Gotta love a class where you talk about the signifier and signified and Lolcats. #
My tinitis is back. I’m woefully underslept, clearly. #

Hermit Crab in a glass shell | via wallout.com

ALCHEMY OF LIGHT is a live performance integrating magic, interactive video and physical theater. The production depicts the story of the 19th century magician Torrini. He constructs the set based on the tricks of an early Georges Mélies film then woos his wife, an aerialist, to come to earth & join him. There is a [...]

Mobile Class Management Platform A web tool for teachers and students to collaborate inside and outside of class adding cell phones as a method to interact and update the system. A mash up of blogs, wikis, forums, web albums,…

An animation I made a couple of years back.

Making space
Poldering system: reclaim space from sea/water
Romans used walls to make very definitive
- x, y access
- cardo: main street: market/commercial
- decumanus (residence)
- forum: main area at 0,0
military and policing of space:
interlocking field of fire: artillery placement for multiple lines of fire
jittery is better for surveillance
thickening of walls: kowloon walled city (demolished in ‘96 [...]

I just returned from a trip to Savannah, GA to for technology and art week. Mary Flanagan gave a great talk on the nature of video games as an expressive medium and Andrew Schneider demoed his wacky and incredible Experimental Devices for Performance.

Voronoi from shiffman on Vimeo.
Download QT version (better quality)
I [...]

I love David Pogue’s video reviews.  I just found a great one on the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) XO laptop.  Mine just arrived in the mail this week, so I’m learning all about it.  It’s truly an amazing little device.

1Night 1Flight
Books under 140 pages worth reading.

Mobile Platform for Classrooms A mobile device, software and curriculum for teaching. Description A mobile device based curriculum that will facilitate the teaching process and enrich the classroom environment.  An example class: Photography Each s…

Notes from Class………………………………………………………………………………………….
Cognitive
Abstraction of Info
Orientation
landmarks
Levels of explanation needed
how much context?
Culture
Language
Color
Tourist vs local
Preconceptions
Emotional
Visual Language
How you feel using it.
Physical
Size
Users
objectives are trains running… get from A to B

The metro riders
The map is the instrument which locates a person in space, is the one that  synthesize it and makes it look so small but at the time so big. The purposes of maps can vary  extensively, but when we refer to a subway map its main intention is to help one get to [...]

Abiogenic Petroleum Origin:

Yesterday I presented on the topic of Abiogenic Petroleum Origin in my Sustainable Energy class. One of our textbooks is titled “The Bottomless Well”, and while it has nothing to do with abiotic oil, it reminded me of the topic.

The generally accepted model of “fossil fuels” states that oil comes from the fossilized remains of organic matter (plants and animals) sitting within sedimentary layers of rock that have been subjected to geologic forces over millions of years. But the theory of…

I am quite grateful for all the feedback I received in week 2’s Thesis class. There will be a great deal of problems I will have to confront when I start to implement some of the features for my mobile/web application, TeleBanter. The first and most difficulties is to get an accurate speech-to-text from the [...]

This is another class I am taking this semester where we learn how digital cameras work at the chip/sensor level in order to take better quality pictures and not destroy them in the process.The class is taught by Eric Rosenthal who has built cameras fo…

PIXELS! Raw image processing power!
I guess its not that dramatic… but it is nice to finally be manipulating images (video) at the pixel level after doing it at the meta (Photoshop) level for so long. This, being my first foray into image processing, was an interesting and somewhat humbling one. Interesting because the results [...]

Wearables Studio
Week 1, Project Conception

Project Concept

What is fashion? Why do we wear clothes?

Perhaps it is to be modest, to cover the body. Clothes cover, shelter,
shield, heat, and amuse. Our intentions are expressed through clothes;
lingerie, kevlar vests, or camouflage. As is social status, whether it
be the red stripe of Prada or bright orange denim of the penal system.
Fashion is a visual language, and an essential element of our social
fabric.

