

31. What type of day are you having? I am the prince! Every day is fantastic!

32. Have you ever thought about getting your nose pierced? See Comment on Tattoos

33. Do you prefer warm or cold weather? Hot! Like me

34. Is there a person of the opposite sex who means a lot to you? No, because there is no female me!

35. Would you prefer a relationship or a fling? The prince only has flings

36. Are you a simple or complicated person? Simple. I am the best!

37. What song are you listening to? killing in the nappof

38. When you say you’re sorry do you mean it? Why would I ever be sorry!

39. Is there a girl that knows everything or almost everything about you? Never

40. What made you start liking the person you like now? I didn’t blow their planet up

41. When did you last receive a text message? 5 Minutes ago, It was this list

42. What is wrong with you right now? I’m not training

43. How well do you know the last female you texted? All I know is that she has blue hair

44. Does anyone disgust you? Everyone who isn’t me

45. Would you date someone right now if they asked? No

46. Are you in a good mood right now? I’m me. It’s awesome being me

47. Who was the last person you talked to in person? The Bald one

48. What color shirt are you wearing? Blue

49. Has someone recently told you something you didn’t want to hear?Someone said Kakarot was stronger than me

50. Anyone you’re giving up on? My son, he can’t even count!

51. Do you hate the person you fell hardest for? Stop asking about Nappa!

52. Have you ever thought about giving up on someone but couldn’t? No

53. Do you like rain? I look fantastic when I’m wet

54. Do you care if your boyfriend/girlfriend drinks? I don’t have any

55. Have you ever liked somebody and never told them? Shut up Nappa

56. Do you like to cuddle? This is a stupid question

57. Are you shy? This is a even more stupid question

58. Do you get along with girls? I get along with everyone

59. Have you dated the person you texted last? Ewww

60. What do you carry with you at all times? My rock hard body

61. If you were paid 1 million dollars to spend the night in a supposed haunted house, would you? I would blow it the fuck up!

62. Do you think you can last in a relationship for five months? It’s not me who has to last, It’s them

63. Think back to October, were you in a relationship? No

64. The person you like kisses you on the forehead, do you find this cute? It better be right before they remove their clothes

