Architecture of Radio App Visualizes the Networks Around You

“The infosphere, Visualized,” reads the description to the new Architecture of Radio app on the iTunes App Store, a new iOS app that functions as “a field guide to the world of digital networks.” But can a simple app really allow you to see the Wi-Fi, radio, and cell tower beacons all around you — and what does that look like?

According to dutch artist (and now iPad app developer) Richard Vijgen, the answer is yes. And the results? Totally spooky.

Similar to iOS apps like Starry Sky that function as a “lens” to augment the reality around you, Architecture of Radio works from an enormous database of Wi-Fi, satellite, radio, and cell tower networks that according to a Gizmodo report includes “7 million cell towers, 19 million Wi-Fi routers and hundreds of satellites.”

While iOS app developers will be quick to point out that the results aren’t 100% accurate since the app is based more on geo-positioning and a database rather than some sort of real-time network scanning, the image you get of the world around you is startlingly dense with radio waves — which is either exciting or terrifying, depending on whether an IoT app developer or an off-the-grid Luddite is holding the iPad.

The Architecture of Radio experience is more about creative curiosity than scientific applications. Regardless, educating the public about the networked world we live in is never a bad thing for London iPhone app development companies — especially in the light Vijgen’s app presents these networks, as “an interdependent environment, like a biosphere, that is populated by informational entities.” For app users and app developers alike, understanding the source of the information networks we rely on for everything from the dynamic apps on our phones to the Internet of Things devices in our houses has never been more important.