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We’ve seen various conceptual iterations of this same idea, but only specific to one type of communications—for example, these renderings of Wi-Fi signals, or this real-time map of all the objects in orbit. Over email, Vijgen said that the shapes are drawn from models of radiation, which the app calculates “based on the distance between you and the transmitter,” and which the interfaces displays on screen. “It is in that sense a theoretical simulation rather than a full measurement of the entire radio spectrum,” he added.

Either way, it’s a really interesting reminder that the systems our world depends on are all around us, even if we can’t see them. Vijgen says that he has plans to make the app publicly available later this year. If you can’t wait, the app will be on display at the ZKM | Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany, starting next month.

[The Architecture of Radio h/t Creative Applications]


Contact the author at kelsey@Gizmodo.com.