Author: Vivien Hao

Our Planet—Vivien Hao—Professor Inmi Lee

CONCEPTION AND DESIGN:

            We have made some small changes after the user testing. Like what Professor Marcele has suggested, if we put the two boxes of sand on the two sides, it might make participants feel like they are in a competition, which we do not want to see. We want to promote cooperation. In addition, participants had a hard time seeing the screen. So they did not understand what the purpose behind planting a tree is. With all these confusions from the participants in mind, my partner and I decided to move the screen to an eye-level, at which participants can easily see the image of a growing tree. Instead of using sand, we have filled the boxes with dirt because participants would grab the idea of planting a tree well if we use dirt instead of sand. We think that when the participants can see the growing tree in front of then, they would understand why they have to dig dirt and plant the trees. For this project, we were very careful with the choice of materials. Since the message we want to communicate is a global issue, so in this process, we did not want to raise other global issues such as wasteful usages of materials. We want to be as much environmental-friendly as possible. We used reusable boxes to put dirt. We placed the weight sensor on the table without destroying neither the sensor nor the table. We knew that we did not want to destroy anything in this process, if possible. I think because we had this belief since the beginning, so throughout the material selection process, we knew clearly what are the materials that we would not consider due to the unsustainable issue they might have. In the beginning, we had the idea of laser cutting four boxes. And use those four boxes as containers for dirt. But we then rejected this idea because if we did so, we could have wasted so many materials. And certainly enough, a better solution would be to use reusable plastic boxes. By using reusable plastic boxes, we could well communicate our idea of being environmental-friendly.

FABRICATION AND PRODUCTION:

            In the User Testing Session, we have encountered several issues that we did not previously thought might have occurred, such as participants did not know what they were supposed to do, they did not understand the purpose of planting a tree, participants treated the cooperation process as a competition, we did not have enough dirt, etc. After the user testing, we knew clearly that we have to make changes to solve these issues. We added a monitor screen that could display the growing tree. We placed the monitor on the floor so that participants can see the outcomes directly. We have also placed the weight sensor on a table so that it would be more stable than just simply grabbing it by hand. These changes could not have been made if we did not have the User Testing Session. We could not have seen those issues. I think these changes were very effective. In the final presentation, we could see that participants knew what to do. Like I have mentioned earlier, in this project, we wanted to be as much environmental-friendly as possible. So we have tried to only to use reusable materials throughout the process. This resonates with our overall project goal—to make people aware of the global warming issue—and with such a goal in mind, so we wanted to communicate this idea throughout the entire project.

CONCLUSIONS:

            The goal of this project is to raise people’s awareness of the global warming issue that we are currently encountering. Throughout the project, we encourage interactions between the participants and the project. We also encourage cooperation among the participants. Through this cooperation process, interaction occurs. Participants need to cooperate simultaneously in order for the project to give a satisfying outcome. However, I think this part could have been more interactive if we have made the project offer a second response to the participants. For the current project, people could only see one outcome—the earth will explode no matter what. The audience did participate in a way that we wanted them to participate in. They were willing to cooperate with each other throughout the process and understand the final outcome would be the earth will explode no matter what we do. I think if we had more time, we could have enlarged the project by size. We could have added more dirt so that more participants could join the game, and by have enough participants to play this game, the earth will not explode. By doing that, we would not be so pessimistic. I think throughout this project, we have been very pessimistic. And from the feedback we have gathered from the participants, we know that we could have been more optimistic. I have learned that no matter how terrible the situation might be, we have to be optimistic and always have hope. Even though we know that due to our irresponsible actions, the earth is facing serious dangers, we still need to try to put in the effort and save the earth. Throughout the process of building this project, we were very on-schedule. We did not really push things till the last minute. We did not have to pull all-nighters in the lab the night before the deadlines. I think this is one of our most noticeable accomplishments. Through this imperfect project, we really want to make people aware of the fact that our home planet is facing serious dangers due to our irresponsible action. We have to take immediate actions. We have to, and we must care about this planet.

For this recitation, I chose to do the media one. I have a lot of videos from different concerts. I have chosen one video and then insert it in this code. I want to use the videos that I have taken in the past. And by using potentiometer, I could control the speed of the video. The following codes are for Arduino and Processing. 

Arduino:

// IMA NYU Shanghai
// Interaction Lab
// For sending multiple values from Arduino to Processing
void setup() {
Serial.begin(9600);
}

void loop() {
int sensor1 = analogRead(A0);
Serial.print(sensor1);
Serial.println();
delay(100);
}

Processing:

import processing.video.*;
Movie myMovie;
import processing.serial.*;
Serial myPort;
int valueFromArduino;

void setup() {
  size(400, 400);
  myMovie = new Movie(this, "ljj.mp4");
  myMovie.play();
   printArray(Serial.list());
  // this prints out the list of all available serial ports on your computer.

  myPort = new Serial(this, Serial.list()[ 2 ], 9600);
  //define the state of the video
}
void draw() {
  while ( myPort.available() > 0) {
    valueFromArduino = myPort.read();
  }
  println(valueFromArduino);
  float x = map(valueFromArduino,0,1023,0,93);
  if (myMovie.available()) {
    //read my file when it can be read
    myMovie.read();
    //read the current frame of the video
  }
  //draw the frame
  if (mousePressed){
   if (mouseX<width/2){
     myMovie.jump(myMovie.time()-x);
     myMovie.read();
   }else{
     myMovie.jump(myMovie.time()+x);
     myMovie.read();
   }
  }
  image(myMovie, 0, 0);
}

For this recitation exercise, I have decided to include one of my favorite song cuts. While I move the potentiometer, the image of the video would change a little bit. 

