How do you communicate when the government censors the internet? With a peer-to-peer mesh broadcasting network that doesn’t use the internet.
That’s exactly what Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters are doing now, thanks to San Fransisco startup Bridgefy’s Bluetooth-based messaging app. The protesters can communicate with each other — and the public — using no persistent managed network.
The app can connect people via standard Bluetooth across an entire city, thanks to a mesh network. Chatting is speediest with people who are close, of course, within a hundred meters (330 feet), but you can also chat with people who are farther away. Your messages will simply “hop” via other Bridgefy users’ phones until they find your intended target.
Pi Zero W is $10 and has built in Bluetooth connectivity.
You can find Solar USB Power Packs for ~$25.
So for less than $50 and a little time investment to load some programs you can have an autonomous bluetooth repeater.
I think they only run at Class 2 or 2.5mw so 10 meter range… but there are DIY solutions to amplify it to Class 1 for 100 meter range.
But even at 10 meters, given this sort of program uses a packet delivery system, if you are constantly on the move you’re effectively a postman for the system as it will transmit every time it comes in range of another compatible program.
Americans joke about living in a cyperpunk dystopia but chinese protesters are going 1for1 with censor bots in order to spread info, engineering anti facial recognition solutions daily, and running pop up resistance bases out of ghost towns we will never be on that level here lmao
News update! A student (20 years old) has recently been arrested for buying these laser pens, on the account of them being an offensive weapon, claiming that they set things on fire.
Now, there’s a nightly tourist attraction that uses these lasers, sized up multiple times. There is nothing inherently offensive or dangerous about these tiny laser pens, mainly used for stargazing.
So what do the people do?
They come out, to the planetarium (another popular use for these lasers) and they all shine a spectacular laser show to:
1). show their dissatisfaction for baseless arrests
2). display that there’s nothing dangerous about these lasers
3). they try to set the entire planetarium on fire with the very vicious glare of multiple lasers (it did not work)
4). also to satisfy the urge to shine a flashlight at a planetarium and make shadow dogs out of their hands
5). they’ve also turned it into an impromptu disco with song requests being taken, neon beachballs being tossed around, a public karaoke session
6). They also attempt to set a newspaper on fire via the sheer offensive firepower of multiple lasers singled upon one target. Newsflash, it didn’t work.
7). They also attempt to light a cigarette, to no avail.
Anti-Police graffiti calling police ‘Dogs’ painted on the Legislative Council building in Hong Kong after protesters vandalised and ransacked the building on the 1st of July, 2019
nevver
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap200625.html
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