Critique of project 1

I was really happy with the results of our first project. It was a well finished piece for being so early in our learning about electronics. I feel what was really exiting was the creation of our own and possible better color sensor for reading skin then from some of the more commercial products. The sensor itself is only different color led's paired with photo sensors. It works really well, or as well as it is supposed to when trying to figure out the race of the viewer. I also thought the craft of the piece was great and found the Plexiglas to have a strange inviting yet very sterile feel to it. I like how the projects comments on technology that is used to discriminate. There are machines in airports and such that use random numbers and various scanning technologies to try to differentiate one person from others. This project tries to make people think about a machine that uses race to label people, as well as how useless of a fact that is. Trying to guess someones race by their skin color is a very inaccurate process.

I think the project could have been stronger if there was some different way that the machine could invite people in and give them their race results. I feel something interesting could be done with a screen to make it look more like a future security device. I also feel that the stamps could have been a little better crafted. There could also seems to be something that might be able to link together the scanning of the skin, and the performance of the stamping better.