This is my Processing code:

import processing.serial.*;
import processing.video.*;
Movie myMovie;

String myString = null;
Serial myPort;


int NUM_OF_VALUES = 1;   
int[] sensorValues;      


void setup() {
  size(500, 500);
  myMovie = new Movie(this, "JJ Lin.mp4");
  myMovie.play();
  setupSerial();
}


void draw() {
  updateSerial();
  printArray(sensorValues);
  float hcy = map (sensorValues[0],255, 1023, 0,100);
  if (myMovie.available()) {
    myMovie.read();
  }
  tint(hcy, random(100), random(800)); 
  image(myMovie, 0, 0);
}



void setupSerial() {
  printArray(Serial.list());
  myPort = new Serial(this, Serial.list()[ 1 ], 9600);
  // WARNING!
  // You will definitely get an error here.
  // Change the PORT_INDEX to 0 and try running it again.
  // And then, check the list of the ports,
  // find the port "/dev/cu.usbmodem----" or "/dev/tty.usbmodem----" 
  // and replace PORT_INDEX above with the index number of the port.

  myPort.clear();
  // Throw out the first reading,
  // in case we started reading in the middle of a string from the sender.
  myString = myPort.readStringUntil( 5 );  // 10 = '\n'  Linefeed in ASCII
  myString = null;

  sensorValues = new int[NUM_OF_VALUES];
}



void updateSerial() {
  while (myPort.available() > 0) {
    myString = myPort.readStringUntil( 10 ); 
    if (myString != null) {
      String[] serialInArray = split(trim(myString), ",");
      if (serialInArray.length == NUM_OF_VALUES) {
        for (int i=0; i<serialInArray.length; i++) {
          sensorValues[i] = int(serialInArray[i]);
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

This is my Arduino code

// IMA NYU Shanghai
// Interaction Lab
// For sending multiple values from Arduino to Processing
void setup() {
Serial.begin(9600);
}

void loop() {
int sensor1 = analogRead(A0);
Serial.print(sensor1);
Serial.println();
delay(100);
}

Our Planet

As from the research Vivien has done for the first stage, she has realized unsustainability/climate change is one of the most vital issues that the United Nations has addressed lately. Vivien would want to work on something that illustrates the outcomes of unsustainability. But in the project, we would also like to show how humans could participate in the process of lessening the harms of unsustainability. Ian is highly interested in doing something that requires collaborations among people. He has proposed an idea of encouraging four people to make some movements simultaneously for the project to function. If only one person participates in the process, the project will not provide an outcome. Thus encourages collaborations among people, even among strangers. We both are highly interested in each other’s ideas. And we have worked together to combine these two ideas into one doable thought. Then we have figured out that we would want to create a project that requires movements among several people to lessen the unsustainable global issue. For the movement part, we want to make it very specific. The participants need to physically use a shovel and plant trees to push back the time of the earth explosion. The faster they plant trees, the longer the earth would stay away from the explosion. However, if the participant chooses to work alone, then there is no way for him to get fast enough to beat the accumulated speed for several people. We would set the number in our codes to be ridiculously high to make sure that no individuals could accomplish this goal by himself. In this project, we want to raise people’s awareness of the harmful outcomes of unsustainability. However, we would like to highlight the positive effect that we can bring forth through the collaboration processes. Our targeted group of the audience would be everyone on this planet. Overall, the earth is everyone’s plant. We all have to take part in helping to solve the unsustainable issue.

         We need to be certain about the detail of the design by prototyping and test it with the users. User test should be in every step. The details include: whether or not to include mask in our project; what types of sensors we decide to use; what material we will use; how will the user interface look like; sound, start and end, layout and position. We will test with the comfortability and the cleanness of mask. We will finish discussion for all the details and have a blueprint by Sunday, Nov. 24. We need to build the circuit and the program that are both scientific and humanized. This will be very practical work. We may encounter many problems. We will refer to online references and asking for help. Once when we finish the user interface, we will have someone to test playing with it to make sure it makes sense to the audience about the expression of our initial design. Finish before Dec. 1. We need to get the materials and build up the basic functional prototype. This is practical work as well. We only need to make sure it can support our project to work. It can be done by Dec. 1 as well. We need to test with the accuracy of counting the movement of shovel and breathe. Also bug fixing work. This process needs our constant revising and test among ourselves and our users. We will list out all the bugs the project has and fix them one by one until it works exactly what it is supposed to be. It should be done by Dec. 6. Beatifying the project and adding something to improve using experience and accessibility. This step we will need to decorate everything, make the wires invisible, test the projection. After we think it works, we will invite many groups of people to interact with it. By hearing form their feedbacks, we can make some little changes to better make it user friendly and accessible for as many people as possible. It should be done by Dec. 8.

