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Racing Thoughts

Emily Zhao

If your positive and negative thoughts had to race, which one would win?

https://emilyzhaoblog.wordpress.com/category/intro-to-physical-computing/

Description

Racing Thoughts is an interactive experience that aims to bring awareness to one’s relationship with themself and their thoughts. The project prompts users to write one positive sentence and one negative sentence about themselves. At the end, their response times for each thought will be printed on a receipt, as well as their actual responses, for them to take.

Did it take longer to say a positive or negative thought? Are the two sentences equal in severity? Was the experience taken seriously? These are all questions I want the user to reflect on.

While it might be tempting to compare one's response times with other's, I want to stress that this experience is meant to spark SELF-reflection. It is also important to remind people to accept all their thoughts, both positive and negative, for we are not our thoughts.

Classes

Introduction to Computational Media: Media, Introduction to Physical Computing

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Confession Booth

Na Chen

An interactive installation that sheds light on the heavily censored #metoo movement in China

https://nachen.info/2019/12/10/confession-booth/

Description

This is an installation that sheds light on the heavily censored #metoo movement in China last year. Participants can interact with it either inside or outside a confession booth. The person inside the booth — or the “speaker” — will read a paragraph out loud, which will be a first person account from a real sexual assault victim. As they’re reciting the passage, a p5 sketch will use speech recognition to detect their voice. If the words are not clearly uttered, a high pitch sound will be triggered to interfere with the participants. Outside the booth, other participants — “listeners” in this case — will hear the message delivered by the speaker and see the booth blinking every time the speaker gets the word right. The noise in this case symbolizes the censorship apparatus in China and the light is the symbol of the user's endeavor. In order to turn off the speaker, the participants need to speak louder and clearer. The purpose is to create an uncomfortable yet empowering experience and put participants into the shoes of sexual assault victims.

Classes

Introduction to Computational Media, Introduction to Physical Computing, The Uses of Discomfort

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Black Projections

Cy X

“Black Projection” is a portal mapping device that allows users to explore the interconnectedness of time, space, and racist hegemonic design systems.

https://cyberwitch666.wordpress.com/2019/12/04/black-projection-update-2/

Description

The portal mapping device is navigated through the use of magnets, a sacred tool that acts as a powerful force as we uncover the truth. These magnets trigger different images and text of different “nodes” which correspond to different themes or moments in history.

Ideal location would be a more intimate space such as one of the study rooms.

A Zine will also be accompanying the project that will be a compilation of research, thoughts, and resources for people to take with them beyond the project.

Classes

Introduction to Computational Media, Introduction to Physical Computing

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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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Love at First Sight

Michael Yang, Zoe Wells, Robert Ye

Multiplayer eye-contact based game exploring connection and betrayal.

https://wp.nyu.edu/zoejbw/2019/12/03/love-at-first-sight-collective-play/

Description

Love at First Sight is a game with 5-7 people, each using their phones as controllers (using a glitch URL), and a scoreboard on a large screen. At the beginning of each round, the players stand in a circle and have 30 seconds to communicate only via eye contact, looking to each other for connection, trustworthiness, and to establish unspoken agreements for matching. At the end of the time, they are each prompted to choose which other player they want to match with via their phones. The scoreboard tallies up the points: one point for receiving an unrequited match request (rejection), two points for a mutual match, and three points for matching with someone new. As the rounds go by, players will have to decide what risks they are willing to take, who they trust, and who to break the trust of. Can you look into someone’s eyes and lie about your intentions? Will you betray a partner just for some made up points?

Classes

Collective Play (UG)