ARTiVIS research | Mónica Mendes
Arts, Real-Time Video, and Interactivity for SustainabilityPlay with Fire at Algoritmos Criativos exhibition, Pavilhão do Conhecimento, from February 6 to 26
Algoritmos Criativos exhibition is a project promoted by Ciência Viva and O Espaço do Tempo in colaboration with Audiência Zero. The exhibition will be open at Pavilhão do Conhecimento in Lisbon from February 6 to 26, 2012. The entry is free, join us!
Here are some photos from the exhibition opening »
And the Play with Fire installation »
Meanwhile, here is the UT Austin-Portugal Program news on this subject »
Play with Fire at AZ Labs showcase in Guimarães 2012
We were presenting the Play with Fire demo at the AZ Labs showcase in Guimarães – this time “burning” the holy “Penha” surrounding forest.
Here is the AZ Labs showcase video of the event on December 17, 2012 »
The next day wu did the first set of Play with Fire tests, and we will soon bring some photos of the whole experience :)
Play with Fire participating at the 10th Longa Noite de Curtas
We had a very good feednack from this 1′ video resented at the 10th Longa Noite de Curtas, organized by Gonçalo Robalo, this time with the challenge-rule of no sound ;)
Play with Fire at ACE 2011 Creative Showcase & Interactive Art
We presented the Play with Fire demo ACE 2011 Creative Showcase & Interactive Art, in Lisbon, where I also had a fantastic experience participating as a student volunteer ;).
Another highlight was the study visit of my FBAUL students to the Interactive Showcase and Interactive Art :)))
Here is the 20” (yes, seconds) madness presentation on vimeo »
Soon we will be presenting some photos of the event, too. Meanwhile, take a look at the ACE 2011 Lisbon Conference gallery »
RTiVISS is now ARTiVIS
The acronym for this exploratory project and research agenda is ARTiVIS, which stands for Arts, Real-Time Video and Interactivity for Sustainability and connects with the symbolic meaning association of Art and Activism.
Why are publications prior to the 2011 Fall season spelling RTiVISS in the place of the actual ARTiVIS? The project initially started as ARTiVISS, then simplified as RTiVISS – to be read with an english accent. By interviewing the Portuguese population and making them participate in the installations (Hug@ree Summer) we realized the need of a clearer and broader communication, readable by people of every language. By then, people either did not spell it as it was meant, and did not connect the RTiVISS acronym with art or activism. As the research becomes more focused on the use of real-time video for artistic explorations and interactions with the local population, we recognize the relevance to make the name understandable and memorable to all cultures. ARTiVIS is the actual proposal that keeps the essence of art and real time-video for sustainability, and brings more evidence on the connection of arts with an activist approach.
Algoritmos Criativos premiere at Montemor-o-Novo showcasing Play with Fire
After another artistic residency week at O Espaço do Tempo in Montemor-o-Novo, we finally premiered the Play with Fire interactive installation and had the opportunity of showing it to hundreds of students that visited the exhibition during the following week.
This Play with Fire teaser video presents some of those moments shot during the Montemor-o-Novo Algoritmos Criativos residency and exhibition »
ARTiVIS “on fire” at ISEA 2011
September 15, 2011: presentation of the Play with Fire work in progress by me and Pedro Ângelo in the Sustainability panel at ISEA2011 in Sabanci Center, Istanbul.
Sadly Valentina and Nuno couldn’t come and present the project with us, but overall the paper session and our Play with Fire presentation went very nicely. It started with Bin Jiang’s presentation of his Ecotopia concept, a really thought provoking idea to build structures that host a countryside ecosystem inside a big city, fostering self sustainability and jobs for urban communities. Our presentation also fostered some interesting discussion on forest fire paradoxes, the unstable balance of nature without human intervention and some valuable references and figures to help consolidate the ongoing research.
It was good to get feedback on the project concept from Julian Oliver regarding facts and figures of forest fires and the effect of human intervention on natural cycles, and from Lindsay Grace later on regarding the concept’s “interesting tension”.
