Always On Always Connected: 2 mid-term ideas
2 Mid-term ideas:
#1) A mobile app that enables you to measure the noise health of a particular environment. Cities are loud, okay, but some places in our city, are killing you loudly. Shouldn’t we call out establishments, that aren’t bars or nightclubs, that aren’t taking their customers hearing health into consideration? Or better yet, can we warn others about the level of cacophony that awaits them if the frequent a certain place? This app will have a customized audio record, will (hopefully) measure amplitude, and email the sample, the data, and maybe an image to designated web repository.
Very rough first look at what the app pages might look like (no intro)
#2) Live Programs for the Theatre: This is, quite simply, a playbill that has come to life. Save on paper, add more dynamic info (for a small additional fee)…add your personal feedback upload a vid.
A first thought of what a live program might look like
Meeting Bart Kahr – NYU Chemistry Department
potassium hydrogen phtalate crystal
This past week Evan Emolo and I went to visit Dr. Bart Kahr at NYU Chemistry department, to introduce ourselves and get a better understanding of his research. We are looking for our “awesome data” match.
Bart Kahr, NYU Chemistry
Dr. Kahr and his group study the forms of crystals and the ways that crystals and light interact. Through the interactions of light and crystals gives important information about light and about the structure of matter. Dr. Kahr’s group is more interested in unusual crystals. Crystals that defy convention. Since the majority of important technology relies on crystalline things: metals silicone this type of crystal study moves progress.
The Kahr Group’s work has a few aspects to it:
Experimenting history of science: early works on crystals were never explored with modern instruments. Such as this work by F. Bernauer will only understand his research if do the experiments now.
Dying Crystals: using dyes as way to understand the complexity of a crystals structure. Potassium Hydrogen phthalate crystal, growth history
A practical finding from their work of dyeing crystals, is that they have discovered that when a crystal pumped with photons sends the crystal into a meta-stable state, it, nor anything in it, is not disturbed as it does not get rid of excess energy. This allows for a hyper stable environment that can actually store things,like proteins, that are susceptible to degradation if they are not protected. Dr. Kahr’s group is working with an interdepartmental group out of NYU as they figure out how to use this property of the crystal to store vaccine’s, say the flu vaccine for example. Which right now, always needs to be cold: but what if you lose electricity? The crystal can hold the structure of the vaccine — as it gets literally trapped in a crystal.
Always on…reactions to Connecting
I have mixed feelings about this film. The fist time I watched I was so excited about everything they were talking about, being a student of interaction design I look forward to the challenges that the working world will present to me. But on a second viewing, the purpose of the production became uncomfortably obvious: a partnership of companies displaying their prevalence as the design leaders for all of the expensive smart products that are here, and the ones that may come out in the near and not so near future. If business wants to be on the cutting edge: they need to have a long look at these firms. So that’s okay, it is what it is. I was trying to keep my head clear about this as I was watching. Maybe my ‘practical’ muscle started kicking in, but at some in the second round the fixation on the technology and tools started to wear on me. Not to mention that the film was populated, overwhelmingly so, with wealthy, anglo – or anglo-identified voices about the ways they have discovered that we are all actually ‘connected’:
“this whole idea that we would all be connected like, it’s actually happening”
A perfect example of a comment that made me raise an eyebrow. Mobile devices are the thing that make you realize that humans are bound together by a common lot? Perhaps, I am overstating it, but really it’s been a fact from before Moses gathered up the 10 Commandments. Even the way one participant referred to the ‘help’ that can be administered to frontline health workers in impoverished African country “X” - was interesting because, visually, it led back to an simulation of a statistician accumulating data somewhere far away–when i swear i saw a woman in the in the b-roll that might have like to use someone’s phone for something relevant to her in the moment. It’s not that the work that the designers speak of is not going to helpful, but it would be nice to get some alternate, real-life user perspectives on the subject of technology enhancing life. Something more than listening to those that design, talk about how important they are in the picture. I suppose this may all be an underlying meaning of the film though – we have become disconnected from one another, in such a way that seeing a simulation of my friends footsteps in the road where he passed a few hours ago, will have more profound impression on me than if i heard him tell me, in person, that he was going to be at place at a given time. What does this say about our relationship to technology, versus our relationship to our friend. Do i need my fridge to tell me what I am eating, so that it can be auto delivered from Fresh Direct? How does that enhance my connectedness to the people in African Village ‘x’ or to my consciousness about, maybe, how much waste we produce every year?
Well maybe they don’t think technology doesn’t need to solve everything, and if they do think so , the probably shouldn’t talk about it as if it can…and to me that was a little bit too much going on in this this short. Full disclosure: I want to use Google Glasses, just because….just because I think they will be amazing and beyond sci-fi. AND I want to use them before any of my friends do, so I can say I did it.
Small is Beautiful….and familiar.
Quantum Corral: Iron on Copper
It took me some time to complete this assignment. I must have opened and closed the library images several times before I started to grasp what it is that I am looking at. Like others in this class, I am not a science student, and take so much of what I know about living in the natural world for granted. If daily life doesn’t require that I think deeply about the elements that make up my world, in order for me to get from A to B — then I don’t think much about it. However, I do know that this doesn’t stop my thoughts from wandering away from the obvious: i am aware that there is so much more here than my limited senses can process…
The photo that resonated the most with me from the gallery is the Quantum Corral. Here, 48 iron Atoms are put into a circular ring, they are enclosing electrons into the circle. The result, as i understand it anyway, is that here the ripples are reflecting the energetic activity that results from that corral. So electrons, which are normal are ‘floating’ somewhere outside of the nucleus of an atom, are now enclosed by these atoms placed tightly next to one another. These waves, to me suggest that the ‘trapped’ electrons have found some harmony and have adjusted well to their enclosure. At this magnifaction, the energy and activity seems so obvious
So where did that take me? There is another image, seemingly unrelated, that comes to mind as I am looking at this image- and I don’t yet know the connection, but the look so very similar. It’s from a book called African Fractals by Ron Eglash: a mathematician who has studied the fractal patterns in African design. 
