NodeRunner: An Embodied Game for Understanding Mesh Networking Concepts

Abstract

The topology and constitution of network infrastructure shapes a crucial dimension of our understanding of information and sociotechnical systems in a networked environment. Infrastructure decides how and what information can be transmitted at a technical as well as a social level. Significant research programs, along with various artistic and pedagogical interventions, have sought to illuminate this dimension. NodeRunner is an embodied reflection on the roles and knowledges required to build and maintain an emerging form of infrastructure deployment: mesh networking. As mesh networking concerns new technologies and ways of organizing communities around shared infrastructure, it requires heightened examination from the information research and iSchool community. The session will begin with a 30 minute discussion designed to introduce mesh networking concepts, provoking discussion on how mesh networks have been used and how they challenge existing economic relations in infrastructure. This will lead into 60-90 minutes of 'play-time' where we will deploy an embodied game at a suitable site.