The Backslash kit is a series of functional devices designed for protests and riots of the future. Created through the lens of critical design, Backslash aims to retain the right to connect in protest sites through disruptive innovation and the creative appropriation of existing technologies. The range of devices include a smart bandana for embedding hidden messages and public keys, independently networked wearable devices, personal blackbox devices to register abuse of law enforcement and fast deployment routers for off grid communication.
Aside from the kit and at it’s core, Backslash is about creating a space to explore and research the tense relationship between protests and technology and a space to cultivate dialogue about freedom of expression, riots and disruptive technology.
The team behind the Backslash kit ask “In protests of the future, how will the underground fight back?”