Networked coffee mugs provide an update to the old 10th-cup-free punch-card customer loyalty program. Our highly modular system allows any coffee shop to use one of our mug readers, link it to their name and physical location, and get started immediately with the program. Shops will sell RFID-enabled stickers at a low cost to customers who provide their own reusable coffee mug. Once the sticker is applied to a mug, that mug can be scanned at any participating coffee shop’s reader to log refills anywhere the customer goes.

The BetaCup (we liked the name, so we went with it!) reader – the in-store device that reads each mug’s sticker – provides haptic feedback in the form of a light thud to let the customer know that the mug was indeed scanned. The customer will feel the vibration through the cup. It also provides visual feedback with low powered LED lights when a 10-cup milestone is reached, so that baristas and servers will know when to issue a free refill. Each scan is followed by an appropriate timeout so customers will be unable to take advantage of the system. Optionally, businesses can use our API, or new services that are created with our API, to create real-time displays to show BetaCup usage at their shop.

Read more and vote for BetaCup on Jovoto!

More press for I RIDE FOR LIVESTRONG, an online interactive experience I worked on at Purpose:

TechPresident: Avaaz Co-Founders Seek Purpose Driven Consumer Life

Huffington Post: Julia Moulden on How to Use Technology to Change the World

Cool Hunting: This Week’s Picks

PSFK: Online Game I RIDE FOR LIVESTRONG Raises Funds, Awareness, and Social Empowerment

Previous post: I RIDE FOR LIVESTRONG in the NY Times

Above: a light sculpture by Matthew Richard.
Below: Thomas the Barrel by Meredith Hasson.

Below: Life Dress by Elizabeth Fuller. Featured in Gizmodo.

More pics on Flickr.

TXTTONE is my final project for Live Web.  It’s a web browser and SMS-based collaborative musical instrument that is meant to be performed in a room full of people with laptops and cellphones.  I wanted to create an interactive and collaborative musical experienced based on the ubiquitous technologies that we normally have with us at all times.  I was also interested in the play between the synchronous and asynchronous and explore the phase effects that result from TXTTONE being played on multiple computers simultaneously.  TXTTONE is programmed in AJAX/PHP, with SMS support by TextMarks.   I did the sound design in Logic Pro; I was going for “wind chimes meets dial tone.”

Check it out here.

Monkey Think
Monkeys often evokes a strong emotional response among people. Monkeys as symbols are also charged with social and political meaning.  We often anthropomorphize monkeys and project our own human anxieties onto them. Monkeys drive us bananas. They are Curious George one minute and the next minute they are giving you Ebola or AIDS or ripping off your face. Horror lies just under the surface of cute. 

I worked this week with Kristin Loeb on Monkeys Watching Monkeys, a streaming web video installation that deals with the mediated gaze, reflections and narcissism as they relate to how people look at monkeys, and how we think monkeys look at people and how monkeys look at each other.

More monkeys / This is is really disturbing / WHOA!

Monkey Do
We started with the Conference.as code that Shawn gave us in class, but we came across some mysterious problems. For some reason the compiled SWFs only worked part of the time on Kristin’s computer and never actually worked on mine. (Does Snow Leopard hate Monkeys or what?) So we moved on to some off-the-shelf solutions, trying first iChat, then Skype, and finally USTREAM.tv to create a series of simian scenarios. The goal was to position webcams and screens in a way to create an “infinity effect” of primate viewing pleasure.

Documentation outtakes on Flickr

Finally, we created the be beginnings of the Monkey Show, a webpage featuring two USTREAM channels and a Twitter widget that displays the latest tweets with the work “monkey” in them. We hope to trick this page out with more live monkey media in the near future.

Monkey Learn
Bandwidth is an issue
There are mysterious bugs in the system
Even off-the-shelf solutions have their limitations
This installation would probably work better and be more aesthetically pleasing with just cameras and monitors (with the laptops hidden)
The installation would probably have worked better with analog video
Lighting and camera placement are tricky
If only our monkey talent were this well trained:

13.4 million Americans watch some form of mobile video each month, and of those 13.4 million people, each watched an average of 3.5 hours of mobile video per month.  By comparison, the average American watches 153 hours of TV per month.  (Nielsen via Mashable, May 2009)

Also from Nielsen:

Except for the teenage years, viewing of traditional television increases with age; the use of video on the Internet peaks among young adults while viewing mobile video is highest in the teen years.

Men continue to watch video on mobile phones more than women, and women continue to watch video on the Internet and TV more than men.

In a 2007 international survey, a majority of all respondents agreed that “recommendations from friends had the most impact on the type of content they viewed over celebrity, amateur and professional endorsements.” (IBM via REELSEO)

According to a 2008 comScore study: on-demand video was the most popular mobile video format (compared to mobile broadcast), with 3.6 million viewers in the US. The report also gave a breakdown of the kinds of content mobile video users consumed:

See also:
Eyes Wide Open: Video Usage Up, More Watch Cross-Platform
Nielsen: Mobile Video Use Lags Behind

The most obvious change is the removal of the big photos that showed up in the header.  After careful consideration, I decided that while I like them, they were taking up too much space in the browser window, especially on small laptop monitors.  I removed the header image so that users won’t have to scroll down so far to start reading content.  If you miss the old header images, you can see them all here.

