"Traffic" was originally prepared for an installation at Chiao Tung University in September of 2003. Now it has become a part of the Sme(n)ms project.

Synopsis
Traffic is a software agent which uses a library of sound and visuals to create live real time performance from network traffic.

"Carnivore" taps the data lines of the server on which it is installed. A flow of data is fed into a software client for the purposes of artistic performance.

This installation hopes to test our understanding of the usage of network data in the public and private spheres.

About
Traffic is a carnivore client which attempts to create spontaneous real time auditory compositions or improvisations using data gained from network surveillance. Many previous examples of this type of work attempted to create unique visualisations that allow you to see network traffic and thereby create a new understanding of what are essentially invisible unheard events. My approach is to allow the users of the network to wittingly or unwittingly play a part in creating unique compositions within certain harmonic constraints.

Traffic interprets ip data that carnivore sends it by first assigning function to the 4 separate numerical groups. The first two sets are assigned to create simplistic animations, based on the origin of the data, to show that activity is present on the network. The last two groups of numbers are assigned to the creation of music. In this version of traffic the first group of these last two groups controls tempo and time while the last group controls melody and harmony. The melody and harmony is based 256 separate sound files which are loaded dynamically depending on the corresponding number.

When online you are identified by your ip address. All your interaction online is enabled by this identity. Instead of using this information for nefarious purposes, I have transformed this unique number into a single voice in a broader composition.

Carnivore , created by RSG , is a surveillance tool for data networks. At the heart of the project is CarnivorePE, a software application that listens to the Internet traffic (email, web surfing, etc.) on a given local network. CarnivorePE serves this datastream over the net to a variety of interfaces called "clients." These clients are each designed to animate, diagnose, or interpret the network traffic in various ways. Carnivore clients have been produced by a number of computational artists and designers from around the world.

CarnivorePE is inspired by DCS1000, a piece of software used by the FBI to perform electronic wiretaps. (Until recently, DCS1000 was known by its nickname "Carnivore.") Improving on the FBI software, CarnivorePE features new functionality including: artist-made diagnosic clients, remote access, full subject targetting, full data targetting, volume buffering, transport protocol filtering, and an open source software license.

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Categorized: Work and Working , Projects

Tagged: , Projects

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