Greg's Group progress

Hi everyone. Our group is making good progress with our skin color reader. We now have a working prototype that uses led's and photocells to read the color of human skin. Arduino returns the values of the photocells for Red Red(will be a Green led) and Blue. The prototype says my fair skin (Greg's) has a value of 120 red, 40 Blue. Brians much darker skin returns a value of 40 red, 10 Blue. I am happy with our simple approach to doing something relatively complex.

The plan is to have RGB and Yellow leds in the future reading, so four values are returned to wiring to better guess skin color. My only worry is that it may be too precise for our machine that should get it wrong at times.

Now I am planning to create a soldered board for our led's, so that it can withstand touching and use. We are also planning the box for the arduino and how we will get people to interact with our project.

-Physically the project would require a large space able to become completely dark. The semantics of the project are those which accompany being among a crowd in a dark space, uneasy search for information. Culturally, I suppose most Americans enjoy personal space and the vision provided by modern lighting. The doorway curtain will suggest the interior of the room.

-No one entered as I stood in the elevator of Rinker Hall. Also no body seemed to noticed as I rode the elevator up and down. I didn’t give loose change away because I don’t think I would appreciate it if someone did it to me.

-The glass doors of Tiger hall were slightly interesting. The large plate which acted as a fixture had clear instruction on the policy of the door. Tiger also had a wooden phone booth which had a folding door well suited for a small space.

-The ambient noise and digital display could be displayed outside the room as well.

-The only time the circuit diagram did not make conceptual sense was when I was unfamiliar with what a power regulator did exactly and if I needed it for the in class exercise using a battery.

-Any interface which has a sound indicating I’ve selected something usually helps; computer, iPod. Our Project is based mostly on sound as an aid. The ambient noise of the dark room should provide information and not necessarily a forbidding mood.

3 Artists- LED art

James Powdery

James Powdery, a member of the Graffiti Research Lab and Eyebeam, used LED throwies as part of an activist protest in Beijing. He and 4 other activists were detained after creating a "Free Tibet" banner with LEDs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cBi6AuBQiw&feature=player_embedded#t=39

Jenny Holzer

Jenny Holzer is one of the most well known artists who incorporates
LEDs into her work. She uses familiar statements and reinterprets
them to alter their meanings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenny_Holzer

Turner Broadcasting










What started off as a guerrilla marketing scheme by Turner Broadcasting to promote a new film featuring Cartoon Network cult show Aqua Teen Hunger Force, evolved, at least in Boston, into a citywide bomb scare Wednesday. The city ground to a virtual halt after suspicious packages--magnetic boards (shown here) with LEDs displaying characters from the show giving the finger--were discovered on bridges, highways and bus depots.

Cell Phone Disco







CellPhoneDisco is an installation that uses the electromagnetic spectrum emitted by the viewer's cell
phone and creates a visual interpretation. The LEDs are attached to large grids and when a phone is activated in a section of the room, the lights turn on. They make the invisible environments around us visible.

Videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5ZuIvDry8w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw

Blog questions

Visual Cues our group can employ to help user interact with out piece.
Right now I think that our plan needs to be retooled quite a bit. I definitely feel like there's something to our idea, but my main problem is that I still don't completely understand circuitry and electronics, or programming and while I'm trying to learn that I'm also trying to make a conceptually heavy art-piece. For me right now, I think both goals are distracting the other and I don't even have a finished idea to really answer this question about.

Making/Designing circuits-
I think what I love about the simple circuits we've been making is that they make perfect satifying logical sense. Positive to negative, running the wires to different rows and columns in the breadboard. Its pleasing.

Sound-
The game "Operation" is completely reliant on sound, there are also several computer programs that produce a 'beep' when something is successful or if you're trying to do something the program won't allow. Its important I think because in many cases there's no visual cue, just that noise. The noise makes you realize that the program isn't being unresponsive, just that what your doing can't be accomplished.

Questions and junk.

Some of the constraints of our project include the printout box itself. It can really only be used in one way, and we plan to include directions indicating something to the effect of "Please insert your hand face down underneath the opening below." The directions themselves are a constraint in the sense that the audience is given one choice of action. In a sense, the project itself constrains the user, by crudely attempting to narrow down their race to a set of predetermined values.

So far the sensors I've seen/used in this class have made sense, even with what little experience I have with circuits. Button sensors physically indicate how they are to be used--a big red button generally means "press and something will happen". I haven't made/designed any circuits myself, though, so I don't know a whole lot.

Phones are the first thing that come to mind when considering devices whose function relies on sound. They ring, and we know to pick them up. Also, they would be obsolete without the sound travelling between both callers.

Sarah, Adam, and Rudy's walk

These are the pictures of the doors that we took.
Some odd or disfunctional features on these doors were location, design, and direction. One opened up to a hedge of bushes. Two didn't have handles to open it from one side. Another had an odd arrangement of handles/presses that didn't seem to make sense directional wise. Another had a pull handle when you were supposed to push.

Don Edler & Ryan Gillis & Fiorela Larrea

Many moonsago, we traveled through the Manylands. From Architectuopolis to far reaches of West Bookadonia beyond the moors of fern and darkness , to a secret land of AC and dark secrets. 

The Doors

1.We found one left handed door, it worked fine. We know this because it fit the mold of a door, with a knob that we are very accustomed to. 

2. Second door was right handed, also knobular but had handicap assistance. Worked fine, tested the button.

3. Found a fire-extinguisher door LEFT AJAR, rendering it USELESS. Otherwise, functioned fine. knobular.

4.Push/Pull door at Library West had handle on pull end, and flat metal on push end. Made sense.

5.Very unappealing door to Men's Lavatory. Push/Pull , same as one before. Get more creative Library West.

6.Elevator door, button located directly to left,  functioned well. No wait time. A+

Elevator experience-

We handed out 6 'awsum' cards. 

The first girl was startled and unappreciative, walked away with her boyfriend quickly.

The next 4 were successful, the subjects reacted surprised and pleased. Many responded with laughter!

The final girl we offered a dollar, and she didn't even break stride to say no. 

Chapter 4 Questions (Adam, Brian, Sarah)

What are the physical, semantic, and cultural constraints of your project? How will you communicate these constraints to your user?

