There’s an interesting article from today’s NYT Circuits section about using cellphones (especially SMS) to allow universal control of displays in order to improve the utility of public spaces–it mentions things like the Blinkenlights display in Germany and the BBCi HQ, which allows passers-by to submit questions for ongoing interviews by SMS. The article’s light on tech, but there are some interesting ideas.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/18/technology/circuits/18cell.html?8cir=&pagewanted=print&position=

Excerpt:

Yet things are different at the Lisbon offices of Vodafone, the British-based mobile phone company. Step inside and you’ll find yourself in a space enclosed on one side by a 260-foot-long glass wall. Visible through the glass is a 13-by-13-foot cube poised above an expanse of water: the side facing you is a liquid crystal display screen programmed with a loop of news headlines, short animations and interactive games. In game mode, the cube prompts visitors to dial a number on their mobile phones or use controls embedded in the furniture to play solo or against one another.