1 Hilo creado por Kyd

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Hilo: RAINBOWS

http://www.frontierlab.org/images/rb-header.jpg
Hi!
please check out my project RAINBOWS and if you're interested apply as a collaborator please apply from the form on the Media lab Prado website:
Feel free to contact me for more info : Kyd Campbell [[ kyd[at]frontierlab[dot]org ]]

a) a descriptive sentence of the project and goals:
RAINBOWS is an interactive artwork that questions the consequences of digital image consumption by allowing anonymous contributors in public space to safely dispose of their unwanted images and contribute to the occurrence of real rainbows.

b) a brief abstract:
RAINBOWS is a solar-powered public artwork questioning the consequences of digital image consumption through the creation of magical natural phenomena. This interactive unit makes use of USB interfaces, Arduino Microcontroller, Unix and Python scripts and PureData processing to collect, count and 'transform' unwanted digital images into real rainbows.The fundamental questions related to this project are : When you throw away a digital file, where does it go? Is this garbage piling up somewhere? Is it a threat?

See the project outline and diagrams here: http://www.frontierlab.org/rainbows.html

c) personal profile and background:
Kyd Campbell (from Montreal, currently living in Berlin)
I work as an independent programmer, exhibition designer and curator specialized in circulation, media and audio art and also as a digital creator of video and public interactive situations. I have developed a number of cultural venues in Canada and Eastern Europe including collaborations with the Upgrade! International network, Public Art Lab's project Mobile Studios, the Pure Data community, the HTMlles festival and CTRL_ATL_DEL festival in Istanbul. I'm co-founder of tiny noise, a nomadic sound art exchange platform and contribute to digital communities and research groups focused on observing mobility and the emotional aspects of human-machine relationships. I welcome all forms of collaboration and information exchange.

I'm not a programmer. I studied sculpture and some basic electronics and during my studies I had the chance to make some basic projects with max/msp and pure data. I have worked until now with a few collaborators on this project.

you can see info about my artistic and curatorial work here: http://frontierlab.org

d) profiles of potential collaborators: (I will post some more detailed tasks quite soon.)
To realise the RAINBOWS project, I look for collaborators with expertise and desire to experiment in the following programming environments: Unix, Python, PureData, Arduino micro-controllers. It would also be great to connect with people who have some knowledge of light physics with a special interesting in making real rainbows (with water and light).

I speak fluent English and French. I understand only a tiny bit of spanish, but maybe as a group we can manage to communicate regardless of language.

If you have some experience with these tools, please apply to join the project or if you know anyone that may be interested, please send this info along to them. Please feel welcome to contact me with any questions:  kyd[at]frontierlab[dot]org

e) images of the project: (sorry for the silly diagrams)
http://www.frontierlab.org/images/kiosk_sept08_OUT.jpg
http://www.frontierlab.org/images/kiosk_sept08_IN.jpg

ultima edicion por Kyd (09-03-2009 01:34:13)

2 Respuesta por Kyd

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Re: RAINBOWS

HI, some more specifications:

I have been working on the Rainbows project and found that I will need some help especially in these programming areas:

- python (image processing)
- OR processing (image processing and talking to arduino)

I'm using an asus eeepc for this installation and keep running into some issues with Pd/gem. I originally thought that was going to be the best way to go, but with this hardware, I think it will be best to work on another solution.

As for the other aspects, would be great to have some expertise in:

- light/optics for rainbow making
- construction/plumbing, for the water system and insulating the electronics
- design (object, for the unit + graphic for the signage)
- electronics

feel welcome to post here or write to me if you have some questions.

hope to see you in Lima,
Kyd

3 Respuesta por maxster

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Re: RAINBOWS

Hi folks!

I look forward to collaborating on this project. My field of expertise is designing/building with scavenged resources and arduino. I also have a fair amount of knowledge in robotics.

I also use an eeepc (701), what will ti be running?

cheers,
maxster

ultima edicion por maxster (03-04-2009 19:33:19)

4 Respuesta por Kyd

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Re: RAINBOWS

the eee is running ubuntu now.
I have been having troubles with this machine and image processing... with GEM there are opengl problems.
Now I started to consider other ways to draw data from the images... maybe convert them to text files and count some data from there. va e to think of the poetry for doing this... for deciding what data to draw out and count up.