-We are dealing with the keyboard of a computer and in our culture we typically feel comfortable with physically interacting with that part in particular of the computer.

Go to the music building or Rinker Hall or another building with multiple floors near the FA complex. Try Erving Goffman’s elevator and money experiment. What are the results?

-We did our experiments in the Little Hall elevator and observed a few different responses. Some people refused to take the money, others played along and accepted it. We tried all three of us turning to face the wall singling out the variable person in the experiment and we observed some unspoken hostility; we thought the man felt we were mocking him.

Brainstorm the visual cues that you and your group may employ that will assist the user in interacting with your piece.

-The main visual cue that our group project employs is location. We have decided to place our computer amongst traditional computers, possibly in a lab. If not then it will be on a desk and appear to be typical computer for normal use.

Think about your current experience with making and designing circuits. Do the circuit diagrams make logical sense and/or are they intuitive? Can you think of an instance in the last two weeks when the circuit diagram did not make conceptual sense even after you made it?

-I have yet to make or design a circuit

Describe two situations where the sound of a device helps you to use that device. What if any are the possibilities of using sound in your projects?

-The keys on a microwave beep when you press them to let you know that you have successfully programmed it to preform its function.

In the group project sound is a main part of the piece. When you press the keyboard with varying degrees of pressure it responds accordingly with audio.

Sarah and Mike Freak People Out and more

At the Marston library, we did our elevator experiment. It didn't seem to take long before people started asking what was up; they clearly knew we were doing something for a class. They seemed pretty hip to it though, some of them even faced the back of the elevator too. After that, a few other people came and went as we acted natural, presumably scaring them.
The money experiment resulted in two different reactions. Sarah's target acted confused and bewildered, unsure of taking the coin and how he should react. My target tried to escape at first, but then seemed almost too welcoming of my praise and cash. One thing is certain though, deep down, these two unfortunate souls have been traumatized. Plain and simple.

Allyse & Lauren- Elevator Sketchyness

All our door designs worked except for one.
Didn't Work! A pull handle for a push door!





Our adventure started with the elevator in Rinker Hall. We went to the top and back down, then waited for someone to come in. A guy finally came in, with a rack of tshirts he'd been selling. I asked how much they were; they were $15. I offered him the 4 cents I had in my hand. He joked that I could buy a tiny piece of the shirt for that. So I gave him the pennies. He then said he was joking, and hurried out the door as soon as it opened.

Allyse gave money to a stranger. She said to the girl, "Excuse me miss, I am having a good day so I thought I might give you a nickel." The girl thanked her and went on her way.

DEOT4

I guess a dark room has many meanings that we have adopted from our cultures. Our project will use and mutate these preconceptions to effect the viewer's psyche and mental/physical state. The darkness is a physical constraint with many preconceptions attached, it also has different cultural meanings for each person.

I was unable to find a door that I could not discern the way it worked. Doors around campus seem to be designed/laid out in a way that makes it possible for every person to open in at least 2 tries. I think that for a door to be so confusing as to keep people from opening it properly, the architect of that door had that difficulty in mind. The hinges would have to be totally hidden, no locking mechanism, and no visual markings at all on the door.
I have pictures on my phone but am unable to upload them at this time.

The entrance is a physical door, so that is pretty intuitive on what to do. The only light source in the room will be at the opposite wall and hopefully will guide people around the room and get them to move away from the door a little. We need to figure out the best placement for the light source, and the intensity of the light, to lead the viewer but also keep the room darker.

For me, the circuit diagrams make sense about 95% of the time, there are those few that make little sense if they introduce a new type of system. If I mess up the circuit the first time I troubleshoot until I get it, or look at a reference online. A voltage divider didn't make sense to me at first, but after playing with that system some more, I figured out how it works.

There are often error sounds or confirmation beeps with items that help to navigate or figure the system out. These help me out.

Pictures

Sorry this is up late, I have been having really bad issues with my stomach but I wanted to post pictures showing how the wires to our touch pad correspond to the buttons. We ended up figuring it out by pressing each button individually until it gave a response on the voltage meter (when touching the corresponding wires).

-Jason

Game Show

http://www.flashcardmachine.com/518711/3gd5

Group Project

I figured I'd post about our group project on here.

So far we want to use the design we found for an arduino-powered fortune teller and combine that with heat sensors. I'm not entirely sure on this part of the project as it was developed more by Lauren and Sarah. I personally am concentrating more on the performance aspect that can go along with the project to bring out a concept. Ideally the performance would bring about this comparison of humans or analog objects and technology. How has it transformed how we, as humans, perceive and interact with things? We, as a group, will have to sit down and figure out the best way to mesh and combine out ideas, but this is where we are going so far.

Performance art + temperature sensors + arduino + fortune teller

And we'll update as soon as we have a more solid understanding of what we want.

Design of Everyday Things

chapter 2.

In this chapter, the author talks about the psychology of interactions with technology. It can facilitate as much as it can complicate. Everything that can go awry when design is not carefully taken into account. If there's room for error, someone is bound to make a mistake. When misfortune does occur, it's easy to blame the environment (like the other day when I skipped a class it was because the rain made me sleepy). When others experience misfortune, it's easy to blame it on their personality.

People often blame themselves for being "bad with technology" when it is the design that has failed. There is a term called "learned helplessness" which the author explains can stem from a few bad experiences that turns into a generalization. We then think we're terrible at something, and the cycle continues.

Design of Everyday Things

ahem.

Chapter 1
The author states there are two visible clues for construction/use of things: what parts operate and how; and how one interacts with a device. Functions = complexity. If there is too little visibility, a function will not be apparent and probably never used (more actions than controls make things difficult.) If there is too much, this is intimidating to the user.

I think Apple has a knack for natural mapping. Scroll forward = clockwise. Scroll backwards = counter clockwise, etc. Very intuitive, guys.

It is best to keep it simple. Have a strong model and make things visible.

Personal Question

I've decided to talk about how I think cable works mostly because I've never thought about it before, and don't really have a clue.
What I think is most interesting is that my house here in Gainesville gets cable AND highspeed internet through the same cable jack. So this cable, connected to our telephone pole, which is then connected to COX someplace, is sending the television information (all digitized, it has to be) to any TV thats hooked up to it. Can't be a very complicated system, because you plug that cable in and there are all the channels, you don't need to reboot the tv.
Some how that same information, when connected to a modem, can give us high-speed internet. Now, either both systems are flying through the same cable, which I don't understand, or the same information is used for both, which confuses me more.

