IDAT 106 - 7 Final outcome

Working with the greenscreen and the sensors I came up with the temperature clock. At first I was looking at the difference in temperature between the outside and the inside of Portland Square. But I saw that the data did not change for the inside temperature. Misfortune and Technical issues gave me the opportunity to reconstruct my visual representation of temperature time. I thought about creating a shape which changes size based on temperature (based on the idea that heat causes stuff to expand) and when the size increases so does the colour temperature. i.e in cold weather small blue shape, in warm weather large shape with colours ranging from blue to red.




Looking at the masking tool on Flash I created a background layer which created the temperature gauge, cold colours in the centre gradually moving out to hotter colours on the outside.

I then created the mask layer which would be the one changing size and therefore displaying the temperature. For this I created a snowflake/flower shape, snowflake would work during the winter and colder months because the light blue colours would symbolise cold (ice) or flower for the warmer months, this would be a lot more colourful ranging from light blue to pink, red and orange.







Below is the outcome of the mask, this shape will resize with the code revealing the different colours.



Then moving on to the coding aspect, I acquired an actionscript 3 parser off a fellow peer. and using the sensors I created an "if" statement to change the size of my mask based on the temperature.

"if (CurrentTemp less than 0){

Resize(9.2); }"

This resized my mask creating the variation in size and colour based on the readings from the sensor (outside temperature). (Resize refers to a function created elsewhere in my code) The next challenge was to created the clock, for this i had to find the code to grab the number of minutes, hours and seconds from the current time I then had to make the code think that the 60th second , 60th minute and the 24th hour was at the top of the screen and 59th second, 59th minute and 23rd hour were at the bottom. Changing the position of my temperature gauges according to the time created my temperature clock.

This represents the temperature at less than 0 degrees:

Has the appearance of a snowflake which is relevant to the temperature.

This represents the temperature at less than 15 and above 10 degrees:

Brighter more vibrant colours increase with the temperature.

This represents the temperature at more than 30 degrees:

Summer temperature, Looks a like a flower now, which relates with the bright vibrant colours of summer months.

Here is a screen shot of my clock after 5 hours:

Looking at the movement within the my piece I thought it needed something else. So i decided to use another sensor number 37 which measures the wind speed. The shapes use now rotate speed relevent to the wind speed. So my final outcome visually represents both wind and temperature in the format of dropping shapes using the basis of a clock.

Here is my visual information display device or temperature clock.

http://mervaka.co.uk/~chris/flower/

IDAT 106 - 6 Project Final Piece Proposal

For my final project I am planning on developing my work with the Greenscreen using data collected from the Arch-os system . Using the idea of the "difference between" and exploring inner and outer temperature I plan to create a visually stunning representation of real life data. Using time to move the piece I will look at different shapes and forms to use as my objects. I also plan to add an element of history i.e showing the shapes that happened an hour, a minute or even a second before. This will create interesting patterns and hopefully will be aesthetically pleasing.

Screenshot of basis for final project
Taken at 14:39

IDAT 106 - Synthesis

Looking over the module so far I think that I have definately learnt to open my eyes more to what is going on around me. Working with these projects I have been asked to look deeper into the interaction of people and there surroundings.

In the first I learnt notation, how to show stuff visually which you cant nessasarily see or think about in a stationary photo i.e movement and density of populus. This has given me some good possible leads to follow in my final project and also I feel I have come up with some credible outcomes. The second worksop worked well off the back of the first one, this was were I mapped both GPS and bluetooth data, this enabled my to put something visible into a space. Whether it was coloured lines which represented invisible connections or a path which you wouldnt otherwise be able to see. Creating art by just walking round buildings filling a space with digital data. Then moving on to the live streaming section where I was given data to work with and I then came up with a visual outcome wich otherwise would have been invisible. The temperature clock, it allowed you to see the difference between the inner and outside temperatures of the building while giving a good idea of the time. Granted if i wanted it to be a functional piece it would need more work but visually its a good start. All in all, I have learnt that even if stuff is invisible it doesnt meen it cant be visibly represented.

IDAT 106 - The Territory: Deep ecology - Live Video Streaming and Greenscreen

Live Streaming

For this section of the module I am looking at Live Streaming whether it is using video or the Greenscreen.



Video

Live streaming has become a reality, with more an more websites offering the chance to stream video live from your mobile phone or computer straight to their site. One sight which offers such a facility is http://qik.com/ Here is a screenshot of there recent video gallery containing both live and recorded videos:

Live Streaming websites are improving along with the hardware available. The picture quality differs depending on the camera the user is using along with the network connection of the users.

The use of live streaming is having a major effect on our lives, with video calling available on phones and instant messengers and live lessons given by teachers enabling their students to learn from home. It also enables you to share important moments such as birthdays live with family members on the other side of the world.