Technology has brought an unprecedented personalization of our physical
space, particularly in urban settings where headphone wearers or cell
phone talkers are most prominent. In some ways, our clothes and
accessories have turned into barriers, creating an anti-social bubble
for us to exist in. The social fabric around us is more closely woven
to people through a cell phone than those around us on the subway.

Clothes offer a way to break that barrier and connect to people
around us. Fashion which sparks conversation, or at least curiosity,
hurtles its wearer toward being a social conduit. A dress which
communicates her wearers heartbeat is extremely intimate and evokes an
empathetic response in observers. When wearer and observer interact, an
invisible boundary is created between the two which serves to facilitate
communication but also protect the self.

xxx is a dress to physically represent this invisible boundary between
people, and prompt social interaction. As people approach the wearer,
butterflies extend from the dress to surround her, and offer a friendly
greeting. The butterflies themselves are rhythmically fluttering to the
beat of the wearers heart, ready to caress.

Influences

Hussein Chalayan’s work in his 2007 and 2008 lines was inspirational.
He showed a beautiful meshing between couture and technology. Most of
all in his use of motors.

Specs

The dress will be made out of comfortable white fabric. Inside the
electronics and motor system will be housed. The butterflies will extend
via a metal rod, how, I’m not sure (technical concern). The butterflies
will flutter by pulling a line which is put through this rod, attached
to another motor (technical concern). The rod and butterfly system is
connected to a microcontroller which controls its movements.

The heartbeat of the wearer is monitored (technical concern), and eight
IR sensors are used to track people moving around the wearer. An
accelerometer is present to tell when the wearer is moving. The
accelerometer and IR data is used to control the motion of the rods. A
switch is present for the wearer to easily turn the dress on and off.

- sensing
*heart rate
IR sensors (x8)
accelerometer

- moving parts
*motors for rods (would a pneumatic solution be possible?)
*rods
*motors for butterflies
*butterfly mechanism

- switch

- processing
lilypad (or custom?)

- battery
4 hours running time would be nice

* technical concerns

The dress as a whole needs to be wearable. This is the reason for a
switch easily accessible to the wearer, while she is wearing it. The
wearer must also be able to move freely and not risk destroying the
dress. While the butterflies can be somewhat delicate, the rod system
needs to be durable and unobtrusive. Placement of the rods and
material used will be extremely important. Weight and placement of the
batteries is also important.

References

Simmel, Georg. “Fashion.” The American Journal of Sociology May 1957: 541-558.

A classic article on the origins and sociological aspects of fashion.
Fascinating historical perspective, excellent insights such as using
fashion as a vehicle to dispel nervousness.

Personal Space Suit, by Terence Arjo.

In 2006 Terence built a jacket whose spikes extend when people approach.
Sensing is done via IR. While conceptually our projects are very
different, he has a unique of approaching personal space.

– Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:04 -0500

While when we started talking about the invisible walls, like the wall to block or affect the free flow, e.g. the policy for restricting entering into US, especially the one or two years after 911, no matter whether you are students, or capitalists, or professors, or terrorists, you guys will end up with the same result: being rejected by US. embassy . It’s reasonable because of lots of immigration problems, but it ended up with blocking the “useful” people, idea, capital, merchandise, etc into US at the same time.

In addition to the sacrifice above, which is relatively less intense, the wall, which blocks the natural flow, also gets itself being pressed and pushed continuously, with the flow’s getting stronger and stronger. Then there are holes , there are people jumping across it, there are people destroying the wall, there are strong forces pushing the wall. For instance, there are illegal immigrates, there are tragedies due to the tense between US government and some other countries. The wall may collapse in the end.

Same thing about China’s firewall. Before Google’s Chinese R&D branch came into China, Google was always blocked by Chinese government’s firewall, let along other “harmful” websites, e.g. Berkeley’s homepage, which central government found intimidated.

The sacrifice was huge day by day, year by year,
since researchers may lose chance to catch up with the most advances technology, students may lose chance to study, fresh and different ideas may not reach Chinese net citizens, and government may not be supervised and challenged effectively by people. The system will become weaker and weaker.