The other design tweaks are very minor.  I’ve increased the total width of the site to 850 pixels, and played with some of the font settings to increase legibility.  I’ve also brought back an updated Links page.

This site is a perpetual work-in progress.  I learn more PHP and CSS every time I make design changes, so it’s an educational exercise as well.  How does the new site look?  Feedback appreciated.

ITP 2009 Spring Show Thanks from Matt Richard on Vimeo.

Matt Richard created a video of the 4,204 images that were taken at “A Fish This Big” showcase. Displayed in order in which they were taken, the images create an animation of the two days the show lasted.

See if you can spot me holding some fish in the video!

In case you missed it, check out the two projects I presented at the show online:

• Givkwik, micro-donation mobile app prototype.
• ODI et AMO, Catullus meets Blade Runner in an animated music video

2. In concert with JC Cassis @ Arlene’s Grocery
Sunday, May 3, 2009
8pm SHARP
Arlene’s Grocery, 95 Stanton Street, Lower East Side, NYC
$8 at the door (Make sure to say you’re there to see JC Cassis)
21+
JC will be performing all her new dance-pop tracks off the forthcoming album, Four on the Floor, as well as some old faves.

3.  ITP Spring Show 2009
Sunday, May 10, 2-6pm & Monday, May 11, 5-9 pm
ITP @ 721 Broadway, 4th Floor
A festival of interactive sight, sound and technology from the student artists and innovators at ITP
This event is free and open to the public. No need to RSVP

4. I’ll be in Washington DC from May 13-15, and I’ll be in the San Francisco Bay Area from May 15-20 and then from early June to mid-August.  Ping me if you want to meet up.

Original HTML version

PHP/MySQL/Javascript version

Flash XML version

I’m finding more blog posts about the head(banger)phones from across the international Internets.

Here are posts from Australia, Brazil, and France.

Here are some photos of me presenting the head(banger)phones at the ITP Winter Show 2008 last night.  Thanks to Justin Tedaldi, editor of the JETAANY Newsletter, for the photos.

The head(banger)phones are a personal music device made up of a pair of headphones and a sensor.  When the user wears the head(banger)phones, the motion and position of her head triggers different sounds, creating a dynamic interactive musical experience.

Here is some internet ink about head(banger)phones:

Nod Your Head, Change the Beat: Accelerometer Headphones | PSFK

ITP Winter 2008: Accelerometer Headphones Control Music Via Headbanging

The Listenerd’s Links for 12.18.08

Gizmodo reports that I did the project using Max/MSP, but actually I used Processing/Arduino.

Here are some news clippings of the ITP Winter Show from across the Internets:

MAKE: Blog: ITP Winter Show 2008 – Best of show… Plate spinning DJ, drinking piano, magnet music

MAKE: Blog: More from the ITP Winter Show 2008

More from the ITP Winter Appearance 2008 | USD6.com

ITP Winter Show 2008 – Highlights.  – Wiredset / Blogs / Mark Ghuneim

Listen to my latest musical composition, NO2H8, based on audio I recorded of speeches at the Protest Against Prop 8 this Sunday and some organ and synth tracks of “deconstructed” Mendelsohn’s Wedding March.

[MP3] [AIFF]

Source code after the jump:

import ddf.minim.signals.*;
import ddf.minim.*;
import ddf.minim.analysis.*;
import ddf.minim.effects.*;

Minim minim;
WaveformRenderer waveform;
//AudioSample objects for each letter of the alphabet
AudioSample play_a;
AudioSample play_b;
AudioSample play_c;
AudioSample play_d;
AudioSample play_e;
AudioSample play_f;
AudioSample play_g;
AudioSample play_h;
AudioSample play_i;
AudioSample play_j;
AudioSample play_k;
AudioSample play_l;
AudioSample play_m;
AudioSample play_n;
AudioSample play_o;
AudioSample play_p;
AudioSample play_q;
AudioSample play_r;
AudioSample play_s;
AudioSample play_t;
AudioSample play_u;
AudioSample play_v;
AudioSample play_w;
AudioSample play_x;
AudioSample play_y;
AudioSample play_z;

void setup()
{
minim = new Minim(this);
size(500,500);

background(0);
textFont(createFont(“Courier”, 50));
text(“Type letters”, 50, height/2-30);
text(“to play”, 50, height/2+45);

