Two Weeks Out of Grad School and This is What's Up

Surfing Facebook and stubbled onto my BFA school page to find this quote,

"After the jump you will find code for Google Glass disrupting software glasshole.sh. Kick google glass off any wifi network in the vicinity. apparently an even more aggressive version is in the works."

with this link: http://julianoliver.com/output/log_2014-05-30_20-52 .

In short this few lines of code can jam the Google Glass and making it unusable. Not cool in my book, so I felt like replying since over the last year I've been working in and research about the rise of wearable technology and it's future.

This is what I wrote in responses to the above quote;

I'm only been in this field of "wearable tech" for a year, and am by not means an expert, yet. But what I do know is that wearables are HOT and developers and companies are trying hard to get the next cool wearable out there as fast as they can. This effects thinking about the finer details of what is public and private. Jamming a network is not the answer. Who says that someone on a crowded subway, where everyone has their cellphones/ipads out, isn't taking your photo or video you without you knowing? Are you going to jam/block there cells too? What should be happening, and in some case is happening, is that we start developing more responsibly. That's where we come in, creative technologist, we take sdks and instead of jamming/block system we create an app that when it recognizes face it ask if it can take your picture, and you say "Yes, Glass take my picture."

Feel free to chime in.

A Wire With More Muscles Then Me

So this past semester I worked with nitinol wire. Nitinol wire or muscle wire, in simple terms, is a wire that uses electric current to create a shapes. There's much more this fancy wire can do, but for now I'll show you how I used it.

Here's the link to my final project for Fashionable Technology. You can see how I used it to simulate life/something growing in my final piece. It didn't come out as awesome as I wanted it to but it works for now.

Here is what you'll need to get started; 

TiP 120 transistor, diode 1 amp, 100 ohm resistor, copper tape and gator clamps. With these components you will make a circuit to help you control the nitinol wire for your project.  

TiPi 120 transistor

This is a close up of the soft circuit 

You will need a piece of wood or heavy paper, nothing conductive. You will need to solder down the transistor to the copper tape... I recommend soldering all the components down to the copper tape, but test the circuit before doing so. Sometimes things don't work right because somethings has burnt up or the copper tape isn't touch right.

The circuit all hooked up.

The red and black gator mouth clamps connect to a 9volt battery. Remember + to - using different colors clamps helps.

The finish circuit hooked up to nitinol wire and a battery.

The white and yellow clamps are hooked up to nitinol wire, the red and black the battery and the other white and green are connected to an Arduino Uno. The Arduino part is simple. Buy a starter kit for an Arduino  then download the open source Arduino software. Once installed open a new project and then go to example and open up the Blink sketch. This is the one you'll use to get started. Plug in a LED to the ground (GRD)/13 pin, a green wire to the 8 pin and another white to ground (GRD). Clamp the other white wire to GRD and the green clamp to the pin. {{ I hope that's not to confusing? }} Check the sketch for an mistakes (sometime you have to change the USB port) then load the sketch to the Arduino. 

Disregard the yellow wires.

What should happen is that the LED will blink and the nitinol wire will become straight and active. When the LED is not lite the wire returns to it original state. 

The following video demo the action of the wire when the LED blinks.

You can buy your own spool of wire here.

You can change the rate of the blinking LED by increasing or decreasing the HIGH/LOW delay in the void loop.

Here are links to some other amazing projects with nitinol:
High-Low Tech
The Very Hungry Caterpillar 
MAKE: Crafts
Jie Qi Projects

This is just one of many cool thing you can do with nitinol wire. I hope it's helpful.

Enjoy!

Final Project for Creative & Computation

©2012

The Final Project:
Back in October 1st I presented a physical to digital MashUp project in Major Studio. The title for my project is Social Recycling. I was inspired by these artists of The Fun Theory recycle bottle arcade game.

And also Nintendo Wii Animal Crossing, City Folk. For it's groovy and fun environment.

  

How the social recycling would work; when you place you recycling in the recycle bins. The bins would have sensors that registered the item and translate you recycling to a Facebook.com social world. There you and your friends can see the positive effects of your recycling.

Your recycling bins

The thing you recycle effect your social world in different ways

Your recycling status would show how much you've done 

The more you recycle the more you environment become clean

As you recycle the environment becomes cleaner. The sky gets brighter/bluer, the water becomes drinkable, more flowers grown and more people (friends) you can invite to live in your world.

The Next Step: First Draft
For my final project, I want to continue where I left off with my MashUp: Social Recycling. I am not sure how doable this might be. Given the little I know about anything, but I feel like I can make something happen with these ideas. The general ideas for the MashUp assignment was to create a social environment where your recycling made an impact in a digital world that mirrored your own. Coming from New Mexico where the positive effect of recycling are seen almost on a daily base. In the coffee shop I worked at we used Eco friendly cups, plates, etc and most of it, if not all our customer recycled the cups or used them the next day. Being here in New York, I see recycling sign and bins everywhere but I don’t see the effect so much. I still see trash everywhere. I want to try and use the tenant in our apartment building as a part of a social experiment -- Since I presented this assignment to my Major Studio class I have changed the location of the project to D12 (Parsons) -- Would they be more excited about recycling their trash then getting a tweet? Or if they saw how much their recycling effected a social environment would it make then more interested in there own? This is still a vague concept and my thoughts are all over the place, but the bottom line would be to create a recycle bin in the same vain as TheFunTheory.com created their Bottle Bank Arcade. Then showcasing in a digital format, social network, how the person recycling effect their digital world and then how it could effect the real world… I’m still working on this.