However, same thing, wherever there’s a block, there’s anti-block, same to physical walls which block flood, wind, various forms of natural forces etc. Those net citizens researched and came up with many solutions to cross the firewalls or dig holes. Moreover, activists also act to challenge those “wall” policies and decisions by governments.

Different from thousands of years ago, when our ancestors needed to use cold weapons, e.g. swords, knife, anchor, shield to attack a town and cross the wall, now there are more and more tools to empower people to fight against or walk around the walls, like internet, phone, network objects, telepresence, , airplane, boat…

So when to build the wall, where, how tall, and for how long to keep the wall, when to push the wall down… walls could be used tactically at the right time in the right place, but if strategically, that would be dangerous.

I kind of wish it would snow. I’d like to watch the snow fall through a large picture window, watch it collect on greenery. I blame whomever it was that didn’t sign Kyoto. (Hint: the president before Bush)

@chrisabraham - what’s that they say about those who forget history? I weep for the future. #
Once in awhile you advance so far past where you were that your frame of reference changes so much you don’t even realize how far you’ve … #
Just realized that I am prone to hyperbole.. Err on [...]

Urban Computing: What is a wall?
Wall, as a simple force of division, marks a boundary between here and there. How do we define our world through walls? One could argue that geographical boundaries act as walls defining spaces within which all forms of life acknowledge and encroach. But even geographic boundaries are crossed [...]

There are many reasons we need to interact with another human being.

Why introduce another person’s presence? Why interact?
Here is some scenarios I tend to bring in others’ presence.

Walking alone on street in NY around 2 o’clock.
When travelling, being in the cab, alone, in a new city.
Just had a nightmare and woke up.
Got a great news or ideas to share.
30 min everyday jogging in the gym.
Miss someone, wants to talk.
…
The reason varies from sharing ideas, passing meme, like sharing news and ideas, to trying to maximize the efficiency within the limited time, like jogging while chatting with friends; from trying to find oneself by comparing with others, interacting with others, to pursuing the sense of “real” by seeing,touching, hearing, etc; to the most basic thing: sense of safety and certainty.

I want to address the very basic reason for why interact, why need presence by focusing on safety.

When in the cab, in a strange city, for instance, the first time I went to San Jose, alone. I had no idea where the hotel was and it was dark outside, with few people on the street. When I got in the cab, I started dialing my friends’ phone number, and started the conversation, and try to let the driver hear what I was talking about with my friend, such as where I was right now, in a cab, blah blah …

I introduced my friend to be present, not only for me, to accompany myself, but also for the driver, who I was not trusting while I was struggling also in my little universe whether this man was good or bad, since I didn’t have another other way if this guy was bad. Though the driver may 99% not be the bad man; and though even the driver was a bad man and was listening to my chatting with my friend in phone, he still may ignore that and be as bad as he was. even I totally understood that, I still can’t help calling my friend, speaking loudly. The content is not important, the person who he/she is is also not that important. The difference between “there’s someone else here”, either in person or in voice , and “no one else here” matters. All is because that makes me feel safe.

Thesis Proposal
Ben Leduc-Mills
Spring 2008
1. THESIS STATEMENT - What problem are you taking on, or what project are you proposing? This should be expressed in one or two sentences, and should be as specific and clear as you can be at the time. We anticipate that you will re-write this statement in increasingly specific terms as [...]

I go here.

http://www.lostateminor.com/2008/01/26/joshua-ben-long/

I built a rough foot pedal assembly for the rope & pulley system. I’m not quite sure what to make of it just yet, but it didn’t feel right. Previously, pulling the rope towards my body would trigger a note on the synthesizer. As I pulled with increasing speed, the pulley system would increase the volume of the note along with a sound modulating parameter. As I pulled with decreasing speed, the system would decrease the volume and modulation parameter. Once the pulley stopped rotating, the system would turn off the note on the synthesizer. Today, I changed my code so that the rope only controls volume and modulation. I used the two foot switches I built to trigger two different notes on the synthesizer. It felt a bit more like playing a piano with my feet. I felt like I couldn’t move as freely because my feet needed to be on the switches for the notes to stay on.