5 Respuesta por maxster

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Re: RAINBOWS

For the water component, what about a garden sprayer type deal?
They produce a good mist like spray of small water particles.


[img]http://www.mosquitobarrier.com/images/hudson2.jpg[img]

It could be made with a small 12v car compressor, a pressure holding unite (car tyre, propane tank, array of 2l pop bottles), a water tank and the nozzle(s).

I guess the water is being recuperated, it be tricky with this system.

And the windows that contain the Rainbow, how will we work around the build up of water on them?

ultima edicion por maxster (14-04-2009 18:54:14)

6 Respuesta por Kyd

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Re: RAINBOWS

in thinking about the design of the unit, we want to create something that is ambiguous in time, a magic machine that could come from now, or a past or future time and that does not look just like a computer.

I am inspired by the KitMobile, a set of mobile suitcases containing electronics and video screens by Montreal artist Line Nault.

Dan also thought about the process, how it can be visualised by the users and we decided that we prefer not to have just a line of LEDs, as a meter, but rather to maybe use a needle/dial style meter or integrate lights in the unit in a way that better fits the 'possibly old' look of it.

Also, very importantly we discussed the waiting time of the user and ways for them to better physically feel the processing. Dan suggested a  metal wheel crank, something like those used to lower and raise table saws and other shop tools. Now we're looking for a nice old metal wheel.

Yesterday we took a field trip to a huge electronics market. We got a little waterpump, the style used for cars, but it was dead. We made some tests with the pump that I have brought with me and this seems to actually create enough pressure.

We are now considering a water system of small falling raindrops, a curtain of water, rather than an upwards spray... but we might find that this spray may need to go upwards since gravity with cause the falling drops to get bigger and in order to create little rainbows, we need little drops.

Today we will install a hose on the balcony and play with water. Its a perfect time for this because its VERY hot.

7 Respuesta por Kyd

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Re: RAINBOWS

in thinking about the design of the unit, we want to create something that is ambiguous in time, a magic machine that could come from now, or a past or future time and that does not look just like a computer.

I am inspired by the KitMobile, a set of mobile suitcases containing electronics and video screens by Montreal artist Line Nault.

http://www.nault.ca/images/line_nault-kitmobile-A.jpg

Dan also thought about the process, how it can be visualised by the users and we decided that we prefer not to have just a line of LEDs, as a meter, but rather to maybe use a needle/dial style meter or integrate lights in the unit in a way that better fits the 'possibly old' look of it.

Edson, from Lima is at work on the Python coding. He managed to see what Marius and Patrick have started and thinks that its possible to qctually collect and process pixel data from each image quickly, mostly using python. Of course there are some libraries missing on the eee so he's looking into that today.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3557/3445093808_8da9698ab2.jpg?v=0
Edson on the terrace at Escuelab

Also, very importantly we discussed the waiting time of the user and ways for them to better physically feel the processing. Dan suggested a  metal wheel crank, something like those used to lower and raise table saws and other shop tools. Now we're looking for a nice old metal wheel.

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd253/marcr117/clausing1-1-1.jpg

Yesterday we took a field trip to a huge electronics market. We got a little waterpump, the style used for cars, but it was dead. We made some tests with the pump that I have brought with me and this seems to actually create enough pressure.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3617/3444311209_fc3ed3bce5.jpg?v=0
dead car water pump

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3341/3445095778_17d0d6d6bd.jpg?v=0
1st water test with the electric submerged pump, a good start

We are now considering a water system of small falling raindrops, a curtain of water, rather than an upwards spray... but we might find that this spray may need to go upwards since gravity with cause the falling drops to get bigger and in order to create little rainbows, we need little drops.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3570/3445143184_7acbb36b96.jpg?v=0
nice pressure tube we made last night

Today we will install a hose on the balcony and play with water. Its a perfect time for this because its VERY hot.

ultima edicion por Kyd (15-04-2009 17:01:50)

8 Respuesta por Kyd

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Re: RAINBOWS

I am documenting the progress of the project here: http://kydkydkyd.blogspot.com