fromCONCENTRATE

Just before yesterdays presentation I asked two fantastic helpers to draw on the back of these demo lanyards “something which they know nothing about” (and would like to learn about.)  Connie and Eve (daughters of Jane Dudman – thanks!) suggested ’swimming’ and ‘the deep sea’ to go on the back of their lanyards:

I chose this example to illustrate that it isn’t such a big deal for children to express that they don’t have knowledge about something, but I think, as we get older (and more ’specialised’) it can become increasingly difficult (and socially embarrassing) to admit that our knowledge or ability is in some way inadequate.

This very lo-fi demo brought up some interesting questions about what exactly the project is trying to do.  In the above example – wearers draw or write on the back of their lanyard something which they want to learn about and then they are in control of when (and to whom) it is revealed.  This is akin to the kind of ’speed-dating’ or ’social-networking’ games which already take place within conference environments and is not really the type of interaction I’m trying to get at…

The device which I am building would not be activated by the wearer – instead it would be activated by the presence of others members of the community and it would *involuntarily* reveal inadequacies (or short-comings) in the wearer’s knowledge or ability.

Insight into the development process for my latest DOING assignment:

This piece is part of a larger dialogue/work ‘AUGMENTED INADEQUACIES’ which you can read about here:

http://www.intersectionspublicart.org.uk/project2.php?id=00028

and here:

http://www.intersectionspublicart.org.uk/project3.php?id=00033

more soon!

The final submission for the Digital Media DOING module requires a response to the theme of “Extensions of Man” – invoking a McLuhanesque conception of communications media & technology as extensions ov our human capability.

This relates nicely to a new project I have been developing – Augmented Inadequcies – in collaboration with the artist Alan Smith and Allenheads Contemporary Arts:

Invented in 1994 and very popular in Japan for ages, QR codes* are increasingly being adopted in the UK by cultural institutions and corporate entities alike, signposting participants/consumers to additional ‘digital content’ accessed there and then on their mobile phone (typically a website or application providing further information).

QR codes were originally a tool devised for global logistics – the primary function of these markers is to reduce unique artifacts in ‘real space’ to mere place-holders for a meta-data doppleganger within a digital database.

I happen to think that QR Codes might be a rather useful thing, by the way, but I’m also interested in how such signs might be subverted or hi-jacked to tell alternative stories.

I thought that it might be interesting to use these codes (which are free of licence) and try to create an interesting poetic and conceptual feed-back loop for unsuspecting users:

Scanning the QR code below…

…takes you to a single page website (demo here.)

I made stickers ov the code…

…with the intention that these will be stuck over existing corporate and cultural portals wherever they may be found.

The stickers intefere with user-requests for more information and offer a re-direction service to the immediate ‘now’.

The reassuring ‘you are here’ red dot – typically a feature of tourist maps – is recontextualised as a kind of confounded statement; “but you are here?” “you don’t need anything else” “this is enough.”

I hope that the stickers can create some interesting temporary disruptions into otherwise smooth transitions away from our present moment.

You can download the template for those here: QRtemplatefinal.pdf

(use Matt White Waterproof Labels in laser printer.)

*QR CODES: Davey Smith wrote various posts about them/I’ve mentioned some uses of QR codes previously over here /and if you’re not at all sure what I’m talking about take a look at the the wikipedia entry /or take a look at a can of Pepsi!

Quick update on the Tilt-Tick-Tock (hourglass) concept outlined in the previous post – here it is!

The device translates the ‘turning over’ action associated with the traditional egg-timer into the revealed words ‘tick and ‘tock’ – archetypal (and now redundant) by-products of clock mechanisms.

Basically, an Arduino micro-controller has been pre-programmed to send alternate bursts of full and zero power to a DC motor from a 9v battery ONLY when the device is turned over (because the action of turning over is detected by a mercury tilt sensor).

See TiltTickTock in action below:

Full power is supplied for 3.4 seconds (a time established by trial and error) and this rotates the single aperture in the yellow acrylic ‘face’ around to the approximate position of the written words – ‘tick’ and ‘tock’.