Ideas:
- Maybe there is an “initial state” of the instrument — akin to an open string on a guitar or violin. (This can be tuned to the user’s preference). This way, stepping off the footswitches still allows sound to occur when the rope is pulled.
- Does it make sense to allow more than one switch to be pressed at a time? I like the idea of being able to play intervals or simple chords with the system, but it doesn’t make sense with the string metaphor.
- This is the synthesizer setup — what about the sample playback setup? What experiments can I do there to push forward a bit?
- How do I capture a “gesture” with the rope like a rapid direction change?

Area of enquiry
Re-appropriating the magnetic compass to show directions that are not cardinal but indicators of emotional, economic states. Creating new kinds of directions that a device could help you point to and explore.

Why do we need such a device
Most navigation devices in the past (compass,sextant) opened a new territory which one could move towards, explore and discover. When the compass points north it points towards a direction and not ‘a location’ or point. But in contemporary navigation devices, such as the GPS ,an absolute co-ordinate system, like ones latitude and longitude on a imaginary grid is given utmost importance. The GPS is extremely efficient and in this efficiency we loose a lot of richness of contexts due to the absence of the act of exploration. When we use a GPS, often its about getting from point A to B. While when we use a compass its still about getting from A to B but the journey in between those points is also important.

In brief I am interested in pointing devices that are fuzzy, vague and tacit and not in devices that are exact, precise or ingrained in a grid of x and y coordinates.

Practices and Inspirations
The Compass itself
GPS Table – Fiona Raby and Anthony Dunne
Practices of the Situationists
the boomerang (yes the aboriginal one)
The Listening Post – Ben Rubin and Mark Hansen

Texts
Else/Where Mapping – Peter Hall and Janet Abrams
Field Guide to Getting Lost – Rebecca Solnit
Power of maps – Dennis Wood
Alison Sant – Redefining the basemap
Beyond Locative Media by Marc Tuters and Kazys Varnelis

Links
Research wiki for the project
Thesis class blog

The Lowlands Project
This investigation involved mapping my neighborhood communities, professions and individuals with the aim of eliciting hidden urban territories and behaviors. This was my undergrad thesis. For more see the link below.
Project Details

When you build something, you create a channel for human interaction. An interface that allows discrete entities to connect. Walls. People don’t talk to walls. People talk to people. Through walls. Architectures embedded with symbols and meaning. Vocabularies. When walls become dynamic transformative structures, what happens to the vocabularies that used to surround them. What new

Fireflies move in smaller random paths as they approach the corners of the jar, where they tend to linger.  Run here.

During the course of this thesis project, I will develop a new electronic musical instrument that combines the expressive possibilities of large-scale human body motions with the sonic flexibility of computer-based synthesis into an intuitive live performance tool. Through frequent user-testing, a review of research in the field of New Instruments for Musical Expression, and specific attention to a disciplined creative process, this thesis will also investigate and comment on the relationships between tools and the work they are used to produce as well as the process a toolmaker goes through to develop an instrument.

I started working on this project as a sketch for Performing Technology last semester. It turned into my final project. You can look at the background information here.

Finished piece uses Quicktime Pro (full screen) with Processing Java applet running in background using Ess sound library to fade music’s volume up/down depending on user’s pressure in the bag of lentils. The bag is sitting on a patch of grass that is on top of a piece of wood [...]

Using XPort now - http://www.lantronix.com/device-networking/embedded-device-servers/xport.html
(WiPort works wirelessly, but there are other ways of doing it as well with XPort such as XBee)
solder header pins to board and board to xport
some hot glue to keep unit from touching board itself
Get IP address of XPort (registered through Marlan):
Terminal:
list all serial ports:
ls /dev/tty.*
screen /dev/tty.[seria port name] (tab [...]