ART307 ENTRY: Jaclyn

The studio PickledOnion created a human scanner for the British Science Museum for "The Science of Spying" exhibition. Using a tracking scanner, this installation calculates data to sense the stature of a human being walking in the room. The only way to avoid being detected and setting off the alarm is to maneuver through the space in a non-humanly fashion. For instance, the viewer can crawl, hop, or imitate animal mannerisms to reach the other end of the room. By moving through the space while avoiding traditional human behavior, the person successfully arrives at the opposite side of the room undetected, thus qualifying themselves as one step closer to "becoming a spy"!

This piece was created to correlate with the theme with which they were presented. I feel as though they successfully captured the tone of the exhibit by allowing the museum patrons to truly interact with the exhibit. It invites the user to "transform" into the subject of which they are exploring, and provides a fluid transition between the exhibition rooms. It would be interesting to see how I would respond to the piece, to formulate a sneaky way of surpassing the sensor.

Watch a video of the installation here:

http://www.pickledonion.com/project/escape-the-science-of-spying#

ART307 ENTRY: Jaclyn

The Reactive Cube is an interactive platform that generates seemingly 3-D projections into a liquid-based cube. An interface relays a two dimensional image through this translucent box, and light is suspended within a water and emulsion solution to convey the image in a visually physical form. There is a series of cubes that each respond to user interaction differently: through the force of a person's breath, the profile of any object in range of the sensors, and by emitted sound. In essence, it reminds me of a beautifully alive fish tank, minus the fish.

Text can also be projected to give a commonly viewed 2-D subject a fresh, unconventional appearance:

This cube provides the user with an alternate form of viewing information through a more invitingly interactive experience. It can be a beneficial means of displaying data in an understandable fashion.

View videos of the cube's interaction here:

http://www.therumpusroom.tv/movie/reactivecube1/reactivecube.html

http://www.therumpusroom.tv/movie/reactivecube2/reactivecube2.html

Or check out The Reactive Cube's website here:

http://www.reactivecube.com/cube.html#

Created by: The Rumpus Room

ART307 ENTRY: Jaclyn

GET HIGH NOW is a website based on a collection of audio and visual tools that shift human perception and consciousness. I browsed through the site and mainly experimented with the audio elements, evoking interesting results. A variety of tones are presented, allowing the user to select individual tones that conjure different reactions. Note: You need to wear headphones while listening to these tones.

For instance, the following noise allows the listener to envision colors upon hearing the sound interact with the brain.

PINK

BROWN

VIOLET

WHITE

Here is note that is constantly repeated, not changing in key or scale, yet it appears to be ascending in pitch.

SHEPARD TONES

In the Binaural Beats section, the user can select whichever mood they can relate to or desire to be in, and upon listening to the sound they can be transported into that feeling. I used the following sound to boost my ability to focus so I can get work done!

SUPER FOCUS!

A description of the way these beats interact with the brain and body are provided within each tone's section. As I am unable to analyze the true cause for these results, I will not attempt to explain them here. These tones have to potential to be utilized within many aspects of media to encourage the audience to react in a predetermined way. GET HIGH NOW has an iPhone application that allows the user to "set their mood" through audio effects. Have fun experimenting!

ART 307 Entry: Danielle

"Jeff Han- Breakthrough Touchscreen"

I watched a video on ted.com of a man named Jeff Han as he demonstrates to an audience how to operate a spectacular touchscreen that he has recently created. This new device, which Han is still currently developing at NYU is a multi-touch screen that holds a countless number of purposes. It proves to be an extremely innovative and unique invention because there is no interface or instructions required in order to use it. Multiple points can be touched on the screen at one time whether the user is utilizing two hands, two fingers, or even all ten fingers simultaneously. The quality of the screen is high resolution. One of the best aspects of this device is that it is low in cost cost and very scalable. It is completely intuitive and multiple users can interact with it at the same time.

Some of the interesting and useful things that can be done with it is that you can pull up a keyboard if needed or arrange multiple photos at a time. Images on the displayed on the screen can easily be manipulated with a simple touch of the finger almost like a piece of artwork. Video game designers will most likely soon modify games in order to keep them compatible with this digital screen. Todd Baxter, one of the viewers who left a comment on the discussion board, had a great point when he stated that this screen will serve as an excellent tool to help children on the Autistic Spectrum. Computer apps can be made to teach children how to form social interaction between all people involved using the screen. Artists are also very excited about this new development because its leading a way to a future of digital art without the restriction of a mouse and the freedom to use both hands.

