Category Archives: Projects

Dan O'Sullivan, Gregoire Housset, Introduction to Computational Media, Introduction to Physical Computing, Projects, Tom Igoe

Well Tap

Gregoire Housset

Well Tap is a system of networked sensors that allow people to quantify their water consumption on a daily and weekly basis.

http://www.madebygreg.co/well-tap-project-update-12-3/

Description

Well Tap is a network of sensors that attach to a household’s various water outputs (i.e. kitchen faucet, bathroom faucet, shower ect) and gives users a snapshot of their daily and weekly water usage. Each sensor is attached to a console that displays how much water they consume in each use and sends data wirelessly to dweet.io after each use. The Well Tap Dashboard then parses the dweet JSON data to visualize it in Processing.

I created Well Tap because water waste is a big problem but it’s a hard one to wrap your head around for those that don’t live in affected areas. It’s very hard to know what your actual footprint is and that actually creates a lack of accountably to oneself and the greater community. By providing people with clear data on their daily and weekly usage, and comparing that data to average numbers for the various household sizes, users will immediately get some context on their water usage. The goal is not to make anyone feel bad by pointing fingers, but simply to make people more conscious as I believe we are inherently good. I hope something like Well Tap could influence people to make small efforts, and in turn, create systemic change.

Well Tap is the first step in quantifying the intangible aspects of a person’s ecological footprint. Everyone is aware of how much energy they use, because of the important financial implications, however, that doesn’t mean people shouldn’t be conscious of the other aspects just because they’re not as linked to your wallet. In the future, I think there’s great potential in adding a community element to allow users to compare themselves to colleagues and neighbors. Also, I’m really interested in extending this concept to quantifying waste and recycling to bring further transparency to an area where peoples’ understanding seems to be quite opaque.

Classes

Introduction to Computational Media, Introduction to Physical Computing

Ben Light, Byoung Han, Intro to Fabrication, Introduction to Physical Computing, Projects, Tom Igoe

Augmenting Balloon

Byoung Han

Balloon with tablet will float around ITP revealing augmented version of ITP in real time.

http://getarobo.com/itp/

Description

Planting CG object on ITP, balloon will float around to reveal hidden graphics within ITP. User would be able to plant objects of their choice or browse through ITP to find augmented objects.

Classes

Intro to Fabrication, Introduction to Physical Computing

Hub Uy, Introduction to Physical Computing, Jeffrey Feddersen, Luke Kao, Projects, Xi Liu

Jeff

Hub Uy, Xi Liu, Luke Kao

In a world of increasing diaspora, “Jeff” is an interactive teddy bear designed to let children (ages 3-7 years old) easily send text messages of love to their parents abroad.

http://www.hubertuy.com/?p=2243

Description

We are living in a hyper-global society where diaspora is increasingly becoming commonplace. In the Philippines, for example, 10% of its population, over 10 million people, are living and working abroad. As the numbers continue to grow every year, we slowly see a generation of children growing up without their mothers and a generation of fathers working to support their children who they will never see growing up.

Although social networks and smart devices have made communication with loved ones abroad easier, these platforms are not designed with children in mind. If a child wants to Skype with dad, for example, the child would need to ask mom to open Skype for him. What if we could design a product specifically for children to easily send their messages of love to their parents abroad?

This is where “Jeff” comes in. “Jeff” is interactive teddy bear designed to let children (ages 3-7 years old) easily send text messages of love to their parents abroad. By simply hugging “Jeff”, a child will be able to, for example, send an “I miss you, dad” to his father abroad. The father abroad can also send back his love by simply texting a reply and lighting up “Jeff”s heart.

Here is how “Jeff” works:

At the heart of “Jeff” resides an Arduino with a GSM shield, a SIM card, a motor that moves Jeff’s head and body, a force sensitive resistor (FSR), and a few LEDs and a 12-volt battery to power everything.

Once powered, a white LED will light up to show that the Arduino is initialized and ready to send text messages.

When a child hugs “Jeff”, the FSR will trigger the GSM shield to send a pre-composed text message to a hard-coded number (the parent’s number). “Jeff” will then vibrate and with the motors, move its head to signify to the child that he has successfully sent the message of love.

The parent abroad, upon receiving the message, can simply reply. The GSM shield will receive the text message and trigger a red LED to light up, indicating to the child that his parent has sent back his love.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing

Daniel Shiffman, Introduction to Computational Media, Introduction to Physical Computing, Materials and Making Things by Hand, Mimi (Yue) Yin, Peter Menderson, Projects, Tom Igoe, Yifan Hu, Yingjie Bei

Moon Phases

Yingjie Bei, Yifan Hu

Moon Phases is a project in which users can input a date and they are able to see the moon’s phase of the date through a physical installation and computer screen, which is both educational and poetic.

http://www.yifanhunyc.com/?cat=1

Description

Moon Phases is a project in which users can input a date and they are able to see the moon’s phase of the date through a physical installation and computer screen, which is both educational and poetic.

