good-time mix machine: scrambler drawings
this art piece from rosemarie fiore bring the hidden patterns of amusement-park ride mobility to life. now how can i apply this to a city-wide scale... ;]
[thanks boing boing]
this art piece from rosemarie fiore bring the hidden patterns of amusement-park ride mobility to life. now how can i apply this to a city-wide scale... ;]
[thanks boing boing]
here are a bunch of links pertaining to one of my projects, undersound as well as more general urban/representational stuff that i'm working on for my dissertation.
interfaces for public transport:
engaging bus shelters
oy! an oyster card game
S.U.I., smart urban intelligence based on suica cards
nyc subway smell map
overheard on the underground
scratch and sniff ads are banned in SF bus shelters
interfaces for sound:
sonic graffiti
stint an emobodied music sharing project from Alexandra Deschamps-Sonsino
volume over lumen is a communication interface
mystrands does music recommendation mapping
bill to ban iPods in Albany crosswalks
interfaces for bluetooth:
imity is a bluetooth-enabled social network
echo is a robot which embodies online social networks
bluetooth ads are invading our phones
representations of and interfaces for urban spaces:
realtime rome
cityscape rugs
SuckUK tube map wallet
resistant maps took place in genova in 2006
aphrodite project platform shoes
googleplex display of queries round the world
misc:
nicoline van harskamp studies security guards
Cayetano Ferrer's transparent street signs of chicago
the aymara have an interesting way of talking about time
suburban sprawl making us chunky?
coconut couriers keep things moving
why websites are like games
not too much info on this one, but i'm blogging it for posterity.
The installation ' 12m4s ' is a site-specific work by LAb[au] conceived for the major circulation axis of the art center 'STUK', a building by Neutelings. It is an architectural intervention using visitor's movements to generate in real time out of its main parameters such as visitor position, orientation and speed a visual ( 3d particles ) and sonic ( granular synthesis) scape.The installation, based on different capture techniques such as image recognition and ultra sound sensors, uses all these multiple tracked data to create a space of sound and movement.
The result, this 'particle synthesis' is projected on a mylar screen fusing projection and reflection while building a common space in between the digital and the body space.
[thanks information aesthetics]
the invisible maze is an interface by jeppe hein which will be presented from june 10th until august 27th [i hope i can see it!] at the statens museum for kunst in copenhagen. it is a maze the can only be experienced as you move about. visitors wear digital headphones that react everytime they hit a "virtual wall." six different "classic" mazes [like pacman, the labyrinth, and the maze from the shining] are presented, to encourage return visits. it's a really interesting take on space and mazes--places where you can't really see much of everything are now totally wide open, yet something new is hidden.
[thanks wmmna]
inside / out is an interactive light installation that was presented on the streets and buildings of downtown memphis. it is a system which monitors "activity levels" inside of the buildings and creates a light display on the outside. the activity level is measured by counting the number of people entering and exiting the space. i like seeing ambient displays on the urban scale that actually involve the people who are in the space.
[thanks information aesthetics]
blueway, another project at the itp spring show, is basically an interface for using the bluetooth devices people have as trackers, similar to the active badge stuff. you register your device and have your picture taken at a kiosk, and then the devices are tracked and people's locations are displayed. wayfinding information can also be presented to the users. i don't exactly agree with this approach for a host of reasons. one of the main ones being the registration hurdle, and the second being the picture/tracking business. however, i just thought it was worth a mention.
here's a few links to some interesting installations, changing the way we interact with our spaces:
people+ via wmmna
living floor via gizmodo
interactive waterfall
the gumspots positioning system is a project which was just showing at the itp spring show.
Our demonstration of GSPS lets you enter and view hidden data on city sidewalks. A user would take a photograph of the GumSpots with a cellphone and submit it to the GSPS service. The GSPS service would then determine the location and orientation of the image and return the image with extra hidden data displayed on the image. In this case the hidden data will be text as well as 'connect the dot' drawings. A user also has the ability to add hidden text by submitting a note with their image.this is an awesome idea - using the built in randomness produced over time by the littering populace to represent locations, forcing people to look down to orient themselves and get a new perspective on the city.