With the many apps that are currently available today, this screen will completely change the world of graphic design, media design, home and business projects completed.

Link to the video:

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/jeff_han_demos_his_breakthrough_touchscreen.html

ART307 ENTRY: Jaclyn

AN IPAD CONTROLLED VIDEO BLIMP.

The crew at the creative agency Breakfast have done it again. These fellows have a knack for turning innovative ideas into fruition, having fun all the while.

The after-party held during this year's Design Week involved an auction of one-of-a-kind KidRobot Munny characters, inspired by and for the purchase of some of the world's most prestigious designers.

In order to provide all attendees with a bit of amusement and to correlate with the event, Breakfast altered a blimp drone (BlimpDuino) to hover throughout the crowd, capture a live video feed of the guests, and displace the various Munny heads onto their faces. And it was all controlled by an iPad. In essence, they assimilated a code that transforms the iPad into a control panel for this blimp and displays the images of its subjects on the screen as well. The video was then projected onto a larger screen so that all guests were able to view their arial toy transformations.

Here is a shot of the blimp being controlled by a guest and dodging through the space.

A clip of the subjects' juxtapositions:

This blimp is such a neat way to apply new media. The iPad has only been available for a couple of months, yet no time is wasted with incorporating it into current projects as a new technological tool. This piece thrives on interactivity, both with the controller of the iPad and the subjects of the video feed. It served as an advertising piece for the auctioned Munny characters, and doubled as a promotional piece for the Breakfast members themselves. I look forward to seeing what else Breakfast has in store for us.

Watch a video of the blimp here:

http://breakfastny.com/2010/05/ipad-controlled-video-blimp/#content

Check out some of the Munny characters here:

http://munnyexhibit.com/

ART 307 Entry: Danielle

"Paul Debevec Animates a Photo-real Digital Face"

While browsing on my class assignment page, I stumbled upon a video of a man named Paul Debevec who animated a photo-real digital face and I found it to be very intriguing. Paul demonstrates and explains how a computer generated face is created. After taking a series of photos all displaying faces in varies poses, a light stage is used. Here, polorizers gather the information of the reflection of the skin to show where the wrinkles, muscles, and other indentations are located. This information is sent to a company called Image Metrix. Image Metrix uses high resolution geometry to animate the images of the faces.

The product is a photo-real generated face that can be used for such things like video games and films. Paul Debevec says that this technology is important because it reveals how we humans communicate with each other through our facial expressions. Full body scans are digitally converted this way and are used in video games and films when multiple images of the same person in one picture or scene is necessary. This technology can eliminate the need for real-time actors in films and have a higher demand for media designers.

Will this form of technological advance soon replace more jobs of real life actors and actresses in the film industry? Several viewers chose to comment about the video on the site, and one user made an interesting argument. He claimed that since the human mind is so receptive and observative, the tiniest thing that can be wrong with a computer rendering will be noticeable to the human eye. He also quoted a report by "Uncanny Valley" a writing by Jamie York which says "For the animators of films and video games, creating a truly human looking and active character has long been the hold grail. But making characters close-to-real and yet not-real-enough leaves them in what's called the 'uncanny valley' where audiences find those characters unsettling, unnatural and zombie-like." This piece of information sparked a recent memory of mine about my mom who went to see the movie Avatar while it was out in the theatre. She enjoyed the movie however she said that it took her a while to adjust to the alien-like appearance of the Avatar characters because it looked so unnatural. that being one of the first movies of that sort that she has seen. I suppose we will have to stay tuned to see what this technology will eventually affect in the film industry.

Here is a link to this video:

http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_debevec_animates_a_photo_real_digital_face.html

A reference link to the "Uncanny Valley"

http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2010/03/05/07

ART 307 Entry: Danielle

"Urinating Uses Up 141 Calories Per Hour" by A.J. Jacobs

A.J. Jacobs who is a writer currently involved with a new health book project posted an article that caught my eye on BoingBoing.net. Along with the many new technological devices that are produced each year comes the fitbit which is currently in high demand. The fitbit came out in 2009 and is a fancy new pedometer that measures calories burned, steps taken, distance traveled, and sleep quality. It is extremely minute in size and is capable of recording an activity onto the fitbit website which will tell you the exact amount of calories expended. You can wear the device on your wrist, in your pocket, or on your undergarments. It is responsive to mostly any activity that you can imagine.