After the session we also met Lorenzo Taiuti, Valentina’s thesis advisor in the Fine Art Academy (way back more than a dozen years ago) who dropped by to see his old student presenting, showing that ISEA’s ability to attract a widespread community of digital art practitioners can be a forum to meet old friends too.
And last but not least we also had the pleasure of having Ana Barros dropping by our session to say Hi.
The rest of ISEA program was very good and it was really hard to balance it with all the unmissable historical locations, art exhibits and events vying for our attention in Istanbul.
Among the highlights were the fantastic keynotes by Oliver Grau, Roman Verostko and Sara Diamond, the two Art Market boat cruises on the Bosphorous for the networking and project presentations, and Jenny Leary‘s workshop on how to make magnetic latex impressions of your credit card.
It was also great to meet again so many friends from my recent stay in LA, like Jenny Leary, Sci|Art colleague Pinar Yoldas, and Melissanthi Saliba. It was also really nice to have the chance to meet personally Victoria Vesna‘s Art|Sci collaborators Roy Ascott, Sara Diamond and Christiane Paul.
The Portuguese participation at the conference was very strong, with really nice work presented by Ricardo Lobo from AZ Labs, Ana Carvalho, Miguel Carvalhais, Helder Dias, Margarida Carvalho, Maria Manuela Lopes and Paulo Bernardino, and the other Nuno Correia ;)
Overall we had a fantastic time at ISEA2011 and we hope to be a part of this community again next year in Albuquerque. Many thanks and congrats to the Artistic Director and Conference Chair, Lanfranco Aceti, for the excellent work and kindness during the event and also the whole process. As for Istanbul, it’s definitely a city to return to someday to pick up on all the wonders left unseen.
ISDT 2 Digital Transformation
Almost one week has passed since the start of the Gary Chapman International School of Digital Transformation [ISDT]. It is the 2nd time I am attending, and by now I am getting that feeling again that on the one side it has passed in a glimpse, and still it has been so intense as a full month of clues to explore further.
One of the ISDT extra activities was my proposal to go again this year to the traditional Tuesdays hackerspaces meeting. We were very well received by the AZ labs members who gave us a comprehensive tour to their new LCD installations. Here is their report on the visit »
And here are the references I mentioned at the time:
In what relates to the words “hacking” and its purported relationship with criminal activity, the term has had “an unfortunate history”, as stated by Bruce Sterling in his book “The Hacker Crackdown” who points to the original sense.
A propos, here is the MCD (Musiques & Cultures Digitales) publication on the European medialabs, where we wrote the section about the AZ labs hackerspaces network.
As we wrap up, I am willing to share my subjective perspective with some visual notes that will then become our memories – and my mnemonics, too. Take a look at the flickr set and leave your comments, local info, or whatever you where thinking of by then or now »
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Hug@ree demo at ArtropoCode | Santiago de Compostela
Hug@ree was demonstrated during the ArtropoCode – “1º Encontro de tecedeiras de código livre” (1st meeting of libre weavers), a digital art and open source software event organized by AZ Labs friends from Galiza, Beca, Marta and Daniel from Baleiro, and coordinated with Audiencia Zero and Olholivre.
This mini-hackmeet took place in Santiago de Compostela, from July 15 to 17. It was a very intensive weekend dedicated to the possibilities of free tools for creative programming. It was very fun, too :)
The demo version of Hug@ree was improvised with fallen leaves and branches from the park of the University of Santiago de Compostela, where Baleiro is located. In the most playful part of the meeting, the different tools where used in installations, performances and DJ-VJ sessions.
In the chillout extension, Hug@ree became an extra entertainment during the night, grabbing surprising screenshots with the VJ performance and the participants dancing scenario. Moreover, Marta’s face paintings where “estupendas” and lasted for the whole night!
This is the link for the Flickr photos full set » and here is the Hug@ree demo timelapse:
This Hug@ree & VJ unintended jam triggered the idea of combining the RTiVISS experiences Hug@ree and Treeellucinations in the same setup – I can almost hear what my advisor would say about such Hug@reeellucinations idea at this time: “post-doc” (ie, concentrate, do not dawdle for now) – Got it ;) ?