The center of the installation is a 4’’ moon sphere made by cement. At the outer circle of the moon sphere, there is a flashlight connected with the gear under the surface, which affects the changing of the moon’s phase.

Users are able to see the corresponding moon phase while inputing the date through three knobs(which stands for year, month and day respectively) on the panel. Also, there is a row of 8×8 LED matrix that displays the date that was input.

On the surface of the project, there are laser etched related informations – lunar month and names of the moon phase.

We think the changing process of the moon phase is beautiful logically and aesthetically. It is not only reflected in the complicated astronomy system and the passage of time, but also in the interpretation of human beings. For example, in my country China, there are a lot Chinese ancient poems about moon and moon phases. We were thinking about adding some specific cultural meaning to it. But we decided to do without it, because we do not want to limit the context and the imagination of viewer, especially those who do not come from the culture we present.

We want to create a experience of crossing the time and space dimensions for viewers through a easy interaction(three knobs). At the same time, inspire the viewer to think of the time, the world and universe that we live in.

Classes

Introduction to Computational Media, Introduction to Computational Media, Introduction to Physical Computing, Materials and Making Things by Hand

Benedetta Piantella Simeonidis, Craig Pickard, Introduction to Physical Computing, Joseph Mango, Projects

Tilt

Craig Pickard, Joseph Mango

Tilt is a tactile digital gaming and puzzle interface.

http://www.craigwentdigital.com/2014/11/physcomp-final-project-proposal/

Description

Tilt is a tangible user interface (TUI) that combines the benefits of a digital gaming platform with the tactile experience of manipulating a physical object. By choosing Unity3D as the development environment, we're able to utilise the powerful built-in physics engine to deliver realistic and engaging gameplay. Combining a physical interface with a digital application has allowed us to create an extensible multi-layered gaming experience that is, for the time being at least, only limited by our experience with the Unity3D development environment.

The digital application is rear-projected onto the display surface from below. This conceals the hardware and allows the user to engage with the content, instead of focusing on the technology. Tilt's dual-gimbal mechanism provides two-degrees of freedom, allowing the user to tilt the surface around two axes simultaneously. A triple-axis accelerometer determines the surface's orientation and translates that into input variables for the Unity3D environment.

The application that was developed for this prototype has requires the user to navigate a rolling ball through a three-dimensional maze-like environment by tilting the surface of the interface; causing the ball to roll in much the same way a real ball would roll along an inclined plane.

Although the prototype does not boast the feature, for future iterations we aim to incorporate pattern recognition software that will allow the user to place physical objects onto the projection surface, thereby augmenting the gaming experience and allowing the digital and real-world entities to interact with one another.

Haptic and auditory feedback further enhance the gaming experience, creating an engaging and sustained interaction for the user. The gaming experience is designed to be intuitive in its use, and users are encouraged to learn the nuances of manipulating the interface through tutorial-like levels.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing

Catherine Rehwinkel, Introduction to Physical Computing, Marc Abbey, Projects, Samuel Sadtler, Tom Igoe

Haptec Bike Navigation

Catherine Rehwinkel, Samuel Sadtler, Marc Abbey

Haptec. Feel your way around. Touchsense navigation to free your mind on your bike.

haptec.io

Description

Haptec Bike: an integrated multi-modal system for bicycle navigation which allows a cyclist to intuitively feel their orientation to magnetic North, or a destination-beacon, as well as a more traditional step-by-step Google Maps API mode to optimize bike journey safety, efficiency and freedom.

Our project addresses an increase in city bike usage and cyclist casualties in conjunction with a lack of bike-centric navigation. Current audio-visual feedback navigation solutions require cyclists to constantly disrupt their biking experience— forcing them to pull over at a critical junctions, glance away from traffic, or confuse hearing with audio commands. The inherent danger in every extant bike navigation system puts a cyclist at risk of being struck by motorists.

After speaking to serious cyclists about their city biking experiences we noticed three main areas of priority: navigation as pertaining to ride enjoyment, safety, and fitness. To address safety and navigation, we designed a system to be installed in bicycle handlebars which telegraph turn-by-turn map directions or provide constant beacon-type guidance making a user constantly aware of orientation to True North or with a user-defined Destination. As users begin their bicycle journey, pulses of vibration through the handlebars guide them safely to their destination allowing them to choice navigation modes prioritizing either route efficiency, or flexibility and safety.

User-interface consists of two vibration motors in each handlebar which signal right, left, and slight turns, as well as a 'straight-ahead' confirmation, supported by a module containing three complimentary LEDs— to speed the learning curve and provide a secondary indication. Another user-mode maps a magnetic compass sensor's orientation to True North with a vibration frequency range output through the handlebars. The inspiration for all three team members (Sam Sadtler, Marc Abi-Samra, Catherine Rehwinkel) is a desire to make human navigation an innate experience.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing

Daniel Shiffman, Denny George, Introduction to Computational Media, Introduction to Physical Computing, Projects, Tom Igoe, Upasana Jain

Privé – Your own space, when you need it!