Proposal 1: Our Planet

As from the research Vivien has done for the first stage, she has realized unsustainability/climate change is one of the most vital issues that the United Nations has addressed lately. Vivien would want to work on something that illustrates the outcomes of unsustainability. But in the project, we would also like to show how humans could participate in the process of lessening the harms of unsustainability. Ian is highly interested in doing something that requires collaborations among people. He has proposed an idea of encouraging four people to make some movements simultaneously for the project to function. If only one person participates in the process, the project will not provide an outcome. Thus encourages collaborations among people, even among strangers. We both are highly interested in each other’s ideas. And we have worked together to combine these two ideas into one doable thought. Then we have figured out that we would want to create a project that requires movements among several people to lessen the unsustainable global issue. For the movement part, we want to make it very specific. The participants need to physically use a shovel and plant trees to push back the time of the earth explosion. The faster they plant trees, the longer the earth would stay away from the explosion. However, if the participant chooses to work alone, then there is no way for him to get fast enough to beat the accumulated speed for several people. We would set the number in our codes to be ridiculously high to make sure that no individuals could accomplish this goal by himself. In this project, we want to raise people’s awareness of the harmful outcomes of unsustainability. However, we would like to highlight the positive effect that we can bring forth through the collaboration processes. Our targeted group of the audience would be everyone on this planet. Overall, the earth is everyone’s plant. We all have to take part in helping to solve the unsustainable issue.

Proposal 2: Ourscraft – Creating a World of Ours

            The insight comes from the research Ian did for teamLab Borderless Shanghai and Vivien’s research that emphasize on impact to individuals. Ian went to teamLab last Friday. It is AMAZING. Ian wrote about the notion of “create the world together” in the research. Ian fully experienced it that every action of human movement will make some impact on the whole room. It indeed makes the audience connected with others, including all the human and non-human factors. It is super funny, creative, communicative, and inclusive.

Therefore, we want to build something that can make the participants interact to create their world. Then, a game called “Minecraft” hints at us. The player can use the blocks of material that the game set to build anything they want in the virtue world. How about making a 2D but a multiple user version of that? Here, we also get the inspiration from the “Dance pad” in the arcade and a fun small game called “Tetris.” We think these can be combined to build as an excellent form of interaction. Also, according to Vivien’s research, we believe that the project could also function as a tool for people who have problem in social relationships to try getting in touch with others non-verbally, which is a significant social impact.

            How it may work: Four participants required. They will stand on each side of the screen. The random piece will appear on the screen. By stepping the bottom in front of them, they can make the shape move towards them a little. They can shake hands with corresponding people to reshape the pattern. Once a piece is confirmed, all four people put their hands together, and the next piece will appear. Therefore, after ten rounds, they may have built an interesting pattern!

            This project will give the audience the opportunity to cooperate to express their creativity. Their minds should not be limited by the project. Random pieces and colors with free choice to reshape and position enable them to free to make their crazy ideas shown on the device. Also, they are connected non-verbally to each other as a way of enhancing cooperation. It should be an enjoyable and creative experience for both the players and the audience.

Proposal 3: Where does your trash go?

            Vivien researched bomb. As described, it addresses a significant social problem that is worth people to pay attention and think. Also, Ian researched the project in PSA which works in response to the environment. However, both of us believe that these projects have a very significant core value but lack the application of interaction. Deriving from that, we start to focus on the issues that are around ourselves and try to figure out an engaging, interactive way to demonstrate it to the general audience by using a technological device. The recent hot topic about the trash sorting policy in Shanghai attracts our attention.

            We researched the existing technology that addresses the issue of trash soring in Shanghai, including the automatic trash-bin and the mini program in WeChat that tells the public how to sort the garbage. (http://tech.163.com/19/0821/22/EN4TIL6H00097U7T.html). However, we think that both of them are practical tools for daily use that do not build a communication environment, nor do they significantly arouse the public’s awareness. Therefore, we are thinking about creating a simple device that impresses the audience to think about a more fundament question: why should I sort the trash?

            How it may work: the audience can put different sample card, which indicates different types of trash into the trash bin. On the screen, it is demonstrating the different ways of dealing with different types of trash. When one trash is thrown into one of the bin, the animation will show the audience how it may impact the environment around them. Multiple motors and lights may be used to create an authentic experience for the audience and leave them a deep impression.

            Since many people in Shanghai do not understand the purpose and the importance of sorting the trash, this project brings impact to the general public by showing them the process and the effect of recycling garbage. It builds the connection between people’s daily lives and the changing environment around them. It may motivate them to reflect on their relationship between their living environment and take action to make themselves live greener with the environment.

References

https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/

http://tech.163.com/19/0821/22/EN4TIL6H00097U7T.html