FINE PRINT: for some reason i can no longer upload active links to this blog. It all worked splendidly until last week. I don’t have this issue with other blogs…cut and paste pls
http://vimeo.com/40909656
Apr 24
FINE PRINT: for some reason i can no longer upload active links to this blog. It all worked splendidly until last week. I don’t have this issue with other blogs…cut and paste pls
http://vimeo.com/40909656
Apr 21
In addition to a dataset, I would also like to create a simple poster which highlights these issues, and present it in public for a good old fashion street-intervention. I would like to interview people to discover what they know, what their perceptions of these laws are and by revealing some new information to them provoking a call to action. The interviews would be videotaped and posted to the site along with the data.
A key component in designing both the website, the poster and the street interviews is to keep it simple. By presenting facts in a clear cut easy to understand 2-line descriptions, the information will be easier to digest and process. This will be one of the major goals of the project, present clear, concise and relevant information.
Apr 19
This uses Javascript to find your location using the browser without having to write an iOS app.
Apr 19
My solenoids valves arrived and are all in working order. Finished rigging up solenoids to be controlled by arduino. Basic code is just alternating HIGH LOW every second.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk3LT450icM&feature=youtu.be
Apr 18
First, you should check out this JOTLY ultimate app:
( p.s. I don’t know why for some reason the links are not clickable…)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QIWpbfZHHzc
and here’s the “The Jig Is Up” article:
Apr 18
Okay, so I think from today’s conversation, I was misunderstood, so after mulling over my ideas for this project, I’ve decided to try to explain this concept again, and finalize what I’m going to do for the next month. This is basically me laying out my battle plans for the next couple of days of things I need to complete for my project. There’s still some computing components involved but they’re relatively simple or should be simple to complete, once I ask around or figure out how to do it. I’ve done some sketching and will probably be doing more sketching in the next days or so, so look for another post from me.
Anyway, to start off, I really want to make a toy. I initially wanted it to be for the blind, but it doesn’t have to be just for blind kids either, although I don’t want to completely disregard blind users, and I’m thinking about ways I can include or incorporate their needs during user testing. I never really imagined that my toy would be 100% audio, and there will definitely be some trigger action involved regarding the interface of the toy/game and how the user plays with it. My precedent for the kind of toy I would make would be the Leapfrog toys with multiple built in interactive games.
The game element is still going to be a huge part of my toy as well, with most of the story/action being audio driven. With that said, you’re not just hearing sound, you’re also touching strange textures. I did a rough sketch to show you what I mean.
Apr 12
This link will take you to my blog where I detail how I intend to interface my Neurosky Mindflex with my iPhone using an Arduino and Frequency Shift Keying (FSK) modem communication:
Apr 12
Finally, DONE
We were asked to find creative ways to communicate over a distance. My original concept was a wearable technology which enabled one user to communicate with another through a haptic/physical feedback system. After more thought and fine-tuning I arrived at a scenario where one user could communicate a written message or image through a mechanical pen. With only a few weeks to create a prototype I scaled down this concept to something more manageable and technically feasible. The result, a decoder-pen. How does it work? One user creates a drawing or message using the web-based Java drawing tool. Once done, this user sends the other user this message via email (in the form of Arduino code) which they can then load onto the pen and manually decode. In the age of internet and immediacy, the decoder-pen presents a unique, tedious, intimate and somewhat secure way to communicate over a distance. While I don’t expect the FBI to be adopting this technology anytime soon, this may be something Inspector Gadget had used at one point in time.
The decoder pen features a hacked blackberry trackball, directional LED array, power mode toggle switch, start button, Teensy 2.0 microcontroller, coin batteries, and an acrylic housing.
More details found here, on my website.
Apr 11
L O O M I S
F I N A L P R O J E C T P R O D O
Q U E S T I O N / P R O B L E M
Can we affect a person’s relationship to an object by infusing said object with a living organism? If so, how will this adjust interaction/ what ways can interaction be controlled to produce a specific effect? What is an appropriate effect to produce?
C O N C E P T
Having participated in the BIOMOD workshop with ANGELO VERMEULEN, I would like to continue working in the area of technology and ecology. The concept for the LOOMIS PROJECT is to create an interactive “exoskeleton” to house an algae colony (Chlorophyta). Algae colonies are a low maintenance way to drastically reduce Co2 levels and improve air quality. Algae is also an aesthetically pleasing material to work with, luminescent, semi-transparent and vibrantly green. The “exoskeleton” would serve to create an aesthetically pleasing bio-reactor, its exterior would look semi-organic and plant-like, yet would be made of a series of interwoven transparent acrylic tubes containing an algae colony. The colony would be constantly filtered through and pumped– giving the piece a pulse and thereby making it more lifelike.
I N T E R A C T I O N
This project would be categorized as Activity Centered Design (ACD) rather than User Centered. Since a user has no need to use this object on a daily basis the interaction must be centered around an activity, which is tending to the colony.
Emotions to exploit: responsibility, motherhood, god-complex. Caregiver is to sun as people are to algae, he/she must leave and return, bringing with him/her light, warmth, and comfort.
P O I N T S O F I N T E R A C T I O N
Speech: speaking will affect rate of water aeration. The higher the volume/ tone of what’s being said the more air will be pumped into water. Since aeration helps the colony, speaking to LOOMIS is helping it. A call and response interaction could also work here, where LOOMIS repeats sentences with bubbles. (working…)
Motion: on detection of motion, heaters will warm water, LEDS will illuminate to a warmer hue. Again, algae need a warm environment and so this will reaffirm responsibility for the colony. Stay away too long and the LEDS will illuminate to a colder hue.
E Q U I P M E N T
+-200′ Acrylic Tubing (6 feet tubes)
1 Water Pump
1 Aeration machine with multiple valves
1 motion sensor, 1 mic
1 arduino
RGB LED
Ultraviolet LED (water purification)
Servos/solonoids to control valves
Extra plexiglass for reservoir tank and bracing
100′ aquarium tubing
Algae Chlorophyta
Florescent tube lights
Miracle Grow
P R E C E D E N T S
http://www.designboom.com/cms/images/jayme01/wallpiercing/wall02.jpg
http://www.botanicalls.com/
R E L A T E D F I E L D S
Ecology
Bioreactors
Human ecosystem
Cybernetics
Memetics
DESIGN AND PROTO FORTHCOMING
Apr 10
Okay I added some ramps, spent three days fixing the serial funk, and created a very simple steal-the-flag game. Connor and Mehdi tested the gameplay with good results. Still a long ways to go…. the gameplay is looking a bit sad at the moment.
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