Denny George, Upasana Jain

Have you ever shared a space with someone and wished you could shut others out and have your own private space? Privé , an interactive Modular Partition Screen lets you do that with a single touch!

http://www.upasanajain.com/?p=86

Description

The Interactive Partition Screen is made out of modular units, allowing people who share the same space to have their own personal demarcated sub spaces within the larger setting. The wall gives the user control over his/her space based on touch and also acts as a screen to create ambient settings in that space.

The wall has two very specific functions.

1) Privacy/ Demarcation of a sub-space

2) Window to the outside world:

Projection mapping of natural environments that lets the user bring some nature inside his/her immediate physical space and breaks the monotony of being in the same space for hours.

When the user touches a module (comprising of 3 forms), the forms open up in a row. Thus visually, there is more control over the what level he/she is looking at.

Each form is attached to a capacitive sensor that detects the touch and one full rotation servo motor that controls the mechanical motion of opening and closing of 3 forms together. The modules are interconnected using the dovetail wood joinery.

The second aspect of projection of a natural setting is achieved using a diaphanous screen behind the partition wall. The transparent screen allows visibility as well as projection to create specific settings in the room.

Each module can be closed again just by a touch.

Classes

Introduction to Computational Media, Introduction to Physical Computing

Introduction to Physical Computing, Jeffrey Feddersen, Projects, Tigran Paravyan

Thy-Band

Tigran Paravyan

Thy-Band is a set of wireless wearable devices for musicians that can be used to visualize their energy and emotions during live performances.

http://itp.openthy.com/pcomp/2014/12/3/thy-band-v10

Description

Muisicians usually have VJ people who do the visualisations for them. Obviously they collaborate, but we never see the “energy” of the musician represented visually. Imagine if you could see the energy of the best guitarist and drummers in the world, see the emotional state of a singer-songwriter or a whole orchestra.

Thy-Band is a system of wireless wearable devices for musicians that can be used to visualize their energy and emotions during live performances.

The first devices in the Thy-Band line are a wearable bracelet and an ear-piece for guitarists. The light-weight silicone bracelet is mounted on the back of the hand. It has a built-in accelerometer, that transfers motion data real-time via bluetooth.

The ear-piece is a tiny heart-rate monitor also sending data via bluetooth. The style of the guitarist, the way he plays and feels will affect the data received from both devices, based on which a variety of visualisations can be created.

Thy-Band can be used by all kinds of musicians from guitarists to violinists, from flautists to bassists.

Future Thy-Band devices will include bracelets for drummers and pianists, breath-sensors for flutes, and other devices that will make it possible to visualize the energy of single musicians, bands and whole orchestras, specific to the instruments they use.

The pictures and videos on my website don't do justice to the final version that I will finish in a few days.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing

Ben Light, Daniel Shiffman, Intro to Fabrication, Introduction to Computational Media, Introduction to Physical Computing, Jingwen Zhu, Projects, Tom Igoe

Big Data Cloud

Jingwen Zhu

Big Data Cloud provides people with a visible and tangible experience of interacting with big data.

http://www.jingwenzhu.com/2014/12/big-data-cloud/

Description

In the Applications class, we had a lot of speakers talk about big data. They discussed how big data benefits our lives, how it inspires us, and how it make us transparent, etc. But big data remains obscure to me. What does big data looks like? Is there an invisible cloud somewhere? What would big data in the cloud look like if it were tangible? For my Physical Computing and Intro to Computational Media final project, I created the Big Data Cloud, that gets data from users, and give the data back to them.

In this installation, people are not only encouraged to interact with the cloud, but also interact with the data. When a user comes under the cloud, a mobile phone drops down from the cloud, with a question displayed on the screen. After the user types the answer to the question, the phone “uploads” back into the cloud. After thunder and lightening, the cloud rains. The big data rain is in the form of a printed roll of paper with the users' answers to the question. Additionally, the most frequently repeated words are projected as puddles on the ground. Users can play either with the projected raindrops, or read all the answers on the receipt.

In our daily life, we are interact with big data every day. We provide our data to the cloud, and get data back from it. Yet this repeated occurance falls to the background because we use big data so often that it goes unnoticed. By creating the Big Data Cloud I provide people with a visible and tangible experience of interacting with big data, and let them to rethink about how big data affects our lives.

Classes

Introduction to Computational Media, Introduction to Physical Computing, Intro to Fabrication

Introduction to Physical Computing, Jeffrey Feddersen, Projects, Yang Zhao, Zhen Liu

SPACEBEATS

Yang Zhao, Zhen Liu

Drop the beat in the Infinite space!!

https://medium.com/@kathsome/spacebeats-33d7794ff154

Description

SPACEBEATS is a digital music instrument creates a feeling of playing drumbeats in the space through gesture and light. Drumbeats are played with just a simple wave of hand, which is much like the suspending feeling of space. The sound will also be responded by led strips in an reflecting box. It allows people to explore infinite space in a limited area.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing