The World Wide Web no longer stops at the edge of your screen. When it comes to products, if it powers up, it talks to another device. This class provides an overview of methods for connecting the physical world to web-based applications. We’ll consider what the emerging interaction patterns are, if any, and we’ll develop some of our own as needed. This class can be seen as a narrower and more interaction design-based complement to Understanding Networks. The latter class provides a broader overview of the dynamics of communications networks, while this class focuses specifically on the challenges of connecting embedded devices to web-based services. Neither class is a prerequisite for the other, however. This class will introduce network connection techniques for devices using microcontrollers like the Nano 33 IoT and MKR series or ESP8266 and processors running an embedded operating system like the Raspberry Pi. Prerequisites: Intro to Physical Computing and Intro to Computational Media, or equivalent experience with the topics covered in those classes. Learning Objectives: Students will gain an understanding of the basics of network programming for devices with limited computing power. They will learn about current protocols for communication between devices and networked servers, and about the rudiments of security for that communication. Reading: There will be an article or two to read each week, to foster discussion about the design of connected things. Assignments: There will be several one-week software and hardware assignments to get familiar with different technologies and communications protocols, and one hardware and software final application project.
Archives
The Nature of Code (ITPG-GT 2480)
Can we capture the unpredictable evolutionary and emergent properties of nature in software? Can understanding the mathematical principles behind our physical world world help us to create digital worlds? This class focuses on the programming strategies and techniques behind computer simulations of natural systems. We explore topics ranging from basic mathematics and physics concepts to more advanced simulations of complex systems. Subjects covered include physics simulation, trigonometry, self-organization, genetic algorithms, and neural networks. Examples are demonstrated in JavaScript using p5.js (https://p5js.org). Much of the class time will be dedicated to in-class exercises and self-study as the course is available online through a video series (https://www.youtube.com/user/shiffman/playlists) and textbook (http://natureofcode.com/book).
The World, Pixel By Pixel (ITPG-GT 2273)
This class focuses on the art of computer graphics and image processing. We explore the concepts of pixilation, image representation and granularity and the tension between reality and image. Students are introduced to the tools and techniques of creating dynamic and interactive computer images from scratch, manipulating and processing existing images and videos, compositing and transitioning multiple images, tracking and masking live video, compositing and manipulating live video as well as manipulating depth information from Kinect. The class uses Processing.
Interactive Telecommunications (Graduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks
Live Image Processing & Performance (ITPG-GT 2422)
This course teaches the ins and outs of using image processing software with an aim towards some type of real-time use (e.g. a performance or installation). The class looks at ways to manipulate different visual media (time-based, still, vector, and rendered) in real-time to allow students to develop interesting real-time performance systems. While the focus of this class is on using Max for visual work (through a software package called Jitter), it also looks at how to integrate interactive elements (sound, physical interfaces, etc.) into the work. Class time is spent on interface design and software development issues as well. The class explores some interesting capabilities of the software in terms of real-time camera input and tracking, generative graphics systems, and media transcoding. Throughout the class students develop and share ideas on live performance as a medium for visual expression, and learn the software tools necessary to put these ideas into practice in the form of idiosyncratic performance systems. A final presentation in the form of a group performance will be arranged. Students should have some working knowledge of Max/MSP before taking this class.