[thanks engadget]
time travel is a redesign of the london tube map. the map represents time between stations, and is specific to each station. the one above is from the perspective of elephant & castle. the colors have also been changed using the wavelengths of the colors to match to the average speed of the line.
sherelog is a system that gets information from the japanese rfid enable train passes, suica cards, and visualizes all of the trips onto a large public map [can't seem to find their website though.]. it happens that there is software from sony that allows you to view the train ride records.
[thanks wmmna]
bluevend is a project from blink. it's a bluetooth vending machine which allows for the distribution of mobile content. during a brainstorming session at the metapolis workshop at ubicomp in 2005, my group was really pushing the idea of a digital content vending machine and it's nice to have come across people trying to build just that. of course i think in order for such a system to have an impact it can't be a one-off. the real interest would rest in their everyday use.
[thanks wmmna]
palpable city is an interface that came from erik conrad who was at uci, but shamefully i haven't posted about it before. it is basically a wearable interface to epxerience urban landscapes in a tactile fashion. check the webpage for more info, and by the way - that's our campus in the photo.
mobile assassins is basically a mobile phone version of the assassins games. everyone playing is given a secret target. once you kill your mark [in this case by snapping a camerphone photo of them] you acquire their hit. last one standing wins. although they don't really get into the possibilities - imagine playing this game with total strangers, it could be amazing.
maybe i should work on an urbanized version of mafia... hmmm.
cabspotting is a visualization which traces the movements of taxis as they drive around san francisco. it leverages the GPS units installed in the yellow cabs to produce some seriously gorgeous images.
[thanks boing boing]
first: i am finally back to blogging after my website overhaul prompted me to redesign the blog before i bothered posting again. these things always take longer than they should.
this is a really nice visualization from the modern language association. it allows you to see what languages [33 to choose from] are spoken at home all over america. it does not allow you to use firefox, bummer.
thanks [memepool]
the kids of wash u ieee are making a dance floor like the one from mit.
who wants to sponsor me to make the 3rd? ;]
parasite and parallel worlds are from a series of proposals called moving canvas from the universität der künste berlin:
Our contribution to this is the idea of a parasite. Parasite is an independant projection-system that can be attached to subways and other trains with suction pads. Using the speed of the train as parameter for the projected content, the projection starts with the train moving inside a tunnel.The tunnels of a subway-system bear something mystic—most people usually have never made a step inside any of those tunnels. Confusing the routine of your train-travelling-journey, your habits and perception Parallel Worlds—making use of Parasite—allows you a glimpse into a different world full of surrealist imagery.
forgot to blog about this over the summer but i find it a really great installation. of course sticking something to the side of a subway car is never looked kindly upon by the transportation authority, its still an awesome addition to an otherwise more mundane journey. opening up new possibilities and new ways of regarding the infrastructures that we rely on in our daily lives. plus it's gutsy :]
two light/space interfaces worth keeping tabs on that i'm too lazy to post individually about:
sun light table via we make money not art
digitall by ana camila amorim is:
an "always on" home telephone that attempts to enrich voice based communications and enhance the experience of calling based on visual feedback.We repurpose the home telephone as set of individual transmitters, each of them connected to a house or a person, which can be plugged and unplugged to the system along time according to which people the user wants to be connected with.
Each of these panels is customizable and can be shared as a gift/visiting card between friends.
[thanks we make money not art]
epresents an evolution in intelligent architecture, interactive art and ubiquitous computing. An 'Operating System' for contemporary architecture (Arch-OS, 'software for buildings') has been developed to manifest the life of a building and provide artists, engineers and scientists with a unique environment for developing transdisciplinary work and new public art.
[thanks we make money not art]
found this while i was a looking at through a sideshow of philips technology from business week:
Enabling music lovers to share tunes legally was the inspiration for TuneIn. The Next Simplicity project is still in prototype phase but could allow people carrying the small yet savvy gadget to broadcast their music to others in the street. Press one button to tune into what another TuneIn carrier is listening to. Press another to listen to your own music. The device is designed to encourage like-minded music fans to talk to each other in public spaces.also of interest were the concept led lightbulbs they were showing off.
idades is:
a communication network formed by modular installations placed in transit spaces. In each of them, a spectator can recognize his or her simulated silhouette, projected onto a screen, placed in the midle of the transit space, in such a way as to discover that his or her movements affect the trajectory of a virtual ball that bounces as it touches the edges of the silhouette. This activates a game in which the participant is the body of the player, along with the rest of the spectators that enter the visual field of the camera that is displayed on the screen.
