The Bureau of Inverse Technology [bit and sometimes BIT] is an organisation of artist-engineers who's stated aim is to be an "information agency servicing the Information Age". Bureau engineers, so-called BIT agents, are involved from design to deployment and documentation of radical products based on commercially available electronic entertainment components such as cameras, radios, networks, robots, sensors etc. The French word bureau, which originally referred to an office, can in English refer to: a sort of desk with drawers, such as a writing table or a pedestal desk the Bureau Mazarin is a 17th century desk form named after Cardinal Mazarin a public office or government agency the... A camera is a device used to capture images, usually photographs, either singly or in sequence such as with video cameras. ... // Look up network in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... For other uses, see Robot (disambiguation) ASIMO, a humanoid robot manufactured by Honda. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

The Bureau was founded in Melbourne in 1991 (though some accounts say 1992), and was incorporated with limited liability in the Cayman Islands in 1991 and subseqently re-incoroporated in Delaware in 1997. Melbournes Yarra River is a popular area for walking, jogging, cycling, rowing and for relaxing on the banks with a picnic Melbourne (pronounced ) is the second most populous city in Australia, with a metropolitan area population of approximately 3. ... Official language(s) None Capital Dover Largest city Wilmington Area  Ranked 49th  - Total 2,491 sq mi (6,452 km²)  - Width 30 miles (48 km)  - Length 100 miles (161 km)  - % water 21. ...

Though its work has long been publicly available, the composition of the Bureau itself is shrouded in some mystery, for some years cloaking its identity in anonymity. In 2004 the Bureau initiated a "retreat from anonymity" when radio journalist and BIT co-founder Kate Rich took up a 3-month Research Fellowship at Piet Zwart Institute for Media Design Research, Rotterdam in 2004. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Current Bureau projects include BIT Radio, Feral Robotic Dogs - engineered for semi-autonomous deployment, and the Despondency Index [1] - a bizarre economic indicator which correlates, in real time, the suicide rate measured at the Golden Gate Bridge with the Suicide Box, to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. See [2] for graphic images taken using BIT's innovative Suicide Box. It has been suggested that Real-time computing be merged into this article or section. ... Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of willfully ending ones own life. ... The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening into the San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. ... The Dow Jones Industrial Average (NYSE: DJI) is one of several stock market indices created by Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company founder Charles Dow. ...

See also the BUREAU OF INVERSE TECHNOLOGY: THE DECADE REPORT, THE BUREAU THE EVIDENCE THE FIRST 10 YEARS [3] by bureau engineers Natalie Jeremijenko and Kate Rich.

A limited release advisory issued by the Bureau in 2004 [4] gives the performance characterisics of several Bureau products including BIT Radio, BIT Rockets and the BITCAB Service. A Redstone rocket, part of the Mercury program The traditional definition of a rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving fluid from within a rocket engine. ...

In May 2003, the Bureau opened their Anti-Terror Line [[5]] (tel: +1 212 998 3394 - press 1 for antiterror), which enables every telephone, home, cell or payphone, to act as a networked microphone. The Anti-Terror Line can be used for collecting live audio data on civil liberty infringements and other anti-terror events. Terror is a pronounced state of fear, an overwhelming sense of imminent danger. ... Look up Telephone in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... // The word microphone (Greek mikros small and phone voice or sound) originally referred to a mechanical hearing aid for small sounds. ... Civil liberties are protections from the power of governments. ...

The Bureau can be found at [6]

BIT Products

BIT Radio

Feral Robotic Dogs [[7]] - Commercially available robotic toy dogs re-engineered for semi-autonomous deployment. The dogs are typically fitted with sensors, e.g. for volatile organic compounds, and unleashed in packs to co-operatively and socially hunt the toxins.

Suicide Box [[8]]

Despondency Index

BIT Rockets

BITCAB service

BIT Plane [[9]]

Anti-Terror Line [[10]]

BIT Agents

BIT co-founder Natalie Jeremijenko

BIT co-founder Kate Rich [[11]]

BIT References

Articles

• Overview of Media Art - Society. A short article discussing various artistic initiatives utilizing consumer electronics for surveillance purposes. Media Art Net.

• Public Lecture. A statement from BIT co-founder Kate Rich, describing her three month research fellowship at the Instituut. Piet Zwart Instituut.
• Videos of BIT Plane and Suicide Box. Descriptions of BIT and videos of some of their work, including a flight on the BIT Plane. Video Date Bank.
• New York Times article. A Ken Johnson review from 1999 describing BIT and their Suicide Box and Despondency Index. New York Times.
• Technology in the 1990s. A transcript of a lecture given by BIT founder Natalie Jeremijenko at The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior. ...

Exhibitions

• Whitney Biennial. An exhibition of Natalie's bird perches plus an audio clip of Natalie describing this work.
• Index - The Swedish Contemporary Art Foundation. An exhibition held at the Foundation, 16 February - 17 March 2002.