ICM final project proposal

Click to advance the slide. 

As part of my grander plan of taking the world with my magnificent multimedia chat program, which I imagine to l include drawing, typing, video, music, etc, I’ve started by figuring out how to:

1) build a simple “chat” server/client and got it working on my machine and then also connected through a LAN I created between 2 computers (the NYU network apparently is very tight on security), using a router and ethernet cables.

2) play videos corres key presses and pause the playback using the space bar.

YAY!

Building from this week’s lab, Brien and I added on some sensor craziness, working towards our midterm peepbox sensor superness. We started small, accelerometer and pushbutton

and worked on getting pretty output:

Then we got crazy with the sensors…and ended up adding a flex sensor and ir sensor to our original setup:

The output was translated into a Processing sketch with a ball, which we manipulated using our sensor setup:

We also ate some popcorn; it was a very important step.

All in all, it was totally outrageous. 

Here’s a video:

 

Multiple Serial Output from Ruthie Doyle on Vimeo.
 

The background changes, as does the brightness of the ball, the position of the ball and then the ball can disappear! Whoo!

I used two sensors, a potentiometer and a photocell (I started with a thermister, but it seemed trickier to get useful data…more to come. Also looking froward to accelerometer fun, as mine had a small header mishap…). 

Then I just played with the lab, 

making different patterns in Processing from the 2 sensors’ output coming from my Arduino. 

Watch out for the midterm, coming soon: sensor servo smorgasbord…

Paul and Yasser and were assigned to a group, to “…observe carefully, and to limit [our] assumptions as to what the person’s intentions are while [we were] observing….In order to develop good physical interfaces, [we] need to know how people use existing ones.”

So we set out towards union square for an hour of observing people using digital devices. (Most of the pics were taken by Paul).

This was amazing…3 cameras…my iphone taking Paul’s picture, who was taking a picture of a girl taking a picture of the digital counter! phew!

We saw LOTS of people walking and texting, even more than walking and talking. And a lot of ipod/phone combo use…mostly texting while listening. Plenty of solo ipods too. 

And all the people waiting just at the subway entrance, getting that last text or call in before they lose service underground:

And at starbucks:

Then we got inspired:

************************************************************************

So, for analog input day in physical computing, I did a few things.

First, I got this guy soldered to some wires and ready to go:

A 10Kohm potentiometer! (aka a turny-volume-knob-thing)

Got Mr. Potentiometer and Mr. LED doing a little pas de deux:

THEN…I decided to work on getting this component to work:

an IR (infra red) sensor.

Following on the whole “love-o-meter theme,” I decided the LED would demonstrate “lovers’ proximity.”

There’s always a little flicker of the red LED, but as you get closer, the light gets brighter…
(click for full pictures)

At first I thought to “clean up” the flicker when there’s “no lover nearby,” but then I like it conceptually that there’s “always flicker of love” going, that gets more intense as the “lover” is closer!

Here’s the code:

int led = 9; // PWM pin that the LED is on. n.b. PWM 0 is on digital pin 9
int irPin = 1; // Analog input pin that the ir sensor is attached to
int irValue = 0; // value read from the ir sensor

void setup() {
// initialize serial communications at 9600 bps:
Serial.begin(9600);
}

void loop() {
irValue = analogRead(irPin); // read the ir value
analogWrite(led, irValue/4); // PWM the LED with the pot value (divided by 4 to fit in a byte)
Serial.println(irValue); // print the pot value back to the debugger pane
delay(10); // wait 10 milliseconds before the next loop
}

So the first lab project was to hook up some LEDs and get ‘em blinking…photos to come (which were thrown off by a slightly disturbing first day in the Equipment Room). In the meantime, I thought it might also be interesting to show how I used my arduino over the summer at ITP: instead of LEDs, using Max/Jitter, some video and a little DIY spirit…Besides, the summer’s over and the documentation should be here!

The first, for Video for New Media, was a coin-operated video peep box. The box had a slot in the top for the coins, which traveled down a little ramp through a photo interrupt sensor (between those 2 little notches is a beam of infrared light, which gets “interrupted”).

The coin would trip the sensor, which sent a message to max/jitter to play a video at random. Inserting a new coin would trigger another video. In this case, the screen inside was also the laptop installed inside the peep box. Here’s a small example of the peep box in use, as well as a little snippet a video that plays inside. There were 6 videos of people dancing in their bedrooms or homes, to a song of their choosing. (Sorry the tape has some problems…That’s Laura Terruso responding so enthusiastically).

“Eau de Bedroom Dancing” from Ruthie Doyle on Vimeo.

The second project, for Live Image Processing and Performance, was well, a performance. Or rather a proof of concept for a performance. I used a push button switch, and made a loooong wire to the arduino so I could hold it in my hand and have the arduino in my bag, with a cable coming out to my laptop (I didn’t have a wireless option, ok?).

I was running a max/jitter patch that recognized if I made one click or two successive clicks of the button, and triggered a video randomly from 2 sets (one click, set one; 2 clicks, set two).

I had “blue screened” myself over a vector image I created of a bus stop and projected the video in life-size. In the projection, I waited for the bus. I filmed different reactions to street harassment, returning to the original waiting position. Live, I “harassed myself.” One click was a “less intense” harassment and triggered one of the “less intense” responses in set one. Two clicks was a “more intense” harassment and triggered one of the “more intense” responses in set two. 

I’ve just edited together a few harassment/response sets. I’m (live me) difficult to see, as a shadow in the left-hand side of the screen.

HerAssMeant from Ruthie Doyle on Vimeo.

Very special thanks to Rob Faludi for all his help and guidance!

…”accidentally” and it makes me cry (seriously: big, heavy tears)…a tiny peek into my psychological makeup…ha. And into the ways I think people are using youtube and video in an interesting and useful way (e.g. ‘contemporary consciousness-raising,’ in this case re:homebirth).

A mini New York documentary…quick and dirty. Made from start to finish in 2 afternoons…

<
Tompkins Square Park skaters from Ruthie Doyle on Vimeo.

Music by Cat Power and Nirvana.

“Green Porno”=Isabella Rosellini re-enacting bug reproduction in full costume. No really, I am not making it up, or the term either…

Thank for the tip SJ