DriftBottle is an adventurous message-sharing system inspired by the old romantic idea of throwing bottles with messages into the sea.
Tiny devices called DriftBots exchange messages directly — with no internet involved.
Imagine a digital bottle that floats from person to person, passed physically when devices come into contact.
Just you, other people, and invisible wireless waves.
You carry a small DriftBot — built with a Raspberry Pi Zero and an e-ink display.
When it comes close to another DriftBot, they automatically exchange messages — “bottles.”
Each message can:
- Be addressed to a specific person or region;
- Be locked (only the recipient can read it) or public;
- Have a lifespan (after which it “shatters on the rocks”);
- Carry a digital reward — experience, points, or local currency.
Message delivery happens in the real world.
You walk, meet people — and your devices make digital handshakes like tiny wireless captains.
DriftBottle turns everyday movement into a playful adventure, and each exchange into a moment of discovery.
- 📦 Physical message delivery through human chains
- 🎮 Leveling up: XP for helping bottles reach destinations
- 🏅 Achievements for unique routes, rare deliveries, or speed runs
- 🤝 Social links: "device friendship" based on frequent interactions
- 🗺️ Anonymous but smart delivery graph (no GPS, just contact chains)
- 💌 Return bottles with gratitude and XP shared across the delivery chain
- 🚢 Mini-games between devices (like Battleship)
- Raspberry Pi Zero
- 2.13” e-ink display
- Wi-Fi (no internet required)
- Data exchange via custom packets (no access point)
- Python
- Fully offline — works in forests, festivals, even bunkers
- Adds mystery and meaning to everyday movement
- Easy to modify and extend — it’s open-source
DriftBottle isn’t just about delivering messages.
It’s a digital adventure in the real world — where every bottle tells a story.
Like the ocean, you never know where a message will end up —
but if it arrives, someone made it happen.
If you like the idea — check out the code, share your thoughts, or build your own DriftBot.
Open, playful, alive.
Let the bottles drift.