play_a = minim.loadSample(“A.mp3″, 512);
play_b = minim.loadSample(“B.mp3″, 512);
play_c = minim.loadSample(“C.mp3″, 512);
play_d = minim.loadSample(“D.mp3″, 512);
play_e = minim.loadSample(“E.mp3″, 512);
play_f = minim.loadSample(“F.mp3″, 512);
play_g = minim.loadSample(“G.mp3″, 512);
play_h = minim.loadSample(“H.mp3″, 512);
play_i = minim.loadSample(“I.mp3″, 512);
play_j = minim.loadSample(“J.mp3″, 512);
play_k = minim.loadSample(“K.mp3″, 512);
play_l = minim.loadSample(“L.mp3″, 512);
play_m = minim.loadSample(“M.mp3″, 512);
play_n = minim.loadSample(“N.mp3″, 512);
play_o = minim.loadSample(“O.mp3″, 512);
play_p = minim.loadSample(“P.mp3″, 512);
play_q = minim.loadSample(“Q.mp3″, 512);
play_r = minim.loadSample(“R.mp3″, 512);
play_s = minim.loadSample(“S.mp3″, 512);
play_t = minim.loadSample(“T.mp3″, 512);
play_u = minim.loadSample(“U.mp3″, 512);
play_v = minim.loadSample(“V.mp3″, 512);
play_w = minim.loadSample(“W.mp3″, 512);
play_x = minim.loadSample(“X.mp3″, 512);
play_y = minim.loadSample(“Y.mp3″, 512);
play_z = minim.loadSample(“Z.mp3″, 512);

waveform = new WaveformRenderer();
play_a.addListener(waveform);
play_b.addListener(waveform);
play_c.addListener(waveform);
play_d.addListener(waveform);
play_e.addListener(waveform);
play_f.addListener(waveform);
play_g.addListener(waveform);
play_h.addListener(waveform);
play_i.addListener(waveform);
play_j.addListener(waveform);
play_k.addListener(waveform);
play_l.addListener(waveform);
play_m.addListener(waveform);
play_n.addListener(waveform);
play_o.addListener(waveform);
play_p.addListener(waveform);
play_q.addListener(waveform);
play_r.addListener(waveform);
play_s.addListener(waveform);
play_t.addListener(waveform);
play_u.addListener(waveform);
play_v.addListener(waveform);
play_w.addListener(waveform);
play_x.addListener(waveform);
play_y.addListener(waveform);
play_z.addListener(waveform);

textFont(createFont(“Courier”, 200));
noStroke();
frameRate(30);
}

void draw()
{
noStroke();
fill(0,0,0,20);
rect(0,0,width,height);
waveform.draw();
}

void keyPressed()
{
fill(255);
if ( key == ‘a’)
{
play_a.trigger();
text(“A”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘b’)
{
play_b.trigger();
text(“B”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘c’)
{
play_c.trigger();
text(“C”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘d’)
{
play_d.trigger();
text(“D”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘e’)
{
play_e.trigger();
text(“E”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘f’)
{
play_f.trigger();
text(“F”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘g’)
{
play_g.trigger();
text(“G”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘h’)
{
play_h.trigger();
text(“H”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘i’)
{
play_i.trigger();
text(“I”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘j’)
{
play_j.trigger();
text(“J”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘k’)
{
text(“K”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
play_k.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘l’)
{
play_l.trigger();
text(“L”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘m’)
{
text(“M”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
play_m.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘n’)
{
play_n.trigger();
text(“N”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘o’)
{
play_o.trigger();
text(“O”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘p’)
{
play_p.trigger();
text(“P”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘q’)
{
play_q.trigger();
text(“Q”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘r’)
{
play_r.trigger();
text(“R”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘s’)
{
play_s.trigger();
text(“S”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘t’)
{
play_t.trigger();
text(“T”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘u’)
{
play_u.trigger();
text(“U”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘v’)
{
play_v.trigger();
text(“V”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘w’)
{
play_w.trigger();
text(“W”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘x’)
{
play_x.trigger();
text(“X”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘y’)
{
play_y.trigger();
text(“Y”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if ( key == ‘z’)
{
play_z.trigger();
text(“Z”, width/2-60, height/2+50);
}

if (key == ‘ ‘)
{
fill(0,0,0,20);
noStroke();
rect(0,0,width,height);
}
}

void stop()
{
play_a.close();
minim.stop();
super.stop();
}

class WaveformRenderer implements AudioListener
{
private float[] left;
private float[] right;

WaveformRenderer()
{
left = null;
right = null;
}

synchronized void samples(float[] samp)
{
left = samp;
}

synchronized void samples(float[] sampL, float[] sampR)
{
left = sampL;
right = sampR;
}

synchronized void draw()
{
// we’ve got a stereo signal if right or left are not null
if ( left != null && right != null )
{
noFill();
stroke(255);
beginShape();
for ( int i = 0; i < left.length; i++ )
{
vertex(i, height/4 + left[i]*120);
}
endShape();
beginShape();
for ( int i = 0; i < right.length; i++ )
{
vertex(i, 3*(height/4) + right[i]*120);
}
endShape();
}
else if ( left != null )
{
noFill();
stroke(255);
beginShape();
for ( int i = 0; i < left.length; i++ )
{
vertex(i, height/2 + left[i]*120);
}
endShape();
}
}
}

ICM Final in Progress: Musical Typewriter

ICM Final Project Proposal: Text2Drum

After getting help from the ICM email list, I changed my AudioPlayer objects to AudioSamples, which only need to be triggered once, as opposed to AudioPlayer objects that require play and rewind functions.  This tweak solved my latency and crackle issues.

