Posted on

SurveillAnts

Gal Nissim, Leslie E Ruckman

This project is created to evoke curiosity about non-human life, and wonder in emergent intelligence and systemic patterns.

Description

This collaboration is inspired by a deep interest in the way people perceive non-human animals and questioning the similarities that can be drawn between humans and all living creatures. The main theme of our project is seeing the unseen. We aim to communicate this in three different ways. First, through the structure we have built, we allow a view into the unseen, underground tunnels of ants. Second, through computer vision tracking and projection mapping, we visualize the chemical pheromone trails ants leave behind as they explore their space in real time. Third, we record and collect the paths of the ants in order visualize movements over time. Through the data collected, viewers are invited to explore the movement of the ants over time, revealing colorful drawings and potentially, unseen patterns in the daily activities of ants.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing, Introduction to Computational Media

Posted on

InBud

Muqing Niu, Xuhui Xu

Two strangers compose music together to create implicit understanding.

http://sabrinaaa.com/2015/11/18/final_in-progress/

Description

The main purpose of the project is to create a scene where two strangers can play music together, without knowing the face and sound and tender of each other, building up some implicit understanding of these two people.
What inspire us is that nowadays most of the social network software are based on the tags, and it can't give us a distinct knowledge of this person, cause the tags may tell a lie. However when two people do something together, especially when they have no judgement upon each other, they can get a fair understanding of the other one, that could be a new way of social network.
So in our project we are building such a scene, composed of two separated space, using two computers communicating each other, using two kinects to encourage people exploring the depth, using two projector to create a emerged illusion. Two people step into the separated space and touch the cloth, the fire and ripple visual effect coming out, with the fluid of the visual effect on the screen they can hear the harmony music coming out from the black. Then they start to play the music, slower and faster, moving around or just stick in here, follow or escape, they can do what they want to do, meanwhile what they do is seen by the other person. So in the whole process, they play together and finally get the understanding of each other.
In a word, InBud is an engaging experience where two strangers make collaborative music generation by dabbling water and flame on the wall, and get implicit understanding in the progress.

Classes

Applications, Introduction to Computational Media, Introduction to Physical Computing

Posted on

Beats Exposed

Aaron Parsekian, Danielle Butler, Lisa M Jamhoury

Beats Exposed is an interactive aerial performance that breaks down the barrier between audience and performer. By exposing the performer’s heartbeat through sound and projected visuals, the performer invites the audience to see beyond his or her physical form.

http://lmj.io/tag/icm-pcomp-final/

Description

Beats Exposed is an interactive performance experience that breaks down the barrier between audience and performer. By exposing the body’s vital signs, the performer invites the audience to see beyond the polished act and into the extreme physical and personal effort.

Beats Exposed is built to be used in performance on, or off, stage. It is lightweight and battery powered, and therefore able to run in a variety of settings.

The current iteration of the project is performed with an aerialist. It exposes the exertion in an artform that is extremely demanding, yet typically meant to appear effortless.

The performer wears a Polar pulse sensor and Moteino wireless transceiver while performing. The transceiver communicates wirelessly with a second Moteino transceiver connected to a computer. The pulse is transferred serially to a P5 program with both audio and visualizations.

In this experience, the audience hears the sound of a heartbeat timed with the performer’s pulse. The visualization, also reacting to the pulse, projects from the ceiling onto the performer, surrounding area, and any audience members that have come in close.

The resulting experience is intimate, personal and engaging.

Classes

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

Posted on

Military Issue

Ian Gibson

Military Issue is an interactive installation that considers the confusion, anger, and grief that occurs when service ends and reintegration into the Real World begins.

http://www.iancgibson.com/military-issue-code-audio-sources/

Description

Thriving in a military environment requires a value system that is very different from that of the civilian world. It requires that you give up a part of yourself. The process of reclaiming the lost pieces when reintegrating after service is one of profound confusion, anger, and grief. How can you focus if your mind constantly runs through the procedure for correcting a malfunction in an M16 rifle? How do you respond to folks who gush about how fashionable military uniforms are? How do you connect with those around you when you're overcome with guilt at leaving friends behind, friends that continue to spend every day in harm's way? How do you cope with the realization that these questions have no clean, simple answers? Military Issue is an installation that exists as an artifact of my own exploration of these and many other questions. It seeks to capture the fragmented nature of this unpacking process. It demands a long attention span and a willingness to confront discomfort and confusion, just as the reintegration journey does. It begs users to consider that service doesn't end when a person takes off the uniform for the last time.

Classes

Introduction to Computational Media, Introduction to Physical Computing

Posted on

SandBand

Lindsey Johnson

A sandbox that allows users to play music together as they play together.

http://www.itp.lindseyfrances.com/2015/12/14/sandband-history/

Description

SandBand is a musical sandbox that allows the user to create music while moving the sand around. Processing is used along with the Kinect 2 to separate the sandbox into an invisible grid that then uses the average depth of each section to control the volume of sounds. SandBand is meant to encourage users to play with nature as well as create something together.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing

Posted on

The Wall Map

Francesca Rodriguez Sawaya, Michelle Hessel

An interactive wall installation that aims to create awareness about borders and walls between countries around the world.

www.techaboom.com/final-project-progress/

Description

The number of walls between nations has increased dramatically over the past decades, specially after 9/11. Fear, insecurity, migration and recent events like the refugee crisis or the deplorable terrorist attacks, are some of the reasons that have deeply influenced the decisions made by governments to build physical walls to protect their borders from their country neighbors. Even though we may be aware of this information, looking at the “big picture”, as this project intends to show, allows the user to look at how the number of boundaries has changed our contemporary political world map.

As a result, we have created The Wall Map, an installation where users will be able to travel through time and explore how new borders and fences have been established since 1960 up to now, including those who have been already announced that will be build in the future.

Classes

Intro to Fabrication, Introduction to Physical Computing