Category Archives: Projects

Joelle Fleurantin, Kathleen Wilson, Projects, Thesis

Patchworked Venus

Joelle Fleurantin

I am building a body from two parts, a suit and the wearer. The Suit erotically stimulates while the Wearer’s flesh activates the Suit's embodied narrative, enabling Wearer to become an extension of the Suit, the Suit an extension of the Wearer.

http://flowersandatin.com/tempexpert/Presentation-3.html

Description

How can an erotic device become a tool for body modification: an extension of the user rather than a facsimile of an external, imagined person? And what then becomes of this augmented wearer, specifically when her body is not raceless like those present in dominant representations of the cyborg?

Patchworked Venus explores these questions by casting an intimate experience within the context of dress as performance.

Classes

Thesis

Arlene Ducao, Introduction to Physical Computing, Materials and Making Things by Hand, Namira Abdulgani, Natalia Cabrera, Pat Shiu, Peter Menderson, Projects

Pulse

Natalia Cabrera, Namira Abdulgani, Pat Shiu

Two persons lay down and experience visual and sound representation of each other’s heartbeats. It’s a quiet and intimate exchange of our most vital sign.

www.pulseproject.net

Description

The experience requires two participants. Each of them get a pulse sensor attached to their index finger and a set of headphones, then lay down on a chaise lounge. White paper domes lower until they hover over the participant’s upper body, shielding out visual distractions from the environment and submerging them into the experience. Headphones provide the sound based on the heartbeat of each other, domes show a projection of visuals generated with heartbeat of each other, participants don’t know if they are experiencing their own or another vital sign. With time, sound gets louder, until it becomes the central point of focus and heartbeat rate tends to slow down. When one of the participants remove the pulse reader the domes come up and the experience is over.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing, Materials and Making Things by Hand

David Gochfeld, Introduction to Physical Computing, Matthew Kaney, Projects, Tom Igoe

Play Space

David Gochfeld, Matthew Kaney

A space that mirrors your movement with music. Movement makes music; music inspires movement. You are the instrument: play.

http://dagimage.com/blog/?p=290

Description

We have created a space that plays music as people move within and through it. As each person enters, they are assigned an instrument. Simple movement and gesture trigger notes and adjust their pitch and dynamic qualities. In this way, public movement in a space becomes the score for a collaborative musical composition. The shape of that composition—soft or loud, harmonic or discordant—depends on everyone working with or against each other.

People move through public space according to social norms. By translating movement to music we open these habitual behaviors to examination and adaptation. As movement begets music, the feedback inspires new movement, breaking established patterns so new ones may emerge.

For instruction, we provide a simple directive: PLAY. We enourage people to try different movements: to walk, to jump, to twirl around, or to dance. Through playful experimentation, participants can discover the full range of their instrument's sound. By playing together, they can compose a symphony, and transcend their habits of movement and interpersonal interaction.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing

Benedetta Piantella Simeonidis, Dan O'Sullivan, Daniel Shiffman, Introduction to Computational Media, Introduction to Physical Computing, Melissa Felderman, Paul Hiam, Projects

Digital Graffiti Wall

Melissa Felderman, Paul Hiam

An interactive virtual drawing experience.

melissafelderman.com/digitalgraffitiwall/index.html

Description

For our Physical Computing final project we are planning to build an interactive digital drawing experience. Our goal is to enable social interaction in a fun and unusual environment and to create a token for the user to take from the experience similar to a traditional photo-booth. The interaction should feel transcendent. If successful, the experience should act as a social lubricant and the user should walk away smiling.

The experience is as follows:

-There will be a projection on a flat surface. This is the digital drawing.

-As the user provides input, the projection will update to reflect their actions.

-There will be a computer out of site from the user where the digital drawing lives and is updated.

-The user will provide input by using tools in drawing or painting like motions.

-The sensors on the tools will send feedback to the computer causing the drawing to update.

-The projection will provide real time feedback to the user to inform their continued interaction.

-One of more users can interact with the experience at one time.

-Once the user/s is satisfied with the drawing, they will have the option to email their digital drawing to their personal email or to friends.

This project is designed to have infinite iterations and adapt to any environment. For our first iteration, we plan to keep the experience simple and minimize the amount interaction options. Once we move beyond Version 1, we will have room to create a more robust experience by pulling in external media, like selfies, interactive environmental backdrops and animations, or the option to save as a gif or jpg.

Classes

Introduction to Computational Media, Introduction to Computational Media, Introduction to Physical Computing

Introduction to Physical Computing, Projects, Seth Kranzler, Tom Igoe

Wavetable Synthesizer

Seth Kranzler

Revolutionary new way to create unique waveforms reflected in the physical space.

skranzler.com

Description

The wavetable synthesizer is a device which allows the user to physically create a waveform with a series of 8 sliders. This waveform is then interpolated using one of several user-selected methods (smooth, triangular, or square) at different resolutions (from fine to coarse). Users can access saved waveforms with a bank of buttons, and when selected, can watch the controller transform automatically to these settings.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing

Greg Shakar, Kate Godwin, New Interfaces for Musical Expression, Projects

Living Room

Kate Godwin

An ode to familiar, repetitive motions and things.

https://docs.google.com/a/nyu.edu/presentation/d/1OXZi0Npjks9UVj4P4nmOmdwBJuYTX3McIJKOnQAptOU/edit?usp=sharing

Description

I am exploring the musical potential of everyday objects and actions for my final instrument in NIME. The goal is to have a series of things that I interact with as one would on any ordinary day. The scene is made beautiful through the 'musical thing-ness' amplified in each part. The central focus of this scene is the production of a 'score' object.

This involves:

3 lamps. applying effects to 3 tracks of audio

A rocking chair. setting the rhythm of the performance. also, contact mics.

A knitting interface. you knit to play this instrument.

Classes

New Interfaces for Musical Expression

David Cihelna, Gabriel Weintraub, Introduction to Physical Computing, Jeffrey Feddersen, Projects

Dod3ca

David Cihelna, Gabriel Weintraub

A large-scale sculptural color organ, with abstract sound and light emanating from within.

www.gabeweintraub.com

Description

The notion of a “color organ” dates as far back as the late 16th century, when inventors first began designing machines that would produce modulated colored light in some manner that corresponded with a piece of music. I've been fascinated by these devices for a long time, but I am not a musician, so I designed a device that would let me “play” the color, not the music. Using an array of momentary switches and pressure sensors, I've created a controller that modulates color that emanates from within the device – the piece contains 12 separate channels of RGB LED strips – and that can be played as though it were a musical instrument.

Since beginning this project, I've also collaborated with David Cihelna on a pressure-sensitive MIDI controller. Because the control schemes are very similar, we've chosen to combine the two projects in order to create a fully-fledged color organ that produces both color and sound and also integrates the experience of “performing” with a musical instrument.

I've also brought my experience as a sculptor to bear on this project. Historically, pipe organs, beyond being elaborate musical instruments, have incorporated a great deal of sculptural and architectural acumen as part of their overall experience. In that vein, I've presented my color organ in a sculptural form, taking a more contemporary geometric form that matches the characteristics of the LEDs it contains, but also incorporating fine woodworking like many musical instruments of the past.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing