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CHORDAL DISTANCE

Sylvan Zheng, Youngmin Choi

A sound installation that explores the relationship between two people by connecting the physical act of pulling to music.

https://squidgetx.github.io/2019/11/21/chordal-distance.html

Description

This project is a sound installation that explores the relationship between two people by connecting the physical act of pulling to music.

As the two participants negotiate their mutual physical equilibrium music responds to the surges in tension, releases, and twists highlighting the nature of their relationship. While the installation affords this personal experience to the participants it also serves as a performance for a larger audience to engage with.

Two wooden handles hang suspended at chest height, connected to each other with a simple band.

We invite participants to explore the subtle musical shifts in tone and harmonic texture throughout the varying positions and tensions afforded by the installation.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing, The Code of Music

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Lighting Ideation Visualization & Educational (L.I.V.E) Tool

Benjamin Moll

A stage lighting tool designed to allow users to test their lighting designs before final development and/or learn the basics of lighting design.

https://wp.nyu.edu/benjaminmoll/physical-computation-final-project-post/

Description

This project is born out of my frustration as an amateur lighting designer for theater wherein I often had to rely on analog lighting designs prior to “moving in” to a space. Allowing a designer to try out their looks at a small scale provides a great feedback step to finalize design concepts before committing full scale. Finally, this project can be used to introduce the basics of lighting design in a low-cost educational setting as opposed to expensive simulation softwares available currently. The L.I.V.E tool provides three key controls in position, brightness and color of two separate lights which are simply structured with a joystick controller and browser sliders. The look of the project has been intentionally left simple to emphasize the plug and play concept of the circuit on any type of stage setting though I will provide some minimal stage design to accompany the project for demonstration purposes. Ultimately, the project is a prototype for both a halfway design step that I believe is missing from current amateur processes as well as an introductory platform for introducing lighting concepts at a student level.

The function of the circuit is based on Arduino Nano, p5.js Serial communciation and the AxiDraw EiBotBoard. These three components allow for the Nano to read inputs such as the joystick and sliders and then write those commands to the AxiDraw or stepper motor all through the p5 Serial library. Each control has a unique character flag that the Arduino or EiBotBoard code handles and interprets as movement control or LED commands. The LEDs are AdaFruit Flora Neopixels and the stepper motor belt is driven by an EasyDriver motor driver circuit attached to the Arduino.

Classes

Introduction to Computational Media, Introduction to Physical Computing

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Fireflies (A Concentration Exercise)

Abby Lee, Sam Krystal, Tianxu Zhou

A concentration exercise where users can control elements on the screen with focus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UFI7ArtG9s&feature=youtu.be

Description

Our project, entitled “Fireflies”, is a concentration game utilizing a Muse EEG, p5 animation visible through a projector, and a bluetooth enabled jar trigger. The process would be that once our user opens the jar, our animation of fireflies will appear. When our user is prompted to focus, the Muse will transmit that our user is in a state of concentration, prompting the flies in our animation to concentrate in conjunction. We see this game as an interesting jumping off point for many neuroscience related conversations.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing

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Garden of Voices

KJ Ha, Kuan-Wen Chen

Garden of Voices is an interactive micro-environment, which emphasizes the power of people’s words.

https://www.kyungjooha.com/post/final-progress

Description

Inspired by the movements throughout history, Garden of Voices is an interactive micro-environment based on Arduino Uno, Raspberry pi and p5.js. There are a total of twenty words in the library we built, which will trigger the activation of the components in the garden (a light bulb, water pump, and fan) in a unique way. In the manual for commands, we arrange the words in alphabetical order to eliminate any notion of hierarchy. The words may have multiple meanings but none of them are innately good or bad.

The installation makes use of the connection between the p5.js sketch and Arduino, which is enabled by serial communication based on Raspberry Pi. Allowing people to give corresponding output, this installation lets people change the humidity and temperature, the two major factors affecting the growing process of plants. At the same time, the environmental data from the humidity/temperature sensor will be displayed on the wall as a reference for people’s decisions.

Through this project, we aim to shed light on the limits and unreliability of human language and want to remind people of the power and influence of words they say. We are living in a society where freedom of speech is guaranteed; thus people readily forget the weight of the words they say. Moreover, people sometimes hastily rely on the convenience that language offers them. However, human languages, which involve a more or less social contract, are not as reliable as one might believe. As everyone has a different perception of reality, we all have different meanings for every word. Those innate differences may lead to larger debates or conflicts. By simulating the society as micro-environment, Garden of Voices provides a visible way for people to realize the issues that we often overlook: there is no single solution that can magically solve the innate differences, but we can at least be mindful of such differences and should bear the responsibility for the words we say.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing

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The Joys of Being a Screen Saver

Cezar Mocan, Dan Qi Qian

Stuck in a closed digital world, stuck on a loop walking between the same four spaces, your screen saver wants to meet you. She calls you on the phone. Do you pick up?

https://vimeo.com/377217645

Description

The Joys of Being a Screen Saver is a four channel interactive video installation which elicits nostalgia for obsolete technology. Starting from the absurd premise that a rotary phone can make the connection between the physical space and a person stuck inside your computer, the installation extends and abstracts the phone's function of connecting remote places, by bringing together elements of hardware and software from the past.

The character stuck inside of the four screens is your screen saver software. She reaches out to you via phone, with the explicit intention of establishing contact. However, upon connecting, her behavior becomes increasingly playful and elusive, referencing the types of motion present in old Windows screen savers. You gain control over the character's whereabouts, by calling and having her pick up the phone at different locations—each location on a different screen. She gains control over your whereabouts by having you turn around towards each of the screens—the four displays surround you. You alter her environment by calling her, and if you don’t, she alters your environment by calling you. This strange dialogue offers no resolution, just a back and forth which might make both you and your screen saver dizzy.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing

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Life Vending Machine

Stacy Yuan, Tianxu Zhou, Xinyue (Monni) Qian

An installation that aims to raise people's awareness of protecting endangered animals.

https://xinyueq.wordpress.com/portfolio/pcom-final-project-concept/

Description

This is an installation that represents the process from animal-hunting to animal product production. We found that the decrement of the animal's population is closely related to human consumption. Through experiencing our installation, we hope it can raise people's awareness of this problem and reduce the need for animal products.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing, Introduction to Physical Computing, Social Innovation Design

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ClimateScape

Jake Sherwood

ClimateScape is a kinetic art installation using sound and movement

https://jakesherwood.com/climatescape

Description

ClimateScape is a kinetic art installation using sound and movement.

Climate change is happening. Some think we've already gone too far.

We need to make a concentrated effort to about face immediately. A dramatic shift on current climate policy and swift action is no longer an option, it is mandatory. The time is now and it may be running out, if it hasn't already.

ClimateScape is about bringing awareness to the human effect and how we are affecting climate change. The four soundscape sculptures represent 4 potential climate change scenarios known as Representative Concentration Pathways, or RCPs.

They are scenario models for forecasters to use when modeling certain climate related metrics.

As the sculptures are approached they engage with the viewer and create a sometimes uneasy soundscape representing one of these scenarios. Illustrating the human effect and how we are influencing these changes.

The sculptures also have a representative material, representing a current and / or future sector that is or will be playing a role in climate change.

We are the human effect and we cause the ClimateScape.

It is up to us to right the ship. We as artists must bring continued awareness. We as humans must act.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing

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It Could Be Next Time (There Is No Next Time)

Nikhil Kumar

Interactive poem and musical composition reflecting on emotional attachment, impermanence and decay.

https://nikhilkumar.media

Description

It Could Be Next Time explores the relationship between emotional attachment, impermanence and decay through sound and interaction. The audience plays an important role in unlocking sequences of music and spoken word during the performance.

The physical piece is built with orange peels in various states of freshness and decay. When an orange peel is pulled out of a switch and buried in soil, spoken audio– thoughts and memories in various states of freshness and decay– and associated music begins to play. As the sculpture is disassembled, the poem and music becomes more complete. Ultimately, after the physical structure is undone and the orange peels are returned to the soil, the intangible poem/sounds continue to exist.

Audience members can interact with It Could Be Next Time at various stages of its lifecycle and will themselves contribute to the order in which the piece plays. Chance is an important component, and the coherence of the experience for an audience member at any snapshot in time will depend in part on when and how they interact with the piece.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing

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the hour glass

Julian Mathews

A persistence of vision LED sculpture meant to help visualize climate change statistics

https://

Description

I created a persistence of vision LED sculpture, that consists of two stacked globes, which is designed to be used as a statistics visualizer, in this case for climate change. The user will toggle through 10-12 statistics about climate change on a p5.js sketch, which will have a correlating visual on the sculpture. Shaped like an hour glass to symbolize the waning time we have left to solve this issue of climate change.

Examples:

– A statistic about the extinction of bees will have the sculpture light up yellow & black.
– A statistic about how India has emerged as a global leader in renewable energy will correlate to the sculpture lighting up as the Indian flag.
– A statistic that shows sea levels in 1950 will light up 1/3 of the sculpture blue.
– The following statistic will show sea levels in 2019, which will light up 2/3 of the sculpture blue.

This is meant to be an awareness project. I thought to myself: how can I get people’s attention on a serious issue? My solution: a glowing ball of LED lights. This is ultimately meant to be an example of playful communication of (somewhat) serious research. A prototype and concept that I would love to expand one day. Ideally, this could be shown in a somewhat darkened room, but the lights work fine in light, thank you for your consideration.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing

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Bouncing Ball Karaoke

Erik van Zummeren

Bouncing Ball Karaoke is a Bluetooth enabled bouncing ball slash karaoke machine

https://

Description

Bouncing Ball Karaoke is a combination between a Bluetooth enabled bouncing ball and a karaoke machine. This specific installation is both a sample use case of how Bluetooth enabled bouncing balls can have a positive impact on our lives, as well as a way to have fun.

The concept for the karaoke machine is a modern interpretation of the bouncing ball device that was invented by Max Fleischer in 1924. Every time the user bounces the physical bouncing ball the 'lyric ball' heads to the next part of the song. The closer the user is to the original timing of the song, the more points the user gets.

However, a big part of this installation is also about empowering these voices that have long been neglected and unheard of in the karaoke scene. This installation enables everyone to perform karaoke. For instance, this installation will feature A-ha's Take on me, which can be considered as one of Europe's biggest treasures in its rich musical history. This song is notoriously difficult to sing in real life due to A-ha's Morten Harket majestic voice which reaches five different octaves. However, with Bouncing Ball Karaoke everyone can be Morten Harket and world-famous for 5 minutes in their life.

Classes

Introduction to Physical Computing