Kaffe Matthews (2006) designed this Sonic Bed. The deeply sensuous immersion of Matthews’ Sonic Bed offers a trance-like corporeal, audio experience that transcends current visual-aesthetic frameworks. Sonic Bed is about a corporeal experience dixit Art Intelligence. Under the mattress of Sonic Bed there lies a network of loudspeakers including six very large subwoofers that produce very low frequencies that penetrate the body. When one lies in the bed the subsonic vibrations create a variety of responses depending upon the individual. Many people find the experience extremely relaxing, some people find the experience unnerving...
Friday, January 30, 2009
Sonic Bed
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
A magnetic drum!
FielDrum by Graham Grindlay is an acoustic drum outfitted with a system of magnetics which are used to induce pushing and pulling forces on a drumstick and ideally guiding a player through correct motions.
How do people learn the kinds of complex physical gestures required to play musical instruments? Although a beginning percussion student may know what motions are involved in a paradiddle, it will still take practice to develop the motor programs required to produce those motions. Part of the underlying hypothesis of the Magnetic Musical Training project is that beginners would benefit from a kinesthetic "preview" of a target gesture's correct execution. The MMT project is investigating whether people can "learn-by-feel" and if so, how this approach compares to traditional motor training?
One of the current MMT projects is the FielDrum, an acoustic drum outfitted with a system of electromagnets, permanent magnets, and control electronics. These are used to induce "pushing" and "pulling" forces on a drumstick moving it through a desired path in space. In its current state, the FielDrum has two states (attract or repel) which are controlled using the MIDI protocol (noteon messages attract the drumstick while noteoff messages repel it). Presently, we are working to add a position sensing system for the drumsticks as well as continuous control over the electromagnet.
Posted by Cati Vaucelle @ Architectradure.............................................................................................
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Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Children can replicate their toys!
This is a strong reason to be nostalgic of the past! According to Wikipedia, Vac-u-former was a toy made by Mattel in the 1960s. Based on the industrial process of vacuum forming, a square piece of plastic was clamped in a holder and heated over a metal plate. When the plastic was soft, the holder was swung to the other side, over a mold of the object to be formed. Then pressing a handle on the side of the unit created a vacuum, sucking the plastic down over the mold and shaping it to it. When the plastic cooled it solidified, making an impression of the item. Various molds came with the kit, but almost any small object could be used as a mold.
Because very hot surfaces were easily accessible to a child (or adult) playing with the toy, it probably could not be sold today ...
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Places and tools for multi generations
Here it is, the reference paper about intergenerational places and tools written by Edith Ackermann and her peers.
Authors: Decortis F. , Ackermann E. , Barajas M., Magli R., Owen M., Toccafondi G .
Title/reference: From ‘La Piazza’ to ‘Puente’: How place, people and technology make intergenerational learning. In International Journal of Technology Enhanced Learning, Vol.1, No.1/2, 2008, p. 144-155
How places and tools can be used to help mediate mindful - and joyful - encounters between people from different generations, as well as between newcomers and old-timers to a culture.
Researching with Olivier Vaubourg on designing technological playful interfaces for grand parents and their grand kids, this paper is a milestone to start digging into this divide among generations and solutions from tools to places.
Abstract: The divide between generations and the need to integrate aging populations through life wide learning strategies have been evidenced by researches and policy documents. Yet, the lack of mutually beneficial learning practices calls for innovative solutions to prevent societal fragmentation. In 'La Piazza' the purpose was to identify good practices through the use of case studies and interaction design techniques and gauge the potential of digital technologies as enablers of intergenerational learning. In 'Puente', the goal is to further explore the transformative power of existing good practices and to provide guidelines for the design of environments in which young and old can grow in connection.
Keywords: intergenerational learning; generation divide; digital technologies; case studies; good practices; interaction design; aging populations; e-learning; online learning; technology enhanced learning.
Edith made the paper available online, so enjoy!
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Blog Jouons
Monday, January 12, 2009
Imagine a story. Create a book!
Orit Zuckerman a good friend of mine from the Media Lab --we worked together on a few cool projects-- now opened her company, Tikatok, that allows you (or your child) to create books based on her stories. You can also order the books made by the children in the community. Such a neat idea! Orit regularly organizes contests, so the company is now growing as a community of young writers. Tikatok also welcomes teachers, parents and libraries.
