Traces and IoTA – Abstract
Traces: Between Nature and Information Technology.
The concept of traces is a fundamental element in both natural and digital systems. In both contexts, a trace is the mark left by an event, an action, or a presence, which can be observed, interpreted, and used to reconstruct past processes or predict future developments.
In both nature and computing science, traces constitute a system’s distributed memory. They transform ephemeral events into enduring information, allowing observers—biological, human, or artificial to understand relationships, behaviors, and transformations. For this reason, the concept of trace represents a conceptual bridge between ecology, communication, art, cognitive science, and information technology.
In nature, a trace is a material or immaterial testimony left by organisms and environmental phenomena. An animal’s footprints on the ground, a path carved by water in rock, a tree’s growth rings, or mycorrhizal networks underground are examples of traces that tell a story.
Natural traces serve various functions:
– they reveal the presence of organisms and their activities;
– they document environmental transformations over time;
– they allow us to reconstruct ecosystems and ecological relationships;
– they constitute forms of indirect communication between organisms.
The interpretation of natural traces requires observation, experience, and the ability to connect seemingly isolated signs to broader processes. In this sense, nature can be seen as a vast archive of distributed information.
In computer science, a trace is the set of information generated during interactions between users, devices, and digital systems. Every website access, every message sent, every IoT sensor that records data creates a digital trace. Digital traces include:
– log files;
– metadata;
– browsing histories;
– data from sensors and networks;
– recordings of user operations.
These traces allow us to:
– monitor system operation;
– analyze behaviors and processes;
– identify anomalies and security issues;
– reconstruct past events through auditing and digital forensics.
Traces and IoTA – The project
As in nature, in the digital world, a trace does not coincide with the event itself, but represents interpretable evidence of it.
As part of this Traces topic, we’re developing an educational project, with students of the courses “Interactive Systems” and “Interaction Design” of Urbino Academy of Fine Arts, that connects a website to a robotic animal that receives events from web page user input and responds consistently to requests. These electronic animals can leave physical traces: a footprint on a sheet of paper, a light trail, or a sound signature.
Traces is a project that explores the concept of traces as a connecting element between the digital and physical worlds through interaction between users, a web platform, and a series of small, autonomous robotic animals. The system consists of a website that allows users to send stimuli, commands, or messages. Each interaction generates a digital trace: an event recorded, processed, and transmitted to an electronic animal equipped with sensors, actuators, and behavioral response capabilities. The animal interprets the input received and reacts consistently, simulating behaviors inspired by living organisms. Depending on the nature of the message, it can move, change speed, emit lights, produce sounds, or activate mechanisms that leave tangible traces in the environment. The project’s unique feature lies in the transformation of digital traces into observable physical traces. Each user action is not confined to virtual space, but materializes in the real world through various forms of expression:
– Graphic imprints left on paper using markers, stamps, or drawing systems integrated into the robot;
– Light trails generated by programmable LEDs that visually record the path taken;
– Sound tracks consisting of acoustic sequences that document received events;
– Spatial paths that make the system’s decisions and behaviors visible.
IoTA System: The Relational Level. The third component is the IoTA – Internet of Things and Art system, a communication platform that connects the digital and physical worlds. IoTA is not simply a network of connected devices, but an infrastructure designed to transform information into aesthetic and behavioral experiences. Main Functions of the IoTA system:
– receives events generated by the website;
– distributes messages to robots;
– coordinates interactions between devices;
– records the traces produced;
– creates a shared memory of activities.
Through IoTA, every event follows ( in both directions ) a transformation path:
User Input → Digital Event → Network Message → Robotic Interpretation → Physical Trace
The system acts as a sort of communication ecosystem in which data takes on a sensible form. A Network of Artificial Organisms, where every students makes a Robotic Pet, and in an extended version of the project, multiple animals can be connected simultaneously. Each robot becomes a node in the IoTA network and can:
– receive information from users;
– communicate with other robots;
– share states and behaviors;
– build collective traces.
This creates a sort of colony of artificial organisms reminiscent of cooperative systems found in nature, such as colonies of social insects or mycorrhizal networks.
Traces and IoTA – Components
The components of this project are:
– The website in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
– The robotic animal built with an electronic circuit based on sensors, LEDs, and motors driven by an ESP32 and C++.
– The IoTA (Internet of Things and ART) communication system with the relative Proxy with Python.