It should be pointed out that a servo motor would give far better ‘accuracy’ in designating the exact position of the ‘face’ if that were desired.  The challenge here was to make something interesting with these quite blunt and clumsy components and actually, the inevitable inaccuracy of the DC motor solution (due to friction, difference of power, loss of power etc.) works well here as an interesting analogue to the the problems faced by the early manufacturers of the mechanical clocks in keeping to time (prior to the design of various escapement, containing and regulating the mechanism.)  If you observe carefully you will be able to see that the TiltTickTock runs slightly ‘fast.’

Another aspect of the device which is aesthetically interesting is the way in which the circular aperture of the yellow ‘face’ appears to eclipse the white ‘tick’ and ‘tock’ elements – indirectly invoking movements of the earth, sun and moon (by which we measure the passage of time).

Images of parts/process, various schematics (thanks to Fritzing) and arduino code below:

components/tools identified:

• Arduino microcontroller
• breadboard
• DC Motor
• mercury tilt sensor
• TIP120 transistor
• 10Kohm resistor
• 9 v batteries (for both arduino and motor)
• wires
• various circular lids etc. to test rotation
• clear plastic sweetie box is excellent for containing projects!

…add ‘tick’ and ‘tock’ circles (authentic typed and re-scanned from my typewriter) – ‘face’ simple vector cut out using laser-cutter:

//TiltTickTock by John O’Shea
//Monday 10th May 2010
//MRes. Digital Media DOING Module – Jamie Allen
//Newcastle University Culture Lab

// Arduino code allowing tilt sensor to trigger motor via transistor

// micro-project translating ‘egg-timer’ metaphor to ‘escapement’ metaphor
//via electronics and code

// constants won’t change. They’re used here to
// set pin numbers:

const int tiltPin = 7;     // the number of the tilt sensor pin
const int transistorPin = 9;      // the number of the transistor pin

// variables will change:
int tiltState = 0;         // variable for reading the tilt sensor status

void setup() {
// initialize the transistor pin as an output:
pinMode(transistorPin, OUTPUT);
// initialize the tilt pin as an input:
pinMode(tiltPin, INPUT);
}

void loop(){
// read the state of the tilt sensor value:
tiltState = digitalRead(tiltPin);

// check if the tilt sensor is activated.
// if it is, the transistor is open and the clock programme runs:
if (tiltState == HIGH) {
// turn transistor on:
digitalWrite(transistorPin, HIGH);
delay(3400);
digitalWrite(transistorPin, LOW);
delay(1000);
}
else {
// close transistor (clock circuit off):
digitalWrite(transistorPin, LOW);
}
}

/*
this code is a hybrid of:
Button
2005 by DojoDave <http://www.0j0.org>
modified 17 Jun 2009
by Tom Igoe
This example code is in the public domain.

http://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Button

&
High Current Loads @ ITP Physical Computing

http://itp.nyu.edu/physcomp/Tutorials/HighCurrentLoads

with reference to Arduino site:

http://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/TiltSensor

*/

Continuing in my consideration of intuitive (physical) interactions* I am developing a demonstration piece using Arduino which takes as its principle metaphor the extremely basic action of turning over an hourglass.

This piece emerged out of the DOING class where we were asked to simply build an electronic circuit between a sensor and actuator which is controlled using a micro-controller.  I selected various movement sensors (including one of the kind used in pedometers – piezo vibration sensor) and my tutor, Jamie Allen, also loaned me a mercury tilt sensor “to get started…”

Immediately the tilt sensor became the focus of my attention because I wanted to get a sense of what it was that differentiated this sensor from a mere mechanical switch or digital trigger.  (See above my tilt switch test based onthe circuit at this arduino site tutorial)  The tilt sensor can be used to discern physical orientation in a way akin to how we understand the liquids of the inner ear to function.  Utilising the earths gravitational force, the liquid metal mercury acts as a switch by making or breaking the circuit.