A subjective overview of the TEI 2011 conference
Finally organizing the documentation after arriving home, here’s a set of visual notes that present the Hug@ree point of view of TEI’11 in Madeira » TEI 2011 conference overview [Flickr set]
A big hug saying *congrats* and *thanks* to everyone involved in this great event, especially Valentina, Ian, Ellen, Mark, Pedro, Amon, Edward, Denzil, Mayur, and Ricardo, who contributed to make the whole experience to become possible and wonderful!
Hug@ree at TEI Art Exploration session!
The big day is here, Hug@ree was showcased at TEI2011 but first we had to contend with something completely unexpected. The normally sunny weather in Madeira turned its back on us and treated us to some cold wind and rain. Not the the perfect conditions to get people to go outside and hug our tree :/
At the showcase room, the day started early and the room assigned to us at the exhibition space was quickly crowded with nice people setting up their very interesting projects. Hug@ree was in good company :) :) :) :) :)
First we went about calibrating our multitouch display for the exhibition. Our improvised DI setup worked but turned out to be kind of fiddly to set up and a bit unstable in the tracking. In the end it worked out OK for demoing the concept but needs some work to be of any future use.
At half past three, visitors started to arrive and we demoed the installation to them.
At a certain point we received the vist of a local film crew, that was very interested in hearing about our project. They filmed it from every angle and were even captured in our surveillance camera :)
We also received some illustrious visitors that were attending the conference, like UT Austin-Portugal Program’s Professor Sharon Strover and MIT’s Professor Hirosi Ishii:
The rain made it hard for people to go outside to hug our tree, so we had to go out and do it ourselves, plus a very few brave palm tree huggers, including the student volunteer Ricardo and the The Chameleon Girl herself :) :)
By the end of the showcase we didn’t have as many hugs as we expected on our unique Madeira palm tree, but we got some very interesting surprises, like a lightning triggering the sensors and getting captured on video or the quaint lights that the hotel lit up by nightfall:
All in all it was a very rewarding experience. We met a lot of interesting people and got some really nice feedback. If you like, you can check the whole photo set of our adventures at TEI2011.
See you guys next year?
The Hug@ree Madness Session
“Have you ever…?”
… no, had never made a 25” presentation before ;) Got it, at TEI 2011 madness session – frantic!
So here’s the presentation at TEI
Hug@ree palm tree #TEI2011
After testing all kinds of trees and connections at the TEI conference venue CS Madeira, we finally got to this fremework! Ah, and don’t worry about the scarce foliage… we’ll manage to make it spread its leaves with live hugs {[( )]}
… so here’s the plan:
Hug@ree setup at TEI2011
Right after we arrived at Madeira island, we headed off to the TEI2011 venue and got busy setting up Hug@ree for the Art Explorations showcase next Tuesday.
Just a couple of days before we left Lisbon, we had a setback. Our friend Tiago’s professionally built multitouch display had to be used for an unexpected theater play, so being unavailable for the exhibition, we had to improvise fast.
We scavenged a flexible diffuse plastic sheet out of Nuno’s IMG lab and bought some lightweight metal profiles along with some nuts and bolts. Maurício lent us a couple of infrared LED emitters and Guilherme lent us his modded PS3 camera.
In the end we had a DI multitouch setup that would fit on a small plastic tube, normally used to carry posters.
Assembling the frame took about twenty minutes and fixing the diffuse plastic sheet onto it took about an hour and lots of gorilla tape :)
We then setup the surveillance camera lent by the the UT Austin-Portugal Program already used at Popup and went outside to scout the best tree we could find that was visible from our exhibition room. We hugged a lot of very nice trees but had to choose only one :)
By then it was time to go back inside and setup the enclosure that would house our improvised multitouch projection screen. After a quick trip to the local hardware store we repurposed some PVC sheets normally used for wall proofing and once again abused the powers of the gorilla tape to hold everything together as securely as possible.
Next up ws the task of instrumenting our tree. Back outside we measured the XBee radio’s range and signal strength and hooked up the capacitive sensor wires and their controller box to the tree.
… then the outdoor caption:
… followed by hug tests:
And that was it. After a super busy day, our installation setup was ready. Tomorrow we’ll start with the lighting and multitouch calibration and install the final version of the software that will run our exhibit.