[thanks we make money not art]
awarecuffs are the second item from the awarefashion line:
The wifi sensing technology is hidden in the small pocket. The circuit board in the pocket displays the quality of service by LEDs (light emitting diodes) in different colors. The LEDs are connected to glass fibres, the light travels through them and small light spots appear at the end. When the technology pocket is detached the cuffs solely consist of cloth and glass fibres and can be washed. This modular concept also makes it possible to easily replace the technology function of the cuffs. Or even, to wear the cuffs without technology at all, just because you love the fashion design :-)i really enjoy when designs actually look nice ;]
[thanks we make money not art]
the bbc reports that nokia and EMI have teamed up to let coffeeshop customers receive music over bluetooth. the tests are conveniently [for everyone cooler than you and i] starting in helsinki.
The service is designed to work with Series 60 Symbian phones (such as Nokia's N90 and the Siemens SX1) and Nokia Series 40 phones (such as the 6060 and the 8800).the name will later changed to bForPay ;]The trial service, dubbed bFree, will be free for those taking part. But Nokia and EMI expect to charge for access to the playlists if a commercial system is rolled out.
p.s. this entry goes out to karma who still doesn't bother reading my site...
[thanks gizmodo]
fernando orellana brings us this great installation:
This process of free will is what 8520 south west 27th place speaks of. Within this installation, there exists six double headed robotic-rodents. They live within their transparent houses, differing only in the numerical address of each house. Each robot, comprised of two reconfigured Gemmy Corporation Dancing Hamsters toys, has the ability to walk forward or backward on a track in its house. The robots have been programmed with a unique set of eight numbers. These numbers are then used to determine what type of kinetic behavior the robots demonstrate. Some robots might appear to be confident in their decision, by walking valiantly back and forth in the house. While others, might exhibit what seems to be hesitation, staying in one place for a long period of time, or fidgeting between each decision. In the end, the decision is random, but it serves as a metaphor for the overall redundancy of our decisions. The seed used to generate the random sequence of numbers is derived from a small infrared sensor installed at one end of each house. Like our decision process, the sensor allows for external forces to influence the outcome of each verdict the robot makes. The robots pause at every new assessment, pulsing a small light installed in theirs heads, which makes them appear to be contemplating future action. The robotic-rodents scurry about, seemingly with a purpose, only too bump their heads on the extremes of their houses.
[thanks we make money not art]
szu-chen stan jou of cmu has developed a realtime translator which works via throat-whispering. 11 electrodes attached to the face and neck detect muscle movements to determine what the wearer is saying and then translates from mandarin to english or spanish. cool and freakish :]
[thanks we make money not art]
leonardo amerigo bonanni presented work on ambient displays / augmented reality for the kitchens at interact 2005 so i am obliged to mention it. you can read the paper here. the heatsink, more or less the same as the bathroom fixtures from hansa and to a lesser extent the faucet friend, is the only project in the paper i was really keen on. but you already know i've championed that concept.
according to the author the kitchen is the "epitome of a feed-back less modern space," and goes on to assert that the kitchen has been filled up with ubiquitous computers, sensors and effectors. the proposed solution is... not to go back to the old times just lamented, but rather to install a "system of sensors and projectors specifically for the purpose of overlaying the existing space with sensory feedback to assist and enrich the user's experience."
now let me pause and say that my kitchen is quite the sensory experience. i can hear running water when i've left the tap on, hear the kettle boil, feel the heat from the stove, feel the cold air rush from the freezer, etc. however, if you are one of the inhabitants of these super-subtle kitchens, is what you are dying for the projection of a little tiny fire when your stove is on?
and please, please do not reference the ambient orb. i'm begging you.
