For the 1-in-1 Project as part of ITP’s 30th anniversary celebration I over-engineering the simple bicycle blinky light. Why go for a simple, off-the-shelf blinky light when we can build a much more complicated one ourselves?!

I’m creating an animated display, which changes to solid red while braking.

Update: (5:26) It’s been a long night, but it all came together. I wish I could have finished at the floor, but sometimes you need to go to your cave. The bike blinky light is all I could have asked for…it’s obnoxious, it’s animated, it has a handlebar control to switch to a flashing warning mode. (more…)

Corey Menscher and I worked together on ThinkBig for the Whole Body Interface exercise in Thinking Physically. Corey had the basic idea of making soft switches which would be foot activated. Initially he was going to make three which you’d have to skip between. (more…)

Simple updates on the project. The previz applet has mouse control for each of the emitters. It’s interesting to see how the glowing packets influence each other when in close proximity. Here’s the applet.

Camera vision. Started working with openFrameworks to do the visual tracking of objects on the table. Unexposed portions of developed film negatives block most visible light and let IR light pass. Using this as a filter over the built-in iSight camera, I was able to test a rudimentary camera tracking system. It would likely be better to use a more robust library like openCV, but writing the tracking myself helped me to learn about how it works.

Still have to merge these two components. It looks like I’ll have to rewrite the flocking system in C++ since Processing/Java is getting bogged down. Ameya is working on the web side of the project – messing with a linux-based router to handle the proxy and packet sniffing as well as a database system to manage the data.

The table was built throughout this past week; we still need to mount the camera and projector in an effective way for under projection and sensing…any advice?

Following up on the initial post about the brauswitch – the eyebrow activated headband switch. Here is some video with a simple application demonstrating it’s use. There are separate switches for both the left and right sides. The simple Arduino code listed below will indicate if the left, right or both sides have been activated. A Processing sketch reads the serial output of the device and plays a variety of sound samples.

There is something really nice about the amplification of a small facial movement and the larger audio/visual response of the sketch. It’s also nice to interact in a handsfree way. Oh! Fun. Code after the video. (more…)

after another rough week of classes, planning and discussions about projects without actually making anything, i needed a quick productivity break. iPhone gloves.

some quick background. the touchscreen on the iPhone and iPod Touch (as well as the older click wheel iPods and trackpad on Macbook/Pro’s) use the capacitance of skin to track touches. gloves generally prevent these type of sensors from reading (except perhaps very thin gloves). taking off a glove to use the phone is frustrating, especially when trying to momentarily check something that would only take a few seconds (text messages, e-mails, etc). (more…)

Visiting the American International Toy Fair gave me a brief overview of what is popular across many facets of the toy industry. I wouldn’t claim to have a thorough comprehension of the market, but it was certainly an informative experience.

Some of my notes from fair:
Infrared control.
Lots of robot kits. Solar powered vs. battery powered.
Grouped into prefab and modular kits.
Sound and light sensors, too.
Example: HexPods. Overheard vendor discuss user testing: Kids want control and speed.
Slot car systems. Even here there is much licensing. (Nintendo – Mario Cart)
Figurine playsets. Thematically related. Realistically detailed. Schleich.
Glow strings and kits.
Materials: Lots of plastic (PVC), lots of wood.
Many stuffed animals.
Lots of board games and educational toys. Brain teasers.
Flying toys. Planes/helicopters.
Tents and other enclosures.
Saw remote controlled drawing robots. Reminded me of Chris Cerrito’s project
Pedal powered cart. Awesome. Disc brakes and 7 speed shifting. (more…)

[Follow-up with a short video demonstration of it available here.]

The Brauswtich is a digital switch to be worn on the forehead, just above the eyebrows. Raising one or both eyebrows will close the switch. There is a small gap between the upper and lower portions of the headband. It is made with a heavy burlap; the upper portion is stiffer than the lower portion which generally moves less as the eyebrows are raised and enables the switching motion.

It was designed without a specific output in mind; the task was to work within the confines of the assigned body part – in this case the head and torso. In class we attached each of our switches to an Arduino +WaveSheild and used them to trigger sound effects. (more…)

megaphones for ears. inspired by prince, tigre and penguin.

i’ve always been a cat person. when i lived with my first cat i’d watch his ears swivel as he would listen to the sounds around us. sometimes i’d make quiet noises when he was looking away to see if he’d turn his ears toward me.

it is easy, of course, to accomplish a shadow of his ability by cupping my hands behind my ears…but i wanted to try something much more foolish. (more…)

Our first experiment for Thinking Physically is to “Create an interface or interaction that causes a person to ‘open up’.” This statement is intentionally vague – emotional, physical, literal?

My initial notes:
People seem to be aloof or wary of unfamiliar others. A shared experience seems to break down this distance. Observing a humorous or traumatic event. An emergency where people have to work together quickly. A spontaneous celebration. Whether it is a positive or a negative experience, a remarkable experience is what will break down barriers.

Apparel. A provocative piece of clothing will stimulate conversation. Affiliation though style, political or sports slogan can serve to both connect and to alienate others.
Gadgets – a sighting of an iPhone, and first generation iPod before it would generate interest enough to overcome avoidance of strangers. Someone wearing headphones is interpreted as a signal that they want to be left alone.
Gesture. Smiling might convey various messages given context…however they would still be different than a furrowed brow. Eyes – looking at someone vs. averting gaze. Culturally determined?

On another level, what about established relationships? I’ve been focusing on unfamiliar relationships between people – strangers, in a city perhaps. What about acquaintances, friends, co-workers, family, partners (an all the variant types here). What about opening up more in an established relationship? Would that be limited focused on emotion?

After a quick message passing with Kate who gave me some great advice – don’t overthink it – I came up with a simple idea: “what about a ‘Hi 5’ shirt? Something really graphically simple and aesthetic. without words, a simple gesture and the image should convey the intention.”

I’ll know if it works later today…

*(the name of the toy is still under consideration)

SkipDraw
A classic toy reinvented for the active kid of today.

Wear the SkipDraw on your ankle and spin it on the floor around your feet. As it spins, the LED lighted cross will rotate independently. See it draw images of light in mid air as you skip in the center.

Features:

• Encourages kids to play outside of their rooms.
• Promotes physical exercise.
• Can be played indoors or outdoors.
• Compact storage when not in use.
• Is still engaging in daylight or without the batteries.
• Entertaining to watch.

(more…)