Testing out the new version has reminded me of the aural pleasure of typing on analog typewriters.  The rhythmic, percussive quality of clanking keys is now lost on contemporary computer keyboards that make more muted sounds when used.

I also thought it would be cool to visualize the waveform of the audio output and display that along with the letter on the screen.  Well, back to work…

New code after the jump:

import ddf.minim.signals.*;
import ddf.minim.*;
import ddf.minim.analysis.*;
import ddf.minim.effects.*;

Minim minim;
//AudioSample objects for each letter of the alphabet
AudioSample play_a;
AudioSample play_b;
AudioSample play_c;
AudioSample play_d;
AudioSample play_e;
AudioSample play_f;
AudioSample play_g;
AudioSample play_h;
AudioSample play_i;
AudioSample play_j;
AudioSample play_k;
AudioSample play_l;
AudioSample play_m;
AudioSample play_n;
AudioSample play_o;
AudioSample play_p;
AudioSample play_q;
AudioSample play_r;
AudioSample play_s;
AudioSample play_t;
AudioSample play_u;
AudioSample play_v;
AudioSample play_w;
AudioSample play_x;
AudioSample play_y;
AudioSample play_z;

void setup()
{
minim = new Minim(this);
size(500,500);

background(0);
textFont(createFont(“Courier”, 50));
text(“Type letters”, 30, height/2-50);
text(“to play”, 30, height/2+25);

play_a = minim.loadSample(“A.mp3″, 512);
play_b = minim.loadSample(“B.mp3″, 512);
play_c = minim.loadSample(“C.mp3″, 512);
play_d = minim.loadSample(“D.mp3″, 512);
play_e = minim.loadSample(“E.mp3″, 512);
play_f = minim.loadSample(“F.mp3″, 512);
play_g = minim.loadSample(“G.mp3″, 512);
play_h = minim.loadSample(“H.mp3″, 512);
play_i = minim.loadSample(“I.mp3″, 512);
play_j = minim.loadSample(“J.mp3″, 512);
play_k = minim.loadSample(“K.mp3″, 512);
play_l = minim.loadSample(“L.mp3″, 512);
play_m = minim.loadSample(“M.mp3″, 512);
play_n = minim.loadSample(“N.mp3″, 512);
play_o = minim.loadSample(“O.mp3″, 512);
play_p = minim.loadSample(“P.mp3″, 512);
play_q = minim.loadSample(“Q.mp3″, 512);
play_r = minim.loadSample(“R.mp3″, 512);
play_s = minim.loadSample(“S.mp3″, 512);
play_t = minim.loadSample(“T.mp3″, 512);
play_u = minim.loadSample(“U.mp3″, 512);
play_v = minim.loadSample(“V.mp3″, 512);
play_w = minim.loadSample(“W.mp3″, 512);
play_x = minim.loadSample(“X.mp3″, 512);
play_y = minim.loadSample(“Y.mp3″, 512);
play_z = minim.loadSample(“Z.mp3″, 512);

textFont(createFont(“Courier”, 200));
}

void draw()
{

}

void keyPressed()
{
if ( key == ‘a’)
{
background(0);
text(“A”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_a.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘b’)
{
background(0);
text(“B”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_b.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘c’)
{
background(0);
text(“C”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_c.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘d’)
{
background(0);
text(“D”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_d.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘e’)
{
background(0);
text(“E”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_e.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘f’)
{
background(0);
text(“F”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_f.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘g’)
{
background(0);
text(“G”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_g.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘h’)
{
background(0);
text(“H”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_h.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘i’)
{
background(0);
text(“I”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_i.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘j’)
{
background(0);
text(“J”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_j.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘k’)
{
background(0);
text(“K”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_k.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘l’)
{
background(0);
text(“L”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_l.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘m’)
{
background(0);
text(“M”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_m.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘n’)
{
background(0);
text(“N”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_n.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘o’)
{
background(0);
text(“O”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_o.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘p’)
{
background(0);
text(“P”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_p.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘q’)
{
background(0);
text(“Q”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_q.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘r’)
{
background(0);
text(“R”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_r.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘s’)
{
background(0);
text(“S”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_s.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘t’)
{
background(0);
text(“T”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_t.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘u’)
{
background(0);
text(“U”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_u.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘v’)
{
background(0);
text(“V”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_v.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘w’)
{
background(0);
text(“W”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_w.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘x’)
{
background(0);
text(“X”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_x.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘y’)
{
background(0);
text(“Y”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_y.trigger();
}

if ( key == ‘z’)
{
background(0);
text(“Z”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_z.trigger();
}

if (key == ‘ ‘)
{
background(0);
}
}

void stop()
{
minim.stop();
super.stop();
}

I have written a Processing sketch, with the help of the Minim library, that that plays back the “percussion letters” when the user types on the keyboard.  There is a bit of latency and audio “crackle” that still needs to be worked out, but for the most part, the musical typewriter works.  The next step is to build a related program that can read a text file as a musical score, translate the letters into percussion alphabet, play back the results, and save the audio playback as a file.