ALSO- they're able to control what package of cable/internet we've purchased and manage what information they dole out to us and every other house on the block.
I can comprehend how they manage this information, just not how they control it through this simple coaxial cable. But then- I'm not that savvy.

Blog group questions

In groups of three design two art pieces. The first piece should be based on feedback and the seven stage of action described at the end of chapter two. The other piece should be a variation of the first piece adding an element that reflects the idea opportunism. As part of your design please specifically discuss what parts of the piece or the expected audience interaction with the piece correspond to the author’s models of action.



The first invention is a screecher which helps you locate any of three chosen items. The screecher is about the size of a keychain and comes in a box with three sensors. The screecher requires two double A batteries. The user must adhere the sensors to three different things which they want their screecher to be able to detect.The sensor/audio must be soldered on to the objects. The screecher is small and black with 4 buttons (one red, one blue, one green, and one yellow). The three small colored buttons each correlate with whatever item that color's sensor is placed on. When that button is pressed, the sensor will screech until you are able to find it. The red one will be the biggest one at the bottom of the screecher. It must be pressed to stop the screech from any of the three sensors.

The revision of this invention will have the new feature of being able to detect the sensors within 50 feet in comparison to 20 feet. Also the sensors no longer need to be soldered on, enabling the user to now put these on mobile objects like humans. It was only made for static objects, but with the lack of adhesive necessary, its uses have been expanded.

Group TBA art piece

Our group designed a piece about swine flu that makes people question if they are sick or getting sick. Here is how we dealt with the seven stages of action.

• goal - a piece that uses temperature sensors and video to make art
  
• intention - create a piece that speaks about the overemphasis of swine flu
• action - the user must press and hold a button to get feedback
• execute - to help them push a button, we would create a sign to attract people and tell them to hold it.
• perceiving the piece - people think about the function of the button and its relationship to the screen
• interpreting - as the pigs and viruses appear on the screen, people will realize that this button and hopefully their temperature is causing a reaction on screen.
• evaluating the outcome - people observe the video and interact with the piece. They start to think about the deeper meaning of the piece as well.
  

To add opportunism, we would put the piece in a restaurant or food court area to shock them and get their attention.

RRA group answers

Art piece #1: A circuit board that connects several colored LEDs to corresponding buttons of the same color. Only one button is connected to its LED at a time, its determined by a slider that connects them. A person approaches the circuit board, and then uses the slider to make the connection they want, and then presses the button. We think this is a pretty accurate representation of the 7-stages from Chapter 2.
Art piece #2 : A lighted, color coordinated gumball dispenser based off of your LED color choice that will deliver gumballs to the users, for free. The gumballs will be displayed above the light/button system in large clear canisters, eliminated the chance of a flavor you do not want (banana).

You have to understand interaction design in order to utilize/subvert it. Without understanding how people will interpret and react to your designs, you won't be able to control how people view your art work. THAT is a problem.

Seven Stages of Action

First Piece

Forming the Goal: Goal is to interact with the piece by touching the red button

Forming the Intention: The intention is to press the red button

Specifying the Action: Thinking about extending the arm to press the button with a finger

Executing the Action: Extending the arm to press the button with a finger

Perceiving the State of the World: The box shakes and makes noise reacting to your touch

Interpreting the State of the World: You assume the machine is doing something when you witness it shaking

Evaluating the Outcome: The machine gives you a treat and you are happy


Second Piece

Pretty much the same box as the first piece but in a highly populated area with a lot of foot traffic as to promote use.

How Things Work

I watch TV virtually every day and yet I'm not quite certain how it works. Here's my stab at it: The TV screen itself is just a projection of all the data being transmitted through the cables. The cables contain bunches of wires that send data/signals from a great and powerful source (I'm not quite sure where). The signals are then decoded within the back of the TV from crazy electrical pulses or something into visual data.

-The art pieces my group designed is in Allyse's post.

How things work

This is my idea about how email works:

When the sender sends out an email, it travels through cyberspace and into the receivers inbox. Each person's email address has certain codes that allow each email to end up in the right place.

Its important to understand interactions so that the user can easily take part in the art. If they can't easily figure out how the art piece works, they will give up. The functions need to be clear and understandable in order to be usable and fun.

Questions

I think the internet works as a large network of systems connected and search/link through the use of individual identification addresses (i.p. address). Your provider directs your computer to certain domains via your search/domain names. Web sites are all hosted on different servers, depending on who you host with, and the domain name directs you to the ip and section of the server. And magic.

I guess it's important that one understands the interaction design so they are more involved in it. If they figure out how to alter the output via the sensor, then they'll probably be more interested and play with the piece some more.

I’m not sure but I think cable television uses a regional satellite signal which is communicated to large areas through a network of cable.

Companies maintain networks of server farms which hosts email providers, or at least I think.

I suppose sensor computing along with technologies in general is defined in relation to humanity. The technology doesn’t exist or achieve meaning/purpose without human interaction/presence. Art which uses technologies is inexorably linked to this system. Intelligent interaction design facilitates activity and understanding between art and audience.

How stuff works... Well with e-mail I figure each account has its own 'page'. The list of contacts records the location of each person's page, and sends messages to said locations. Or... something like that.

In 3rd grade I received my first D. I was still a little kid so I felt like crying. At that point I realized that failure was a very real threat in school, and that it actually could happen to me if I didn't put forth enough effort into an assignment. I think it happened perhaps because I was somewhat lax in studying; from Kindergarten up until that point I had only gotten As and Bs, so I just assumed that's all I would ever get.

Allyse & Sarah's Walk

On our walk we found a number of odd things that made the building harder to navigate. Although the layout seems fine and dandy (one 4 story building with staircases in the middle and at each end), the room numbers seem to jump all over the place. The corner girls' bathrooms had handles on the outside but you could not pull the door - only push. The water fountains were very simple in their design, where you push a button and the water comes out. Although a little more complex, the design of the pepsi vending machines also worked on the same concept - put in enough money, push the button, and you get your bottle of soda pop. Simple things everywhere seemed to have the best design - door handles when you pull a door, light switches with only an on/off function, elevator with a vertical button design, fire alarms, and exit signs. There were some odd little things - light switches with a horizontal orientation, thermostats that had a series of moon images and one giant button, bathrooms with two different types of faucet handles.