Interactive Telecommunications (Graduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks
Sections (Spring 2020)
ITPG-GT 2422-000 (22920)01/29/2020 – 05/06/2020 Wed12:00 AM – 2:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Brooklyn CampusInstructed by Romein, Matt
Energy (ITPG-GT 2466)
From the most ephemeral thought to the rise and fall of civilizations, every aspect of your life, and indeed the universe, involves energy. Energy has been called the “universal currency”by prolific science author Vaclav Smil, but also “a very subtle concept… very, very difficult to get right” by Noble physicist Richard Feynman. It is precisely this combination of importance and subtlety that motivates the Energy class at ITP. Maybe you fear the existential threat of anthropogenic climate change, or maybe you just want your pcomp projects to work better. Either way, the class will help you understand energy quantitatively and intuitively, and incorporate that knowledge in your projects (and perhaps your life). How? Building on skills introduced in Physical Computing, we will generate and measure electricity in order to see and feel energy in its various forms. We will turn kinetic and solar energy into electrical energy, store that in batteries and capacitors, and use it to power projects. We will develop knowledge useful in a variety of areas, from citizen-science to art installations, and address topics such as climate change and infrastructure access through the lens of energy. Students will build a final project using skills learned in the class. To accommodate pandemic restrictions, students will have the option to do more or less hands-on work or research as their situation allows, and support material such as an annotated supply list will help students tailor material expenses to their interests. Prior Physical Computing or equivalent experience required.
Cabinets of Wonder (ITPG-GT 2470)
Credits: 4
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Wed
Duration: 14 Weeks
Dates: Wed
Interactive Telecommunications (Graduate)
4 credits – 14 Weeks
4D Fundamentals (ART-UE 314)
Course introduces student artists to the 4th dimensional concepts of TIME & MOVEMENT as the necessary building blocks of Art created by Photography, Video, Digital & Performance medias. Students will explore the attributes of TIME & MOVEMENT through project assignments that use the methods of photography, video, digital, & performance art. The course also includes a brief art history of 4D concepts spanning a wide array of subject matter from cave painting to contemporary art.
Studio Art (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks
Sections (Spring 2022)
ART-UE 314-000 (12755)01/24/2022 – 05/09/2022 Mon,Wed1:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Dasgupta, Priyanka
ART-UE 314-000 (12756)01/24/2022 – 05/09/2022 Tue,Thu9:00 AM – 12:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by McQuilkin, Alexandra
Digital Art II for Non-Majors (ART-UE 304)
Assignments, critiques & demonstrations for the more advanced digital art student. The use of the computer to augment and expand conceptualization and expression has provided the artist with some of the most important new means for visual thinking since the Renaissance invention of perspective. Students learn how to use the computer as an extension of the visualization process and its specific applications in both two-dimensional and three-dimensional art.
Studio Art (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks
Sections (Spring 2022)
ART-UE 304-000 (12835)01/24/2022 – 05/09/2022 Thu1:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Carideo, Gregory
Video Art I for Non-Majors (ART-UE 305)
Video art has become one of the most widely used media art forms because it allows both the artistic concentration of photography & the free flowing imagery of movement. Students acquire rudimentary skills in shooting & editing while working toward a personal statement in video.
Studio Art (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks
Sections (Spring 2022)
ART-UE 305-000 (12392)01/24/2022 – 05/09/2022 Fri9:00 AM – 12:00 AM (Morning)at Washington SquareInstructed by
ART-UE 305-000 (12860)01/24/2022 – 05/09/2022 Thu1:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Pryor, Gerald
Art: Practice & Ideas (ARTCR-UE 10)
’Art: Practice and Ideas’ examines key developments in the visual arts from modernity to the present. Focusing on the ways in which representations both create and reflect the values of a society, the course introduces students to the full range of expressive possibilities within the visual arts, covering painting and sculpture, as well as photography, film, video, conceptual art, and computer media. Topics to be covered include classical, modern, and postmodern relationships to politics, vision, the mind, the body, psychology, gender, difference, and technological innovation. Students will see and understand how artists have integrated perceptions of their historical moment, as well as physical and social space, into creative practices that have, in turn, had a significant impact on the culture of the time. Liberal Arts Core/MAP Equivalent – satisfies the requirement for Expressive Cultures
Art Theory & Critical Studies (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks
Sections (Spring 2022)
ARTCR-UE 10-000 (12834)01/24/2022 – 05/09/2022 Mon1:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Gookin, Kirby
User Experience Design (IMNY-UT 262)
This course aims to provide students with the critical thinking and practical skills for creating effective and compelling interfaces. We will dissect what a compelling user experience is and discuss and apply design methods for creating one. Throughout this 14-week course we will examine a wide range of examples of interfaces with a focus on understanding the attributes of a successful interface and applying proven research, mapping and testing techniques. The class format will include lectures, case studies, student presentations, discussions of readings and in-class design exercises. The format is very hands-on with assignments that focus on problems that are typical of those a UX designer will encounter in the professional world.