If you’re attending TEI2011, come see us on Tuesday afternoon and don’t miss the Madness session first thing in the morning.
Hug@ree at the UT-Austin Portugal newsletter
The report on the Hug@ree has just been published in the UT Austin-Portugal Program newsletter – just take a look on page 4 »»»»
Hug@ree at TEI 2011
Yay! Hug@ree will be showcased at TEI 2011 Art Explorations (ref. art 14a). This is the fifth International conference dedicated to presenting the latest results in tangible, embedded, and embodied interaction, being held the Portuguese island Madeira (Jan 23-26).
2010 year review for this blog
The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:
The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads This blog is doing awesome!.
Crunchy numbers
A helper monkey made this abstract painting, inspired by your stats.
A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 2,400 times in 2010. That’s about 6 full 747s.
In 2010, there were 67 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 73 posts. There were 59 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 6mb. That’s about 1 pictures per week.
The busiest day of the year was October 5th with 80 views. The most popular post that day was Abraçaum@rvore » Sprint AZ: 1 finalFeliz em 2 videos e 3′-.
Where did they come from?
The top referring sites in 2010 were rtiviss.com, digg.com, labcd.org, facebook.com, and areas.fba.ul.pt.
Some visitors came searching, mostly for monica mendes, photos macal do chao portugal, bert herigstad, maçal do chão, and rtiviss.
Attractions in 2010
These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.
Abraçaum@rvore » Sprint AZ: 1 finalFeliz em 2 videos e 3′- September 2010
“Viral” refs meeting Nancy Schiesari @SXSW March 2010
RTiVISS [Real-time Video Interactive Systems for Sustainability] October 2009
“Diasporadic” encounters March 2010
1 comment
ABOUT September 2009
“Big Brother Goes Green: Surveillance for Sustainable Forests” accepted for SXSW
Remember this special request (some months ago…) to vote for my proposal? Yay, the panel that me and Nuno Correia proposed *with Prentiss‘ expert review collaboration* has been accepted to be part of the 2011 SXSW Interactive Festival in March in Austin!
Thank you so much to all that voted and commented on our proposal at the SXSW panelPicker » Here’s the list of confirmed sessions for the 2011 SXSW Interactive Festival with the accepted PanelPicker Proposals titles »
Sessão de testes Hug@ree » Pop Up até dia 11
Aqui estão as capturas de ecrã feitas ao longo da sessão do dia 1 de Dezembro (1 screenshot por minuto) » timelapse no vimeo
Quanto aos registos fotográficos, coloquei online um conjunto de fotos que resume visualmente a instalação e as actividades nesse dia » Hug@ree_PopUp tests no flickr
Dêem uma vista de olhos nos diversos registos e, se quiserem, deixem os vossos comentários :)
{([Um grande abraço Hug@ree* aos participantes na experiência e nos testes Hug@ree, que prestaram uma contribuição muito interessante e importante para investigação em curso)]}
A exposição mantém-se até dia 11 e durante estes próximos dois dias lá estarei também – Pop Up!
Abraçaum@rvore/Hug@ree » Pop Up no palácio de Santa Catarina | Testes e vídeos 1 de Dezembro
[NOTE: this post is intentionally in Portuguese because the exhibition is in Lisbon, and the followers able to be there speak Portuguese. For the automatic translation – with all the virtues & limitations we know – click here and have some extra fun ;)]
Já alguma vez…? E que tal experimentar abraçar uma árvore na instalação interactiva Hug@ree?
Aqui fica o convite para visitarem a exposição e participarem nos testes e nos vídeos neste feriado 1 de Dezembro: simplesmente Pop Up no palácio de Santa Catarina onde vamos estar em animada sessão Abraçaum@rvore / Hug@ree* » a entrada é livre e lá vos esperamos entre as 15 e as 20h!
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*Hug@ree é uma instalação interactiva de cumplicidade entre os seres urbanos e a floresta. Os participantes abraçam uma árvore real, accionando o seu registo no mundo virtual para posterior interacção.