Answer to questions (in order):
1) The interaction depends on our assumptions on whether or not the device will be easy to use - if the device seems hard to use then we will read (or rather glance at) the manual.
2) S - Had a washing machine flood half the house due to improperly using it
A - Problems with Myspace interface
3) S - Deadbolt key/lock - can never figure out; keypad never works
A - Toothbrush with functions never used until accidentally discovering them; too many remotes for one tv
4) Visibility or lack of - visibility = exit signs, elevators; lack of = thermostat, corner girl's bathroom doors
Affordances - doors, thermostat, water fountain
5) Cheap tiny cameras with no feedback; faulty design in a TV/computer hookup
6) Copier/scanner/printer master button; RA walky-talky
7) S - Remote control
A - Stuffed animal

And my (slightly) late circuit image - a very simple circuit in an old remote
There is, of course, the voltage source (that go where the AA batterie drawings are). The large black thing with the arrow is a capacitor. There are two resistors (gold-gold-black-red and gold-brown-violet-red). There is a half-cylinder looking shape that I'm not sure of, but then the ciruit heads to two diodes that send a message to the TV.

how google works?

it knows the official depth of a olympic pool, the speed of light, how to replace a spark plug, it knows every email i have sent or recieved in the past 4 years, it even knows my dogs name.... So how is it that google pretty much knows everything? well, here is my guess:

Ive heard much talk of google's "secret algorithm"-the mythical code that endows google with infinite genius and practicality-and I have to think that this is the crux of how google work. In my mind, as I begin to type something into the google search bar, google is already scanning my every keystroke and referencing this information against a massive data cache of popular searches that start out similar to, or have the same words as what im typing...this then spits out many, many possible questions that I may or may not be asking... then, once ive decided on my question, and hit "search", this is when the google algorithm kicks in. google takes the words i have input, and it rapidly scans for these words across many, many websites, looking for the best fit. but google doesn't just look for websites that fit, it has a way of finding websites that both fit, and are popular, and are relevant, and are in my language...how does it do this? i cant even begin to know. it seems as if google can scan the endless vastness of the internet in its entirety in seconds; finding the good and weeding out the bad...its mind boggling. I cant believe google searches the whole internet...but in many ways that does seem to be the case. how does google do it? does it break up the internet into pre-determined piece, that are then individually, and simultaneously searched? does google go through each corner of the web, site by site? or does google simply know everything? i will probably never know.

How cable TV works...probably

Without looking it up online or elsewhere pick one of the following pieces of services and tell me how you think it works-- cable television, email, or some other mysterious system that you would like to talk about.

I believe that cable television works off of radio frequency. Buildings that have this specific kind of TV are wired with cables that transmit radio signals to the televisions that they plugged into which decodes this information and displays it in the form of TV channels.

Ryan-Rudy-Alan- Ideation

We tooled around with several ideas. I won't upload our sketches until we narrow it down because, at this point, it was really just spit-ballin'. Nothing concrete.

Spitball 1) There's a particular point in the architecture building that reverberates noise, especially claps, like crazy. The walls are so close together that it seems like a hundred echos are occurring simultaneously creating a bizarre new noise. We were messing around with the idea of a sensor that would pick up on that noise and respond with another clap. If It worked, the echo would activate it again and again and again, hopefully becoming perpetual.

Spitball 2) Alan was talking about incorporating several flex sensors into a glove, but for what application we didn't decide.

Spitball 3) Rudy was interested in using heat activated ink for something, but that's a product we'd have to look much more into.

Spitall 4) We had an idea that involved a motion sensor that activated a camera that would snap a picture of passers-by and then a connected projector would display the image on a facade. But, for what conceptual purpose we couldn't figure out.

Spitall 5) I was noodling around, my group-mates haven't told me whether or not they liked these ideas. They're barely ideas anyway, I'm going to write them down so that I remember to bring them up later:
-some mess of weights/counterweights and cogs arduino controls one weight that activates and rudimentary but elaborate analog machine that lowers an item to the viewer is they jump high enough to activate its sensor.
-This is simple, but could be cool. A sensor that activates a black light when the rooms lights are off to reveal something that wasn't previously there. I dunno what I'm talking about.

chat bots

Here's a page where you can chat with famous chatbots

http://nlp-addiction.com/chatbot/

And if you're interested in creating your own just go here:

http://www.personalityforge.com/botland/bots.php

And if you'd like to talk to one of the bots I made just go here:

http://www.personalityforge.com/directchat.php?BotID=67974&MID=67972

OUR TENTATIVE CONCEPT SKETCH

Step 1: Press Button

Step 2: ?????

Step 3: CANDY

Adam, Fiorela, Don and Sarah Brainstorms

People are becoming to dependent on Technology. It is becoming an integral part of our everyday lives.
-affecting health; excercising less
-affecting posture
-affecting priorities
-becoming alarmingly integrated into lives and mentality


We were thinking about creating a sensor object that flipped on a computer screen as you walked by. The screen would have some kind of enticing image or interactive feature that would engage the viewer and encourage them to sit down and interact with the computer. The fact that the computer flips on when the person walks by creates an element of almost technological and human interdependency... the person walks by the computer desk maybe subconsciously wants to engage with the computer while the computer turns on and entices the person to interact with it. The actual flipping on of the computer by a motion sensor eliminates, simplifies, and replaces a physical action with a technological one.

Another idea we were thinking about was creating a robotic companion. This also falls into the same category as human dependency on technology, but even more so because it involves an emotional dependency on this technology. We were thinking of creating a robot that responded to human interaction, through use of motion sensors, that would move, talk, wave, etc when a person interacted with it.

Another idea that evolved out of the robotic companion, was to make a simple machine that generated a very basic emotional response. We were thinking about creating a device that was obscure to the viewer, or possibly just a simple form, such as a box and with human interaction (such as a button press) spit out an object that would please the person engaging with it. We were thinking about possibly using those little valentine hearts because not only does recieveing candy create a positive human response, but it also has a statement written on them that generates a similar maybe even slightly more personal emotional repsonse the the technology.