Below is an illustration of a concept I would like to develop:

I’d like to use the ‘turning over’ action (typically used to commence an hourglass) to trigger an arduino programme which can control power to a DC motor – alternating between FULL and ZERO.  A perforated circular disk attached to the motor will reveal the words “TICK” and “TOCK” alternatively.

“TICK” and “TOCK” are the traditional onomatopoeic by-product of the mechanical clocks escapement (for more on this see I AM A WATCHMAKER.)  In translating the hourglass ‘turning over’ action into the words ‘tick & tock’ the piece will be, in a sense, a ‘mechanical metaphor mixer.’

More on this piece VERY soon – for now I’ll leave you with Jayne Mansfield…

* some examples where I have previously considered the nature of intuitive physical interaction either by building a prototype to test or exploring thru writing/dialogue on this blog:  SIMPLE TWISTING INTERFACE, NOTHING UNLESS SHAKEN and PHYSICAL PETITION (this list is not exhaustive.)

- Jayne Mansfield image used without consent of copyright owner (if you are the copyright owner please get in contact.)

In considering gesture, interaction, sound and public space intervention the organ grinder (and his monkey) are springing to mind…

The wikipedia entry in this case is really excellent and says more than I could say – some highlights:

They apparently were not interested in keeping their instrument in tune or cranking at a rate suited to the music which was “programmed” in their barrel organ.

Many cities in the United Kingdom had ordinances prohibiting organ grinders. The authorities often encouraged policemen to treat the grinders as beggars or public nuisances.

the disappearance of organ grinders from European streets was in large part due to the early application of national and international Copyright laws.

(Image from Wikimedia Commons.)

(for info regarding this, see previous post.)

Stare into the abyss and the abyss stares into you* **

Colleagues in Digital Media introduced me to something called chatroulette the other day: Basically, chatroulettte, if you haven’t heard, is a website where two webcams are visible onscreen – yours – and that of a randomly selected ’stranger’.  You are presented with a different random stranger for chat each time you hit the NEXT button (and the stranger can do this also).

• What is the nature of the ‘interaction’ going on within this web phenomena?

I (like several thousand others around the world) have been taking a look and trying and figure out ‘HEY! WHAT’s UP MAN?’

Once your webcam is enabled (an amazingly fast two-click no-login procedure) ’strangers’ appear, right there, in your browser.  And a typical experience is illustrated below:

What seems to continually happen is that someone – the ’stranger’ – appears on screen, vacantly staring, and then clicks away.

There was a seemingly never-ending stream of glassy expressions (and quite a lot of male genitals – so be warned!)

A rough estimate of the spread of users when I was on the site (9pm – 12am 11-03-2010) would be:

With all of these strangers staring for a brief moment and then clicking NEXT, it was quite a strange (primal and hostile) experience – I decided I had to try and disrupt this, so I did a simple drawing of a human male character…

By moving the drawing in front of the screen, I found it was possible to engage the stranger – often eliciting a smile:

I took this simple interaction a stage further, by introducing a second drawing with a ‘thumbs-up’ once the stranger was engaged:

Many individuals returned the ‘thumbs-up’ salute – international archetype for ‘hey!’ – and then I returned to the original drawing.

I found, at this stage that the stranger was often willing to chat – they typed into the chat panel and then I removed the drawings and showed my ‘real’ self.  The guy above is a good example – he told me that he lives in Indiana, in the U.S. and was on chatroulette looking for naked girls but, every time, they clicked away :-(

He was happy to chat with me though – as were other people: a teenager in Brazil; an older guy in Chile; a guy my age in Texas; a Jordanian girl in Dallas; some teenage guys in France.  Many people talked about the same things: ‘boredom’ and wanting an ‘encounter.’

I made a short screengrab movie of these interactions below and the illustrations are also available to download as PDF and for printing and trying out yourself. (Let me know how it goes!)

Unfortunately the original video was taken down by YouTube because it contained nudity – but there is another edit below which has been censored.

Stare into the abyss and the abyss stares into you* **

*(with his dick in his hand)

**(for 2 seconds)