[Photo: Anne Helmond]

Crackle-canvas is an ongoing electronics project of the Netherlands-based media artist Tom Verbruggen (aka token). This endeavour playfully challenges the conventions of artistic consumption by reimagining gallery space as an interactive musical playground rather than an arena of sullen observation. Each Crackle-canvasis a modular ‘synthesizer painting’ equipped with switches and knobs that allow rudimentary control over the sound generated by the device. While these objects can be played individually, things get considerably more interesting when they are patched together into a collaborative cacaphony. Verbruggen has developed several iterations of these devices that range from stark white minimalist surfaces to more colourful, user-friendly controllers complete with graphic prompts for novice operators. While there is an abundance of video documentation of the artist performing on arrays of these controllers, the work is most interesting when there is are participants involved – the above image from a recent exhibit in Paris speaks to the type of engagement these objects engender.

Continue reading.... Crackle Canvas [Environment, Sound]

In addition to Dromolux we wrote about few months back, Ludwig Zeller has just completed two new pieces as shown at this years RCA Design Interactions end of year show. These pieces, part of the “New Needs in an Augmented World” collection, are Introspectre and Optocoupler. They are a series of products designed for a speculative future information society where one finds it difficult to consume information.

Optocoupler

The purpose of this device is to relax the user’s mind and to get away with restless thoughts. Designed as an isolation chamber, the OPTOCOUPLER shows a light stimulation at a frequency that matches the beta waves of the brain. The more intense the external stimulus the more likely the brain will adapt to it.

In a world of increasing bandwidths and communication we all face the necessity to process more information. But the human evolution is developing much slower than the speed growth of our information technology. Where the DROMOLUX device was helping seniors in the futures to maintain or increase their cognitive ability – something that will be painful to loose for them – the OPTOCOUPLER is designed to help to relax one’s mind. For instance after a day full of information processing.

The device uses an array of 3×3 RGB LED matrices and 9 Rainbowduinos. The original firmware has been hacked by Ludwig and David Chatting, with initial hints and code from the great Rainbowduino wizards neophob and Scott Christopher. The box features a headphone socket in order to use additional auditive signals as well.

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Introspectre

Recognising the problem of focusing when we do things, with Introspectre Ludwig explores our habits of dealing with information in the form of hypertext associations, instant gratification through search engines and permanent access to these. This device is also using neuro-feedback, but not to calm down, but in order to help its user to focus on a task. An EEG headset picks up the brainwaves, which are then analysed for the degree of attention that the user is paying at any moment. This data is then sonified and played back through a speaker that is meant to be sitting next to its user as a desktop device.

Ludwig was building from earlier work from the ITP in New York. They found out that the toy headset “MindFlex” by Mattel features an EEG amplifier/processor IC by NeuroSky that is identical to a developer version they sell, but much cheaper. That headset can be read via serial quite easily, so I was able to get its attention data into Max/MSP.

Also important to mention that these prototypes were developed to a point where the concept can be experienced in an interesting way. His main focus is to speculate about scenarios of future information societies, so the objects are meant to be visualisations of these ideas, not actual scientific proposals.

For more information see ludwigzeller.de/project/new-needs

Dromolux:

Muze is the latest creation of Teaugue Labs, a collective operating alongside Teague, a long established industrial design agency and a name behind products for companies such as samsung and microsoft. The device itself is a musical instrument that ‘plays with you’ and aims to provoke a two way dialog between musicians.

The device reads a palette of notes that it can in-turn interpret and compose into various rhythms and phrases that are strung together to form something musical. The user can then influence these strings of notes and rhythms to create entirely new compositions using a simple collection of 8 triggers/knobs which are manually inserted. No single knob controls a single function, but rather a blend of functions derived from it’s rotation.

The team explains the thinking:

A couple of us started talking about the state of musical instruments, digital music creation, and how so much of it buckles under the weight of heavy user interfaces and the desire for more knobs, buttons and faders. What if we were to create a device that sings to you and has its own musical inclinations, yet can also engage in a two way dialog with another musician? Not something that can be controlled as much as be guided and influenced – and as a result guides and influences the user.

But Muze also has its own desire to explore and will continually improvise on the melodies it creates with you. It is out of this ability for it to self-create that Muze becomes a partner and not just an instrument. For instance, we have played with it and then left it to play over lunch. When we return it has come-up with something completely new, yet derivative. Sometimes what Muze creates is enjoyable, sometimes not. At which point you give Muze a little nudge and it creates something new.

All of the code and circuits are open source. You can check out the Arduino code and Eagle circuit schematic on the site. The team is planning to make it more musical, robust, and simple and would love to hear your thoughts, suggestions.

Project Page

‘Extending the Touchscreen’ is an ITP Thesis project by Michael Knuepfel which includes seven devices designed to improve upon or supplement the functionality of capacitance touchscreens; game controller, digital signet rings, mechanical stylus, sound stylus, pulse generator, dial-a-rama and future devices.

Touchscreens like those found on smartphones and tablets have enabled a new generation of versatile user interfaces. My thesis project, Extending the Touchscreen, aims to further this versatility by using conductive materials to construct a series of physical, mechanical, and electrical devices that touch, interact and communicate directly through the touchscreen interface. My goal in constructing these external devices is to make touchscreen interactions more tactile, physical and potentially more expressive and fun.

Instead of utilising USB connection to extend the functionality of iPad and iPhone, the devices rely on the software, simple light senors or magnets to allow objects to communicate between each other. Some devices are just used as tools to unlock the iphone for example, others allow robot like objects to behave in a certain way by ‘reading’ information from iPad’s screen. See video for more + follow Michael’s blog for updates.