Uma experiência RTiVISS por Mónica Mendes, Pedro Ângelo e Nuno Correia
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APOIOS: AZ Labs, FBAUL, Media Ground, Subvertice
Inauguração Pop Up » Hug@ree
[NOTE: this post is intentionally in Portuguese because the exhibition is opening in Lisbon, and the followers able to be at the opening speak Portuguese. For the automatic translation – with all the virtues & limitations we know – click here and have some extra fun ;)]
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Vem abraçar uma árvore* na instalação interactiva Hug@ree que inaugura hoje no Pop Up City Lisboa 2010!
Hug@ree* é uma instalação interactiva que proporciona uma experiência de cumplicidade entre os seres urbanos e a floresta. Os participantes abraçam uma árvore real, accionando o seu registo no mundo virtual para posterior interacção.
Desenvolvido com a colaboração de membros dos AZ LAbs e correspondentes locais, Hug@ree integra o projecto RTiVISS [Real-Time Video Interactive Systems for Sustainability] uma investigação experimental reflectindo activamente em torno de questões: como promover uma atitude construtiva face à dinâmica destrutiva dos incêndios que agravam as alterações climáticas? Pode a arte criar consciência e respeito pela natureza?
Esta experiência imersiva proporciona a interacção com as árvores e vídeos de árvores em tempo real, contribuindo para trazer assuntos ambientais à cultura urbana. + info »
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O Pop Up** é um festival internacional de cultura urbana que desafia criadores de múltiplas áreas de expressão artística a intervirem em espaços urbanos. A edição deste ano tem início hoje no Palácio de Verride em Santa Catarina, a partir das 22h [entrada livre]. Após a festa de abertura, a exposição estará aberta ao público até 11 de Dezembro, das 12h às 20h – Terça a Sábado [entrada livre]. Programa das Festas »
RTiVISS at ACM MM
Presenting RTiVISS at ACM Multimedia Interactive Art Program this year was an awesome experience, a privilege shared with so interesting researchers.Hug@ree PopUp Setup
Here’s some more iterations on the Hug@ree interactive installation tests and implementation for Pop Up for Pop Up Lisbon 2010.
This time, me and Pedro went to the Pop Up City venue Palácio de Santa Catarina (officially, “Palácio de Verride” ;)) for the most diverse final arrangements prior to the last days before the opening.
Take a look at the Hug@ree PopupSetup Flickr set for this stage, where you will get a comprehensive photo report on the work done and have a glympse of what is to come… more soon! :)
A big *thank you hug* to all the “Hug@ree at 10/10/10 Global work party” contributors!
Hug@ree at 10/10/10 Global work party | Call for participation
Participate today » 10/10/10 Global work party » hug a real tree and send the video/photo to Hug@ree » http://www.350.org/en/hugree
Simply hug a real tree anywhere in the world, and then send the 5 to 10 seconds video or a photo to rtiviss.hugatree@gmail.com !
This action on 10/10/10 will trigger your registration in the Real-Time Interactive Video Systems for Sustainability virtual world and screen you at the interactive installation we will be exhibiting at Popup Lisbon. Hug@ree will be symbolizing the complicity between urban beings and the forest to express cities’ new values regarding sustainability.
Saberes & sabores do Maçal do Chão » Sprint AZ
NOTE: this post was intentionally reported in Portuguese to enhance local cultures by sharing with the people at Maçal do Chão, where this event took place. For the automatic translation – with all the virtues & limitations we know –, click here and have some extra fun ;)»
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Estes registos são como que um apontamento paralelo inspirado nos saberes e sabores locais, que ora estreia com Maçal do Chão, uma pequena aldeia na região da Serra da Estrela, a propósito da realização do sprint Abraçaum@rvore que propus aos labs AZ.
A proposta do património natural envolvente de Maçal do Chão no contexto do projecto de investigação RTiVISS tem origem no facto de ser uma das áreas de maior risco de incêndios florestais, onde o meu pai, Fernando Mendes, tem vindo a desenvolver um projecto de reflorestamento em mais de uma centena de hectares que se estendem pelas Quintas das Bocas, de Santo André, e das Mestras, incluindo o “talegre” no cimo do monte, um marco geodésico a assinalar o ponto mais alto daquela zona.Trata-se de uma localidade situada na região da Serra da Estrela, no interior Norte de Portugal, sob o enquadramento geográfico do distrito da Guarda e do Concelho de Celorico da Beira, onde os incêndios florestais têm devastado drasticamente os seus singulares tons de verde – uma tendência decrescente nos últimos anos devido a projetos de reflorestamento local e os trabalhos de manutenção de limpeza.