The Next Next Step: Precedents

Precedents #1: Bottle Bank Arcade

1. What is the project and who created it? - by TheFunTheory.com. The project is a glass bottle recycling game.

2. How does it work / function? Is it interactive? If so how? - The interface is simple to understand, like a pinball machine or ball toss game. You accumulate point when you place a bottle into a slot when the light blinks.

3. What aspects of the project are similar to your project or influence your project? – The visual design? The interaction? The industrial design? The location? The Audience? - It’s fun and creative way to to recycle. My project relates to this one through the interaction of random people. The want to recycle is encouraged by the outcome of what you recycle.

Precedents #2: Animal Crossing City Folk

1. What is the project and who created it? - by Nintendo Wii. This game is set in a world that totally depends on you. You have to keep the world clean, you have to build, shop, work in the city in order for it to survive. Just like in my project the virtual world look depends on you.

2. How does it work / function? Is it interactive? If so how? - The environment depends on you. You go out pick weeds, plant trees and kill bugs. All these action help keep your world nice and inviting. Because you want people to live in your city. The better the looking the city the more your city grows and the more you can do in your city.

3. What aspects of the project are similar to your project or influence your project? – The visual design? The interaction? The industrial design? The location? The Audience? - You have to keep you city clean. The cleaner the city the prettier it looks and more awards you receive. In Animal Crossing you pick weeds to make your city beautiful. For my social world element of my project, the more you recycle the better your world looks.

Precedents #3: Trash Tycoon

1. What is the project and who created it? - by Guerillapps.

2. How does it work / function? Is it interactive? If so how? - SIMS type of game and Animal Crossing this world depends on the way you level up. The higher the level the more you have done to make the world better. YOu are given task to do and depending how well you performed them the more levels/point you get.

3. What aspects of the project are similar to your project or influence your project? – The visual design? The interaction? The industrial design? The location? The Audience? - You are a member in a virtual world where it is your responsibility to keep it clean.

The Next Next Next Step: Prototype
I started working and developing the social environment.

This was the first drawing of the social world.

First draft of the vector drawing of the social world.

As the owner of the social world recycle the cleaner the world becomes. More flowers will grown, the bluer the sky becomes and the world starts developing a social environment, but when you stop recycling the world goes back to being trashed. Yet the more you recycle more changes and becomes cleaner in your world.

Showcasing the steps of the user.

This is a images that shows the Arduino and sensor I will use to create the social recycle interaction.

Not my image

Top L: the flex sensor. Top R: Arduino w/ button. Bottom L: the environment with no flowers. Bottom R: environment w/ tons of flowers.

What I'm Working On Now:
1. Coming up with a good Title for the project
2. Building a Recycle Bin that I can install the sensor in such a way you will not be able to see it.
3. Coding the Sensor. Right now I have a Arduino button working with Processing that will grow flowers in the in the social world. But it needs more work and I want to use the sensor instead of the button.
4. Redesign the social recycling world. When I presented the first draft  drawing of the environment the major critique I got was it wasn't realistic to the users real world. So I'm gone back to thinking about a new look for the social world.

Feedback, Comments, Et cetera are all welcomed.  

XML and JSON in My Backpack

For CCLab homework we were asked to write up an XML and JSON document describing the contents of your backpack. In my backpack I have the following;

• Computer (with charger)
• Notebook (with folder to catch extra papers & sketchbook for catching ideas)
• Glass (to read)
• Writing tools (black pen & a pencil)
• Wallet (that holds $$$)

The JSON document

The XML document 

Opening that Framework

Getting started in Open Frameworks in CCLab. For those interested OpenFrameworks is a open source C++ tool that designs creative process by providing a simple and intuitive framework for experimentation. In short, is does really cool stuff with code.

Check out some of my code and quick videos of my projects. Here's The Code: Download and go! And now the video.

My OF project is really simple, it just an array of circles that you can miss with by moving you mouse. Very simple!

Another OF project was to write my name, or in my case my husband's name using code and not font in OF.

I used shapes to create B. E. N.

I really enjoy this program and am excited about using it in more projects.

Let There Be Code

Week01:
Get outside, get inspired and recreate a shape/object in Processing inspired by your time outside. This homework MUST use atleast one custom function, arrays and PImage and mouse interaction. Optionally use sin/cos and/or push and pop matrix. Share an image of what inspired you.