[thanks we make money not art]
i've got to mention the growable media project:
From input information, Growable Media gives direct stimulus to plants. Growable Media controls growth of plants by making difference in photosynthesis.using plants in this way is not unique to the project, but i still like it as a concept. however, i haven't seen an execution of the idea that rivals the visualizations of nature...It consists of three parts. The first part is the sensor that mobile phones and RFIDs collect the results of everyday communications. The second part is the MySQL database server, which manages the collected data. The third part is the actuator, which reads data from the database server, and embodies information as growth of plants.
[thanks we make money not art]
besides being really beautiful looking the open street map is a really interesting project. it works by collecting gps data of people walking, driving and cycling around a city. the thicker the lines, the more people travelled them. check out london above.
[thanks boing boing]
the commoncensus map project:
is redrawing the map of the United States based on your voting, to show how the country is organized culturally, as opposed to traditional political boundaries. It shows how the country is divided into 'spheres of influence' between different cities at the national, regional, and local levels.really interesting to see how people are voting, can't wait for round 2.
[thanks information aesthetics]
the project that i am doing with meta just got blogged on information aesthetics. to myself i am thinking a] how did that happen? b] crap we need to finish this up ;]
two new technologies that are heavy on sexuality. you'll be seeing more of this sort of stuff as i continue to collect material for our workshop proposal...
eavesdripping which uses water as a physical display:
Because the way of displaying is physically so present, it would be best to initially use it to visualize something and make it sensually experienceable which is equally present, but not perceptible. The metaphor of the installation would be to wash something from the air and make it visible on the ground in front of you.
Paul Granjon's Robotarium is a sort of robot zoo inhabited by three automatons. The two big robots are "sexed" aluminium carapaces constructed around industrialised white nylon genitals. The only purpose of the male and female robots is to mate with the other.Then there's a small and solitary creature that lives in the Robotarium. The Smartbotis a simple and not-so-smart robot that lives on a table fitted with a low border. It moves in a straight line until it hits the border. Then it blinks and says either "Shit" or "Merde" or "Fuck" before resuming its hopeless exploration. After a few minutes it stops and cries luminous tears. Crying done it shuts its eyes, goes to sleep for a while, and starts all over again.
[thanks we make money not art + we make money not art]
nature has a cool article about the inca khipus, which are bunches of knotted colored strings that store numbers. recently scientists have gotten closer to working out how the numbers are actually stored and finding some clues to what sort of data it might represent. read on for the full article.
[thanks information aesthetics]
"psychiatrie fur misshandelte kusheltiere". that's right. mental help for mishandled cuddly toys. this little game is awesome. i drove the hippo crazy by accident at first, but then managed to cure her. phew.
here are a few interfaces i've been meaning to post about:
"the big change of recent years in urban areas has been in the home environment. r*Emote mirror is a pair of networked interactive lighting installations that creates communication between isolated people in urban cities and their loved ones who are far away"
don't think it's really specific to an urban space. but the density vs. isolation is of course a valid point
make responsive graffiti on a public bench using your finger
Interactiv installation designed for busy streets. People interact by standing in front of the large screen. A camera records the user one slice at a time enabling the user to make strange bodies. The recorded slices are stored for other people to play with.
subway maps for your color ipod. i just wish they were subway maps for my color ipod...
[thanks cool hunting]
more on tech for developing countries. i forgot to post this earlier. the portable light project:
The remarkable energy efficiency of high brightness solid state lighting (HBLEDs) means that a bright digital light of 80 lumens per watt (bright enough to read, work and illuminate areas at night) can be produced by a single miniature diode and powered by small areas of flexible photo-voltaic (solar panels). Portable Light expands the value of miniature solid state electronics by putting digital light into a textile medium to create cost effective, completely portable, off-the-grid light engines that can be deployed at a global scale wherever energy efficient electrical power and illumination are needed.
