Belfast Memory Machine
An R&D project exploring a screenless, place-based story collection tool through spatial UI and voice-based interaction.
Issue
Digital Inclusion
Client
Belfast City Council
Sector
Civic Technologies
Overview
The Belfast Memory Machine (BMM) is a multi-phase research and development project reimagining how cities listen to their citizens. At its core is a tactile city model that invites people to share personal stories. Participants share personal, place-based memories in conversation with an AI designed to reflect, prompt, and respond with an awareness of time and place, informed by chronotope theory.
Impact & Results
BMM has evolved across phases through testing and feedback. Phase 1 focused on feasibility and strategy, aligning with Belfast City Council’s goals for inclusive digital storytelling and integrating the existing ‘Belfast Stories’ framework to ensure accessibility and cultural relevance. In Phase 2, the focus shifted to building a conversational AI model trained on Northern Irish dialects, capable of recognising emotional tone and generating personalised prompts to support natural, reflective storytelling that encourages people to share memories in their own voice, at their own pace.
Looking ahead, we plan to test the full prototype in civic settings to gather underrepresented voices and explore how public memory can be co-authored. These insights point us beyond screens toward tactile, voice-first interaction that shifts attention from technology itself to the memories and emotions people choose to share.
Collaboration
The project has been developed in close collaboration with Belfast City Council and local communities, who have played a key role in shaping and testing early prototypes. In Phase 2, participants clearly preferred the tactile model over digital interfaces, spending more time exploring and instinctively treating buildings as vessels for memory. This reinforced the value of physical interaction in creating inclusive, emotionally resonant experiences.
Given the civic nature of the project, we aim to deepen this collaborative approach even further to co-create with communities to ensure the experience reflects diverse voices and feels genuinely welcoming. We’re currently seeking partners who share this vision and are interested in exploring new ways of gathering and sharing public memory and intangible heritage.
