the Vibe Machine
Helping make cities happy!
What’s the vibe?
A spontanious collective emotion that sets our expectation of a space.
Our brains sense it intuitively, but what if a machine could do the same?
The value of vibe analytics
In an online-driven convenience economy, high streets and public spaces thrive by becoming the antidote.
Where online is frictionless, they provide positive friction; where it’s atomised, they provide belonging; where its prescripted, they provide serendipitous discovery; and where it’s two-dimensional, they provide multisensory experiences.
But why do some spaces feel better than others? And how do you know you’ve created one?
01
Reveal the patterns
02
Iterate design and activations
03
Prove Return on Investment
Currently running R&D pilots across London
Opportunity Kensington - Phillimore Walk
We are Waterloo - Lower Marsh Street
Emma Cons Foundation - Emma Cons Gardens
Inside the Vibe Machine
When the vibe is good, people MOVE and SOUND differently!
While still in its R&D stage, an initial MVP has already been piloted over the summer in London. Using sampled audio and video recordings it delivered each operator:
1) An overall Vibe level:
Dormant – minimal ambience and social activity
Flickering – emerging but yet to settle social patterns
Active – stable positive social flows
Vibrant – strong and continuous reinforcing patterns of social connection
Thriving – signals of genuine human resonance
2) Space unique comparative Vibe Index score.
3) A set of observations and suggestions for small scale interventions that could potentially enhance the indicated drivers of vibe.
Building on multi-disciplinary research into complexity science, evolutionary psychology, collective neuroscience and crowd behavior, the Vibe Machine is an innivative analytics system that uses video and audio feeds to analyse the social patterns that make places come alive – their vibe!
Context-driven vibe analysis
People don’t go out to get something, they go out to feel something, seeking the right space for the right emotional context…
Chillout Zones:
Spaces we go to relax and feel the sense of belonging generated by micro interactions with friendly strangers.
Why do certain spaces make us feel at ease?
Discovery Zones:
Spaces that pull us in with the joy of the hunt for new discoveries - fashion, food, & inspirations.
What makes us want to go back to some and not to others?
Watering Holes:
Spaces where we get together in larger groups, thriving on the energy of the crowd.
But why do some places energise us, while others just feel crowded?
Public Salons:
Spaces that excite us by the potential for deeper social connections.
Yet some feel much friendlier than others.
Suprise and Delight Zones:
Spaces that just make our day. Those exciting moments discovered around the corner, reminding us why we love our city!
The Vibe Tinkerer
Dr Orit Gal is a Senior Lecturer for Strategy and Complexity at Regents University London, teaching about the future of cities and the interplay between technological innovation, social flourishing and the inherent serendipity of urban life.
The Vibe Machine has evolved out of her passion for applying complexity science to real world problems.
Wanna measure your vibe?
Tell me about your space by filling the form below, or email me at orit@urban-serendipity.com