[thanks personaldebris]
these clothes pegs by oliver maccarthy predict the weather and refused to allow themselves to be used if they sense that rain is coming. smartly enough, when the pegs are removed from the holder, they stop acting so smart. and so your wash won't get stuck on the line if your pegs couldn't see far enough into the future. of course, if you have enough money to afford these you can probably afford a dryer and if the maid has to wash the clothes all over again because they've been rained on it's not really your problem is it? oh wait, you were being ecofriendly. how selfless of you ;]
[thanks we make money not art]
i am very interested in how technology figures into the big picture of developing nations. one of the main problems right now is not delivering computers, but find sources of power for those computers. scientists and designers need to start thinking outside the box of superpower-suburbia to solve problems that they have not often faced themselves. inveneo, a non-profit org, has come up with a bicycle powered system to provide voip, email and web browsing. 15 minutes of biking translates to 1 hour of uptime. a good solution for the overweight gamers you know as well ;]
[thanks make]
rabbit field by ben dalton is:
Rabbit Field is an infestation of inflatable rabbit-like forms, filling their display space and inviting tactile interaction. The rabbits cover much of their floor space, and any other available surfaces. Each rabbit is self inflating using a simple computer fan, and can sense its internal pressure state by monitoring its fan speed. If a rabbit is squeezed, and partially deflated, the rabbits around it respond, as if out of empathy, deflating themselves. In this way, a wave of deflation ripples out from the squeezed centre.they are so unbelievably cute and the whole interface is so organic. i love it.
check out the video.
[thanks we make money not art]
the german company hansa has developed these awesome bathroom fixtures. they are similar to the faucet friend, only they are actually for sale. the fixture uses temperature sensors to activate LEDs which illuminate the water [hey wow, illuminated water actually can be nicely done]. red indicates hot, blue means cold, and pink means warm. i was having a discussion with someone about how the sliding scale of color between cold and hot doesn't really represent lukewarm in the middle, i've never though of purple as being not-exactly-hot. red and blue are already established metaphors, so i'd prefer intensity of light being used on top of that. but hey, it's pretty cool.
[thank boing boing + information aesthetics]
the faucet friend is a device which slips onto a faucet to give a visual indication of the temperature of the water which is flowing from the tap. the above is a concept illustration although some functional prototypes have been designed. this is the kind of simple human-centered technology which i really appreciate. this might be the first time in years someone has made a useful technological augmentation to a faucet. bravo.
[thanks information aesthetics]
i just like the look on this little robot's face.
the smart companion from philips:
An electronic device that looks at you, listens and talks to you, and even nods yes to you may seem the stuff of science fiction. The Smart Companion, a new consumer product by Philips Home Dialogue Systems (HDS), is definitely a pioneer in new, uncharted territory. At its heart, however, the Smart Companion embodies traditional ideas about the way we humans communicate.[thanks we make money not art]
pulsArt is:
a physical and digital installation designed for the home to represent different family members’ level of activity by water running down blocks of salt based on a real-time reading of the individual family member’s pulse.although the prototype is not fully functional, the concept is very interesting. i really like the marriage of physical, malleable, substances with technology. i could imagine this being a very beautiful piece, but i wonder if knowing the pulse of say, your blossoming teenage daughter might be a bit tmi... ;]
[thanks information aesthetics]
kiNET by ayah bdeir [who also recently did <random> search] and sergio araya is:
a deformable surface that uses a specific pattern design and strategically placed solenoids to create movement regardless of the surface material used. The movement patterns are driven by microcontrollers and ultimately, they would be created in response to commands or to the environment of kiNET.
[thanks information aesthetics]
i've been slow with blogging lately cause of the mad rush with my project. so here are a few links:
there has been a bunch of talk on the interweb about designing ambient display widgets for the mac os x dashboard. the locket displays the online status of a single buddy on iChat, open if your buddy is online, closed otherwise. clicking the locket starts up a conversation. pileup is a visualization of how much trash is rotting away in your trash can, each file is represented by a photo of some refuse, displaying a maximum of 10 pieces. flores is a vase with up to four flowers, each one indicating a new message in the inbox of your gmail or apple mail. finally anti-mega has has set about trying to copy some physical ambient displays, including the ambient dashboard, and web are you.
great. just a few things...
