Benjamin Brown
News Brews
The News Brews apparatus uses news feeds to produce a beverage which is brewed from the regions which are making headlines.
http://therealbenbrown.com/newsbrews
In the quest to produce dynamic data displays which present the absurdity of our situation on earth in a more appropriate manner(i.e. an absurd manner) the possibility of using taste as a means of data transmission presents itself. Due to the sensitive nature of taste receptors, it is theoretically possible to encode information into a form in which it could transmit information via taste.
Because coffee is such an important part not only of the daily routine of millions of Westerners but also of the economies and societies of the third world countries in which it is grown, it provides an excellent medium for exploration of taste informatics and specifically beverage informatics.
The News Brews device is an exploration of the possibility of creating a beverage which provides information about the daily news. News Brews connects to internet news feeds and parses them to determine the relative frequency at which different coffee growing regions are mentioned. It then brews a cup of coffee from whole beans which contains relative proportions of beans grown in the regions in that day's news.
Coffee and News are their own inspirations
News Brews is intended for a population of caffeine and news addicts. Its function is to entertain and inform while providing an excellent cup of coffee.
The user approaches a ridiculous looking copper contraption. A barista offers them a cup of informatic coffee and asks them what news feed they would like to drink for the day. Once they select a news feed, the barista pushes the button and the device swings into action. The hoppers(each marked with a different region) rotate around one by one and lock into the coffee bean dispensation position in the front. the aroma of coffee begins as the grinder turns on and the hot water is pumped into the grounds.
News Brews is a large copper device topped by a set of clear hoppers on a revolving carriage. An Xport inside connects to a cgi script running from a server and relays information to a pic chip about the regional balance of the current news. the pic chip then uses this information to rotate the hoppers and dispense appropriate amounts of beans into a grinder. the beans are ground and mixed with boiling water pumped from an electric kettle to produce a cup of coffee
Because coffee is such an important part not only of the daily routine of millions of Westerners but also of the economies and societies of the third world countries in which it is grown, it provides an excellent medium for exploration of taste informatics and specifically beverage informatics.
The News Brews device is an exploration of the possibility of creating a beverage which provides information about the daily news. News Brews connects to internet news feeds and parses them to determine the relative frequency at which different coffee growing regions are mentioned. It then brews a cup of coffee from whole beans which contains relative proportions of beans grown in the regions in that day's news.
Coffee and News are their own inspirations
News Brews is intended for a population of caffeine and news addicts. Its function is to entertain and inform while providing an excellent cup of coffee.
The user approaches a ridiculous looking copper contraption. A barista offers them a cup of informatic coffee and asks them what news feed they would like to drink for the day. Once they select a news feed, the barista pushes the button and the device swings into action. The hoppers(each marked with a different region) rotate around one by one and lock into the coffee bean dispensation position in the front. the aroma of coffee begins as the grinder turns on and the hot water is pumped into the grounds.
News Brews is a large copper device topped by a set of clear hoppers on a revolving carriage. An Xport inside connects to a cgi script running from a server and relays information to a pic chip about the regional balance of the current news. the pic chip then uses this information to rotate the hoppers and dispense appropriate amounts of beans into a grinder. the beans are ground and mixed with boiling water pumped from an electric kettle to produce a cup of coffee