For more info, refer to my previous post about Text2Drum, or see my source code for the musical typewriter after the jump.

Musical Typewriter source code:

import ddf.minim.signals.*;
import ddf.minim.*;
import ddf.minim.analysis.*;
import ddf.minim.effects.*;

Minim minim;
//AudioPlayer objects for each letter of the alphabet
AudioPlayer play_a;
AudioPlayer play_b;
AudioPlayer play_c;
AudioPlayer play_d;
AudioPlayer play_e;
AudioPlayer play_f;
AudioPlayer play_g;
AudioPlayer play_h;
AudioPlayer play_i;
AudioPlayer play_j;
AudioPlayer play_k;
AudioPlayer play_l;
AudioPlayer play_m;
AudioPlayer play_n;
AudioPlayer play_o;
AudioPlayer play_p;
AudioPlayer play_q;
AudioPlayer play_r;
AudioPlayer play_s;
AudioPlayer play_t;
AudioPlayer play_u;
AudioPlayer play_v;
AudioPlayer play_w;
AudioPlayer play_x;
AudioPlayer play_y;
AudioPlayer play_z;

void setup()
{
minim = new Minim(this);
size(500,500);

background(0);
textFont(createFont(“Courier”, 50));
text(“Type letters”, 30, height/2-50);
text(“to play”, 30, height/2+25);

play_a = minim.loadFile(“A.mp3″, 512);
play_b = minim.loadFile(“B.mp3″, 512);
play_c = minim.loadFile(“C.mp3″, 512);
play_d = minim.loadFile(“D.mp3″, 512);
play_e = minim.loadFile(“E.mp3″, 512);
play_f = minim.loadFile(“F.mp3″, 512);
play_g = minim.loadFile(“G.mp3″, 512);
play_h = minim.loadFile(“H.mp3″, 512);
play_i = minim.loadFile(“I.mp3″, 512);
play_j = minim.loadFile(“J.mp3″, 512);
play_k = minim.loadFile(“K.mp3″, 512);
play_l = minim.loadFile(“L.mp3″, 512);
play_m = minim.loadFile(“M.mp3″, 512);
play_n = minim.loadFile(“N.mp3″, 512);
play_o = minim.loadFile(“O.mp3″, 512);
play_p = minim.loadFile(“P.mp3″, 512);
play_q = minim.loadFile(“Q.mp3″, 512);
play_r = minim.loadFile(“R.mp3″, 512);
play_s = minim.loadFile(“S.mp3″, 512);
play_t = minim.loadFile(“T.mp3″, 512);
play_u = minim.loadFile(“U.mp3″, 512);
play_v = minim.loadFile(“V.mp3″, 512);
play_w = minim.loadFile(“W.mp3″, 512);
play_x = minim.loadFile(“X.mp3″, 512);
play_y = minim.loadFile(“Y.mp3″, 512);
play_z = minim.loadFile(“Z.mp3″, 512);

textFont(createFont(“Courier”, 200));
}

void draw()
{

}

void keyPressed()
{
if ( key == ‘a’)
{
background(0);
text(“A”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_a.play();
play_a.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘b’)
{
background(0);
text(“B”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_b.play();
play_b.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘c’)
{
background(0);
text(“C”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_c.play();
play_c.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘d’)
{
background(0);
text(“D”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_d.play();
play_d.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘e’)
{
background(0);
text(“E”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_e.play();
play_e.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘f’)
{
background(0);
text(“F”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_f.play();
play_f.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘g’)
{
background(0);
text(“G”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_g.play();
play_g.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘h’)
{
background(0);
text(“H”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_h.play();
play_h.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘i’)
{
background(0);
text(“I”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_i.play();
play_i.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘j’)
{
background(0);
text(“J”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_j.play();
play_j.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘k’)
{
background(0);
text(“K”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_k.play();
play_k.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘l’)
{
background(0);
text(“L”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_l.play();
play_l.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘m’)
{
background(0);
text(“M”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_m.play();
play_m.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘n’)
{
background(0);
text(“N”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_n.play();
play_n.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘o’)
{
background(0);
text(“O”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_o.play();
play_o.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘p’)
{
background(0);
text(“P”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_p.play();
play_p.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘q’)
{
background(0);
text(“Q”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_q.play();
play_q.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘r’)
{
background(0);
text(“R”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_r.play();
play_r.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘s’)
{
background(0);
text(“S”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_s.play();
play_s.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘t’)
{
background(0);
text(“T”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_t.play();
play_t.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘u’)
{
background(0);
text(“U”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_u.play();
play_u.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘v’)
{
background(0);
text(“V”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_v.play();
play_v.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘w’)
{
background(0);
text(“W”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_w.play();
play_w.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘x’)
{
background(0);
text(“X”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_x.play();
play_x.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘y’)
{
background(0);
text(“Y”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_y.play();
play_y.rewind();
}

if ( key == ‘z’)
{
background(0);
text(“Z”, width/2-60, height/2+20);
play_z.play();
play_z.rewind();
}

if (key == ‘ ‘)
{
background(0);
}
}

Like John and Yoko said, “War is over, if you want it”:

November 12, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPECIAL TIMES EDITION BLANKETS U.S. CITIES, PROCLAIMS END TO WAR

* PDF: http://www.nytimes-se.com/pdf
* For video updates: http://www.nytimes-se.com/video
* Contact: mailto:writers@nytimes-se.com

Early this morning, commuters nationwide were delighted to find out that while they were sleeping, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan had come to an end.

