Archives for September 2024

Stupid trick

Idea explanation: Since the knob has a range from 0 to 1023, I was thinking about creating 3 sets of  button-LED mismatch within a certain range (0~340, 340~680, 680~1023). However, the result turns out to be that I am controlling the LED with the knob instead of the button(??

 

Class notes

Image: https://content.arduino.cc/assets/Pinout-NANO33IoT_latest.png 

Digital I/O 

Analog

— measure something that has a range (range of values, true for both input and output)

analogWrite( ) only mimics variable voltage output using values 0 – 255

Often times we need to use the map( ) function to convert our input range of 0-1023, to our output range of 0-255

the sensor itself is a resistor 

A potentiometer is a manually adjustable variable resistor with 3 terminals. 

If you want to change the brightness of the LED, have to use the pin with “~”

change the brightness of the LED: 

other ways:

• using constrain function

• use map function — in this way when you can hit the 2 ends of the potentiometer [subtle but helpful]

light sensor: (first figure out the range of the sensor, then map the range)

Week 4

“Más que la cara” | link

This is an interactive project that doesn’t really require a hand movement to activate the interaction. 🙂 It is an interactive and augmented face. The camera tracks facial features and identifies points on the face, and generate animations based on the captured image.

This type of program is very common all over the world, I would say. A screen, a camera to capture the face/ user, a set of codes to run the program. I’ve seen something similar in the aquarium that an image of me was taken, and my head got projected onto the screen. It looked like I was under the sea (well, my head was…). What makes this program unique, in my opinion, is its accuracy when capturing facial features, and the variability of the output. From the video, it seems that everyone is getting a different result. 

I guess for the “improvement”, I wonder what will happen if the camera can detect users’ emotions, and provide animations based on the emotions? Will that interfere with how we understand certain emotion? Will the machine misunderstand our human feelings? 

Although it is a bit unrelated to the topic “interaction”, this project reminds me of the new fashion trend in the AR world. Instead of getting physical clothings, more and more people are purchasing digital outfits. These clothes usually have very futuristic textures and massive volume, and are almost impossible to make in the real world. Clothes/ fashion are expressions of our identity. However, with the development in the digital world, we have more and more ways to express ourselves. 🙂 

Week 3

Before I started to read/ watch the materials, when I saw the prompt, whether we still need hands as a part of future interaction, for some unknown reason, I was think about the prostheses and prothetic fashion. Some fake hands can actually help people achieve amazing tasks. 

I thought about a blogger who lost her hand because of an accident. Now she’s using a metallic “hand” that captures the EMG signal (Electromyography (EMG) is a technique for recording biomedical electrical signals obtained from the neuromuscular activities, according to wikipedia) in order to form instructions. This case shows the potential of future interaction — utilizing our biological features. In addition to incorporating bio-signals, last week I thought about the case of using eye gaze to activate installations. There are also cases where our body temperature is measured to turn on/ turn off the lightings in the room. (Uhh I forget the company’s name!!) Several thermal sensors (and other sensors, but mainly the thermal ones) are implemented in the room, and the body temperature is measured in the form of a rectangular, so that when you are lying down on the couch, the light can become dimmer itself. In this case, new technology of interaction makes human’s life easier.

In my view, whether hands will remain essential for future interactions largely depends on the intended purpose. As discussed in class, interaction involves our relationship with our surroundings, a process of call and response. The parties involved need not be human, and the forms of interaction can vary widely. However, when the goal is to enhance productivity or improve human performance, human intervention — often through the use of hands — may still be necessary to ensure precision.

On the other hand, a lot of art works or developers have experimented with the possibility of interaction in the future. I hold the opinion that they are proposing concepts, and it will take a long time for these concepts to become realities.

(That goes to another point I really want to explore: the tension between conceptual innovation and practical functionality. A lot of projects intended to provoke thoughts on environmental protections, for example, are not protecting the environment. (In this sense the interaction is between human and the nature/ the environment) In the case of bio-materials, many companies are merely green-washing their products because it might be impossible to mass produce their sustainable concepts, or their products are not durable. As for my own work, I was wondering how to balance the durability of the projects and the presentation of the concept. For example, is it justifiable to sacrifice the durability in order to show the concept?)