Arch-OS

"An 'Operating System' for contemporary architecture (Arch-OS, 'software for buildings') has been developed to manifest the life of a building and provide artists, engineers and scientists with a unique environment for developing transdisciplinary work and new public art." - http://www.arch-os.com/

It is based in the Portland square building of the university campus, it takes in different sets of information from sensors and cameras all over the building inside and out and relays it in data form. The sensors used by the Arch-OS system take in data such as are inside and outside temperature, CO2 levels and wind speed. The idea of the data collected is to show that the building is alive, it has a pulse or a heart beat, a changing temperature and I suppose it is correct. Every building has a flow of people much like a bloodstream a change in CO2 much like our own bodies and also a change in outer and inner temperature. The Arch-OS supplies all its data from the building live and at no cost so is freely available to those who which to benefit from its use one of these uses is to create data based images for the Greenscreen.

Greenscreen

The Greenscreen is a large mesh of 50 x 80 LED's each of which have the ability to display an array of colours. The screen has the potential to show anything up to a resolution of 330 x 500 pixels, but to get the best visual effect its best to use contrasting colours.

The Arch-OS data has been used to create visual models which have been displayed on the Greenscreen. Here is one video which I have found that shows a previous interactive project, its entitled Noogy. Noogy is a digital personality created by the Arch-OS data, you can text and get your message displayed live on the screen, if its windy his hair will move and if the sensors aren't detecting any movement inside Noogy gets bored and plays PONG. You can also see Noogy at http://www.noogy.org/2006/hello_noogy.cfm.

Outcome

For my outcome in this section I chose to work on the Greenscreen using the live data collected from Arch-OS.

I chose a subject to work title to work on this project and it is "The difference between" and I chose to do the difference between the inside and outside of Portland Square. Using two sensors one for inside temperature and one for out I have created 3 circles, the inner circles symbolise the inside temperature of the building, the outer circle symbolises the outside temperature. I then set up the circles so they work from a clock, the one on the right moves down every second, the one in the middle moves every minute and the one on the left moves every hour. The clock displayed shows the time is 02:29:46.

The temperature changes a different colour at every 5 degrees. There are eight different colours and the temperatures stop changing colour below 0 degrees (cyan) and above 30 degrees (yellow).

The good thing about this clock is it will change colour all year round, morning to night.

Idat 106 The Field: human ecology

The Field: human ecology
In this section we were asked to look at different ways people move around the space. This was split into two sections GPS and Bluetooth.

GPS

"The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system made
up of a network of 24 satellites placed into orbit by the U.S. Department of
Defense. GPS was originally intended for military applications, but in the
1980s, the government made the system available for civilian use."-http://www8.garmin.com/aboutGPS/

First I was asked to draw a path on a map of the university and follow our route using a GPS device. Using the buildings as rulers I drew my route;

"The signals travel by line of sight, meaning they will pass through clouds,
glass and plastic but will not go through most solid objects such as buildings
and mountains." - http://www8.garmin.com/aboutGPS/

So using the outer edge of the buildings in theory should work.


The idea of using GPS to create images is used by artist Jeremy Wood who created drawings on a map and set out to recreate them using a GPS. Here is an example of one he created in Brighton;

Found at:http://www.gpsdrawing.com/gallery/land/belephant.htm

Here is an image of my path, each dot is a representation of a point of my journey. The image/shape I am trying to create is unclear due to the point positioning created by the GPS device. Which are accurate to 15m average so using on such a small space of the university campus can create inaccuracies.




Here I tried to make the shape clearer by drawing a line the path I took. Still looks like a distorted shape, but you can see the slight intentions of me trying to create a "G" shape.





Here is the path on a satellite image, I'm showing you this to give a an idea geographically where I walked and enable you to see the structures which make up the shape.

Here i have drawn a "G" to give you a more explicit idea of the shape i was trying to create. The "G" I have created represents the inner of the gps track i was trying to create.

Here is my narrative for the GPS project. On the right hand side you can see the movement through my GPS route, on the left you will see a changing photograph of my subject sitting in postion in my scene showing the route ahead. As the dot on the image stops the photo will change.


Bluetooth

In this section we were asked to form groups and choose a place to map out bluetooth devices. We decided to use the Roland Levinsky building as this was part of our university campus and we had access to it for a wide legnth of time. The different level sizes and secheduled lecture changes would also make interesting study. It also enabled us to see if the hour to hour running of the building affected the bluetooth traffic. Below is a floor diagram of each level we had access to:








Using our bluetooth enabled mobile phones we set out on each level and did a device search. Here are the levels of Roland Levinsky on two seperate days, with the names of the bluetooth devices I have found. I have also drawn tracks to where I have found the same devices on each level. This could be due to the strength of their bluetooth signal or them moving from floor to floor.


Day 1


















Day 2




















Below: Graph of the devices found. The two lines match a corrolation giving us a good idea of the bluetooth usage on all the floors. From ground floor to third floor there is the most bluetooth activity, we can see this form a large dome shape. Another interesting factor is from the first floor up the levels also get smaller in size, so as the level decreases in floor size the bluetooth activity also decreases.













