Matt Jones, a designer at London-based BERG, explores the idea that smart cities can be constructed bottum-up with the creation of smart products; that is, small and unobtrusive loosely networked objects fluidly integrated within their larger context. His talk from TechnoArk in Switzerland is below:

People Are Walking Architecture, or making NearlyNets with MujiComp, January 2010

[People are walking architecture, or making NearlyNets with MujiComp], via [PSFK]

A fantastic project by the tinker.it (Arduino) team, and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in getting into electronics, using Arduino or just wants to build a synth. All code, designs and schematics are open under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License. All files (designs, code et cetera) I used/made can be downloaded below.

A friend showed me his Auduino, and I needed to build one too! I decided to make a few modifications to the original. I added a switch that enables a light dependent resistor (LDR) to control the rate of the noise, which essentially means the more light that hits the resistor, the faster the tempo. When the switch is on, it disables the associated potentiometer and enables the LDR. It’s a fun addition and you get the chance to put your whole body (or just hand) into the synth.

I also did not want to commit to one mapping of the Auduino — I liked both the the smooth frequency and the stepped pentatonic mapping, so I added a switch to move between the two synthesiser parameters.

Section of edited code:

if (digitalRead(SWITCH)) {
// Smooth frequency mapping
//syncPhaseInc = mapPhaseInc(analogRead(SYNC_CONTROL)) / 4;

// Stepped pentatonic mapping: D, E, G, A, B
syncPhaseInc = mapPentatonic(analogRead(SYNC_CONTROL));
}

This is the schematic for the way I wired my Auduino. I used Fritzing software, which is also a great beginner tool for prototyping your circuit board. Fritzing is a neat open source project, I recommend checking them out.

Lastly, I needed to design an enclosure, which was also a first. Inspired by enclosure extraordinaire, Xander (see his work at machinecollective.org), I designed a simple yet functional enclosure in Illustrator and cut it using a laser cutter. After two failed enclosures, the third one fit! I initially wanted to have it enclosed in black satin acrylic, but I ended up with a transparent enclosure so I could see the components. In retrospect, I should have stuck with the black as the transparency detracts from the minimilist aesthetic I sought. I have attached my designs here — feel free to use/modify (CC license).

How does it work?

Tinker.it explains: “Sound is generated by playing the same noise (‘grain’) repeatedly at very high speed. This merges into a tone that is an audible hybrid of the repetition rate and the original grain. It sounds quite similar to an oscillator with two resonating bandpass filters, although the different architecture means there are lots of additional interesting noises at parameter extremes. The grain consists of two triangular waves of adjustable frequency, and adjustable decay rate. This is based on FOF synthesis model, but using triangle waves instead of sine and using a rectangular window. The repetition rate is set by another control.”

Build one too! After spending the last few months at the CabFabLab, I have been become enamored by physical computing, and I have been reading makezine fairly religiously now. If you are just getting into this world, like me, it is a fun blog to read.

Resources:
- The Google group that details the project here.
- My minor edit to the code can be found here.
- My illustrator designs can be found here.
- My Fritzing file (schematic details) can be found here.

The lines are where I moved my mouse and the black circles are pointer stops (not clicks). You can run this little app and see what you can create by downloading it from Zenkov: Mac or PC. How does yours look?

3.6 Zettabytes is a wooden puzzle created by me and Mark Kizelshteyn that visually and haptically illustrates media consumption in the United States. The title refers to the total amount of information data absorbed by the country for the year 2008 as calculated by a recent study (December 2009) published by the Global Information Industry Center at the University of California, San Diego. A zettabye is equal to one sextillion = 10^21 = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes, or roughly 5.1 trillion average PC hard drives of data!

The puzzle represents information consumption measured in hours [per American, per day] across seven major media categories — television, radio, print, phone, recorded music, computer, and videogames. Average time spent on each activity is mapped to the area of the brain; the total brain represents a 24-hour day while the surface area of each puzzle piece proportionally represents the time spent on that activity. Blank puzzle pieces signify time spent on anything else other than information consumption. Along with hours average data measured in gigabytes is also provided.

A 19th century phrenology diagram is employed as the basis for the puzzle. The juxtaposition between a familiar antique design and the absolutely contemporary, futuristic, almost unbelievable data that it communicates provides extra contrast for users to appreciate just how fully the modern-day media landscape has permeated our lives. When phrenology diagrams were first made this map/brain would have been almost completely blank, with maybe a tiny dot representing the very few citizens who had enough time to read books.

The board is made out of two pieces of 30 X 35 X 0.3 cm three-layer birch plywood and was cut with an Epilog Mini 24 Laser Cutter. Special thanks to the CabFabLab for making the project happen! More pictures after the jump.

Reference: Roger E. Bohn & James E. Short (2009). “How Much Information? 2009 Report on American Consumers.” Global Information Industry Center at the University of California, San Diego. – [pdf]

Its hard to believe that Brooklyn is Watching, a mixed-reality art project co-developed by Jay Van Buren and Popcha!, has surpassed the ripe old age of one – how exciting! What’s even better is the five finalists from the Best of Year 1 Festival (selected by a panel of five guest judges), have taken over the main room at Jack the Pelican Presents in Brooklyn, NY, as well as also being displayed at Odyssey in Second Life.

I had the chance of attending the kick-off party last week, and let me tell you, the space looks spectacular! The five finalists are each presented on a small LCD; the attached headphones stream BIW podcasters’ commentary and ambient music, really allowing a sense of immersion with the artwork. Guests are strongly encouraged to vote for their favorite piece, as the winner of this tally will win the coveted Golden Eyeball Award!

