Starting with the absolute basics of rectangle tracking, this names the location of the fingertip. Soooooo basic.
[QUICKTIME http://itp.nyu.edu/~kh928/archives/LocationNamer.mp4 160 137]
Author: katehartman
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DATASHEET REPORT
I decided to look at the Eltec Pyroelectric detector IR-Eye 442-3 Integrated Sensor from Acroname. It detects infrared radiation (IR) which is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength is longer than that of visible light. IR is generated by objects that generate heat. The sensor is able to detect people or objects and be can be used for purposes such as intrusion detection, lighting control, robotics, motion sensing, automatic door control, or safety warning.
Pyroelectric charge is the electric charge that is created in response to infrared radiation. This particular sensor uses lithium tantalate, which Wikopedia defines as a “material similar to lithium niobate, possesses unique optical, piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties which make it valuable for motion detectors, cell phones and possibly nuclear fusion”.
If I understand it correctly, the sensor looks not for a certain temperature, but rather for a difference or jump in temperature. [Is this what “Parallel Opposed Dual IR Detector” means?] This becomes a problem when the person or object you are trying to detect remains motionless- they essentially “disappear” or fade into the background and the sensor is unable to see them. This can be addressed by having the sensor move back and forth in a sweeping motion.
This sensor is small & circular. It measures .36″ in diameter.
It has 4 pins: power, output, reference voltage, and ground.
It operates with a range of 5 to 15 volts with a maximum current of 2.2 milliAmps.
The field of view ranges between 30-60 degrees, making it extremely directional.
It has a temperature range of -40 to +70 degrees Celcius.
An internal OpAmp provides 100x signal amplification.
Examples of use:
http://www.seattlerobotics.org/encoder/200012/pyro.htm
http://www.robotics.com/robomenu/pogo.htmlQuestions:
What is…
parallel opposed
integrated analog signal processing
high gain
burn-in test
common mode rejection -
IDEA: SNOW CAM
Another idea for a webcam. The thing I love about snow is how it allows you to visually track movement that has gone on in a given space. Who has been there? Where did they go? How did they move? I’d like to put a camera on a large open space shortly after a fresh snowfall. It could interpret movement of people through space (tracking dark objects) and output some sort of graphic similar to a map with footprints based on that movement. Or it could be set to capture images of the space only when it was unoccupied. (Could this be achieved by observing overall brightness?) These images could then be assembled into a movie, animating the changes made to the snowscape by the invisible forces that move through the space.
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FINAL PROJECT: INITIAL THOUGHTS
Garments that demand physical intimacy/touch.
*Note: Still trying to figure out the language of how to explain this. For now I’ve settled on you and yourself, but it could also be me and myself, one and oneself, them and themself. I think this is an important choice in terms of thinking about the project. This is just a disclaimer to state that I haven’t settled on a certain interpretation… yet.
Despite the fact that it is my first true project for the class, I think my vibrating shirt is actually a decent starting point for my final. [The beginning is simply the beginning of the end?] Because, as I see it now, what I’m primarily interested in is exploring relationships through the use of touch and/or gesture. Or more specifically, physical connections that illicit a reaction. But my main question is whether I should explore the relationship you have with another individual or the relationship you have with yourself.
THINKING ABOUT 2: A hat and a set of gloves configured in such a way that someone has to hold your head in a specific way in order for something to happen. Or a set of shirts where two people have to hold each others shoulders in a stiff middle school slow dance sort of way. Or shirts where the contact point is at the heart. My friend was telling me that it makes a difference on which side you hug someone- if you hug heart to heart it makes you stronger. Or a pair of jumpsuits for a couple where a circuit is only complete when bodies are locked together in a certain way. Or what if someone was your power source/batterypack? Isolating the roles of giver & taker.
THINKING ABOUT 1: I was thinking that it could be about the physical relationship that you have with yourself while still relating to the social relationship you have with others. If I were to use the vibrating shirt as an example, I could outfit it with a sensor that could tell whether or not someone else was in the room, or in close proximity. If it was meant to be a private thing, perhaps the shirt would only work if you were alone. If it were more along the lines of “no man is an island”, despite that fact that it seemed to be a very self-triggered system, the shirt would only have the ability to work if someone were nearby.
SENSORS FOR TOUCH: QProx, force sensors.
OTHER SENSORS: heat, ultrasonic.But then again, I could see just moving forward with the choices that I made for the shirt. I like something that is very isolating, self contained. I also like the idea of working without a microcontroller – just using a series of extremely simple electronic circuits. So then it’s really just about contact, about closing a switch, about making a connection with yourself.
