“Kim vs. Comet” is a real-time comparison of the volume of data created via social media about Kim Kardashian and the Rosetta comet landing.

How do online interactions differ from real world interactions? People often create digital personalities for themselves. These alternate selves make it easier to disassociate the physical self from their digital interactions. This mental distance can lead to uncharacteristic behavior in the digital world.

How does media influence public perception? Kim’s “internet breaking” magazine cover was published about the same time as scientists landed on the Rosetta comet. However, Kim seemed to get most of the media attention. Does that mean people care less about human’s landing on a comet? Or does the media only allow the public to see what it will get the most views and publicity off of?

This piece physicalizes the digital interaction of tweeting thereby forcing people to confront theirs and other’s digital interactions in the real world.

Inside the sculpture, there are two thermal printers, two arduinos and, a laptop running two processing sketches. The processing sketches scrape the most recent tweet from twitter matching the search query for either @KimKardashian or @ESA_Rosetta. The new tweets scraped are then compared to the previous tweet. If it is different it is printed out of one of the thermal printers. If it is the same as the previous tweet the sketch waits a few seconds (to avoid exceeding rate limits) and scrapes again for the most recent tweet of either query. The printed sheets are allowed to hang from the printers as a visual comparison of the volume of data created about either topic.

In the future I would like to improve the piece by consolidating the electronics and code into one processing sketch and a raspberry pi.

Haptics 3D is a wearable bracelet and Unity Application.The bracelet syncs with Unity to give haptic feedback when a users hand picks up an object in 3D space and connects the object to another part in 3D space. The demo has 3 cars each needing 2 car tires to be connected to the axels.  The tool is meant to be a starting point for better understanding virtual reality of 3D objects and 3D space through haptic feedback.

This project uses Leap Motion to detect hand location in 3D space, Unity to 3D model the scene, imports to connect to the Leap Motion, and Uniduino to connect to the Arduino for Haptic Feedback.

Future developments would allow low cost learning to easily access complex systems and how to build them through virtual reality. Students would learn to build mechanical objects with their hands, when they don’t have access to physical components of a mechanical systems because it doesn’t exist anymore or it is too expensive to gain access to.

data visualization for nuclear testing from Rachel Ciavarella on Vimeo.

“FreeD” by Amit Zoran. 2013

More

Amit references

“Haptic Intelligentsia” by Joong Han Lee. 2012

More

Amit uses magnets for 3D tracking. I found this website that appears to be a DIY. Maybe I can work on this for another project if the Leap works.

I was worried it wouldn’t so I did a lot of research on 3D magnet tracking, which is still an option maybe…maybe I’ll save it for another project. I’ll post some links just so people can see what I was thinking about if you’re interested.

DIY Magnet Tracker Sites
1 2 3 4 5

Understanding the limitations of the pen. Make sure it can work with how I want to use it.

THE LEAP WORKS!

Pen over Leap

www.jeanbaptistemichel.com/#/i-wish-i-could-be-exactly-what-youre-looking-for-2013/

Fade Away 1 from Matt Richardson on Vimeo.

He has been designing and wearing computerized eyewear for decades, the gear increasing markedly in sophistication over time.

more…

An unofficial, on-site, app-based reinstallation of the works of Ted Shawn at the Museum of Modern Art.

more…