Reunem-se assim as condições de acessibilidade numa propriedade privada disponível para os testes piloto a realizar e para a sua inclusão como referência a um não-lugar.
As espécies de ávores que crescem nestas florestas incluem pinheiros, azinheiras, castanheiros, cerejeiras, plátanos, cedros.
Houve oportunidades de saborear os produtos locais, desde o reconhecido queijo da serra, ao chouriço, pão de trigo, e frutos da época, especialmente os figos e uvas em estação de vindimas, e ainda as ameixas e as amoras que restavam do Verão. Como não há tempo para tudo, as perfumadas “bravo esmofo”autóctones da Beira Alta que tínhamos à nossa espera nas macieiras do Ribeiro do Salto terão que ficar para outra altura… ai, ai.
O nosso extremoso anfitrião e autor do projecto de reflorestamento que deu mote a esta investigação, Fernando Mendes, assumiu com excelência o papel de chef, preparando-nos deliciosas refeições que incluem: javali caçado na floresta que reportamos com acompanhamento de batatas novas da aldeia, bacalhau no forno regado com o imaculado azeite de acidez “0″ das suas oliveiras, e ovos caseiros da vizinhança.
Com este programa gastronómico em apenas um fim-de-semana, claro está, sabotou completamente os planos iniciais, que eram 48h apenas com breves pausas, em ritmo de sprint AZ. Deixo este comentário em jeito de confissão para expressar o meu propósito inicial, já que não tive quorum, pois as propostas do meu pai suscitaram a incondicionada adesão de todos os outros membros.
Teve como cúmplice a minha tia Graciosa, que fez a sopa de feijão verde e a de couve, ambas com legumes das hortas locais, e também as saladas com tomate “coração de boi”, o melhor de que há notícia ;)
A complementar estas divagações pelos sabores da horta, levou-nos a observar umas texturas que se assemelhavam a um rendilhado:
… intrigante para abóboras, há que reconhecer!
O Ricardo que, pensava eu, iria manter a ideia espartana de trabalho contínuo na sua qualidade de coordenador dos sprints, limita-se a afirmar: “épico!”
…Bom, com uns figos desta natureza, não há quem resista :)))
Para além de ter tirado os geeks do seu habitat natural, o passeio para registos até à Quinta de Santo André e Quinta das Bocas teve ainda momentos de pausa para apanhar amoras silvestres, colher uns sacos cheios de figos suculentos e para fechar os olhos e contemplar a doce melodia do canto dos pássaros e de dezenas de chocalhos de um rebanho que pastava ali perto em contraste com o silêncio pacífico que nos rodeava.
E o final feliz é que, além de tudo isto, cumprimos os objectivos a que nos tínhamos proposto neste sprint: a versão do sensor capacitivo resulta, o software está esboçado no openframeworks, e as tarefas subsequentes que requeriam a utilização de equipamento que não estava ao nosso alcance nessa altura, como os xbees e as tais resistências de 10Mohm, ficaram definidas para conclusão – muito, muito em breve :))))
Abraçaum@rvore » Sprint AZ [Dia 2]
NOTE: this post was intentionally reported in Portuguese to enhance local cultures by sharing with the people at Maçal do Chão, where this event took place. For the automatic translation, with all the virtues & limitations we know ;)), click here and have some extra fun ;) »
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O segundo dia do Sprint começou com o primeiro setup de teste da instalação. O objectivo era experimentar os projectores e aferir a escala dos participantes face às dimensões da sala e à imagem projectada.
Entretanto, o Pedro estava a estruturar o código por forma a poder distribuir o trabalho de programação entre mais pessoas. O objectivo era reutilizar o máximo possível o código e a experiência com vídeo em tempo-real adquiridas no desenvolvimento do B-wind!, e concentrarmo-nos naqueles aspectos realmente únicos neste projecto.