Week02:
Write your own class from scratch, give it some properties and functions. Make multiple objects of that class. Declare arguments in your class, and feed them values from the main code. Use Translate/push/pop matrix to make some interesting Interactions and tell a story. Advanced: Make an array of objects

Week03:
Create multiple objects using Arrays and have the objects interact with each other somehow - bounce, repulse etc. Add new objects upon mouse interaction. Make your objects interesting – not circles, rectangles squares. for eg. use PNGs.

Week04:
Use a library or multiple libraries to create an interesting audio-visual interaction with minimal or no use of mouse/keyboard. Using sin/cos and time will make your animations super interesting.

Week05:
Light two LEDs in your circuit. Incorporate Potentiometer or Push Button or another sensor for extra credit (extra fun!)

Two LED light will turn on when a button is pushed. Super simple and fun!

Week06:
Make a super fun interaction using sensors and objects
- think how you could make a simple instrument or capture a gesture, or embody an emotion
- make it meaningful
Use stuff we’ve learned so far – classes, libraries, sin/cos, so many things to work with!

STRAWBERRIES!!!!

To check out the CODE.

Stay tune for more fun stuff. Next on the ballot, XCode and OpenFrameworks.

Week One... Done...

One down, fifteen more to go and so far... awesome!!!

In Major Studio 1 our first weekend assignment is to redesign Facebook and mock-up a prototype. Our teacher is so cool. He's totally using social networks as our subject matter. Which is so super cool! That's one of my biggest interest. I want to study and learn more about these social networks. Yay!

What's so great about this class is that we will be working on small projects that lead to a major project. They build on each other and in the end we're encourage to take our project to conferences, to exhibit it or publish it. I'm so excited for all the wicked things I'm about to learn.

In Design for this Century, I'm not to sure yet. The first class was a little odd. D+T student were mixed up with other Parsons AMT students. That 's cool and all because we are all "design" students in one way or another. We just think of design different which is nice to have another angle to look at things. I'm excited to explore "design" with a group of people who see design another way.

For Dynamic Sound & Performance I'm very excited about this and I'm sure the first class would have been epic if the teacher had showed up. The first night of classes myself and about 16 other students showed up and we waited for about an hour for the teacher. We called people, emailed the teacher, talked about taking turn and teaching the class ourselves. After a hour we gave up on the teacher and left. That really sucked! Because all the other elective class I want to take/or that fit into my schedule are full. I need this class and I need it to rock. After a few days I got an email saying they department was sorry for the lack of teacher and that that teacher will not be teaching after all. They have another guy that will step up and teach it. He taught it last semester and I'm told he was very cool. So it's looking like it'll work out. I'll keep you posted.

Creative Computing Lab aka CCLab. I think I'm falling in love. Not to sure yet, haven't really started the coding thing yet, but I'm really happy with the teacher. The first thing out of her mouth was "you need to find your happy code place." You can't force a happy code upon yourself. You have to find the right code for you. Rather that's web, processing, ardiuno or open frameworks. You must be happy. I love that because code is not my second nature. I'm not sure if I'll ever really get it enough that I can just  seat down at my computer and start coding and writing my own code. But I'm going to try, I'm going to learn.

This is going to be an amazing semester!

Revamping All the Things!

So 2012 is distant to be a years of "new starts." For one thing, I'm re-starting this blog, revamping it to more of documentary of my adventure in grad school. My new school highly encourages recording your process, and being aware of where you start with an idea and end with it. But also, getting ideas out. So I decided that this silly blog, I started so many years ago but never really used, would be my catalyst for my adventures into grad school.

Just a little post of what my day was like or what I hope to do during the day. Also, I hope to us this fun blog to keep me focus and accountable. You may not know this about me but I get troubly side-tracked. It's like when a cat sees something shiny or a squirrel can't remember if he turned off the gas stove.

With that being said here's a fun list of what I hope for my time in grad school.

• I'm not sure what the world has in store for me or my family but I do know it will be great. I really loved working in and around museums. I've worked with them for about 6 years. During and after I finished college, and it would be awesome to continue on a pass with museums. So working with museums will be a goal, what's on the other side of the finish line, something to aim for.
• I heart stop motion animation! And my advisor said I have skills that if fine tuned I'd be a good animator. She wanted me to take classes that will sharpen those skills.
• I have a very healthy addiction to the "Distributed/Social Networks." I do believe I'm on every social network you can be on. I'm sure I'm missing one or two but for the most part if I'm on the web I'm on a social network. I want to know more about this "social network" I want to learn how it is used, why it seems so important, how I can use it.
• I'm just so super excited to learn more and use it to make a positive impact in the world. 
• But most important, this is for me. This is important to me to accomplish. To see it though to the end and then go off and do something great with it.  

Not only do these fun fact apply to just me, they also go toward my family. I'm sure most of you know my husband is pursuing his doctorate at Columbia. How freakin' cool is that!? So we have big PLANS, but we've learned that PLANS don't always happen how you've PLANNED them. So we're taking our time and enjoying the experiences we've had so far with this journey, one day at a time.