“Ba – ila architecture”
Quantum Corral: Iron on Copper
ChargeUp: a first responders tool for quick access to power
The idea is to simplify access to power, via unused car batteries in the midst of a massive urban disaster. In the event that thousands of people lose power and infrastructure is damaged to the point that even formalized rescue crews will experience great delays – unused car batteries can provide an immediate source of short term relief.
ChargeUp is a device that simplifies the access to that power, and turns an unused element into a potentially life saving device.
Handles need to provide conductivity
Some issues:
1) This is not a typical way of accessing battery power, so we will need to be able to educate people right away on how to use it. Especially since this is an emergency. There are safety measure to take into account: negative and positive must be separated from each other: VISUAL CUES FOR INTERACTIVE DESIGN.
2) We don’t know if all electrodes are the same size or the same placement, we do know that they are always aligned. In order to be weather resistant/rugged, we will need to have the electrodes covered without making too much housing. There will need to be some portion of the battery covered to amplify the feeling of safety.
3) Non conductive materials must be used.
4) Everything is acrylic right now, would rather not do that.
5) device should be modular and easy to transport. In the event of an emergency, it may be only bicycles, or perhaps people traveling on foot. These should be easy to carry and to transport many.
PROGRESS
I have moved forward with prototyping and have come to a place that will be closer to what is needed for final product.
I started thinking that it would be nice to play with materials that are not all hard. Can it work?
ideally need to cover
how to connect to the electrodes
I spend the past week trying to figure out how to make all of the parts come together into a small piece that will fit into the limited space:
A tiered system for the electronics to access each other
And it would be nice to have it be able to fold up and possibly fit into a bag.
I found a beautiful piece of wood and am now thinking about changing the box. This is not how this thing would look in the real world, but it would be nice to jump up the game and design a nice box. Been advised to look at the dovetail joint. Scared, but maybe I can try.
dovetail joint
Second Prototype
So I have gotten closer to what the final product will look like. Seems I will have to make this in wood. My decisions now will be if I should cover this in Plexiglass or if I should paint it.
An idea of the final piece.
2nd Prototype
Second PrototypeStacked unit that will keep board separate from USB outlet:
the three tiers
Connection to electrodes can be separate and conductive material fed through into the body of the unit.
People will be able to use car battery, to charge up easily:
Charging up
ChargeUp
An Urban Disaster Response Tool for community based first Responders
A normal car battery can provide a wealth of highly valuable power in the midst of an emergency:
Our typical user is much like Cat Graham – who is a volunteer for non-profit called “Humanity Road”. Cat is a local first responder who was on the scene before FEMA arrived. In the course of 4 days, before FEMA arrived with generators, Cat and her partner, were able to rig a car battery to power up essential items in their church — they were able to power up 3 laptops, 2 printers and have a charging station for cell phones. 
how to make a solid connection for a car battery
I have some thoughts:
1) imitate a corner clamp:
Coner clamp mechanism is perfect
2) trying to draw out a sample of what this needs to look like:
how do we make this connection solid and easy to use
casing for a long screw.
Laptop Stand
I was Drawn in by the wenge veneer, decided to contrast it with cedar.
A little higher than I would have preferred, but it was still a good exercise.
In any case it is very nice to look at. I don’t think the wood and the legs are strong enough to give me a secure base, but this has been a very good process: patient learning and execution.
Paula Scher
I have a strong attraction to the work of Paula Scher. This attraction is very personal as I am a fan of the Public theatre. I think a lot of this might very well have to do with her poster designs, and how they became so iconic for The Public. First off i do think that her work mimics the feelings of urban graffitti:
Urban Graffitti Energy and vitality
The stylistic choices certainly make the Public Theatre brand so much more distinctive for the other kinds of theatre options in the city. You expect to experience something a lot different that Mama Mia! for example, but you can expect that it will be comprehensible.
I particularly like how Paula Scher’s work stays consistent regardless if she is nodding to the past, present or future. 
Maps
Four ideas
Shower Squeegee
Something that I use everyday and wish it were better. I would like a blade that stores nicely in the shower. One where I can keep the blade off of the floor and the walls, a way to wipe the blade once used, and a replaceable blade.
I have seen some that deal with the storage, but I would not like to hold stainless steel in my shower.
stainless steel squeegee with shower mount
Wood for canoes naturally good for water immersion. What kind of sealant?
I would look into wood, the kind of wood that is used for boats: cypress, redwood, basswood, cedar. It can be heavy.
Power Felt Pockets
Chargeable solar fabric that can be used in emergencies to charge appliances. Power Felt
The Sloofah: Loofah Chair
Play with some ideas that came out of the Loofah umbrella: find way to ‘reinforce’ the material of the loofah and make a naturally cushy chair that is transluscent. Similar to Shiro Kuramata: “How High the Moon”
“How High the Moon” Shiro Kuramata
Soccer Shoe
Take a disused soccer ball, and use the leather for a pair of soccer shoes. Soccer balls are purchased by size. The smallest balls, for little kids, rarely get that much wear (size 4 ball). When they are done with them they get thrown out, donated to ‘salvation army’ — or who knows! Ours seem to disappear into thin air.
Soccer Ball Shoe
Gears for Girls
Keep the flow with Ballerina Box BUT, find a way to make it more approachable and useable in your own home/space….