During winter break, Lauren showed me this beautiful video of this cute French girl, Capucine, telling the most creative story (no worries, it is translated in English). Imagine how such a child would do drawing, writing and telling her creations on a real book!
Enjoy watching this ultra cute video:
... you can also help the friends of Capucine in Mongolia design books on Orit's site ...
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Float with your Pet!
Everyone deserves to be in the swimming pool! I remember my dog always jumping in our backyard swimming pool, loving to swim, but being unable to come out on his own. What a relief for your pet if he could float! Jed Berk designed Float-a-Pet, an illuminated inflatable pet collar with smart sensor and locative technology.
"How the system works:
The collar serves to support two main situations. First, the passive system is used to recognize where your pet is located at night. The flexible solar cells gather the suns energy during the day and store it in small rechargeable batteries. A light sensor recognizes low light conditions and triggers LEDs to illuminate the collar. Second, the active system is used in disaster relief situations. For example: In the event of a hurricane or the act of simply slipping into a pool. The Collar has a clipped on CO2 cartridge designed to break away. When the integrated humidity sensor reaches its threshold, it is activated. It dispenses CO2 and inflates the collar into a float. The passive solar system will support the floatation device at night by blinking intermittently to get one's attention."
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Blog Jouons
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
A message table
Dana Gordon (currently with us in Cambridge, MA) hacked an existing answering machine and rewired some of its original functions (such as recording a message, play, pause and delete). The result is super fun and inspiring. Imagine in your living room a reactive table instead of a regular answering machine! She called the machine the "message table" as in an answering machine merged into a wooden table. For each message received, a box appears on the table. To listen, open the box - and to delete, push it back into the desk.
Designed with Shawn Bonkowski, she exhibited the table at the Victoria & Albert Museum, at the Salone del Mobile 2005 in Milano and at the Gallery AB+, Torino.
You can watch the video here.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Experimenting with digital money
A video by Chris Woebken that I quite like, I especially love the "time is money" -- friend :)
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Art for the World of Warcraft
I used to play World of Warcraft, I like to have my digital body engaged in breaking down monsters. This can be translated in defining strategies to destroy unstoppable monsters! I reached level 70, raided a lot afterwards and then entirely stopped. In France, I used to play strategy games with 15 players in the same house, creating teams, ordering Pizza and getting tones of Soda. We started on Friday at the end of the afternoon and we stopped on Sunday night.
These past months I have rarely played any game, but I cherish these addictive gaming moments and decided to design an architectural object that criticizes the process of massive multiplayer gaming, designing a refuge with a survival kit integrated as well as doing something with the laptop that continuously burned my legs while playing! Also reflecting on the intense things that are happening on world of warcraft, such as the multiboxing setup!
Recently, I've been awarded a grant by the Council for the Arts at MIT 
The Pod resembles a mobile structure, however it works as a parasite. Connected to the home, it depends on it, it is stuck to it and uses it for survival. A nice metaphor for the teenager who is oblivious to his addiction and the effect it has on his family house! The AFK cookset benefits from a very annoying feature from the old MacBook Pro, that literally burns your laps while playing. The AFK cookset cooks your diner while raiding, it automatically alerts you and the raiders that you are AFK because your "eggs are ready"!
The AFK cookset
World of Warcraft is a massive online multi-player game that attracts millions of players including a large proportion of teenagers and children as young as 10 years old. A typical scenario for teenagers addicted to the game is to settle down in front of the monitor on Friday night and collapse on Sunday night. Sleep deprivation as well as high saturated fat diet is the pride of these players who barely do not take any break, and when they do they sign the typical “AFK” (“Away from Keyboard”) that pops up of top of their avatar. The average AFK is of two minutes, time to run to the fridge, to open a bag of potato chips, to replenish the glass of milk, or go to the bathroom. We are proposing a design noir aiming at representing the ideal setup for the player to spend more quality time online.
