Third Proposal :: Web cam Transformation

This would be a cube that has a web cam and digital screen both built into it. It would be created not for its usefulness but for its art. It will be a product used to create low resolution imagery.

When someone goes in front of the web cam, the cube would auto generate images on that persons movement and display it on the digital screen. I think the screen should be a dot matrix type, so it kind of shows a ray of multicoloured lights going on and off. But in reality the coloured lights would be changing depending on your movement in front of the web cam.

The cube could be used as some sort of art decoration in a club. But maybe they could use a larger dot matrix display.

Second Proposal :: Light bar from the Knight Rider car

A lot of people might remember the old TV show from way back in the 80's about a talking car called KITT. The car had a red light bar at the front of its bonnet, the light moved left and right and back again. It kind of signalled a sense of life in the car like it was alive.



So for this second experiment I am proposing to recreate the light bar featured at the front of the Knight Rider car. Since I already have an Arduino board it could be an interesting experiment for me. I've got the board flashing one LED light and the code seems kind of easy to understand as there is plenty of help available. The developers of the Arduino also provide a forum to find or ask for help. I have modified some of the code that was provided on the Arduino website so that it could flash at a slightly different set time. At the moment I only have the one LED working but once I get some more LEDs it could get interesting, with multiple lights set to flash at differing times it should be quite easy to recreate the Knight Rider car's bar light moving left and right.

I found this on YouTube which shows exactly what I want to create
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wXE1Ja8sgZo

And this one shows how it would look once its been put inside a case
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ricvRK6Ok7U

The Arduino board once programmed can work independently of the computer. It can be powered by one of those square batteries. I think this project could be aesthetically pleasing to complete because some people will find it fascinating. I mean who doesn't want a pulsating light thingy amongst all the gadgets.

Speaking of which a company called Weston Digital that makes computer hard drives used this exact idea to incorporate a pulsing light on an external drive. The light on that drive pulsates when there some drive activity going like transferring file and stuff.

First Proposal :: The LED cube that reacts to sound

For my first concept I have chosen to create an LED cube that reacts to sound. It will take the form of a cube with a large selection of tiny LED lights all around it. The cube will change it's colours according to the sound it hears. It will have a sound sensor inside and be controlled via a small micro controller chip.

This is what I'm hoping to create
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_SO1J1kP3YQ

Example of what someone else made
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7DDpv8N1vHs

Another example that someone else made
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zHKileU8zhc

What is RFID?

RFID is a way of tagging information on a digital chip. It has a sensor that detects other digital tags when put at close range. Of course it needs to be really close like almost touching each other for it to detect and work. But what's important is the way it could be used. Advertisement can be tagged so that when you swipe you other RFID item like a mobile phone you receive a URL to enable you to view the advert.



In America this technology is already in use to store money. You would top up the RFID like an oyster card and use it to pay for items. So if you go to the grocery shop you don't have to bring cash, instead you would bring your RFID enabled mobile phone. When you go to the checkout to pay for your items you just swipe the phone on the designated area to pay, this then deducts the payment from the RFID tag.

Paying using an RFID enabled phone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0HNGl0BnYk&eurl=

This is one of Nokia's range of mobile phones with an embedded RFID tag
http://europe.nokia.com/6131nfc

Microsoft Surface

Over time there have been various forms of touch screen interfaces, and Microsoft Surface is another one of these. But the real difference with this one is that you have more interactivity with content creation. Most touch screens don't let you do much but move content around the screen. What Microsoft have done with the Surface is create software that can "accommodate" around the technology of the screen.

The software has been specifically designed to help/guide people with creating and manipulating files. So you would for example go into say a bar and have this big giant table with a screen that is touch screen capable. You and other friends/people can then use there fingers to manipulate sounds on a game. The game will just feature a modifiable song that changes upon a person touching the Surface screen.



Other examples for the Surface would be a hotel where you can use the screen to view a virtual version of what it looks like inside and to enable you to find your way around the building, kind of like a guide only in digital form on a flat table surface. You would be able to use your hand or fingers to zoom in on certain sections and pinpoint what your really looking for.

Example of how you would use the Surface to interact with content
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rP5y7yp06n0

welcome to my digital media blog

This is my blog for the Contemporary Issues in Interaction Design assignment at TVU. Over the coming days I hope to write about 3 forms of digital media that have transformed our way of living. I will be detailing there history and evolution and how they become so important to our life.