If, that is, they happened to read a “special edition” of today’s New York Times.

In an elaborate operation six months in the planning, 1.2 million papers were printed at six different presses and driven to prearranged pickup locations, where thousands of volunteers stood ready to pass them out on the street.

Articles in the paper announce dozens of new initiatives including the establishment of national health care, the abolition of corporate lobbying, a maximum wage for C.E.O.s, and, of course, the end of the war.

The paper, an exact replica of The New York Times, includes International, National, New York, and Business sections, as well as editorials, corrections, and a number of advertisements, including a recall notice for all cars that run on gasoline. There is also a timeline describing the gains brought about by eight months of
progressive support and pressure, culminating in President Obama’s “Yes we REALLY can” speech. (The paper is post-dated July 4, 2009.)

“It’s all about how at this point, we need to push harder than ever,” said Bertha Suttner, one of the newspaper’s writers. “We’ve got to make sure Obama and all the other Democrats do what we elected them to do. After eight, or maybe twenty-eight years of hell, we need to start imagining heaven.”

Not all readers reacted favorably. “The thing I disagree with is how they did it,” said Stuart Carlyle, who received a paper in Grand Central Station while commuting to his Wall Street brokerage. “I’m all for freedom of speech, but they should have started their own paper.”

I also hope to make a second version of Text2Drum which will be interactive, which will have an interface that will allow a user to type in text that Text2Drum will then convert into a rhythmic pattern.

Liesje, Tim and I finished our midterm project for Physical Computing tonight.  Our original concept was the Voodoo Bear, but after managing to break a couple sensors and a vibration motor in the building process, we decided go with a slightly different concept.

Here it is in action:

The setup allows us to inflict Arduino-based violence against the bear, representing our frustration with the bear and the difficulties of building something from the outside in rather than from the inside out.  It can also be read as a demented commentary on the death penalty (which I’m against) or as a kind of shock therapy that de-incentivizes eating candy – good for people trying to control their diet.  Eat chocolate and the bear dies.

Tim talks more about the process on his blog:

The Electric Chair Bear came to fruition this evening as Liesje, Lee-Sean, and I had a revelation yesterday evening about making the voodoo bear concept we had be a voodoo/electric chair bear.  We were having some serious problems making the servo motors do everything we wanted by building the bear’s components, sensors, and motors from the inside out.  We also destroyed about 3 different things including a flex and stretch sensor and a mini vibrating motor.  This was all due to the structure of the bear and the complexity of inserting motors and sensors into the bear.  We did get the bear to do some cool things with the eye connected to a motor as well as putting an LED into the bear’s eye, so that when you shake an accelerometer the bear’s eye moves and the LED turns on and off.  The accelerometer also turns on another servo motor to give slight motion to an arm.    We constructed a chair that looks like previous teddy bears could have been put to death in, and connected tin foil as a metal helmet, sharp teeth, leg shackles, and a lighting bolt across the chest so that the bear sits in the chair, and when the accelerometer is activated, the bear reacts accordingly and looks like he is being electrocuted.  The lightning bolt really makes it “The Electric Chair Bear,” the anti-care bear.  The acceleromoter is attached to a candy bar as incentive so that when a famished passerby sees it, he will pick it up and activate the acceleromoter.  We also wrote a Processing program so that when the accelerometer is activated, the Electric Chair Bear shakes in the processing sketch that has an image of the bear.  The background also freaks out between blue and red to give an added effect of electric proportions.  We also wrote a function so that when the mouse rolls over the distinctly weird eye in question, the LED turns on.  We are very happy with our Electric Chair Bear, and feel as though this idea is even creepier and better for the Haunted House than the original idea.

Here is the Arduino code:

int servoPin = 11;     // Control pin for servo motor – Eye
int servoPin2 = 12;    // Hand
int minPulse = 500;   // Minimum servo position
int maxPulse = 2500;  // Maximum servo position
int pulse = 0;        // Amount to pulse the servo
int ledPin = 4;
int pulseWidth;

long lastPulse = 0;    // the time in milliseconds of the last pulse
int refreshTime = 20; // the time needed in between pulses

int analogValue = 0;  // the value returned from the analog sensor
int analogPin = 0;    // the analog pin that the sensor’s on

int buttonSwitch = 2;      // switch
int buzzerPin = 8;         //buzzer
int motor = 0;
int sensorValue = 0;     // reading from the sensor
int buttonValue;
int ledOn = 0;
int accelerometer = 0;
int accelValuePrev;
int accelValue;

void setup() {
// configure the serial connection:
pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
pinMode(servoPin, OUTPUT);  // Set servo pin as an output pin
pinMode(servoPin2, OUTPUT);

