Tales of Things

Tales of Things www.talesofthings.com is a research project that explores social memory in the emerging culture of the Internet of Things. Researchers from across the UK have provided the Tales of Things site as a platform for users to add stories to their own treasured objects and to connect to other people who share similar experiences. This will enable future generations to have a greater understanding of the object’s past and offers a new way of preserving social history. Content depends on real people’s stories which are tagged with a unique QR code and geo-located through an on-line map of the world. Participants are able to track their object even if they have passed it on. Users are able to update previous owners on its progress through a live Twitter feed which is unique to each object entered into the system.

An iOS and Android app can be downloaded to read Tales of Things QR codes.

Tales of Things is a collaboration between 5 different institutes – Brunel University, Edinburgh College of Art, University College London, University of Dundee, University of Salford.

Project Status

Acdemic led project. Fully functioning website.

Project Needs

Interested in further use cases – both commercial and non commercial.