Depois de montarmos o protótipo da instalação, foi tempo de fazer testes com os feeds de vídeo em tempo-real nas nossas árvores de teste no largo da aldeia. O objectivo era escolher a câmara certa, os parâmetros de aquisição de imagem, e a localização ideal para a mesma.
Depois do almoço era altura de nos envolvermos activamente em trabalho de campo, no campo propriamente dito :)
Para além do belo passeio, era necessário obter registos fotográficos e vídeo para divulgação do projecto e referência futura.
Estes vídeos que capturámos, além de terem sido um óptimo pretexto para abraçar árvores e de nos divertirmos uns com os outros, irão permitir-nos retirar informação de tempos médios a considerar para o loop de vídeo do abraço e fazer simulações mais próximas de uma realidade desejada :)))
Chegada a noite, foi tempo de rever os resultados do Sprint. Apesar de termos uma equipa mais pequena do que estava inicialmente previsto, foi-nos possível resolver todas as questões que tinhamos em relação à implementação deste projecto e lançar os primeiros abraços para uma futura exibição.
Abraçaum@rvore » Sprint AZ [Dia 1]
Manhã do primeiro dia do Sprint: altura ideal para reunir a equipa e planear os próximos passos.
A primeira questão a resolver era como detectar o abraço à arvore usando o material disponível e sem tornar o sensor demasiado visivel ou intrusivo para os participantes na instalação.
Antes do trabalho começar, já várias alternativas tinham sido pesquisadas para o sensor de abraços. Depois de alguma discussão, optámos por decidir testar rapidamente a hipótese de usar um sensor capacitivo constituído por vários fios metálicos colocados verticalmente sobre o tronco da árvore.
Para obter os fios metálicos, o João e o Pedro descarnaram um cabo RJ-45 que havia à mão para usar como fonte de fio unifilar. Eu e o Ricardo excluímo-nos dessa tarefa, tinhamos muitos registos a fazer e documentação a processar – uff!
Os primeiros testes foram animadores, conseguindo facilmente detectar através do arduino o toque sobre qualquer parte do fio metálico. Mas para poder detectar um abraço com fiabilidade ainda tinhamos que detectar a proximidade do fio ou o toque através da roupa. Para obter a sensibilidade desejada era necessário aumentar a resistência do sensor, mas infelizmente só tínhamos duas resistências de 1Mohm. Colocando as resistências em série conseguimos resultados algo interessantes, mas ainda assim insuficientes para os nossos propósitos. Precisávamos de mais resistências da mesma ordem de grandeza.
As buscas nas nossas caixas de materiais revelaram-se infrutíferas e uma ida à Guarda, a cidade mais próxima, para procurar uma loja de electrónica aberta ao sábado de manhã estava fora de questão. Era então tempo de recorrer à especialidade dos membros dos labs, a reciclagem de componentes :)
As diligências resultaram em duas prováveis fontes de componentes, um velho radiogravador dos anos 80 e um ferro de engomar “que já não aquecia muito”.
O João lançou-se com afinco ao radiogravador e depois de algumas voltas lá conseguiu recuperar uma resistência de 1 Mohm; o Pedro ainda verificou o ferro semiavariado, mas nada de resistências…
“Next I’ll destroy it” “… humm” Nem mais!
Entretanto, o Ricardo andava ocupado a registar o arranque do sprint e fomos dar com ele a improvisar um suporte para a câmara de filmar usando uma base para transporte que encontrou na nossa garagem/laboratório improvisado, uma verdadeira traquitana para travellings!
Por essa altura, alguns estômagos já estava a dar horas e fomos chamados para a mesa onde fomos presenteados com um delicioso guisado de javali, que prometia arruinar completamente a nossa produtividade para a tarde.
Logo a seguir chegou o André, um dos nossos colaboradores locais, que nos falou da sua experiência recente como operador de comunicações do nº 117 do projecto de prevenção da Afocelca (grupo Portucel, Soporcel, Caima e Celby).
