RFID and RealSnailMail

Filed in archive Implementation on October 16, 2006

This is something different. Boredom Research is working on a performance art piece project called RealSnailMail. Wondering what it is? Snails are being used for delivering messages across short distances coupled with waterproof RFID tags attached to their shells.

Under this project RealSnailMail website accepts email from people and these are placed in a queue for snail mail delivery. Whenever the snail comes within the range of the reader, a message is pulled by the reader from the queue and a message is encoded onto the chip. The snail moves slowly and when it comes within the range of another reader, the message is read and transmitted and another message is collected from the queue for delivery. Due to the slow speed of snails and flat bottomed tank, no read problems are encountered which are generally caused due to RFID tag collision. With this project, Boredom Research is trying to contrast lightspeed artificial world of RFID with the natural world.

A quote from the website says:

These contrasting images of a snail moving at snails pace and the promised efficiency and speed increase of RFID tagged products, being rushed to their destination, converged to become snail mail or 'real snail mail

This project would certainly communicate to the people the effort involved in sending messages and that they should try and send messages which hold value and regarding the chance of their message being intercepted enroute. Certainly a novel project!!

Thnx Bill