I needed a script to send multiple values from Max/MSP to an Arduino to control a few components. After researching for a viable solution for my application, I had discovered that it is really easy to interface Max/MSP with an Arduino microcontroller by simply using the ‘serial‘ object built-in into Max/MSP’s objects library.
Screenshot of Arduino to Max/MSP patch
arduino-to-max.maxpat (Save Link As…) (more…)
Image courtesy of Bekathwia
I think it is safe to say that for most of us, our relationship with technology is a love-hate affair. Tech gadgets that start out as luxuries quickly become must-have necessities. I have become hooked on invention, ingenuity, and innovative products over the past few weeks while doing research for my thesis at ITP. The question I keep asking myself is whether these problem-solving products actually make the world a better place?
People have always loved watching screens. The video screen has surged where people love this window onto a whole new world of possibility and opportunity. We are increasingly feeling this attraction with screens. Over the past decade we have seen the emergence of more and more screens with serious multimedia capabilities. Today, we use screens for informing, communicating, entertaining, and connecting. The following are ten of my favorite interactive video art projects that I believe make strong emotional connections with people using screens.
1. Potent Objects
Potent Objects playfully examines the way we ascribe emotion to inanimate technologies. The work parallels current research in ‘affective computing,’ in which the capability of sensing and conveying emotion is built into computing devices. (Work by Camille Utterback)
Potent Objects by Camille Utterback
According to sustainabilityissexy.com, over 6.5 million trees are consumed each year to produce the 16 billion disposable coffee cups that are being thrown away out into landfills. For about every 50,000 paper coffee cups produced, a tree is destroyed. Read more »
RAP (Robot Action Painter) - creates original paintings using a combination of random decisions and responses to its environment
Last week I visited the Museum of Natural History in New York City and was amazed with all the data visualizations they put together for their displays. Ever since my visit to the museum, I have become addicted to designing my own data visualizations for different types of data sets. Click here to view some of the visualizations I photographed during my journey through the Museum of Natural History.
Puck Music is a soundscape composed using hockey pucks and hockey sticks. Each hockey stick acts as a different musical instrument when they move the hockey pucks on the floor. I am presently working on this piece for my Dataflow Programming class at ITP.
The following are some images of the puck’s construction and the Pure Data syntax that I am using to program them:
The VDIP1 USB host controller is a worthwhile extension module for anyone working with the Arduino microcontroller. The ability to integrate USB inputs/outputs with your Arduino microcontroller means that you can interface it with practically any USB device, creating even more exciting possibilities with Arduino. Another valuable integration feature that the module can provide is the ability to increase Arduino’s memory capacity using any USB memory drive.
The Joy of Technology is a playful video installation that uses both humor and drama to emphasize our intimate relationship with technology. The satirical character inside the cardboard television set responds to the user’s operation of technology. An electronic razor grows hairs on his face, a pencil sharpener rotates him and tears his shirt, a stapler pokes staples onto his forehead and leaves shatters all over the television glass, and a blow-dryer rotates the screen. All these actions affect the character’s overall appearance once all the technologies are shut off. In addition, the character can also be placed into different settings by turning the television’s rotating knob. Some of the programming that the character is placed into includes a news broadcast, a courtroom and outdoor settings.
