The University of Salford is part of research project which brought cutting-edge technology to the world of couture this month – all in aid of a charity fundraising initiative at Selfridges in London.
The Oxfam Curiosity Shop – a pop up store which ran from 1 to 10 April – sold donations from people such as Annie Lennox, Kate Moss, Helen Mirren and Colin Firth.
And, as part of the ToTeM project of which Salford is part, singer Beverley Knight and Olympic gold medallist James Cracknell attached their video stories about the items, using tagging technology called QR codes.
The idea is part of a 36-month cross-university research project. ‘TOTeM: Tales of Things and Electronic Memory’ which saw Salford’s Dr Maria Burke collaborate with research partners from Edinburgh College of Art, University College London, Brunel University and the University of Dundee.
Maria said: “When items are scanned with a TOTeM-enabled reader – such as an iPhone with the ‘Tales of Things’ app - then these tags can access stories about the objects online.”
Beverley’s items linked to a video about how she wore them to the Pride of Britain awards and James tells viewers about how his trainers were worn in a gruelling marathon.
Maria added: “When objects in Oxfam’s Curiosity Shop were scanned by visitors’ smartphones, the story of how its sale helps fund projects supporting and empowering vulnerable women appeared on the plasma screen in store. It really brought these objects to life.”
Salford has also been working on other projects using the TOTeM tags. The codes appear in estate agents listings in Greater Manchester newspapers to give extra property information and on the Manchester wheel to help people looking out over the city’s panoramic views.
To watch a video of the Oxfam Curiosity Shop, please visit here. For more information on TOTeM visit www.talesofthings.com.