Another fun part of the evening was taking a group photo of some of the Brooklyn is Watching artists in Second Life; check out the photostream here. It was great to see such an enthusiastic turnout, and I’m glad this emerging, experimental art form is getting the attention it deserves. As a side note, the gallery’s artist-in-residence, Gregory de la Haba, has a spectacular display in the back room.

Don’t fear that you missed the opener, there are some great events coming up:

SATURDAY, 8/15/09, 6:00 — Virtual Artists in Panel Discussion
A group of academics and artists will engage in a panel discussion regarding themes such as design strategies for large virtual spaces in Second Life. Pavig Lok who was responsible in part for the design of Greenies will present his ideas and first hand experiences. Lori Landay from Berklee College of Music will discuss what she considers to be the difference between virtual art and art that is shown in the virtual world. Stacey Fox will talk about her experiences with promoting virtual art in the Department of Visual Art at Kansas University.

SUNDAY, 8/16/09, 7:00 — Lecture with One of the Pioneers of the Metaverse World
Jerry Paffendorf, an artist and entrepreneur who lovingly refers to Brooklyn as Silicon Ghetto, will share personal adventures and new ideas combining virtual worlds, art, business, the web and what’s happening with Crazy Company and the LOVELAND project to collaboratively own land and create a new city on a grid of a million inches in Detroit.

About Brooklyn is Watching:
Brooklyn is Watching, conceived of by Jay Van Buren, executed as a collaboration with Boris Kizelshteyn and the Popcha! development team in February 2008, is a breakthrough relational art project that invites interaction between the two thriving art communities of Second Life and Williamsburg, Brooklyn accentuating the power relations between and among them. It consists of a series of inter-related spaces for artists, audiences, and participants. The primary spaces are a square parcel of land (sim) in Second Life where artists are invited to leave their work for one week (when it is automatically returned), and an alcove in the Williamsburg art gallery–Jack the Pelican Presents where the sim can be viewed on a large monitor and entered via an avatar.

[Brooklyn is Watching]
[Popcha!]

As TurtleThink has written about countless times now, augmented reality is the future, and we all want that future to be a little more tangible. Help us Apple! With the release of the compass on the iPhone 3G[S], we are at the brink of some incredible consumer AR applications (as seen in the videos below). So, let’s spread the word. I am reposting the letter and some neat AR videos from Games Alfresco below.

A letter sent to Apple Developer Relations.

Dear Apple,

Signed:
Michael Gervautz – Managing Director Imagination GesmbH
Robert Rice – CEO Neogence
Georg Klein – PhD PTAM creator from Oxford University
Stephane Cocquereaumont – President & Lead Developer Int13 (Kweekies)
Maarten Lens-FitzGerald – Founder & Partner SPRXmobile, developer of Layar
Ori Inbar – Author of GamesAlfresco.com and CEO and founder Pookatak Games
Philippe Breuss – Lead developer, Mobilizy
Philip R. Lamb – CTO, Artoolworks
Noora Guldemond – Metaio
Takahito Iguchi – CEO, Tonchidot
Blair MacIntyre – Associate Professor, Georgia Institute of Technology
Bruno Uzzan – CEO, Total Immersion
Michael Zoellner – Fraunhofer IGD
Andrea Carignano – CEO, Seac02

[via Games Alfresco]

Their most recent game is called Mightier and according to the website “is an independent puzzle action game developed by Lucas Pope and Keiko Ishizaka. Play as the Engineer and the Actionaut to solve puzzles and collect items in each sector.”

The puzzle is fully interactive, where you first physically solve the puzzle by drawing out 2D components on a piece of paper. Once you’ve solved that portion, your webcam scans that piece of paper and your drawing is converted into a 3D puzzle. You then draw your own characters, scan those and play on your 2d converted to 3d turf. It is quite innovative.

Check out how it works below:

[via Interface Design and Usability Blog]

They definitely have a very elegant exhibition and execution of AR technology, but what would be even cooler, and also make more of an impact, would be if this technology were implemented on actual ancient sites and ruins — ones where affixing physical signage is simply not an option. For example, my most recent interaction with Roman ruins was in Northern Israel; unlike most places, the archeological site was very hand-on, and you walk, climb, and go inside the buildings freely. One strategically-positioned setup similar to the one at the Allard Pierson Museum would be able to transmit a lot of information without ruining the aesthetic caused by countless ugly signs.

Check out the video below:

[via Sentient Developments]

Wednesday night I was fortunate enough to attend a screening of PSST!3 at Galapagos Art Space in Brooklyn. PSST!3 is a series of 17 animated shorts, each made collaboratively by 3 distinct teams working on the beginning, middle, and end, each team taking over where the previous left off.

The resulting art quite possibly induces the most psychedelic visual experience one can have without resorting to chemicals. I was blown away by some of the young talent out there, and even more happy to see such work flourishing outside the big-budget corporate commercials, where one is most likely to encounter creative animation these days. Moreover, its great to see so many disparate directors, animators, and designers able to express their unique visual style, while also contributing to a larger cohesive project. To take this to the next level, I would love to see a feature-length project showcasing a singular story, yet have each scene directed by a different animation team. Either way, when it comes to the future of animated film production, large-scale collaboration will be integral.

The first 6 films are now available on their site — I highly recommend you check them out.

[PSST!3: A collaborative film series]

This standard could offer a significant shift in the 3D web by breaking down the end user barriers of entry. With the increase in web applications, people are reluctant to download bulky plug ins or software, but if the 3D environment is native to one’s browser, the potential is incredible. This team of developers and thinkers are industry leaders — allowing them to trail head this initiative will undoubtedly yield industry shifting results. I look forward to the release.