first, aren't we trying to get computation off the desktop? there is the argument that the dashboard and cocoa provide a quick way to get your ambient display up and running and then you can throw it on that spare powerbook you have [btw, since you aren't using that...do you think you might loan it to me? thanks]. okay fine, that is useful for prototyping, but does not an ambient display make. second, the amount of email in my inbox, the online status of my friend and the number of things in my trashcan are already [surprise!] displayed on my desktop! hitting F12 everytime i want to get a little ambient display action seems a bit... wrong. although these widgets are kinda cool, and there's some benefits to be had, i think people are missing the mark on what an ambient display really is. bummer.
infotropism is a project which was presented at DIS 2004. the system uses the properties of phototropism to turn a plant into a living display. lights are wired to a recycling bin and a trash bin on either side of the plant. every time something is placed in a bin, the corresponding lamp emits a burst of light. thus, the plant acts as a display of human consumption patterns. pretty cool huh?
[thanks information aesthetics]
have you ever felt that longing of not being able to connect with your chicken while on vacation? me too. apparently it's not just us, the mixed reality lab at the national university of singapore has faced similar pains.
on your desk sits a replica of your beloved, mimicing his or her actions when it is turned on. tactile sensors in the doll allow your touch to be communicated via RF and then the internet to a haptic jacket that your remote chicken is wearing.
"This is the first human-poultry interaction system ever developed," said professor Adrian David Cheok, the leader of the team, who has been developing the technology for nearly two years.but there are some more serious applica... oh i give up: BWAHAHAHAHAHA."We understand the perceived eccentricity of developing a system for humans to interact with poultry remotely, but this work has a much wider significance," he added.
[thanks wired]
sparks is an ambient social networking/communication interface from mit's media lab. apparently it was at chi 2005 as a poster, but of course i managed to miss it.
Sparks uses light to facilitate salient conversations by linking strangers with similar interests together in scenarios where the participants likely have many common interests, but little knowledge of those shared interest.it is a little bit of a pain to have to register one's interests manually, but you have to start somewhere. it is a really appropriately designed interface [i.e. site-specific]. they propose using it at a conference and i think that's spot on.Before entering the Sparks environment, each user pre–selects a number of interests from a pool of keywords that cover a wide variety of areas. This selection represents the public face that the user wishes to present to others. Within the environment, Sparks projects the keywords in an aura around the user.
To help guide distant users with similar interests together, the common descriptors on their respective auras are connected by illuminated paths. Users can also interact with the paths by sending pulses along them to signal others with a shared interest. To send a pulse, users simply tap the interest projected within their aura. When the pulse reaches the recipient, a glow appears on the corresponding word.
[thanks we make money not art]
Brighthandle is committed to bring change to the handle industry. that's both hilarious and true. check out this new handle from some swedish designers [yes yes, swedish design rules, but we all knew that didn't we?]. it glows red when the door is locked and green when it's not. simple, but a really good example of a properly augmented environment.
[thanks engadget]
rob seward has posted two games [or game prototypes] to his blog. the first game, TAG! is:
a game played via custom wireless consoles. The game logic is just like the children’s game. Here, however, each person is represented by a dot on screen, you are green and your enemies are red, and whoever is “it” is blinking.and the second BOO! is a game where:The electronic components are very inexpensive. Of particular interest is the screen, which is a bi-color 5x7 LED matrix (normally used for alphanumeric display), which costs only a few dollars. This project started as an exploration of the interactive possibilities of these small screens. Currently we have allowed for three players, but the project could be scaled to more.
This game has many possible applications. In this version, we imagine the consoles being integrated into chairs in the waiting rooms of a children’s hospital. They would invite casual human-human interaction in a space where it might not otherwise exist.
The object is to get the fastest time possible when responding to a “Boo” sent by your opponent. When you are on defense, a light (triggered by the button on your opponent’s console) will light up and you must press your button as soon as you can. Then you are on offense and when you press your button your opponent’s Boo light lights and he has to respond. Then response times are compared and the round’s winner is determined. After 5 rounds have been played, the game is over. The game is played on two identical consoles connected via the internet.as you know i believe that for a human-to-human interface to really work it needs to be flexible enough to allow people to interact "through" the technology, and i think light-weighht games [and of course, toys] have huge potential for this. nice work.
[thanks collision detection]
omnivisu [see also here] is an installation by willy sengewald and richard the that ran at the s/u station warschauer str. in berlin.
