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.
Memory Box reveals the recollections I have from my childhood through an interactive memory box. The memory box gives the user the ability to discover my childhood past through a montage of personal photographs, depicting images of my youth and significant others in my life. By utilizing these historic images as miniature push button switches, distinctive sounds and LED lights promptly respond to the user’s input. These animated responses reflect my own personal impression of the selected images based on my memories of them.
A hockey puck can be an engaging networked object. For the second assignment in my Networked Objects class, students were asked to develop intriguing input devices for a networked pong game using the WIZnet module. (more…)
For inspiration to help develop an idea for a semester long project, my Mainstreaming Information class was asked to present three examples of “jaw-dropping” statistics that highlight a particularly surprising situation or trend. I think much can be said about the following shocking data that affect our planet both environmentally and socially:
This was a physical computing improvisation assignment I did for my Networked Objects class. The idea was to be able to control a video by stirring a coffee mug. Random, huh? We do very weird things with technology at ITP.
Little Orlando is a toy doll that was inspired from the main character I used in my interactive video project He Don’t Got Game. The 3D character, Orlando Florida, was modeled using Maya and was then printed using a Z Corp rapid prototyping machine. In upcoming projects, I plan to use the 3D character in stop motion animations and as well build him into an electronic voodoo toy.
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.
The five-minute compilation pokes fun at our TV-addicted age by presenting a variety of imitated television programming and advertisements. These segments center around issues and themes that is relevant in our modern times including mass-consumption, obsession with stardom and ubiquitous technology. Each parody is presented with the same recognizable character throughout, who is placed in different mediated contexts. The performer also acts as the viewer of his own programming, revealing a perspective of television we don’t see when sitting on our couch.