65. Did anything “cute” happen in the last week? I didn’t blow up a puppy

66. How old are the last three people you kissed? I didn’t ask their ages

67. Would you rather pay to get your nails done or do them yourself?     Why the hell would I get my nails done!

68. Which do you like better- Zebra print or leopard print?     Whichever one I killed my self

69. Do you have any stickers on your car?     I can fly, I don’t need a car

70. Would you rather listen to Luke Bryan or Lil Wayne?     Who the hell are they?

71. Blackberry, Anroid, or iPhone?     SpacePhone

72. When’s the last time you had pizza from Pizza Hut?     I’m having it right now

73. Do you like diet soda? Hetap or nothing

74. What color are the walls in your room?     White

75. Are you 16 or older?     You know it

76. Do you watch Pretty Little Liars?     Who?

77. Do you have a job?     Being awesome is a full time job

78. What are your initials?   V

79. Did you ever have braces?     My teeth, Like everything else. Are perfect

80. Are you from the south? You calling me slow?

81. What does your last status on facebook say?     I’m sexy and I know it

82. Do you still talk to the first person you ever kissed?     She talks, I ignore

83. Are you closer to your mom or your dad?     Both got blown up along with my planet

84. Have you ever done cheerleading or gymnastics?     I am the ultimate gymnast

85. What’s the last movie you saw in theaters?     Planet of the apes. I laughed so hard

86. Do you smoke?     Smoking Hot!

87. Would you rather wear heels or flip flops?     Why!!!

88. Is your phone touch screen?     Always

89. Do you normally wear your hair straight or curly?     Straight up

90. Have you ever snuck out of your house?     I blew the door off. No need to sneak

91. Would you rather swim in a river, lake, or pool?     Lake

92. Have you ever made out in a car?     Car? I can fly

93. …Had sex in a car?     nope

94. Are you single or in a relationship?     Single for life

95. What were you doing last night at midnight?     Training

96. When’s the last time you saw fireworks?     I made some last night

97. Do you like the camera on your phone?     It has a camera?

98. Have you ever had a friend with benefits?     All of my friends have benefits! They have the benefit of knowing me!

99. Have you ever passed out from drinking?     Only this week

100. Are you friends with people on facebook that you actually hate?     No Comment

101. Have you ever had a pregnancy scare?     I don’t get scared

102. Name your favorite Kesha song:     Who?

103. Do you have any tan lines right now?   I tan nude

104. Would you ever wear cowboy boots with shorts? Never. That is disgusting

105. Who are you?

I am the HYPE

@thejordanphoenix @thepudz @yanmegaman

[friedstummwaves]

Modern Spacephone. (strong Transmitter).

[armandoserna24-blog]

#SpacePhone #WorldGlobalYourNetwork #Acapulco

[teodora-s-f]

Space Telephone // Concept Notes

• The ISDS => a speculative organisation dealing with interplanetary communication in a speculative future where humans have populated other celestial objects in the universe, but communication levels have regressed drastically in terms of contacting other colonies, circling back tot the early days of the telephone. What affective elements can arise out of this repurposing of an almost archival technology for exploring a speculative future?

Exploration themes:

Looking at ways of abstracting telepresence: 

=> this exploration of futuristic technologies leans heavily on notions of

telepresence, witnessing and affect in the context of space colonisation.

What could interplanetary communication look like in a speculative future where space colonisation is in its first development stage?

How will communicating across such distances differ from today’s instant-response systems?

What will the limitations be?

=> SCIENCE FICTION PROTOTYPING: a technique that utilises science fiction to describe and explore the implications of futuristic technologies and the social structures enabled by them

focuses on inventing or innovating the future

could it have applications in the art dimension?

Context and affect

How would such a technology be presented to the public? How will it be packaged and circulated?What will this one-sided “listening” feel like?

 => new mode of communication

• space colonies on five different celestial bodies

• aid of a robotic voice system, reminiscent of customer service answering machines that provides instructions

the user select a colony and dials its code in order to make a connection.

IMAGINED LIMITATIONS => the service will only allow the user to “listen in” to an environment, whilst viewing a simulated space camera feed ((space objects+ current status). There is no direct contact.

=> the absence of direct communication is directly related to the potential of affective effects of reaching over immense distances, yet not far enough in order to satisfy the immediate-response communication systems that we are used to nowadays.

=>The viewer can reach out, but not far enough to engage an actual human.

THE SOUND ELEMENTS: NASA and ESA planet data sonification samples

Links to sound sources: 

https://soundcloud.com/nasa

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Sounds_from_space

https://archive.org/details/SymphoniesOfThePlanets3

+ assisting computerised voice => reminiscent of artificial answering services encountered in CS practices, a speculative elements; how will such a technology be sold to us?

• the accompanying visuals are 3D rendered scenes of an imagined future - Earth, for example, bears the effects of the looming global warming crisis, the colony found there being located on a space station in its orbit.

The viewer is left to question where they themselves are calling from in this alternate future. The project aims to bring into question what feelings may surface when a limited form of witnessing is the only option of reaching another human space, and asks the viewer to reflect on what uncertainties such a connection may imply? Ultimately, the space phone aims anticipate a potential new mode of existence within the backdrop of interplanetary travel, by focusing on the limitations we may encounter when faced with such colossal distances to bridge, whilst also attempting to make visible the similarities that may emerge in relation to ways of communication considered obsolete today, such as the landline telephone. It perhaps comes close to what Simon O Sullivan calls “a kind of art practice that is less about the future than an instantiation - or performance - of it”.

Plan for further iterations:

• a more developed/ responsive computerised voice

• more locations to listen in on, enhanced visual narrative

• my own sonification system for planetary data