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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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Narratives of Resistance and Resilience: Documenting and Making Sense of the Anti-ELAB Protests in Hong Kong

Winnie Yoe

A series of research based, data driven experiments in crafting and exploring narratives around the Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill movement in Hong Kong.

https://www.winnieyoe.com/resilience

Description

A series of data-driven experiments investigating non-traditional ways of resistance and resilience, created during the on-going Anti-Extradition Amendment Bill protests in Hong Kong. In each experiment, I work with different forms of protest artifacts to explore the relationship between distance and narrative ­— be it my physical distance being 8,000 miles away from events I deeply care about, distance between pro-establishment and pro-democratic narratives, or the distance in media rhetoric and interpretations.

These experiments, along with my article Reshaping Hong Kong’s Identity through a Decentralized Protest (published in ADJACENT Issue 6), are part of a larger research project where I am trying to answer how does one take manageable steps and more nourishing approaches as a form of resilience.

Classes

Data Art

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Secret Islands

Find your potential partner by playing a matching game.

https://mhp353.wixsite.com/secretislands

Description

Secret Islands functions as a dating/friendship game where players slowly learn more about the other players through revealing interests and personality of each other, and in turn matching people who have similarities.
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Unlike most games, where the goal is to ‘win’, get the most ‘points’, or some other arbitrary goal, Secret Islands has no such goal. It's primary purpose is to give players a sense of who has similar interests, while revealing things about yourself (and others) that you might not have known before.

Classes

Game Design and the Psychology of Choice, Game Design and the Psychology of Choice, Game Design and the Psychology of Choice

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Frame by Frame

Kariina Altosaar

Collaboratively telling a story through gifs.

https://editor.p5js.org/kariina/full/_VvQvZFOY

Description

Frame by Frame is a web application that aims to tell a story through gifs by asking people to visually represent parts of the story. Each user is encouraged to represent one phrase of the story with a gif. The user is prompted to pose for two frames of a gif and then place the gif into the story. The story unfolds as more and more people add frames.

Classes

Creative 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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Liiiiiiiiiight

Nok Jangkamolkulchai, Ziyu Gao

Communication with physical separation

https://www.zoe-zg.com/intro-to-physical-computing/final-update

Description

We are creatures longing for connection. Me and my partner were inspired by the Border Seesaw artwork and are both very interested in exploring on how human beings communicated with physical constraints. Therefore we want our piece to force a physical separation between the 2 users but also create a pathway of connection that can only thrive with physical distance.

Classes

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Smart Container

Rui Wang

A serial of DIY normalized containers with different functions.

https://jasperwang.org/digital-fabrication/container/

Description

A serial of normalized containers with different functions.

You can raise your flower with soil; you can raise a green plant with water only; you make a home for small cute fish; you can also build a nest for your spider.

The embedded sensor will detect the moisture content of the soil, it will alarm you when it gets thirsty. Also, you can customize different thresholds for different plants.

You can also connect a lot of containers together easily using the magnetic socket, which means you can design your own ecosystem.

Make your own secret garden, make your own secret stories.

Classes

Designing for Digital Fabrication, Prototyping Electronic Devices

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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