This week I experimented with pressure sensor to control the LEDs. I made one with distance sensor on tinkercad as well. But due to my equipment overdue, I wasn’t able to borrow one from the shop 🤫🤫 

Codes:

Reference: Youtube

Distance Sensor: 

I referred to this link for the circuit and the codes

Notes:

Long variables are extended size variables for number storage, and store 32 bits (4 bytes), from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647.

pinMode configures the specified pin to behave either as an input or an output

digitalWrite() — Write a HIGH or a LOW value to a digital pin.

Can use a resistor calculator: https://www.calculator.net/resistor-calculator.htmlc

load: the thing we are powering (LED/ other things)

transducer: A transducer is an electronic device that converts energy from one form to another. Common examples include microphones, loudspeakers, thermometers, position and pressure sensors, and antenna.

I love using this website to draw the circuits (bc i dont want to break my computer :D): https://www.tinkercad.com/

Ohm’s law: Voltage = Current * Resistance

In a series circuit, the sum of the voltages across components is equal to the supply voltage.

LED: 2V (1.5V) – 2.5V

Parallel circuits: anything connected to the same point will get the same amount of voltage (current divides across components in a parallel circuit)

⬆️ class notes

 

Reflections on the video 

Video: Red in her own words | link

~ Tech

Being a junior majoring in IMA, I always have this anxiety that I haven’t learned enough. I don’t have enough technical skills to make “cool / artistic stuff”.  Although this is true (yes I learned how to code p5.js, but do I still remember how to …? NO 🙁 ), I think it is time to stop only focusing on questioning myself, and using “oh, I don’t remember how to code” as an excuse to not to create things that touch my heart. I really like one of the quotes from the video. Ms. Red said it is about ideas, not the technologies. Technology is there to help us, not to block us out of certain fields. 

~ Art

Another anxiety I have is that I am not “artistic” enough. While I do admit my past installations could have been more refined and more delicate, this semester, I also need to tell myself that this is a learning process, and everything needs practice. Reflecting on my past experience, I should always know that I as long as I am willing to learn it, I have the potential to do it. It’s always trying, failing, and picking it up again. 

Traditional art forms (art forms that don’t involve digital technologies) can be a part of the digital art world as well. This summer I experienced a change in mind-set. I took a summer class with CAS in Brazil. Before going there, I thought I would seize the opportunity to hop between museums to see what digital artists are doing in South America. However, it struck me that most of the art exhibitions I’ve been to were all about traditional art forms — oil paintings, sculpture … Nothing technical, nothing about digital media, but still, I found them very beautiful, very mind touching. The curators were able to use these artworks to construct engaging narratives around Brazilian culture and Brazilian identity. Ms. Red mentioned the significance of diversity, the significance of having cross-cultural conversations in the video. How to use the technology to create engaging, inclusive conversations, to enhance cross-cultural exchange and to preserve/ present traditional art forms and culture is something I should keep in mind. 

IMA isn’t my primary major, and I didn’t expect myself to double major in humanities and IMA when I first came to NYU Shanghai. However, in the past 2 years, I’ve met amazing IMA peer students, and AMAZING IMA professors that brought me life-changing impact and made me want to stay with this community. I love the diversity, the creativity, the inclusivity and the dynamics of this community, and when Ms. Red talked about the engaging environment of ITP, she did remind me of what I have experienced in Shanghai. Additionally, it’s not only about how, within the IMA/ ITP community, how we can influence, impact and support each other, it’s also about how we as students studying computational media can use it to impact the society. 

Switch

My led will light up if I am not sitting in the right position — I realize I always unconsciously cross my legs when sitting — it is really a comfortable position but it is bad for my overall spine health 😅  so here it is: 

video: IMG_3726

It would have been better if I have 2 pieces of conductive fabrics so that this switch can actually be a part of the pants 🙂