In 2002, everyone still uses paper maps or navigates from memory — a "mental map". No one is familiar with the concept of digital routes. No ordinary person has ever been able to see themselves or another person move on a map in real time. Even Amsterdam's trauma team uses printed street maps and atlases in their ambulances at the time. AmsterdamREALTIME is the first art project to bring together GPS and mobile technology at this scale.
The work rests on two pillars; two intertwined concepts. On one hand, the map as something living and democratic, generated by the daily lives of people. On the other, the birth of a technology that will radically transform our understanding of time, space and privacy.
The interactive animation on this website dates from 2006 and shows routes through Amsterdam made by participants in Amsterdam REALTIME in 2002. The animation is a self-contained visualisation of the live performance of those routes, which took place in 2002 at the Stadsarchief.
Below you will find a detailed description of the technological ins and outs from 2002, 2006 and 2026.
Live performance in 2002 at the Municipal Archive Amsterdam (now Stadsarchief)
In 2002, this project felt the way it must have felt to have invented photography — to be the very first photographers.
Each participant receives a tracer, consisting of a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a small handheld computer with a screen and a built-in mobile phone connection. A separate GPS receiver is connected to the PDA via a one-metre cable.
The software developed for the project on the PDA maintains an always-on internet connection with a server at Waag Futurelab on the Nieuwmarkt (then: Waag Society), continuously transmitting calculated coordinates in real time. This is done by establishing a connection over the GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) network via the built-in phone — the first mobile internet. GPRS is the so-called 2.5G network, where G stands for Generation, and is a stepping stone between GSM (2G) and UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System, 3G). It is not yet a broadband network like UMTS promises to become, but it offers greater bandwidth and enables internet connections. KPN, for example, uses the GPRS network for the new I-mode services, the first data services for mobile phones.
A computer (client) is set up at the Municipal Archive running the Keystroke software developed by Waag, which retrieves data in real time from the server and projects it on screen in the exhibition 'Maps of Amsterdam 1866–2000'.
Interactive animation 2006
The interactive interface was designed and developed between 2006 and 2009 for use on CD-ROM. Flash was chosen for development — a technology and tool commonly used for interactive applications at the time. In 2009 the interface was made accessible online on the project's website, where it continued to function until support for Flash was removed from web browsers in 2020.
Restoration of the interactive animation 2026
The 2026 restoration makes the application suitable for contemporary web browsers. To achieve this, the old codebase in Flash and ActionScript has been replaced by a codebase in HTML/CSS combined with JavaScript.
We chose JavaScript because its programming approach most closely resembles the original (prototype-based) programming style of ActionScript.
JavaScript has been an essential component of modern web browsers and websites for decades. Since its introduction in 1995, it has become a driving force behind a large share of interactive web applications. It is a widely supported technology that continues to be developed, while 'backward compatibility' is also carefully maintained.
It is expected that the new codebase will last up to 20 years as a result.
AmsterdamREALTIME was developed as part of the exhibition 'Maps of Amsterdam 1866–2000' (4 October – 1 December 2002) at the Municipal Archive of Amsterdam (now Stadsarchief)
Esther Polak – Visual artist
Jeroen Kee – Exhibition/installation design – Visual artist
Waag Futurelab (then: Waag Society) – Research, development and project production
Tom Demeyer (Waag Futurelab) – Software development and technology
Aske Hopman (Waag Futurelab) – Concept and project management, technical research, tracer configuration, html website
Marleen Stikker, Floor van Spaendonck (Waag Futurelab) – Concept advice
Kari Anne Bakker (intern) – Producer
Lies Ros – Flyer and website header design
Ina Arends – Design and production of protective portapack tracers
Ludger Smit – Exhibition maker Municipal Archive Amsterdam
Financial support:
Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst (AFK)
Mondriaan Fonds (interregeling)
Supported by Het Parool, Beamsystems and KPN Mobile
Interactive animation 2006
The AmsterdamREALTIME animation was published in 2006 as a CD-ROM in a supplement to the magazine Open 2006/No.11/Hybrid Space (now Open! platform!). This animation was put online in 2009 by Waag Futurelab and replaced the original html website.
The AmsterdamREALTIME animation has been restored, the website has been updated and retrospective videos with participants and former contributors have been added.
20 Mar 2025. Reactivating AmsterdamREALTIME, 23 Years Later. Living Media Lab weblog (EN) Link
21 Sep 2025. Chris Bajema. DUIF. Man met de Microfoon podcast Link
2024
5 Feb 2024. Ellen Mueller. Interview with Esther Polak. Ellen Mueller weblog (EN) Link | PDF
2019
Sanneke Huisman / Marga van Mechelen A Critical History Of Media Arts in the Netherlands PDF
2016
11 Mar 2016. Made in Amsterdam Exhibition Catalog; 11 March – 1 August 2016 '100 years in 100 artworks' AmsterdamMuseum PDF
2015
29 Oct 2015. Ned Prutzer. Examining Amsterdam RealTime: Blueprints, the Cartographic Imaginary and the Locative Uncanny. Invisible Culture online journal (EN) Link | PDF
2014
12 Mar 2014. Robin van der Akker. Bytes & Bricks How social networks are changing the city. Frieze Magazine (EN) Link | PDF
2009
(Summer 2009 Issue 33). Interview Esther Polak. Neural Magazine (EN) Link | PDF
6 Mar 2009. Tracy Metz. Een potlood dat over de aarde beweegt. NRC Handelsblad Link | PDF
2007
Arjen Mulder. Bevrijding uit de 100 jaar eenzaamheid van de 20e eeuwse kunst. 54.780 Woorden over Nieuwe Media Cultuur in Nederland Een publicatie van het Instituut voor Netwerkcultuur en het Sandberg Instituut PDF
16 mrt 2007. Steven van Teeseling. Dolen Door de Stad. De Groene Amsterdammer Link | PDF
2006
Amy D. Propen. Critical GPS: Toward a New Politics of Location. ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies (EN) Link | PDF
Jorinde Seijdel/Nathalie Faber. WHERE ARE YOU. Open 11 Hybrid Space (EN) PDF
Mar 2006. Rebecca Ross, ELSE/WHERE: Mapping New Cartographies edited by Janet Abrams and Peter Hall, University of Minnesota (EN) PDF
21 Oct 2006. Arie Altena. What next for e-culture? MetropolisM Link | PDF
Nathalie Faber. Catalogue for the exhibition Playmobiel at Arti Amsterdam Link | PDF
2003
21 feb 2003. Cornel Bierens. Waar zijn die vogels dan? NRC Handelsblad Link | PDF
1 Mar 2003. Jessie Scanlon. Emerging Traffic. Wired nr3 (EN) Link | PDF
2002
12 okt 2002. Hans Masselink. Grootse Amsterdamse visioenen. Trouw Link | PDF
23 nov 2002. David Elders. Hollands Dagboek. NRC Link | PDF
28 okt 2002. Joost Vermeulen. Fascinerend, zo’n bewegend stipje in de stad. Het Parool PDF
3 Dec 2002. Real-Time Collaborative Mapmaking Slashdot (EN) Link | PDF