A kind of street–art that anybody can influence and use playfully. While one is looking into a showcase, his eyes are seen on the big video projection area at the tower. The »big brother« gets a face with the mood of the user.but what's up with those bales of hay in the middle photo?
[thanks we make money not art]
nike has put up a ginormous/hugantic interactive billboard in times square [nyc, yo]. interactive how you ask? using SMS [to an actual number, not a code] you can design, and subsequently buy, a pair of shoes for all the world to see. customizing products is not new, but perhaps when it gets combined with public performance there will be more pressure [ahem: incentive] to buy, "hey didn't i see those shoes in times square??? when they were 23 stories high? you are so cool!"
according to the ny post:
A customer can take a basic pair of shoes and dress them up, choosing among hundreds of colors and adding embroidered words. Nike does maintain some control, though; customers can't remove the "swoosh" or get cute by printing "Reebok" or "Swtshop" on the shoes.heh.
[thanks information aesthetics]
sky ear was last launched september 15, 2004, but i managed not to hear about it til now.
Sky Ear is a non-rigid carbon-fibre "cloud", embedded with one thousand glowing helium balloons and several dozen mobile phones. The balloons contain miniature sensor circuits that respond to electromagnetic fields, particularly those of mobile phones. When activated, the sensor circuits co-ordinate to cause ultra-bright coloured LEDs to illuminate. The 30m cloud glows and flickers brightly as it floats across the sky.in the future these autonomous clouds will roam the sky!As people using phones at ground-level call into the cloud (flying up to 100m above them) they are able to listen to distant natural electromagnetic sounds of the sky (including whistlers and spherics). Their mobile phone calls change the local hertzian topography; these disturbances in the electromagnetic fields inside the cloud alter the glow patterns of that part of the balloon cloud. Feedback within the sensor network creates ripples of light reminiscent of rumbling thunder and flashes of lightning.
this is the best spring break project i've seen in ages. it's a haxxored version of the ambient orb, and has the information about color blending LEDs i've been looking for.
[thanks hackaday]
two interfaces from nyu's itp program. web are you? [on the left] is a 4-state indicator of emotion. the networked flowers [on right] are described as:
You give the Flower Bouquet to someone closely related to you, and from a remote place it's possible to have it display different light patterns by login onto a web page or a cell phone and sending the chosen pattern.now it is not that these distance-bridging interfaces are brand-spankin' new in concept, but i have to say that the execution on these is great. they are so good looking, and aesthetics count.
[thanks information aesthetics]
i will not make a speech about how great open source is, but suffice it to say, i love it. the new sonicforms project by chris o'shea is spot on:
an open source research platform for developing tangible interfaces for audio visual environments. The aim of the project is to improve this area of musical interaction by creating a community knowledge base and open tools for production. By decentralising the technology and providing an easier entry point, artists and musicians can focus on creating engaging works, rather than starting from the ground up.open source and cool looking, what more can you want?
[thanks we make money not art]
so i've seen a few posts about sensity. the photo is flash, and that little diagram is well cute, but as far as i can tell, none of this project is real yet. it aims to be a massive sensornet [apparently based on MICA2 motes] that gathers data about a city which is then used to display the emotional state of the city. a goal many people have in mind, including me, natch.
i enjoyed the following quotes:
"The sense city is a city of, accumulated incidents of love, abuse and death."so this unborn project is part of a larger initiative called soundtoys that UK artist stanza is overseeing:
"This includes pollution data recorded via sensors in the street, to create audio acoustic files expressing the pain and suffering of the air as it pollutes."
The site is intended to provide a meeting point for this growing community of artists and users, and in addition to the exhibition of audio visual projects, the site contains areas for artists interviews, links to resources, and texts by contributing writers where serious issues around interactive arts, audio visual syhthesis, generative art, and a history of interactivity are discussed.anyway, cute photos :]
[thanks we make money not art]
the khronos projector is an interactive installation by alvaro cassinelli & masatoshi ishikawa. described as:
the Khronos Projector is the first Art-Installation enabling the interactive shaping of an arbitrarily complex spatio-temporal cutting surface thanks to a dedicated tangible, "sensual" human-machine interface, and thus giving the user a strong feel