3 Artists

I have forgotten the name of the first artist I would like to talk about. The artwork was titled "The double take machine" or something similar. Anyway the piece looks like an inflatable tube with big googly eyes. However, sensors in the robotic form track human beings and make the robot do a double take when someone enters the gallery space. I really enjoyed the piece when I first saw a video of it because this simple machine seemed very alive when it was programmed to think about the presence of people.

The second artist I want to discuss is Tom Gerhardt. I was looking at the most recent projects completed with processing (a closely related language to wiring), and found his Mud Tub project. The piece basically uses mud as a sensor, and you can play games or interact with stuff on screen, by playing a a tub of mud. His site is at http://tomgerhardt.com/, and many of his projects use sensors and materials in a variety of ways.

My third artist is just a high school student from Virginia. He had the opportunity to work with the Naval Research Laboratories and he designed custom arduino board to be used in space that you can communicate with. the forum is here http://www.arduino.cc/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1236996885

3 Artists

STELARC YOU ARE A MACHINE

http://www.stelarc.va.com.au/

LORD ELIASSON

http://www.olafureliasson.net/

ANAMATRONIX

http://www.kenrinaldo.com/

My artists

The three artists I checked out were:

Michael Christian. If you go under large creations you can see his mechanical stuff. I really like how he lights things up to create this beautiful experience.
http://www.michaelchristian.com/

Nakamura Masahiro. He has this cool bubble creation that creates bubbles and uses processing to detect and create a sound once a bubble pops.
http://in5.jp/bc/english/image5.html


My favorite is the Grafitti Research Lab. This is a group which uses LEDS and technology in general to create public art on a generally large scale. I love their LED stickies project where they made stickable LEDs and threw them onto buildings and walls. I also love their L.A.S.E.R Tag project which allowed them to use a laser pointer and draw graffiti onto buildings. Their projects allow the public to easily participate and also impact the community in which they happen.

http://graffitiresearchlab.com/?page_id=76

Fiorela and Ryan's walk

Here are Ryan's responses:

1. He usually fiddles with the technology.
2. He spent hours figuring out how to build a website, and was successful.
3. He runs into his new easel every morning when he goes to the bathroom.
4. We went around Norman hall - lack of visibility was in the stairwell between flights...the stairs are also broken up between floors. the whole building is very labyrinth-like.
5. Men's bathroom in FAB has shallow sinks and a urinal that faces the door.
6. Fancy big screen tv's have too few buttons for the number of functions.
7. An affinity to pens and blank paper - drawing major.

Fiorela Larea

Answers to walk questions:

Fiorela is not a fiddle-faddler. She reads the manuals and gets it done right.

Most time spent trying to make something work: A half an hour trying to handle uncooperative mini-screws into her glasses

Daily glitch on travels through campus: Usually presses the wrong cross-walk button

Encounter with a conceptual model doesn't make sense: Panasonic video camera. The firewire plug is behind the battery, so to hook the camera up to a computer you need to take out the battery and run the camera from an outlet.

Interface with too few controls: Tamagotchi, usually killed hers because of poor design.

Favorite everyday object: Hair brush. Its wide, so the brushing is done quickly, doesn't hurt and has a pleasant rubber handle.

Walk up Apartment Building: It was outdoor stairwell, 3 stories high. The metal guard-rails provided pretty clear visual cues in terms of where to stop and turn. Zig-Zaggy formation of stair made what was up the next flight a mystery. 

instructables link

http://www.instructables.com/id/A_Complete_Guide_To_Basic_Electronics/

Questionnaire (Jason and Don)

Do you prefer to look at a manual or just fidget with something?

Jason: I prefer to just fidget with it first and then when I need help with a specific function I will use the manual to look up the information that I need. I think I can learn a lot more about how things work if I fidget with it myself.

Don: I prefer to go with the manual first and try to learn the most I can from the text and/or figures.

What's the longest that you have fiddled with something in the last few years?

Jason: I am the kind of person that will work on something, no matter how long it takes, in order to complete my objective. I just spent 2 weeks attempting to get both a Wii and a PS2 emulator to work on my computer. Fortunately, I got them both to work after a lot of trial and error and I even helped write a guide on how to do it.

Don: I spent two and a half weeks trying to get a steam engine to work (that I had built and designed myself).




Describe a physical interaction that does not work. (A habitual error)

Jason: On the back roads behind Butler Plaza there is a road sign that is signaling an approaching stop sign. Even though I know not to start breaking, I immediately put my foot on the break when I see that sign.

Don: I always push the door to the advanced sculpture studio instead of pulling it.

Interactions with architecture: Music Auditorium/Former Catherdral

As for physical interactions, we ended up having to use the outside steps to reach a higher level but we ultimately used the elevator to reach the highest point. All of the doors were heavy and wooden, so we had to interact with them to enter the building. Also there were some locked doors, so we had to interact with the locked parts.

Instances of visibility or lack of visibility:

For the most part, the building itself does a good job of obstructing the view of other people. Having a lot of narrow staircases as well as smaller rooms, it was easy to lose sight of another person. Also the windows overlooking Turlington Plaza were tinted, which allowed for the outside to be visible to us, but nobody on the outside could look in at us. The balconies however ended up having good visibility.

Instances of affordance:

There were a great deal of objects in the building that had some functional aspect related to physical interaction with a person. Handrails were commonplace as well as water fountains. We found grips on all of the interior staircases, aiding in the creation of friction to prevent accidents. There was an elevator as well and strategically placed trashcans.

Instance where the physical attributes of an object mimic their function:

Jason: I think that any instance of a container generally fits well with its design.

Don: See comment below.

Instance where the physical attributes of an object differ from their function:

Jason: Any form of light bulbs. Functionally to achieve good lighting you would want many small light sources instead of just one; this provides for more even lighting.

Don: See comment below.

Instance of an object that you can only use a part of (too many functions):

Jason: I have always thought that microwaves tend to have so many functions with such few buttons to achieve particular tasks.

Don: See comment below.

Alan and Sarah C.

Fiddle faddle or manual?
Sarah - If something's not working I take it apart, sometimes I mess it up worse. I like to fiddle faddle.
Alan - I do the same, if I can't get that thing to work one day, I'll come back to it in a few hours/days and try some more.

