Category Archives: Class

Katherine Dillon

Markdown Graphics

Xinran Wang

A Markdown extension, in the form of a web-based editor, that enables users to create both text and graphics for the web, in a single platform.

http://markdown.graphics/

Description

Currently, off-the-shelf Markdown editors support plain text editing only. Markdown Graphics enables users to create and edit graphics right at the location where they are inserted, which provides a much more cohesive composing experience for creating content for the web. In addition, Markdown Graphics supports diagram component tagging, allowing diagram and text to be styled by a single stylesheet. Also, diagrams created and stored in SVG will be web-publishing-friendly and light-weight. Thus, content creators, journalists and notetakers can communicate ideas on the web much more efficiently.

Heather Greer

From The Dark

Surya Mattu

Anonymous data is a myth. From The Dark is a project that offers insight into the hidden mechanisms & power struggles within our current communications infrastructure. It brings to light the data we generate with our smart devices & what it reveals.

Description

Edward Snowden's NSA document leaks in 2013 ignited the public conversation around a national and global surveillance culture, verifying much of what security professionals have been saying for the past two decades. Corporations and governments have access to a previously unprecedented amount of personal data. I investigated how this data is accumulated, how it's used, and how we can better understand our current technological environment. There is inherent value in making these processes more transparent, as a way to inform people's choices and help them engage in this conversation.

Nancy Hechinger

x.pose

Xuedi Chen

In the realm of data, we are naked all the time. x.pose is a wearable data-driven sculpture that reveals a person's skin as a real-time reflection of the data emissions that they are producing.

Description

As a generation, we are tethered to connected data-producing devices which are in a constant cycle of production and consumption of data. My electronic devices make me an implicit participant in this cycle while I'm largely unaware of how my metadata is being consumed. Could someone construct a clear image of me from my data emissions? How would that look? x.pose explores the vulnerable nature of the relationship we share with our data. I have collected my own geolocation data over time to use as the basis for a personalized generative couture mesh armature that reacts to the trails of information that I produce. As data emissions are collected, the more transparent and exposed I will become.

Kathy Wilson

It’s Alive

Talya Stein Rochlin

My project is a series of interactive kinetic sculptures, a family of creatures. Each sculpture corresponds to a specific sense. A fun, crazy exhibit where the viewer becomes a part of the art, interacting with the creatures, bringing them to life.

Description

My creatures are "alive". They are asleep when you first walk into the exhibit, and come to life as they are approached.
The series is built of five models, Each of the five basic senses are represented as individual creatures.
Touch was made into a kinetic sculpture out of tentacles. Smooth organic motion activated by touch, touching the users.
I began to sculpt when I was 3 and find it very dissatisfying not to be allowed to touch a sculpture. It's half of the experience. My thesis is my personal attempt to break the rules of the traditional museum, where you have to be quiet, and just observe the art. I want the viewers to leave my exhibit with smiles on their faces, feeling like they were engaged deeply with the art.

Gabe Barcia-Colombo

Sukhavati

Yang Wang

An art installation that creates a virtual reality world for people to encounter and become spectators of themselves.

http://sukhavati.be/

Description

Using an Oculus Rift headset, Kinect and EEG sensor, Sukhavati creates a virtual world that allows the viewer to observe her/himself from an alternate angle. The viewer is immersed in a parallel reality that resembles the same physical room the viewer sits in, quietly observing his/her own image composed from thousands of pixel particles. When the viewer loses the state of deep relaxation, his/her self-image transforms into numerous particles that flows freely in the room.

Sukhavati is an exploration about the question "What is the true-self? Is that possible for people to live without ego?"

Heather Greer

Decode Delhi

Tarana Gupta

Decode Delhi is a crowd-sourced social platform to quantify the city of Delhi. The goal is to develop a digital assistant that can help a person navigate and discover various aspects of the city while traveling safely from one point to another.

http://taranagupta.com/#/decode-delhi/

Description

Security is supposed to come from government agencies but in countries like India, with large and crowded cities like Delhi, it is hard to ensure safety.

With the growth of Internet and access to smartphones, opportunities have arisen to harness collective efforts of citizens who can improve quality of life in cities by simply disseminating the information they already have.

Through crowdsourced data, Decode Delhi makes an attempt to improve the experience of living in Delhi – the political and cultural capital of India- especially for girls and women. It covers three major aspects of navigation: safety level of different neighborhoods, knowledge of interesting places and street smart tips from fellow Delhiiets.

Nancy Hechinger

Twinkle’s Vacation

Yang Jiang

Twinkle is a whimsical camera that has left his owner to start his very own vacation – a journey to discover himself in this big world. As he travels, he invites others to help him discover the duality of moments both transient and enduring.

Description

For me, photography is more than a hobby or a career. My camera travels with me always, helping to get at the essence of others at particular moments in time..not a cold machine or emotionless object. But I am so busy at ITP, I can't travel. My camera was restless. I thought: what if my camera could go on a journey alone and experience the world in its own unique way? I created Twinkle, a cute hand-made, programmable camera built with a Raspberry Pi. Twinkle travels the world, meets people, and invites them to help him document moments of life, both transient and enduring. Twinkle sends me photos of his journey and the moments he's encountered while I'm stuck at work. In this way, my camera becomes an extension of my vision once again.

Heather Greer

What’s your secret?

Tianran Qian

“What’s Your Secret” is an augmented reality installation that shares the stories of elderly woman. In the installation, the audience is presented with boxes and mementos, each with a live portrait and objects of the subject.

Description

Have you ever been touched by a beautiful smile of an older woman? It is the smiles that draws me in, making me curious about their life stories. What is it that they know that I don’t about life? What lessons can they share?
Since we live in such a busy time, can we get some wisdom from someone growing old gracefully?

My hope is that other women in similar life circumstances – young but starting to have to make adult decisions, living in cities, with the world seemingly ahead of us – can learn something from them.

The stories revealed in "What's Your Secret", share life's experiences – good and bad – and give people a choice of hearing the different parts of the story over time.

Heather Greer

White Box Emergency Communications

Pilar Zaragoza

White Box Emergency Communications is a radio-based emergency communications system that is accessible, affordable, and easy to use that can be deployed when modern communication methods are down during a disaster.

Description

Modern communication methods rely heavily on cell phone towers and internet connections, which, during disasters are either offline or reserved for emergency response and disaster management. How can survivors communicate their location and get the supplies they need? White Box Emergency Communications aims to solve this problem by repurposing an existing protocol, automatic packet reporting system (APRS), developed by the amateur radio community for emergency communications. By making APRS more accessible, affordable, and easy to use, it allows responders to see status updates, view GPS coordinates, and communicate independently with survivors via this long-established wireless technology.

Gabe Barcia-Colombo

iCarbon

Tianyu Wu

The iCarbon is a houseplant gardening toolkit that indicates a user's personal carbon footprint data calculated through one's daily spending.

Description

Plants witness our carbon footprint daily. The iCarbon package provides a user with a resurrection plant and a toolkit that triggers an automated watering system. Resurrection plants have the ability to thrive when provided with water, but it also dehydrates quickly at the lack of water. The user's personal carbon footprint is calculated through his or her daily spending from his or her personal banking account. The system visualizes the user's carbon consumption using a real live plant and helps the user monitor it through an app. Furthermore, because of the user's emotional attachment to the plant, it nudges him or her to form a more responsible lifestyle.