Digital UrbanData, Cities, The Metaverse, IoT, VR, AR and Making 'Data Devices'2026-08-04T10:21:59Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/Professor Andrew Hudson-SmithFenland: A weeWX Dashboard with forecast verification, ensemble models, climate records back to 1940 and finally, that tween...2026-08-04T10:21:59Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2026/08/04/fenland-a-weewx-dashboard-that-scores-its-own-forecasts-ensemble-spread-climate-records-back-to-1940-nightly-forecast-verificationand-finally-that-tween/In a previous post I wrote at length in Chasing the Tween: My 25-Year Obsession with Weather Data . The chase, for a real-time dashboard with a physics-based tween, climate context and a proper view…City Clock: A City where the People Tell the Time2026-05-06T09:00:00Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2026/05/06/city-clock-vibe-coding-boids-people-tell-time/How an experiment in agent-based simulation went on to make a living breathing city.Aqua Clock: Multi-Model Vibe Coding, Boids, and the Fish That Tell the Time2026-03-20T09:00:00Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2026/03/20/aqua-clock-vibe-coding-boids-fish-tell-time/How an experiment in agent-based fish simulation, vibe coded with Claude and Gemini AI Studio, became a clock — and ended up on the Apple App Store.The Album: Place and Space2025-12-01T16:34:27Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2025/12/01/the-album-place-and-space/We are pleased to announce that the Album - Place and Space is now available across all streaming formats or to purchase via Apple Music / Amazon . Simply search for Digital Urban or Place and Space…Stepper Motor Linear Data Gauge2025-11-13T12:01:34Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2025/11/13/stepper-motor-linear-data-gauge/The latest upload to the Open Gauges Github is a Linear Gauge, using a timing belt to provide Linear Stepper Motor Gauge a full 1 metre range for the data visualisation. It uses a stepper motor for…Ships Lamp Wind Speed Gauge2025-11-12T11:39:29Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2025/11/12/ships-lamp-wind-speed-gauge/Our MicroPython project turns a strip of NeoPixel LEDs into a “ship's lamp" style wind speed gauge. It connects to an MQTT broker to receive real-time wind speed data and translates it into a…Will AI Push the Human Planner to the Point of Irrelevance?2025-11-06T11:52:28Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2025/11/06/will-ai-push-the-human-planner-to-the-point-of-irrelevance/ The title is, of course, controversial. The question, however, comes from the closing section of a 2020 paper by Parker et al (2020), and arguably, it's looking like the answer is Yes, and…Just Weather for The Pebble Watch: Making a Data Watch Face2025-10-30T12:59:40Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2025/10/30/just-weather-for-the-pebble-watch-making-a-data-watch-face/It's an exciting time to be a Pebble fan. After years of being kept alive by the dedicated Rebble community, the Pebble is officially back. The new Pebble 2 Duo watches (the black-and-white model)…Cities in the Metaverse: Spatial Computing, Digital Twins, Avatars, Economics and Digital Habitation on the New Frontier2025-10-27T11:25:42Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2025/10/27/cities-in-the-metaverse-book/We are pleased to announce the publication of our new book - Cities in the Metaverse: Spatial Computing, Digital Twins, Avatars, Economics and Digital Habitation on the New Frontier and we have 20%…TIME: An Open Source 3D Printed Clock2025-08-05T09:33:43Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2025/08/05/time-an-open-source-3d-printed-clock/We are about to release ‘TIME,’ our fully 3D-printed mechanical clock, on Printables. This post provides insight into both its creation and development.Chasing the Tween: My 25-Year Obsession with Weather Data2025-07-25T13:04:19Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2025/07/25/chasing-the-tween-my-25-year-obsession-with-weather-data/From Adobe Flash through to Vibe Coding and back again to Physical DisplaysVibe Coding: From iOS Apps to an Asteroid Clock and 3D Cities2025-07-16T20:38:17Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2025/07/16/vibe-coding-from-ios-apps-to-an-asteroid-clock-and-3d-cities/Back in 2023, I wrote a blog post over on DigitalUrban.org creating an app called Frame-IT. It turns out I was using 'Vibe Coding' and it's changed the way I view the creation of almost everything...MQTT Frame - Beautifully Framed Live Data2025-03-19T18:03:40Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2025/03/19/mqttframe/Transform your iPhone into a beautifully framed, dynamic data display with MQTT Frame. Stay informed about environmental conditions, breaking news, or custom live data feeds elegantly presented…MQTT Frame Privacy Policy2024-09-19T18:29:59Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2024/09/19/mqtt-frame-privacy-policy/Effective Date: [19th March 2025] Your privacy is important to us. This Privacy Policy explains how MQTTFrame ("we," "our," or "us") handles your information. Information We Collect MQTTFrame does…SHIFT DIGITAL FRONTIERS REPORT2024-07-18T09:30:28Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2024/07/18/shift-digital-frontiers-report-unveiled-during-london-data-week/SHIFT , in collaboration with Arup and the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis , Connected Environments Group at University College London ( UCL ), have released the "SHIFT Digital Frontiers"…Turn Any Device into a Literary Clock with our MQTT Feed2024-07-15T13:40:48Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2024/07/15/turning-any-device-into-a-literary-clock-with-mqtt/The