Footnotes

Footnotes is an augmented reality web application that uses object recognition to connect everyday objects to the people whose work made them possible. When a user points their camera at a familiar object–a phone, a car, a streetlight–the app surfaces the stories of the scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and innovators whose work paved the way for it.

The project focuses on histories that have been largely overlooked—particularly the discoveries and innovations of women and other marginalized figures whose work was foundational to modern life but underrecognized in the historical record. By anchoring those stories to physical objects in the user's environment, Footnotes makes the connection tangible: a direct link between the things people encounter every day and the people who shaped them.