When was the last time you tried to make something work?
Sarah - I took my box fan apart, one of the wires shorted out, and I fixed it.
Alan - I fixed my friend's RROD xbox 360, I used some online tutorials though, so the fiddle faddling doesn't really apply.

Travels and using a piece of technology incorrectly.
Sarah - Anything I use incorrectly I think I deliberately use incorrectly.
Alan - the same.

Object from the recent past that did not function as you assumed it should.
Sarah - The lab whose knobs make no sense what so ever.
Alan - These chairs are crazy.

Object that has too few visual controls for tasks or confusing controls.
Sarah - Since I don't really read the manuals, I don't know all the controls on my digital camera.
Alan - Single knob on washer and dryer that control all functions. Multi-functions were annoying to program and run though.

Favorite everyday object?
Sarah - My shoes, they protect my feet, they are fashionable and comfortable.
Alan - Coffee/espresso machine, makes my morning caffeine fix possible before I leave the house. Single button for each function, and the matte black finish is oh so nice.

Walk Notes

Instances of visibility or lack there of?
-when alan walked into doors, he seemed slightly drawn to corners. At one point he actually disappeared, literally, like poof, and he's gone... reappeared sporting a donkey and sombrero. I was confused at first but then I just accepted it.

Know how to interact with architecture?
-Door knobs are on side of door you open. Handicapped button indicated door. When door had no outward visual signs, they opened on the side the verticle window was located.
-Hallways are very directional, and the stairs didn't leave any room for questions as to their function/direction. Waterfountain operation clearly marked with large PUSH bar?
-Elevators all function in a similar manner and due to previous experience with an elevator or two, he knew what to do. UP and Down clearly labeled.

Do the physical properties match perceptions?
-Elevator's properties matched perceptions, they go up and down.
-Doors open and close
-The handicapped push button has symbol of door opening, but poorly designed, a pen poke not centered on pad will not activate doors.
-Fire alarms are covered and this cover deterrs pranksters from pulling button but also hinders the rapid activation of fire alarm which could lead to more injuries than necessary.

Adam and Mike Walk 9/9/09

-Do you live by a manual or find out how to work something by yourself?
Adam: Usually I try to find out how something works on my own before I look at a manual. If there is a certain function that I can't figure out on my own then I will read the manual.

Mike: When I open a new electronic item, I usually want to get it working right away for the purpose I bought it for in the first place, and the quickest way for that is to read the instructions. However if the instructions make no sense, I'd try to find a way to make it work using my own devices.


-How long have you ever tried to get something to work?
Adam: It is probably best categorized as a continual process. My cell phone for instance; I start using it right away and will continually learn new functions throughout my ownership of it because I rarely consult the manual first.

Mike: My old computer would have the same habitual problem where it would shut down whenever I tried to run a program for at least a good month, and I spent the whole time doing everything and anything I could. Then I had to wipe the hard drive clean. Piece of junk.


-What is a habitual error you make around campus?
Adam: For some reason when I get to the glass doors of the Hub I always push when I should pull and vice versa. Since I can see both words, my brain has a hard time realizing which is the appropriate action even though one of the words is backwards to me.

Mike: Walking around FAD up to the top floor, I was reminded of an error I made every single day when I had B & W Photo. From the stairway to the hallway is a door. I'd ALWAYS turn the doorknob to the left, and the door would not budge, and after that, I'd always think it was locked, then realize I had to turn it to the right for it to work. I haven't been up there in months, and I did the exact same thing today. That damn door...


-Walk from outside of a building to the highest point of it. Record all interactions with the architecture.
1)Door handles/knobs let us know when to open a door and walk through it.
2)We saw stairs so we knew that we had access to a higher level of the building.
3)Exit signs helped to lead us around the building and out of it.
4)A locked door didn't allow us access to an area of the building.


-Describe a situation where the design of something doesn't make sense.
Adam: The old Apple mouse doesn't have a button that would allow you to secondary click.

Mike:


-What is a situation where an interface doesn't make have enough controls to maximize its uses?
Adam: I use to have a remote control for my television that only had a power button up and down channel and volume buttons. It didn't have a number pad that you'd traditionally use to type in a channel number. You had to scroll to find it.

Mike: My old watch only had one small knob on it. Pull it out a little bit and you can change the date on it, and pull it out further to change the time. Every time I wanted to change the date, during months that were not 31 days, it'd always take me a couple tries to get the thing to pull out just the right amount.


-What is your favorite everyday object? What does it do? Why do you like it? Why is it a good design?
Adam: My favorite everyday object is my iPod Touch. It holds my favorite songs that I regularly listen to while I walk around campus. It has several applications that are handy to my daily life. It's a good design because it's compact and easily fits into my pocket for comfortable travel.

Mike:

Everday Questions

Greg & Lauren:

- If its a complicated object, I look at the manual.

- I've spent hours trying to get dolby live to work. I eventually got it after 6 hours.

- I always type # instead of * while typing the code to FAC 314.

- Walk: All the doors had visible indicators for push or pull. The pull doors had vertical handles and the push doors had a horizontal bar. Though we did get locked in a stairwell because the pull doors were locked... we had to go out the bottom floor exit where there was a push door. Although there was a hinge at the top, initially I didn't realize which side to push.

- Many new cell phones have almost too many buttons and options. The Android G-1 phone has a touch screen key board and a full physical key board as well. 

- My digital camera has too few controls. You have to press a button to switch between functions to do what you want. Its very confusing and I can never remeber how to get the setting I want.

- Graphing calculators have way more functions than I have ever used.

- My favorite everyday object is my water bottle. I love the comfortable plastic grip and the pop-top. I can open the bottle with my teeth instead of having to unscrew the lid... that also prevents me from losing the cap. I am actually very picky with water bottles, but this one is great!

Bjoern Schuelke

 

I found his artwork to be very clever and innovative. His work is very interactive, turning the spectator into an actor. It all works through kinetic systems that react to sound patterns, light, or any other change in environment. His work is very modern in look, and is composed of contemporary technology. Pieces that use solar kinetic energy have very advanced parts including solar panels. One large scale piece that uses solar panels is the "Planet Space Rover" that looks similar to a NASA space rover, yet functions on its own with the sensors in its solar panels. It has a rotating body, moving arms, a monitor, a long wave scanner, and a sound detector. His work has a very futuristic look. This is especially true for the "Drone 2." It includes solar cells, heat sensors, propellers, video chips, and a monitor. It hangs from the ceiling, taking on the shape of perhaps a spider. It reacts to heat, but the source of the heat has no control over its actions. This is a fancy surveillance system!

