Join The Sensing Institute (I-SENSE) for another Distinguished Seminar speaker event with Rachel Plotnick, Ph.D.!

Seminar Title: Durable by Design: The “Tamper-Proof” Wristband as Technology of the Wrist  Abstract: Digital wristbands that employ barcodes, QR codes or NFC now proliferate in hospitals, theme parks, concerts, stadiums, prisons, memory care facilities and resorts. These low-tech bands, made of tamper-proof plastic or paper, possess no screen and allow for passive tracking. The bands’ materials and their unremovability via adhesive or a fastener are a key component of their functionality. Indeed, instructions to music festival attendees advise them to wait until the event day to affix their bracelets: “once it’s on, it locks instantly, and you won’t be able to remove it” (Lovin’ Life Music Fest, 2024).

This seminar investigates the fastening of wristbands as a design affordance, considering how institutions mandate bracelet-wearing, advertising it sometimes as a perk for exclusive access and other times as a security measure for vulnerable populations. It also considers users’ experiences with these bands as they remove, hack and play with them based on their ideas about durability, unremovability, and surveillance.