Thesis presentation online
It's time for a last update on my NYU blog - I finished my thesis, and and have put up a detailed write-up on my personal blog, including links to the video of the presentation, and the written document.
Enjoy!
July 03, 2008
May 07, 2008
One more step on a long road
I had an epiphany earlier this week, regarding my thesis project, and especially what I find interesting about it.
While the stated goal, to understand what makes people attribute life to inanimate objects (and vice-versa...) is of some interest to me, the truth is that I really just wanted to make an interesting sci-fi object.
When I was younger, I spent a lot of time drawing. Fortunately, my sister saved a lot of these drawings from when I was 15. I was looking over them recently, and realized that I've been very interested in science-fiction, bio-mechanical themes for a long time.
Here are a couple of drawings - click on them to see the complete set:
and another one:
May 02, 2008
Audio probe (mostly) completed
I have completed most of the physical construction of the audio probe.
A pretty key improvement is using florist's tape to wrap the wires and cables, instead of the shiny black rubber tubes I was using before. In order to be able to thread the wires through the tubes, I had to use quite thick tubes which didn't really fit. The florist's tape (waxed green crêpe) ends up looking quite organic. The color fits much better with the probes as well.
Follow the jump for (boring) pictures of the light probe, retrofitted with florist tape, and close-ups.
April 25, 2008
Light test
I set up a simple test program to see how the lights responded, and what kind of color variations I could produce. Here is one set of colors:
and here is another different set:
While not as bright as I would have liked (ie. not clearly visible in bright light), they do look great in a darkened room. The clear plastic moldings gives them a weird shimmery, glassy quality which I like.
First light probe construction (almost) finished
Lots of progress on physical construction, and much better insight on what it will take to finish.
I've now finished constructing most of one of the light probes. It was pretty straightforward, most difficult part was rounding off the stems on which the lights and sensors are mounted, so that they will meet the trunk seamlessly. I have to say, Dremel tools are great. I was basically using it as a sculpting tool, to cut and grind pieces of wood to fit exactly.
Next steps are to run the wires through the black vinyl tubing I picked up ages ago, and connect to the circuitry inside the main gourd. Other than filling in some gaps with putty, and hiding the screws, that should be it.
The next two probes are likely to be simpler, relying on a single vertical mount for the sensors and lights, as in this picture:
The circuits are mostly assembled and tested, based on the (successful) design for my "Action At A Distance" project, but with considerably more elaborate software (and sound).
April 08, 2008
Casting the lights
I made a silicone mold from my carved form, and cast a couple of prototypes of the light units ("flowers") with embedded LEDs.
Making the mold went pretty much according to plan. Here is a picture of the original in the mold:
I made a first casting using Smooth-On resin with a small amount of white concentrated dye. The dye is very concentrated, and my first test resulted in a cup full of completely opaque plastic. My second attempt, using a pinhead's worth of dye, resulted in somewhat translucent plastic:
Keep reading to see how it all came out...
April 02, 2008
Carving the lights
Based on a suggestion from a classmate, I've decided that the light-emitting parts of the bio-probes are going to be translucent flowers. A (fairly extensive) search through Chinatown and the Bowery failed to turn up anything ready to use, so I decided to make my own, casting them in translucent liquid plastic.
This means first preparing a form, carved out of foam and coated with some kind of gloss finish, then preparing a silicone mold, and finally casting using liquid plastic. I'm planning to embed the LEDs directly in the part.
As it happens, The Complete Sculptor is an impressive store that carries practically all of the materials required, and it is about a 15 minute walk from NYU. I went there and picked up a large block of "balsa foam", Magic Smooth epoxy and two carving tools called "rifflers".
The picture shows my hand-carved flower prototype, together with the block from which it was carved. Keep reading for more detail on how I got there.
March 26, 2008
Bio-probe sensor pod gourd test
Tom helped me test the gourd-based sensor pods I prepared today:
Thanks Tom!
March 18, 2008
Gourds
My thesis project involves reconstructing a number of "space probes" using organic materials. Thanks to a violent windstorm two weeks ago, now I have plenty of twigs and branches. However, I was still missing gourds.
This problem has now been solved. Amish Gourds turns out to be a massive supplier of dried, cleaned gourds. I wish there was such a thing as translucent, gourd-shaped containers. These would be perfect for the luminaires. I guess I will have to make myself, somehow.