Serial.begin(9600);
// configure the digital input:
pinMode(buttonSwitch, INPUT);
pinMode(buzzerPin, OUTPUT);
pinMode(accelerometer, INPUT);
digitalWrite(buzzerPin, HIGH);

}

void loop() {
if (Serial.available() > 0) {
ledOn = Serial.read();
if(ledOn == 1){
digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);
}
else if (ledOn == 0){
digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
}
}
accelValue = analogRead(accelerometer);
sensorValue = digitalRead(buttonSwitch);
buttonValue = sensorValue;

if (abs(accelValue-accelValuePrev) >15){
Serial.print(1, BYTE);
turnServo(180);
delay(20);
turnServo(5);

digitalWrite(buzzerPin, HIGH);
digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH);

}
else  {
Serial.print(0, BYTE);
digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW);
digitalWrite(buzzerPin, LOW);
}
accelValuePrev = accelValue;
}

void turnServo(int angle) {
int i;
// this loop is done in order to turn the servo motor to the wanted angle
for( i=1;i<angle ;i=i+10 ){

// calculates the amount to pulse to the servo (this servo can turn maximum 180 degrees)
pulse = (i*2500)/180;
// add the minimum amount for the pulse, and the relative position of the given angle
// compared to the maximum angle
pulse += 500+((2000/180)*i);
// pulse the servo motor
pulsout( servoPin, pulse);
pulsout( servoPin2, pulse);
}
}

void pulsout( int servoPin, int pulse) {
digitalWrite(servoPin, HIGH); // Turn the motor on
delayMicroseconds(pulse); // Length of the pulse sets the motor position
digitalWrite(servoPin, LOW); // Turn the motor off
delay(20); // 20 millisecond delay is needed between pulses
}

Here is the Processing code

import processing.serial.*;
Serial myPort;  // The serial port

float  buttonSwitch, accelerometer, accelerometerPrev;
float accelSensitivity = 5;
//the values below are calibrated for use in the processing program

int accel = 0;
PImage[] bear = new PImage [8];
int frame = 0;  //frame counter for vibration

void setup()
{
println(Serial.list());
myPort = new Serial (this, Serial.list()[0], 9600);
size(600,800);
noStroke();
bear[0] = loadImage(“voodoo-bear_blue_small.jpg”);
bear[1] = loadImage(“voodoo-bear_red_small.jpg”);
bear[2] = loadImage(“voodoo-left-red.jpg”);
bear[3] = loadImage(“voodoo-left-blue.jpg”);
bear[4] = loadImage(“voodoo-bear_blue_small.jpg”);
bear[5] = loadImage(“voodoo-bear_red_small.jpg”);
bear[6] = loadImage(“voodoo-right-blue.jpg”);
bear[7] = loadImage(“voodoo-right-red.jpg”);
image(bear[0], 0,0);
}

void draw()
{
frame = (frame+1)%8;
//turn background red if mouse gets close to the zombie eye
if(dist(mouseX, mouseY, 240, 190) < 56)
{
fill(255,0,0,160); //transparent red
myPort.write(1); //send one to Arduino to turn on eye
image(bear[1], 0,0);
//ellipse(240,190,55,55);  //Finding the eye
}
else {
image(bear[0], 0,0);
// myPort.write(0);
}
if(accel==1){
shakeBear();
}
}

void serialEvent (Serial myPort) {
// get the byte:
int inByte = myPort.read();
// print it:
println(inByte);
accel = inByte;
}

void shakeBear(){
image (bear[frame], 0,0);
}

More photos and videos on Flickr.

I worked on this week’s lab with Meredith.  First we set everything up as specified in the lab.  No real problems, pretty straight forward as the video below shows.

Then we wanted to visualize the signal from the serial in a more personal, creative way, so I adapted the big orange circle and blue background from an old ICM project and tried to link the pot reading to the diameter of the circle.  Something stopped working though.  We started double checking wires and scanning every line of the code, but we still could not get the Arduino to talk to Processing.  Then we had a “duh” moment nearly an hour later and just ran the Arduino setup program again.  Then it worked.  Still don’t know why Arduino “forgot” how to output to Processing, even though we didn’t do anything.

The circle diameter did move along with the pot, but there was this nasty flicker that really bothered me, which made me not want to mess with the sketch anymore.  In any case, I think we got the hang of Serial Output.