So what about a jumpsuit that is basically an extension of the shirt? Complete with feet, mittens, and hood, once you were zipped in, the experience would basically be about relating to yourself physically. Connections could be made through holding your head, hugging yourself, holding yourself in a fetal position. It would be soft and flexible, giving you the freedom to move or curl up as you wish. This could be the Comfort Suit. There could also be a different version that somehow encouraged your body to open up through the use of positive feedback.
BASIC DECISIONS TO MAKE:
-real world or not
-one person or two
-sensors or straight on/off circuits -
VIBRATING SHIRT
When you hold yourself (hands resting on upper arms), your spine tingles. I like the idea that all the elements you need to evoke a response are located within your own physical form. It’s a way of turning inward – by connecting with yourself in a very natural gesture, you set something into motion.
The circuit is created on the surface of the shirt through the use of conductive fabric and thread. The circuit is closed by the connection made between the hands and shoulders, causing motors located along the spine to vibrate. The form of the shirt is intentionally confining – it is meant more for reflection than function. The hands are completely enclosed in thumbless mittens, making it very difficult to engage in any sort of activity while wearing the shirt.
This is a first prototype so it is rather awkward and delicate. In a second interation, I would work towards it being more durable and comfortable, with more reliable circuitry.
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SENSORS & TIME
For this assignment, I originally used Spectra Symbol’s linear potentiometer. Though I was able to complete the assignment, it was a frustrating re-entry into phys comp ridden with silly problems that made me feel like I had taken three giant steps backwards over the break. I also managed to screw up my sensor before I was able to take any screen shots. So in an effort to clear the air and give a better start to my work this semester, I decided redo it on a better day with a flex sensor and ended up having a much more satisfying experience.
This was actually my first time using a flex sensor so it was great to work through some incorrect assumptions I had about the way they work. I thought that the flex was measured when the sensor was sort of bent in half, but rather it’s when you stablize the base and the bend it just above the base.
The other assumption that I had was that it worked when bend in either direction, which is completely untrue. When bend the wrong way, values simply jump to zero.
My data was surprisingly clean, so for my Pic code, I just sent it straight to serial out without having to eliminate noise. For the Processing end, I just did a basic variation of Tom’s Datalogger code.
The first graph illustrates bend the flex sensor in the right direction- slowly at first and then several quick bends. The second shows the value drop when you bend it in the wrong direction.
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PRACTICE: FIND SKIN EXAMPLE
Experimenting with removing both background & skin.
[QUICKTIME http://itp.nyu.edu/~kh928/archives/FindSkin.mp4 160 137]
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IDEA: NAKED & INVISIBLE
Electronic glass. Looking through a glass, window, viewer. Basically, you are altering the way something is being seen. Right now I see there being two approaches to start out with: doing a treatment of the overall image or working within the image and dealing with content. I keep returning to the idea of selective seeing/censorship, where someone is controlling what you can and cannot see. My idea would be an extension of Dan’s FindSkin code. Rather than coloring skin, I would like to see it removed altogether. How would this look when applied to an entire body? Instead of seeing a body itself, you would just see a cut-out moving through space, kind of like a paper doll. It reminds me of the film “Removed” by Naomi Uman. She takes a short piece of found footage pornography and physically scratches out the bodies on each frame of the film. So you watch the film just seeing these very scribbly figures moving moving around an untouched background. But what I’d like to do would be different in method and in situation. The method would obviously be removing skin through the use of the computer. But in terms of situation, rather than looking at something sensational like a sex act, I’d like to look at something really mundane like someone taking a bath. Because it brings up some interesting questions. Like, it’s not really creepy to watch someone brush their teeth, but is it creepy to watch someone bathe, even if you can’t actually see their body? Is it the exposure of the body or the act that is intimate? Another fun iteration would be to watch someone dress after removing the body & the background so that you see clothing materialize on an invisible body in an undefined space.
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IDEA: REAR WINDOW
A basic idea to start out with for the architectural webcam. A view of the back of a large apartment building at night. A picture is taken each time a light goes out and then the images are assembled so you can see the progression of lights being turned off. Which lights go off then on again? Is there some point at which all the lights are off? What does it make you think about the comings & goings of the people inside? Very Rear Window.
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MASK ASSIGNMENT
CONCEALS: NIGHTMARE MASK
wire mesh, thread
REVEALS : TRUTH MASK
tissue paper, acrylic medium, ink