Some examples of activities that Jacobs listed and the amount of calories expended:

Urinating- 141 calories per hour

Horse grooming- 422 calories per hour

Casino gambling- 162 calories per hour

Shuffleboard- 211 calories per hour

On the product's website you can track sleep patterns and record exercise information such as steps taken, miles traveled and amount of calories burned while doing so. I find it interesting that a person can wear this small device around their wrist before they go to sleep and it will calculate the amount of calories burned throughout the night. The fitbit is small enough that it can be worn all day long. I think that it is an ideal tool for people who want to put a conscious effort towards staying healthy.

I added a couple of images below to display the size of the equipment.

Reference Link: http://www.boingboing.net/2010/05/17/urinating-uses-up-14.html

ART 307 Entry: Danielle

"A Cooler Hotmail?"

The very first email account that I ever had was Hotmail. I currently use my UD school account for the majority of my email traffic and I have recently signed up with a gmail account via google. Microsoft's Hotmail was the first email system available followed by Yahoo and then Google to name a few. Even though Hotmail still hold the title for the most users worldwide, they are of course in competition with Yahoo and Google which offer more features. One of the reasons that aided to the decline of hotmail users was due to a lack of new features and updated capabilities. Microsoft has a plan of action for this upcoming summer when they unveil a new version of Hotmail in hopes of increasing the subscribers with the upgraded qualities. They are calling it Microsoft X. Soon, inbox and outbox messages will be filtered into four buckets based upon who sends the email, whether it be a known contact, mail from a social network, a business email or even spam. This service is not offered by any other email services yet, so Microsoft has high hopes.

Another great feature is that hotmail will enable photos to be stored directly into the account with a link allowing the user to send the image to other emails. This will eliminate the need for tools to view bulky content. You will also be able to unsubscribe to newsletters, engage in conversation threads and SSL support. Overall, I think Hotmail will attract users from other email services once they learn about the new Microsoft X email and its useful new content.

Here is a link to the NY Times page where I found the mentioned article:

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/technology/index.html

Art 307 Entry: Danielle

"Designing a New Way to Interact with Your City"
by Alissa Walker

Creating applications for hand held mobile devices is probably one of the fastest growing aspects of media design today. With more and more people buying these influential devices instead of just the ordinary cell phone, there will be a larger demand for different apps. Planners and designers are creating applications for mostly anything that could possibly help people get efficient information that they need at a quicker pace. It is now possible to go to any city, state or country and be able to find out almost anything about the area through the use of applications. Whether you're lost and in need of a map or if you're simply pondering possible art galleries to visit, there is no need to worry. All sorts of digital maps and gps-based systems are available with the touch of a digital button.


A recently founded concept designed for cities was created to enlist the help of the community for suggestions on information they wish they had handy about the area. The main intention to this plan was to give citizens the opportunity to take part in helping with government and urban issues that their community is facing. A girl named Katie Koch who participated in the app designing came up with a Restaurant Finder which pulls hotel and restaurant information from whichever city you are in. Another app was invented by Stephanie Aaron to help people find local libraries and determine the hours of operation via an iPhone.


Designing applications has been a huge help to interactive designers encouraging them to change their normal work media from solely designing websites to designing apps as well. An artist's future role in application design will be to enrich the users' knowledge of the world around them. An integrated relationship between data and user will be more successful and I am looking forward to seeing what the next step that the realm of digital media has to offer.

Here is the site that I am referencing:
http://www.good.is/post/designing-a-new-way-to-interact-with-your-city/

ART 307 Entry: Danielle

Communication Arts: The Adidas Style Essentials interactive Flash site

While studying the Webpicks section on the Communication Arts web site, I came across one of the listed websites which astounded me. The adidas Style Essentials site that was posted on 4.12.10 is an interactive Flash site filled with a variety of games, links, and online shopping. It allows you to virtually paint your own path through a digital journey. It isn't exactly the content of this site that makes it worth viewing, but it is the interactive quality that requires the viewer to partake in in order to navigate throughout the site.

Once the site is initially finished loading, the viewer uses the cursor as a paint brush. While moving your mouse across the screen, no matter which direction you chose to go, an image seems to be painted on the web page following the movement of the mouse revealing other hidden images underneath. The interaction between the viewer and the computer almost seems like the human is creating the website them self.

A variety of colors and textures, photographs and illustrations are all combined to create a fun and aesthetically pleasing web site. Graphic elements and bright colors are set against a white background to enable the hierarchal images to pop out resulting in an interesting and easily usable site. The advanced skill and techniques used by the designers is undeniable.

This site has a very unique style which I've never seen before. I can only hope that one day I will become experienced enough to create something of this caliber. If you haven't already, check out this site so you can see it for yourself: Adidas Style Essentials