Capstone (IMNY-UT 400)
The interactive project will illustrate students’ unique interests as well as evidence of competency within the field of interactive media production. Students are encouraged to develop their project around a theme previously explored in their work. Projects will be presented and critiqued repeatedly throughout the capstone process to peers, faculty, and industry professionals. A final presentation of the interactive project will be delivered late in the semester. The research paper (4000-5000 words) will focus on at least one aspect of the interactive project: e.g. culture, theory, philosophy, or history, the project context, and/or production methods. For example, students may write about their project’s reception by a set of specific users, or by users who are part of a larger culture, society, or market. It is important that students think beyond the project itself and situate it in a broader context accessible through research. The research paper will include an annotated bibliography of the books and other resources they used for their research. Students will also be guided in the production of an online portfolio to showcase their work and accomplishments to the outside world. Graduates will be evaluated by their portfolio when applying for jobs, graduate school, artist residencies, grants, and the like. Portfolios will be tailored to the demands of each student’s future goals and target audience.
Topics in Computation and Data: Mobile Application Development Mobile Application Development (IMNY-UT 220)
This course is designed to provide students with hands-on experience working with computational media (programming, creative coding, etc.) and data. The forms and uses of computational media and its application are explored in a laboratory context of experimentation and discussion.
Creative Approaches to Emerging Media (IMNY-UT 205)
We live in a world where we have more data, computational power, and access to digital connectivity than ever before. But how do we make sense of the promise inherent in this reality while holding space for the challenges that it presents for different groups and communities? How do we situate the technologies that we have come to take for granted? And more importantly, how do we leverage an artist’s perspective to creating active responses that interrogate and hint at the potential for different futures? This course examines emergent technological fields, spanning topics like data collection/representation, digital archives, artificial intelligence, social algorithms, and automation and asks how the technologies inherent to each can be leveraged for artistic response, creation, and critique. While this course is primarily conceptual and art theory-based, the content covered will be technical in nature and students will be tasked with making three creative responses to the content in the tradition of the new media, digital, and conceptual art worlds. Prerequisites: Creative Computing or equivalent programming experience and Communications Lab: Hypercinema or equivalent media production experience is required.
Designing Interfaces for Live Performance (IMNY-UT 243)
This course is designed to provide students with hands-on experience working with sensors and other electronics to design interfaces for a live multimedia performance. Students will explore the expressive properties of sensors to control a variety of outputs such as light, sound, projection, and/or other media. The forms and uses of physical computing, computational media, and its application are explored weekly in both a hands on laboratory context, as well as weekly discussions of readings and existing performances. Prerequisites: Creative Computing or similar coursework with microcontrollers and coding.
Immersive Experiences (IMNY-UT 282)
This course is designed to provide students with hands-on experience creating immersive experiences, with a focus on designing artistic, meaningful worlds for virtual reality headsets. The class will also touch on related technologies, methods, and fields including experience design, virtual painting, augmented reality, interactive installation, and 360 video/audio. The course materials will also include readings and discussions on prior art/relevant critical texts. This class uses VR as a lens for understanding experience design in general. Some basic familiarity with programming, image-making, and time-based media is a plus, but not required. Communications Lab: Hypercinema or equivalent experience.