Now to start building...
March 11, 2008
Mid-term thesis presentation
I made my mid-term thesis presentation, it went well.
Shortly before the presentation, I figured out what I really wanted to explore. I noticed last year, that people tended to make up much more interesting narratives about a project when they were slightly broken than when they were performing correctly. Slightly unpredictable and chaotic behaviors led to people attributing far more complexity and "intelligence" to the project.
So my key research question is two-fold: first, can I create a project that seems alive and intelligent; and second, what kind of results will I get if I attempt to detect life and intelligence in the people who interact with it?
I'm happy with this: it's really clarified my research direction.
I am very happy with taking this in the direction of more "biological" probes, it seems to raise a lot of interesting questions. Most of the feedback was along the lines of extending and exploring this idea.
The guest critics were all very enthusiastic and seemed eager to engage with this line of thinking, and we had a good (albeit short) discussion.
I liked the idea of conceiving the swarm of probes as a rhizome - a single interconnected organism. (Alternative thesis title - "Radio Rhizome").
The idea of vastly different time frames for plants vs. humans came up, and is worth exploring. I'll try to dig up "Secret Life of Plants" for inspiration...
Working with seed mechanisms as both a design reference and a back story for the probes is good too.
Also got some really good pointers on projects that feature multiple networked "pixels", and the use of ambiguity in design to elicit more interesting interactions.
Finally, I located some key materials for building the probes: twigs and branches. There was a huge storm last Saturday, so many branches fell. Unfortunately, when I got to Tompkins Square park, they had already been picked up - 10 minutes before. I'd also missed the tree pruning in Washington Square the week before. However, on my way to a show at Judson Church last night, I spotted a big pile of nice branches in the park! A friend helped me carry them back to school, so now I'm reasonably set.
March 07, 2008
Probe Swarm design concepts and ideas
I've been brainstorming ideas for my Probe Swarm. The change in focus has certainly been helpful, there are plentiful exciting design references to tap into for inspiration. For example, these crazy-looking Soviet probes:
The work of Björn Schülke and U Ram Choe has been an inspiration as well. They make elaborate, moving constructions, clearly technological but also "alive", that capture the scientific, technical, vaguely threatening look that I'm after.
I've decided that each of the "probes" in my swarm will look different from the other, and have different ways of being installed in their environment. Here are some very early design concepts:
The light probes interact mostly with colored lights, the audio probes with sound. The communications bridge handles the connection between the probe's short range wireless and the internet.
Another promising concept is based on biological materials, but technological forms. The body and struts would be made of branches, with wires and cables appearing to replace veins and ligaments.
This uses the well-known technique of making something seem "alien" by using non-human organic forms. Perhaps the probes are emissaries from a planet dominated by intelligent trees? If so, what would they consider intelligence?
Designing and programming the interaction will be the key challenge. I am thinking of measuring intervals between interaction events, and seeing if there is regularity. I am also thinking of recording interaction patterns, especially those with a high "regularity" and working those into an "attract" mode.
February 11, 2008
Probe Swarm - updated thesis idea
My initial thesis idea, networking together lamps and noisemakers over an internet bridge, while technically complex, was somehow unsatisfying.
So I have changed it.
My new idea still involves networked objects with multiple sensing and output capabilities: however, now they are "probes", designed to identify intelligence and relay their discoveries to a remote location. By operating as a locally-networked swarm, they are able to coordinate and increase their effectiveness.
I want to reference some ideas that have long fascinated me:
* difficult communication, over long distances or timescales
* probes and exploration
* identifying intelligence
* identifying a message
* science fiction
I want to highlight multiple points of communication: amongst the probes, between the probes and their "base", and most importantly, between the probes and the spectator (being probed).
Also interesting are the potential aesthetic references: I have always been fascinated by the various Soviet and US space probes, and especially, how their design seems influenced by cultural factors. (eg. Soviet Venera Probes)
I expect the project will end up being humorous: machines designed to detect intelligence and encourage interaction are so weird and hostile-looking that they deter the same.
A potential experiment would be to set them up in public space, as if they had just landed, and see what response they elicit.
References (for aesthetics) include:
Björn Schülke
Michael Joaquin Grey
U Ram Choe