(Here is the documentation for my thesis project at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program. PDF version here.)

Riding through Mountains of Data:
Visualizations of Cycling

Robert Carlsen
Interactive Telecommunications Program
Tisch School of the Arts
New York University

Abstract

This project attempts to describe the cycling experiences of several riders in New York City through a series of visualizations. Specifically, I am interested to discover if riders similar to myself share a common experience through which a sense of connection could be derived.

Cyclists were encouraged to record their travels using their personal mobile devices running Mobile Logger, a custom iPhone application.
Log data was uploaded by the application to an online database in near real-time during each ride. This data was analyzed and filtered to provide source material for the resulting visualizations and system “dashboard” at http://mobilelogger.robertcarlsen.net.

Keywords

Cycling, New York City, sensors, iPhone, visualization, mapping, tracking, logging, mobile, application, bicycle

(more…)

…look at my pinwheel and see what i’ve found.

here’s the promised update to the earlier pinwheel post with a video of it in action. this is just a demo of the animation, i’d like to work more on the compositing and to add some user interaction. i’d like to perhaps have a user blow on the phone and cause the wheel to spin more quickly. for now, this is what i’ve got.

This evening is the first night of the 2008 Winter Show at ITP. My Cloud Reader project has been included, and I’ll be attending to it each night in the main hallway – surrounded by other really interesting work. The atmosphere on the floor last night was energized…almost like a festival. I’m excited for the show, having come full circle from one year ago when I visited ITP just before applying to the program.

It doesn’t really feel that long ago; it also feels like a long time ago.

It’s going to be a long and exciting day.