Can you imagine the toll that this extreme behaviour takes on the developing body, not to mention the amount of energy waste produced during such a 48-hour non-stop game? The addiction to World of Warcraft, you see, raises questions about the ecological and physio-morphological consequences of the computer game industry – but WOW players would refuse at any cost to reduce their addiction. Another solution must be considered…
The AFK Cookset harvests the heat produced from an ordinary laptop computer to cook meals. Before beginning a WOW session, the player places a shallow metal box beneath his/her laptop. The player pulls out a metal drawer that contains a tray with subdivisions. In one section, the player implaces powdered milk, powdered eggs, a dash of salt and pepper plus seasoning to taste. This protein-rich herb omelette will be cooked first because of the egg whites’ naturally low cooking temperature. In a second subdivision, the player implaces powdered tomato, water, and basil – a perfect second course tomato bisque to provide Vitamin C-rich soup to ward off scurvy. In the final section, the player implaces a frozen pizza. This pizza will be fully heated about the time the player (warrior) is ready for a third meal.
When each respective recipe is ready, the AFK Cookset WOW Plug-in automatically notifies the player that his/her meal is ready. A graphic, announcing, “Bob’s eggs are ready” is immediately visible to the other players on the “Raid Window.”
A first sketch!
The WOW pod
The WOW Pod is an immersive architectural solution for the advanced WOW player that provides and anticipates all life needs. Before entering the WOW Pod for a weekend-full of adventures, the player first stocks the pod: he/she refills the water bag that skins the architectural exterior and pipes liquids directly into the pod via a plastic tube that the player places adjacent his/her mouth. The WOW Pod holds and dispenses up to 3 cannisters of Pringles chips within easy reach of the desktop. The AFK Cookset and backup foodtrays (see description above) provides nutrients to nourish the hungry warrior. Inside, an array of monitors and computers allows the hard-core player to simultaneously control not one – but a whole assembly of players – with ergonomic ease. For instance, normally “multi-box systems” ask the player to use key commands and different mice to switch between players (warrior, magi, etc.). Involving all the latest features of an integrative computing sytem, WOW Pod allows the player to control the magi with his/her elbows, the dwarves with his/her feet pedals, the warrior with his/her hands. The player also has the control to re-program and re-designate the team of warriors according to his/her ergonomic preference.
The exterior of the WOW Pod is a customizable skin that allows the player to publicly demonstrate his/her guild association. Normally, guild affiliations are shown through “tabards”, or wearable insignias. WOW Pod now allows the player to demonstrate to those not online the richness of his/her online identity.
A first sketch
So far we have a lot of fun! I will update soon as we progress in the building of the two pieces. More soon ....
Friday, November 14, 2008
MIT General Exam : passed!
I have successfully passed my qualifying MIT general exam, I am officially PhD candidate! The general exam is composed of three written requirements and one oral exam.
My committee is composed of:
Professor Hiroshi Ishii, PhD
Associate Director of the MIT Media Laboratory
Muriel R. Cooper Professor of Media Arts and Sciences
Program in Media Arts and Sciences
Main area: Tangible interaction techniques
Professor Joe Paradiso, PhD
Sony Career Development Professor of Media Arts and Sciences
Program in Media Arts and Sciences
Technical area: Technologies for body sensing and expression
Professor Edith Ackermann, PhD
Honorary Professor of Developmental Psychology
University of Aix-Marseille I, France
Visiting Scientist. MIT School of Architecture
Contextual area: Psychology, cultural artifacts and semiotics
The oral exam is here to: "show the mastery of the specific knowledge required (analysis), and the ability to think clearly and logically, and to extend ideas into new territory (synthesis)". What is so great about this process is to combine three persons you highly admire, to think with you on "what could become a research framework". You have 6 months after you sent the general exam proposal to fulfill the general exam requirements with the help of your committee. The committee was highly invested in the entire process, supporting my explorations of different directions of research, criticizing my experimentations in wearables, health care, toy design, and help me refine a potential framework throughout.
I passed the three written requirements in the form of a paper for each discipline and today I just completed the oral exam that I titled: "Grounding Interfaces: Shifting the body boundaries".
Introduction ->link to the pdf.
Motivation ->link to the pdf.
Opportunities ->link to the pdf.
Vision ->link to the pdf.
Sensing Technologies ->link to the pdf.
Conclusion ->link to the pdf.
Here is my presentation in .pdf format!
Thank you to all my friends who helped me clarify ideas, refining the framework and letting me rehearse many times!
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