Here is the code we used:

import processing.serial.*;

Serial myPort; // The serial port
float bigOrangeCircleDiameter = 1; //the big orange circle starts out really small
int bigOrangeCircleGrowthRate = 5;

void setup ()
{
size(800, 800); // window size
myPort = new Serial(this, Serial.list()[0], 9600);
}

void draw()
{
}

void serialEvent(Serial myport)
{
rectMode(CORNER);
noStroke();

// get the byte:
int inByte = myPort.read();
// print it:
println(inByte);

//Draw the big orange circle that grows and shrinks
fill(247,101,42); //Orange fill
bigOrangeCircleDiameter = map (inByte, 0, 255, 0,800);
ellipse(width/2,height/2,bigOrangeCircleDiameter,bigOrangeCircleDiameter);
background(68,66,211,20); //turn the background blue
}

This week in Intro to Computational Media @ ITP, we learned how to add text into a Processing sketch.  I used my Sakura (cherry blossom) sketch from week 3 as a departure point and added the Japanese characters for sakura さくら into the new version of the sketch (above). I wanted to create a kind of “digital calligraphy” that explored the relationship between words and abstract shapes and set everything in motion. I also made an autumn leaves (koyo) sketch with the Japanese characters for koyo 紅葉 and an autumn color story.  To make things more visually appealing, I increased the size of the triangles and added some transparency to the background to create a more stylized sense of the passage of time in the animation and to create an illusion of three-dimensional depth.

There was a slight problem in getting the sketches to execute correctly though.  Although Processing is able to deal with Unicode-8 character sets, I was unable to get the Japanese characters to display correctly in the calligraphy font that I wanted.  The Japanese characters were showing, but in a default san-serif font and not the font that I created and specified in Processing.  I realized that I had to import the full character set and not just the default characters that Processing turns into bitmaps when you create a font.  However, when I checked “all characters” in the Create Font menu and clicked on “Create”, my computer froze up, probably because Japanese fonts have literally thousands of different characters, unlike the 26 letters and handful of punctuation marks we have in English.  Since I was only using 3 different characters in the Sakura sketch and 2 different characters in the Koyo sketch, I thought I that I might try creating SVG files in Adobe Illustrator for each character and then importing the Candy SVG library into my Processing sketches, which would then allow me to import the Japanese characters as vectors instead of bitmapped fonts.  Also, I only had to load the characters that I needed, and not the entire character set of the font.  As you can see from the screenshots, this approach worked!  I got the Japanese chracters to display in the calligraphy font instead of the default Processing font which didn’t work in the context of the sketches.

Click on the screenshots above and below to play with the sketches.  Drag the mouse around the frame and hold down any key on the keyboard to scatter cherry blossoms petals/autumn leaves.

End of summer update: I got back this morning from a week-long holiday in Northern California. Tons of pictures on Flickr. I will blog more about it later.

Above: The famous Fisherman’s Wharf of San Francisco. Below: LS plays with eels at the Monterey Aquarium.

Sophia & Perilla

I hung out with Sophia today. We had dinner in the West Village at a place called Perilla, which is Top Chef Harold Dieterle’s restaurant. The ambience was casual and cosy, typical West Village. Our waiter was attentive and the menu looked good. I was a big fan of Harold’s when I watched Top Chef, so I had high hopes. But unfortunately, things got weird, but not in a good way. We were presented with exactly one slice of bread each. Mmm, gee thanks. Nobody asked if we wanted more. We shared an heirloom tomato salad and seared sea scallops for the appetizer course. The tomato salad was good, but a bit pedestrian. The pine nuts and the feta cheese in the salad overpowered the subtly of the tomatoes. The scallops themselves were executed to textbook perfection, but like the tomato salad, had some balance issues: their were bacon or pancetta bits that were a little overwhelming, and not advertised on the menu.

Entrees. This is where it gets bad. We had the Romesco Oil Poached Chatham Cod with black olive gnocchi, oyster mushrooms & summer zucchini sauce and the Grilled Pork T-Bone with lavender, lychee-black chick pea salad & green mustard sauce. Off the bat, the cod dish was way too salty, and had a weird “squeaky texture.” The “romesco” was a red sauce smeared on the cod with chunks of nuts in it, a departure from the smooth Catalan classic. I found the nuts too aggressive in texture compared to the tender cod. Much better after I scraped off most of the sauce. The summer zucchini sauce was more of a color element than a flavor contrast, so I can’t say it was all the memorable. The black olive gnocchi was too similar to the oyster mushrooms in color, but were surprising in taste and texture when I bit into them. The color and texture reminded me of Taiwanese pig’s blood black pudding, and not in a good way.

The pork t-bone was a big, thick peace of meat, but not at all juicy or particularly flavorful. It was covered by a giant mound of salad that obscured the meat on the plate, not all too flattering a presentation. I couldn’t really taste the lavender, and the lychees were just kind of random surprises that lacked a real context.

Dessert was redeeming. Sophia ordered the Vanilla Scented Doughnuts with peach compote filling & sour cream curd. Fried dough. Peaches. Cream. Yum. ‘Nuff said. I had the local blackberries Linzer Torte, which was very well executed as well. It did a nice job of clearing my palate of all excess salt from the entrees.

Sorry Perilla, I really wanted to like it. I really tried, but I left disappointed. Luckily, we were able to amuse ourselves with some great people watching, as we observed two very awkward dates at adjacent tables unfold before our eyes. Made up for the lackluster food. We noticed that the awkward date people were drinking a lot more than we were. Maybe they were on to something.

Interactive Telecommunications @ NYU Tisch

Orientation starts tomorrow morning for the masters program in Interactive Telecommunications that I am doing at NYU. Updates forthcoming.

Below: Lee-Sean and the giant sunflowers of Sonoma.