Below: here are the connection lines of the level images. Taking them away from the background allows us to see the lines more clearly. This gives us an interesting visual map of space. You can also see the difference in strength of the bluetooth devices within the building, the longer the line the most levels the device was found on.

Here is my image created to show more clearly the concentration of bluetooth signals within the building. This could also relate to the population of each level (this information was based on data collected over 2 days). The higher density of monement the hotter the colour (Red), the lower density the colder the colour (Blue).





















Heres my time based image. Time is shown horizontally, bluetooth activity levels are shown in colour. This image shows that there is a higher density of bluetooth activity every hour, this is probably due to the fact that there is an hourly changover of students for lectures therefore there are more students in the building on the hour then at any other time. More students the larger possibilty of bluetooth devices in that area.

Idat 106 Picnic - Social Interaction - movement project

Agile architectures of the near future : The Picnic

Brief:

Working in groups we were asked to construct a timed based photograph documenting the social ecology during our picnic at “Mount Edgecumbe”. Looking at movements, light, sounds and how we experience our surroundings.

After a short ferry journey we set on our way o find the spot for our picnic. Our group found a real big tree with lots of dry grass and tree trunk leaning potential. Setting about our task we each took it in turns with the camera to capture the groups activities and here are some of those snap shots.







From these images I selected key sections which showed movement. I found the most movement from the head up. Using this as my main focus I cut an pasted the image together. You can see the movement within the image, on the left you see the rotational hand movement as the apple reaches the mouth and just to the right of that you can see the movement of the subjects head from the left to the right.





Then we were asked to notate our created image exploring not only the image but the space. Here are my findings:


SOUND

These images explore the sound with the image. The first outlines the noise creating forms in the image reaching from the background to the foreground. The thicker the lines used the nearer and louder the sound is from my position, it also symbolises foreground space.
The second image was created using sound waves from recordings I made of objects found in areas of the image and separately overlay ed onto the image. I then deleted the background and this is my result.




MOVEMENT
In this image I outlined the movement of different parts of my friends in the picnic image. The curve lines represent the lines of movement. The straight lines show the direct movement from one point to another, while the curved lines show rotated movement.



HARD AND SOFT SHAPES
The squares represent the hard forms i.e. bottles, picnic table, crisps. The curved shapes represent soft forms i.e. clothing, grass.




LIGHT AND SHADOW
This represents the movement of light and the creation of shadows. From this image you can tell the sun is shining from left therefore casting a shadow on the right hand side.

Putting them on my original photo you can see where the abstract shapes came from. I have done image with each notation in a different colour to help define each one.

Here are another couple of images which came along with the ideas process.


HARD OBJECTS

In the first image I have used the blur tool to show the softer sections within the image, this also enables the harder objects to seem visually sharper and therefore stand out more.
The second image works on colour blocking, the harder objects are given a solid block of black which removes there texture. This leaves the soft objects looking soft in both colour and texture.

DARK AREAS

In these images the idea is to look at contrasting tones. The first image uses just two tones, the hard edges aid my visual attempt to abstract from what was originally there. the slight difference in the tone change was purposeful, my aim was to recreate the natural differences in tones, in nature you would seldom see very strong visual colour abstractions. This grayscale notation is at one with that idea.
This contrasts to the second image where there is a larger degree of tone difference. but this is balanced out by the fact i have left in detailed toning rather then completely blocking out the shapes.

Early Outcomes

Here are a couple of my outcomes.

The only problem I have with these layers of notation is the blocked elements from the hard and soft sections. i feel they don't work well with the rest of the notational layers. I think it would work better if I used the geometric shape approach because most of the image is line based so the layers would work at one together.

Final Moulds

Looking at the images created I created a mould based on the chin structure. I chose this because talking and laughing was key in our picnic so the chin was one of the most prominent feature. I have taken photos of the cast in different angles so when I put the cast into the image it will fit over the chins of my subjects.

Here are my picnic images with the notation and moulds of chin added in place. The concentration of th casts show the more populated areas, this is from the middle horizontal of the image upwards. Inserting the cast helps give a real feel of timing in the image. In the centre right hand side you can see a good example of this, where there is a flow from left to right as the casts section rotates and moves. I can see a real flow developing, the casts seem to move from left to right in a wave, interesting the how social ecology can relate to natural movements found elsewhere.

In this image I have taken away all the notation levels and have left the moulds in place. You can see strong clusters of cast forms which seem to dissolve into the backdrop. This gives the piece real depth withought even having the image behind. This is created by the lower casts being larger (making them seem closer) and then getting smaller (making them seem further away) as you move your eyes up the piece. I think thios is what makes the outcome visually effective.

Here are my A3 printouts of my notation levels. I have creased them based on the notational information. I have recreated a physical environment which is completely different to the start point but based on the same information. You can see the ridges i created by creesing the concentration based lines, giving an almost mountain range feel to the piece. I took a photo at a slight angle on the left image to show this in a more 3d perspective.

I then turned the piece over to see what the creasing had done on the reverse side. It is effective, the strong ridges stand out of the paper castinjg shadows over the flatter plains bellow.