 

Eduardo Kac

 

Eduardo Kac works with sensors to create relationships between robots and live creatures. His piece "Darker Than Night" connects humans, robots, and bats. A "batbot" is placed in a zoo cave with 300 Egyptian fruit bats. Spectators can watch as the electronic bat sweeps through the cave with ultrasonic emissions. It has a sonar in its head that detects sound, which causes the batbot's head to spin. Participants can then enter into the cave virtually through a virtual reality headset. This piece allows for humans to grasp a new view of animals, how they live, and the differences between their species. Eduardo Kac's piece called "Uirapuru" allows for interaction with the robot from inside the building and through the internet. His duel-function idea came from the bird Uirapuru, an Amazonian bird and a mythical creature. His robot stands as a "real" animal and a mythical creature through its interactions in the present and at a distant. In the gallery, participants control the movements of the robot. Through the interaction on the internet, pingbirds start to sing Amazonian bird songs.

 

 

George Legrady

 

George Legrady’s work focuses on very interactive yet mathematical electronic art. “Blink” is a full wall projection of sets of eyes. They open and close according to their neighbor’s behavior. The movements are based on statistic calculations of the predicted movement. Another statistical project is “Making Visible the Invisible.” This instillation consists of six plasma screens set up behind a library desk. The visualizations are of non-fiction books catalogued according to the Dewey decimal system. They are shown on the screen according to their statistic of going in and out of the library’s collection.

Daniel Rozin sensor based work creates 'mechanical mirrors' using sets of material as 'analogue pixels' and a hidden camera. Rozin combines the concepts of analog imagery and digital information using surveillance.
http://www.smoothware.com/danny/

Peter Vogel sculptures showcase bare analogue electronic components which sense light and respond with sound. The work approaches the aesthetics of the components layout and its relationship with function and overall form.
http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2006/05/peter_vogel_at.php

Minim++'s (Motoshi Chikamori, Kyoko Kuno and Yasuaki Kakehi) installation work displays objects that cast shadows which morph when the object is touched. Minim+++ work demonstrates a creative physical action with the subtle use of technology and everyday objects.
http://www.plaplax.com/legacy/artwork/minim++/artwork/tools-e.htm

Circuit Labels

I took apart an old bike light I found for my labeling assignment. It had 3 LEDs, 6 resistors of various resistance, 2 capacitors and 3 transistors. I pulled up the datasheets on the Transistors by typing their numerical names into google. I also used this handy webpage http://www.kpsec.freeuk.com/components/resist.htm to look up the values of the resistors by color bands. Also, because the light runs on two 1.5v AA batteries in Series, i deduced that the light requires 3v to operate properly.

Links to artists

The Three Artists I found were:

Alan Rath
http://www.alanrath.org/

Bruce Cannon
http://brucecannon.org/

Fernando Orellana
http://www.fernandoorellana.com/

Fernando is the artist I will be speaking about in class. His work takes a look at our constantly changing uses and views of machines/robots and creates work that shows a different perspective of machines as we interact with them in our everyday lives. He contrasts very personal and moral ideas with the very public and useful use of machines. For example, he created a piece that placed a machine in place of a priest in a church booth for confession. He also created an elevator that takes a look into the idea of machines becoming self aware. The elevator reacts to it's interior environment and it's passengers.

Digital Artists

First off, one art piece came to mind - Graffiti Research Lab's "Post-Circuit Boards." This obviously came to mind because we are working with circuit boards at the moment, but it takes it out of the ordinary and offers it to the masses in an entirely new light. Instead of hidden under plastic casings, GRL puts fully-contained circuits on postcards, to send in the mail or to hang on the graffiti-ed walls with their little blinking LEDs.

This was a new piece and artist I found while searching through one of the links on the syllabus - Daniela Steinsapir's "Abracadabra." This piece has an unusual interface - from what I can understand, there is a board with sensors on it, and when you take the special stamps (which also are connected to sensors) and stamp the board, the action is relayed on a framed screen in a depiction of digital rhythm. The interface is what I find most interesting about this piece.

Lastly, and I'm not sure if this is considered "art" in the art world (but I found it through the links) - Tod Machover and the MIT Media Lab's "Music Toys," the "Beatbugs" specifically. Like "Abracadabra," this piece deal's with rhythm, only the interface is different - it is a plastic mouse-like looking object that you hold in your hand. Like Shelia's sensor shoes, you can connect this object to a network and share your rhythms with others.

3 Physical Computing Artists

Scott Snibbe

I found Scott Snibbe when looking up physical computing on the web. While working in physical computing, Snibbe also works with writing computer software; many of his advancements he uses in his own works. One of his most notable pieces Boundary Functions, he created a narrative between the physical space and his computer construct. Using video-cameras to track the movements of people within the space, he used projectors to create physical links between the people in the space. A voronoi diagram was used to divide the floor (on which the viewers were walking) into smaller geometric shapes that were physical representations of personal space. While he has ceated many other works that have piqued my interest, I felt that this particular project was something that interested me, based on its real-time components.

Daniel Rozin

Daniel Rozin is an artist who also works with real-time components to make interactive constructs that is dependant on user interaction. Rozin works a lot with the idea of using mirrors to put the viewer in as the subject of the artwork. Using live cameras, the data sent to the computer moves individual pieces of material (generally in the shape of a mirror) and tries to accurately portray the colors that the camera is picking up. Essentially this becomes a mirror, even though there are usually no reflective properties in the materials that he chooses. He has created a variety of these mirror apparatuses, each made out of a different material (such as trash and/or wood). I think I responded really well to this body of work because I felt that it was not only innovative, but it was interactive without forcing any physical interaction with the viewer.