Created by Roger Ibars (2002–2011), Hard-wired devices combines game controllers and alarm clocks. Daniel puts it beautifully “frees the controller from it’s console and lets the beauty of it’s interface to sing”.

Each item includes manufacturer, designer, serial number, newly mapped control details and much more..

rogeribars.com

In July 2003 Roger Ibars graduated with a Master in Interaction Design from the Royal College of Art in London. Here he initiates a research interest in how objects would be loosing interest in interacting with the users. He illustrated this research in the book “Self-made objects”, a collection of daily objects that experience their functions. These objects investigate a new area for interaction design where things take control of their functions and therefore use themselves.more..

/via danielrehn, retrothing.com

The inPulse was originally a BlackBerry peripheral, but now, it’s a fully programmable device Bluetooth wrist computer. It’s manufacturer Allerta released an SDK few week back, which lets the 52Mhz ARM7 processor and 8Kb of RAM within display whatever you’d like on the 1.3-inch, 96 x 128 pixel screen, yours for $149.

inPulse can connect wirelessly to all kinds of host devices: computers, laptops, and smartphones. It plays best with Android, Blackberry, Mac, Windows and Linux. It’s a two way connection, so inPulse can send packets back to the host based on user interaction. The team has created a number of sample apps to get your started, including source code, tutorials and binaries to load on your watch including a simulator.

The watch-side code is written in C, calling high level graphics, communication, and device APIs. The PC-side examples are written in Python. The sample Android and Blackberry apps are written in Java.

You can load a standard firmware image on your watch and use it purely as an alerting device.  It can be used out of the box by Blackberry users and Android users.  Get started with the Blackberry Quickstart or the Android guide. It appears that when it comes to iOS, the team has implemented some examples in the SDK although the problem lies with not being able to do *real* background apps like it is possible on Blackberry and Android. Of course, jailbroken iPhone is a another story.

More at getinpulse.com

/via engadget

Created by Matthias ‘moka’ Dörfelt, Selective Memory Theatre is a machine-like perception and memory installation which receives the newest images from flickr that get distorted, mixed and blended to pursue notion of sensory noise and portray memory and perception. Simultaneously these images are mapped as “similar memories” to the secondary projection representing short- and long-term memory layer and their mutual relationships.

Matthias writes: Installation thematises the desire to teach the non-forgetting digital memory to forget. It thereby covers the selectionistic nature of the individual mind, that marks the human sensing and remembering as the subjective and biased – but therefore human and functional – act that it is. The perception layer represents the sensory memory before any priorities have been chosen. The memory layer is a metaphor for the short- and long-term memory. It is the place where existing memories can be activated by new perceptions and thus be called to mind. The perception layer asks the memory layer for each new image if it is similar to already existing memories. This happens based on the tags the flickr images are provided with. If a relevant image is found, it gets focused in the perception layer so that it stands out. At the same time the most similar memory gets activated inside the memory layer. Both images get into a dialogue representing the connection of the new perception and the old memory. Afterwards the newly sensed image gets saved inside the memory layer so that the criteria for newly sensed images is changed. This demonstrates the interrelation between perception and memory, which oblivion results from.

The actual applications was created in openFrameworks and similar to Matthias’ previous piece, runs in realtime at 60fps. Projections run on different macs that communicate through a small protocol Matthias wrote ontop of TCP.

Absolutely mesmerising!

For more work, see Matthias’ flickr, vimeo or follow on twitter.

Previously on CAN:
Creative Code [openFrameworks]: Multitouch project by Matthias …
Metope [openFrameworks, Sound]- Music video, entirely programed in …

Created by Joshua Noble, Chris Bierbower and Mette Lyckegaard, The Binary Counter is an interactive display and teaching tool for kids to explore the most basic building blocks of digital information: 1′s and 0′s. The team broke a byte into its 8 bits and gave each a physical and visual representation using motors and LEDs.

The Binary Counter uses movement to show the pattern of changing values for each location in the byte as the exhibit counts up. Kids watch as the card for each bit flips in front of them as they spin a large dial incrementing the decimal number on the screen. As they begin to understand the pattern, they can press corresponding buttons to change the value of each bit and see the resulting number calculated instantly.

This is a CIID Physical Computing project created under Massimo Banzi, David Gauthier and David Mellis.

Photos by Chris Bierbower

Developed by Jarashi Suki and the IAMAS Ubiquitous Interaction Research Group in 2009, Esper Domino is a wireless network, connected between the domino blocks allowing them to interact without physical contact. Each block, can fall over when it receives a signal from the previous block, simultaneously sending a signal to the next block. The project attempts to portray the notion of “stored energy”, remembered as sensation which can be experienced by “seeing” something happen.

Currently on display as part of the 14th Japan Media Arts Festival.

More projects by Jarashi are available at works.jarashi.tv

/via make + japantrends.com

Previously: Suki Jarashi [Profile] – 3 projects by @jarashi

Robo-Rainbow is one of Akay‘s also known as Karl Adam Warrol, “Instruments of Mass Destructions”, a.k.a. “complicated technical solutions to aide in simple acts of vandalism”.

Battery powered Arudino board controlling servos which apply pressure to the spray can nozzles together with remote controlled power drill which turns arms in circular motion. All of this rogue looking tech resulting in beautifully drawn rainbow.

See akayism.org for more projects.

/via Today and Tomorrow