Concept of the Literary Clock A literary clock is a unique fusion of literature and timekeeping. Every minute of the day is represented by a corresponding quote from a literary work, providing…Make a Scrolling Hub75 Matrix Display using a Pimoroni Interstate75W and MQTT2024-07-12T09:30:06Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2024/07/12/creating-an-scrolling-hub75-matrix-display-with-pimoroni-interstate75w-and-mqtt/There are many tutorials online on using an LED Matrix to display data—many of them require wiring up a screen, external power supplies, or flashing boards. We wanted to highlight a slightly more…Enhancing Live Weather Monitoring with MQTT and Chart.js2024-06-27T15:10:06Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2024/06/27/enhancing-live-weather-monitoring-with-mqtt-and-chart-js/Introduction Viewing real-time data from a personal weather station such as a Davis Vantage Pro, a Tempest, or an EcoWhitt device can be complex. However, the majority of systems that process weather…Creating Art Like Weather Forecast Images with DALL·E 3 and API Data2024-04-27T14:12:43Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2024/04/27/creating-art-like-weather-forecast-images-with-dall%c2%b7e-3-and-api-data/Introduction The Met Office, as the national meteorological service for the United Kingdom, provides valuable weather data through its API called DataPoint. This API caters to a wide range of users,…Tellus Mater: An AI That Thinks it's Mother Earth2023-12-05T16:35:37Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2023/12/05/tellus-mater-an-ai-that-thinks-its-mother-earth/Artificial Intelligence is on everyone’s minds, and so is the human-induced environmental decline of our planet Earth. Tellus Mater Installation The Connected Environments team, as part of The…How to Make a Lightsaber Realtime Wind Speed Gauge2023-11-09T09:55:58Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2023/11/09/lightsaber/Imagine wielding the power of the Force, not to fight Sith Lords, but to display real-time data - in our case, wind speed, but the code/build can be adapted to any data feed. Using a NeoPixel strip…Reimaging the Traditional Weather House with Open Data, Laser Cutting and 3D Printing2023-08-18T13:36:46Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2023/08/18/reimaging-the-traditional-weather-house-with-open-data-laser-cutting-and-3d-printing/Traditional German weather houses are small, decorative structures that are popular in Germany and other parts of Europe. They are often made from wood and used to predict the weather. A Traditional…Writing 500 Words a Day - The Pomodoro Technique2023-08-10T14:06:41Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2023/08/10/writing-500-words-a-day-the-pomodoro-technique/Back in 2013, I wrote a blog post on 500 Words a Day, Academic Writing. Noting that its not something many academics admit - but writing is hard, not for all, there are some academics who simply flow…MQTT Scroller for the Pimoroni Stellar Unicorn: THE: Time, Headlines and Environmental Information2023-08-03T08:49:16Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2023/08/03/mqtt-scroller-for-the-pimoroni-stellar-unicon-the-time-headlines-and-envivronmental-information/Pimoroni make a range of LED matrix displays with Pi Pico W's built in - previously we have used the large scale Pimoroni Galatic Unicorn and added a series of scripts on GitHub to allow it to scroll…Made by AI: The Making of Frame-IT2023-04-06T20:39:05Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2023/04/06/made-by-ai-the-making-of-frame-it/Every app has a story, from the idea through to story boarding, finding a design team, working with in house computer scientists or outsourcing. All of these steps take time, resources and often for…Frame-IT2023-04-06T13:01:45Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2023/04/06/frame-it/"Frame-IT is the perfect app for anyone who loves to display websites in style. With Frame-IT, you can put a beautiful picture frame around any website, making it look like a work of art. Whether you…Open Gauges - Physical and Digital Data Display Devices2022-06-14T17:49:06Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2022/06/14/open-gauges-physical-data-display-devices/Developed at the Connected Environments Lab at The Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis , University College London , the Open Gauges Project was launched in October 2021 as part of the Module on…Incoming Metaverses: Digital Mirrors for Urban Planning2022-06-13T11:24:33Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2022/06/13/incoming-metaverses-digital-mirrors-for-urban-planning/The planning process has been, arguably, slow to adapt and adopt new technologies: It is perhaps only now that it is starting to move into a more digitally focused era. Yet, it is not the current…Ubiquitous geographic information in the emergent Metaverse2022-06-13T09:33:26Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2022/06/13/ubiquitous-geographic-information-in-the-emergent-metaverse/Another new paper - this time with Michael Batty - We sketch a brief history of the development of virtual geographic environments which build on online gaming, three-dimensional representations of…Applying cybernetic principles to the co-creation of spaces2022-06-10T14:25:45Zhttps://www.digitalurban.org/blog/2022/06/10/applying-cybernetic-principles-to-the-co-creation-of-spaces/Another new paper, written with a number of colleagues from The Bartlett School of Planning - The paper is based on the experience of creating and piloting a functioning ‘Incubator’ crowdsourcing…