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer is a Digital Media artist who commonly works within the field of physical computing. While dabbling in various areas within physical computing, Hemmer is most notably known for his obsession with perception as well as the size of spaces. One of his more recent works Voz Alta was the scale of a metropolitan area. Using Mexico City as his base, Hemmer hooked up a mega-phone to four spotlights that were in the middle of the city. As people (who were using the device) spoke louder and softer during certain point, Hemmer set up the spotlights to brighten and dim in response to the speaker's voice. By watching the lights, a person was able to infer meaning based on the ways that they pulsed. He also offered (through radio) a way for people in Mexico City to listen to what was actually being said over the loudspeaker. I really found this interesting because with his use of scale, he was able to expose his art project to not only a select few, but a majority of a major city. I think his use of space is fascinating and I am definitely interested in learning more.

Labels

Here is a detailed look at my NES circuit board.

Brenden Jamison

Today I went to the Brenden Jamison lecture today and I have to say I was less than impressed. Jamison presented his work in four parts, organized by material-but he never really got into any single work. Although I saw the works playful and visually interesting, I could not derive any strong conceptual rigor in the works. I did not understand why he chose the forms he did, or why he chose his materials. Although he expressed his personal interest in the wool or sugar cubes, I couldn't understand the need for those specific materials. I also couldn't see much in the waxed construction equipment beyond his personal fascination. In any case, I will be sure to look at the ArtFlex residency program he promoted.

Sensors Walk...

I added the class late and now i'm finally on the blog, here is my sensors walk post. I saw two types of button-sensors; one was a handicap access door-opening button near the north entrance to FAC, the other button was a blue emergency or panic button near Plaza of the America. I also saw a reverse camera on a large cargo truck near Little Express. Another "sensor" I noticed was a large LCD TV screen on the 1st floor of FAC. What I though was interesting about the TV was that it kind of worked as a "reverse sensor" that attracts passer-by's attention; humans sense the TV. I feel that we easily walk by most signs and advertisements, but the moving images on the TV are extra attractive to our eyes.

Trois Artistes

Ken Rinaldo, AirSong:
http://accad.osu.edu/~rinaldo/works/sound/airsong.html

Chico MacMurtie, Fetus to Man:
http://amorphicrobotworks.org/works/ftm/index.htm

Ken Feingold, Box of Men:
http://www.kenfeingold.com/menL.html

3 artists

Ashok Sukumaran, deals with surveillance.
http://0ut.in/

Daniel Rozin
http://www.smoothware.com/danny/

Daan Roosegaarde
http://www.studioroosegaarde.net/

The Eighth Day, Eduardo Kac

http://www.asu.edu/cfa/art/people/faculty/collins/Kac/

Incidentally we were studying him in another one of my studios, so I knew a little about his work.

Corpus, Ann Hamilton

http://www.massmoca.org/event_details.php?id=42

Electronic Superhighway, Nam June Paik

http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/aroundthemall/2009/05/american-art-museum-acquires-work-of-nam-june-paik/

3 Artists

David Merril and Hayes Raffle, The Sound of Touch wand
http://www.rafelandia.com/sound%20of%20touch/video.html

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Less Than Three
http://www.lozano-hemmer.com/english/projects/lessthanthree.htm

Hiro Yamagata, Wexner Contemporary Art Museum installation
http://www.hiroyamagata.com/exhibition/columbus/01.html
http://www.hiroyamagata.com/exhibition/columbus/02.html
I'm not sure if this one was interactive at all, but I've always love installations that completely transform the museum space and give that gives their audience a extraordinarily unique sensory experience. This one looks like it was unreal.

Fire Alarm Circuitry

Opened up my Fire Alarm to see what was inside. As far as I can tell, this is it. A ton of resistors. The enormous metal piece is what emits the alarm, and the red, black and white wires that go off to the left connect to what believe to be the smoke detector.

Artists

Chico MacMurtrie
Skeletal Reflections, 2000
http://amorphicrobotworks.org/works/skelli/video.mov


Alan Rath
I Like To Watch, 2000
http://www.qnak.com/alanrath/Robots/ILikeToWatch_m.html


Amy Youngs
Rearming the Spineless Opuntia, 1999
http://hypernatural.com/rearmmov.html

Design of Everyday Things ch.1

This book isn't a terrible read so far. The chapters are long, but I can follow the flow of what is being said and think on it. I find it amusing sometimes because the author is obviously in the nineties. CDs are being mentioned, but not DVDs. VHS is mentioned as a new technology and cassette tapes are still prevalent apparently. So I get a kick out of designs being mentioned in a wishful manner and then, comparing in my mind to see if it already exists. For example at the end of the chapter the author asked for a ridiculous design (because why would you want a toaster outlet in your boombox, and why would you want your boombox on your telephone?). Thinking about it however, it was basically a clunkier version of the cellphone with the exception of the toaster outlet, cd player, and cassette deck. The latter two are unnecessary now that we have digital music however.

What I really took away from the first chapter was the importance of design. You don't really think about it, because as a buyer you're only interested in "can I use it?" and the convenience of everything. You don't consider they "why" of that. I faced many of the same situations described in the book, particularly with doors. It's frustrating. When I design websites I consider these sorts of things, but with my art I never gave it deep thought. I think that has to do with your audience as well. For me,w hen i think of websites I consider the elderly or the computer illiterate. With art projects I feel that art students and teachers will see them, and that this audience will think abstractly. While that's true I feel I shouldn't take that for granted and be more considerate in the future if my project calls for it.

Design of Everyday Things Chapter 1

I enjoy reading this book so far. I was expecting it to be a little outdated, but the problems he explains in the book are still overlooked today, and modern technology has made devices even more difficult to use. For example the phone is still a very problematic device. Now with the advent of touchscreens, some devices have as little as two physical buttons to complete the functions of a computer. I have played around with an iphone and other touch devices, but they all have their problems. The iphone is probably the best designed, but there are times where I still get lost on it.

Why haven't they fixed the door problem yet, I feel every week I push or pull a door the wrong way and its embarrassing. Maybe store owners just enjoy laughing at fumbling customers?

This all reminds me of a conversation I had with my roomate. She was babysitting a 6 year old over the weekend when a toy ukulele broke. My roomate said she didn't know how to fix it, the six year old said, "...we can just google it." I realized that I was born before the internet, when computers should barely do a spreadsheet. I wonder if or when it will be so complex that I will have trouble keeping up. This generation that learns the word 'google' right after 'mom' and 'dad' will push technology really far. But there will be problems of designing it for simplicity.