The Code of Music (IMNY-UT 222)
This course explores how sound, code, and interaction can merge to create musical experiences that invite listeners to shape the music, not just hear it. Students create a series of browser-based musical systems that respond to users, incorporate randomness, and draw patterns from existing music. We begin by creating a series of audio-visual interfaces—an instrument, a score/mixer, and a loop-based piece—that invite deeper listening through play. Incorporating elements of sound and music production, these projects turn tools normally hidden in the studio into interactive spaces where listeners, performers, and audiences can engage with music in new ways. From there, we dive into the inner workings of music, examining how sound organizes into rhythm, melody, timbre, and harmony, and how these patterns can be expressed in code. Students design interactive studies on each musical element, reimagining tools like drum machines, sequencers, and synthesizers into experimental, playful, or educational systems that incorporate creative coding, machine listening, and machine learning techniques. Classes combine lectures, coding tutorials, listening sessions, design exercises, and discussions of existing interfaces. Throughout, students bring their own musical sensibilities into the work while developing their creative coding skills using p5.js and Tone.js. Students regularly share work and receive feedback, using input from the class to develop and iterate on their ideas. The semester culminates in an interactive or generative piece that builds on the semester’s studies, documented through sketches, demos, and code. About Luisa Hors: https://www.luisapereira.net/ Prerequisite: Creative Computing (IMNY-UT 101)
Networked Media (IMNY-UT 223)
“The network is a fundamental medium for interactivity. It makes possible our interaction with machines, data, and, most importantly, other people. Though the base interaction it supports is simple, a client sends a request to a server, which replies; an incredible variety of systems can be and have been built on top of it. An equally impressive body of media theory has also arisen around its use. This hybrid theory and technology course will be 50% project driven technical work and 50% theory and discussion. The technical work will utilize JavaScript as both a client and server side programming language to build creative systems on the web. Technical topics will include server and client web frameworks, such as Express, HTML, CSS, templating, and databases. The theory portion of the course will include reading and discussion of past and current media theory texts that relate to the networks of today. **** it is HIGHLY recommended you take Front End Web Development (or have equivalent front end web development experience) to get the most out of this course. We will be going over fundamentals of HTML/CSS but it would be useful to have prior knowledge ***”Prerequisite: Creative Computing or equivalent programming experience.
Augmenting the Gallery (IMNY-UT 9001)
Wall labels, audio guides and informative maps are just some of the ways galleries and museums convey additional information about an art collection. How can we utilize new interactive mixed reality tools to design and deliver immersive experiences that breathe new life into an exhibit. Augmented and virtual reality are powerful tools for new media production and storytelling, but how can these tools serve to enhance our Wall labels, audio guides and informative maps are just some of the ways galleries and museums convey additional information about an art collection. How can we utilize new interactive mixed reality tools to design and deliver immersive experiences that breathe new life into an exhibit. Augmented and virtual reality are powerful tools for new media production and storytelling, but how can these tools serve to enhance our gallery experience without distracting from the power and importance of a pre-existing collection? This production course seeks to experiment with new ways to experience a museum collection through mixed reality. Topics covered include exhibition installation and curation, mixed reality production in Unity, mobile development for Augmented Reality.
Processing Big Data for Analytics Applications (CSCI-UA 476)
This course introduces platforms, tools, and the architectures that facilitate scalable management and processing of vast quantities of data. We will explore open source tools enabling the efficient acquisition, storage, and processing of Big Data. Students will learn about distributed storage solutions such as the Apache Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS), which supports storage of Big Data. Students will gain hands-on experience with distributed processing Apache solutions such as Hadoop MapReduce, HBase, Hive, Impala, Pig, core Spark, Spark SQL, and Spark Streaming. Other Apache big data tools covered are Sqoop, Oozie, Zookeeper, Flume, and Kafka
Computer Science (Undergraduate)
4 credits – 15 Weeks
Sections (Spring 2021)
CSCI-UA 476-000 (10054)01/28/2021 – 05/10/2021 Tue,Thu12:00 AM – 1:00 PM (Early afternoon)at Washington SquareInstructed by Malavet, Ann