Já com o sensor capacitivo a dar resultados interessantes com três resistências de 1Mohm em série, avançámos para as árvores antes que se tornasse tarde demais. Para esse efeito, escolhemos a árvore menos larga do Largo do Maçal, mesmo em frente à nossa garagem-oficina, a estrear as experiências.
A primeira questão a resolver era a fixação do sensor à árvore. Para isso inventámos uma cinta presa por agrafos – não prejudiciais para a superfície da árvore, segundo confirmou o nosso especialista ambiental, o correspondente local André ;)
“Humm… que é isto?”
Finalmente tinahmos o nosso sensor de abraços, um protótipo simples que identificava um input do sensor e imprimia o seu valor no ecrã. Aqui podemos vê-lo em pleno funcionamento, revelando algumas particularidades das preferências da árvore em questões de abraços & género – watch the trailer »
Entretanto, o Pedro começou a esboçar a arquitectura de software para a instalação. Mais uma vez o OpenFrameworks foi a ferramenta de eleição e, embora ainda com bastantes arestas por limar, ao final do dia já havia um protótipo do código também :)
É nesta altura que o Ricardo avança com a 1º regra fundamental dos Sprints AZ: “Optimizações nunca são importantes num sprint”!
Amanhã há mais…
Abraçaum@rvore » Sprint AZ [Dia 0]
Chegada ao Maçal do Chão, o nosso local para o sprint Abraçaum@rvore :)
A malta do LCD chegou carregada de ferramentas e material para o Sprint – aqui até parece teletransporte, não fossem as 2h de viagem…
A equipa era constituída pela Mónica Mendes (moi) do altLab :P, pelo João Carvalho, Pedro Ângelo e Ricardo Lobo do LCD e pelo Tiago Serra do xDA (que nesta estapa não conseguiu comparecer, mas continuamos a contar com ele para as fases seguintes ;)). No Maçal, tinhamos o nosso patrocinador Fernando Mendes e os correspondentes locais a postos, Valter Cruz e André Correia e, remotamente, orientação pelo Nuno Correia.
Começámos pelo reconhecimento do espaço de trabalho e pela organização de todo o material. Entretanto, o Ricardo revelou-se um verdadeiro viciado em figos, tendo-se deliciado ao saborear uma generosa porção que tinha sido apanhada há poucas horas.
Depois do jantar e ainda com efeitos da viagem e preparativos, fizemos uma pequena reunião para acertar os últimos pormenores relativos ao Sprint que estava prestes a começar. Para ilustrar a ideia, aqui fica o esboço da proposta que alimentou os sonhos dos sprinters ;)
RTiVISS proposes Hug@ree for AZlabs sprint project
» http://audienciazero.org/index.php?option=com_cct&task=view&id=135
B-wind! v2.0 roadmap
The work we did at the AZ Residency allowed us to build a fully functional version of B-wind! adapted to fit a specific exhibition space.
We decided to call that version 1.0 to reflect the fact that for the first time all the little parts that make the installation work were in a functional stage. Our goal now is to work from this version on and evolve it to respond to our ongoing research work and to adapt it to the challenges of new exhibition spaces. In order to show that, we settled on a version naming scheme for the installation, where minor releases accompany our research work and major releases happen around public exhibition times.
So v2.0 will showcase all the work done in the installation until the next exhibition comes along. The first major version gave us a pretty good picture of how all the different parts that make up the system relate among themselves, and allowed us to simplify and abstract a lot of the complexity shown on previous system architecture diagrams (see above).
Currently, there are three main drivers for our research work towards the next major version of B-wind!: expressiveness, flexibility and efficiency.
expressiveness
Making someone feel like being the wind requires good action feedback, low control latency and expressive visual cues.
In this context good action feedback means making the wind generators’ work at the remote location more expressive. For this to happen we need to focus on the wind generator design and control. We’ll search for better and more powerful fans and look into how we can tweak the number of fans and their placement to get more expressive motion from the trees on the video stream.
Low control latency is also key to a good feeling of control. B-wind has a complex control feedback loop with lots of points where we can minimize latency. We will try to minimize motion tracking time and control signal generation at the installation and research latency prediction and compensation strategies to help with network lag to and from the remote location.
We will also look into making the visual cues presented to the participants at the installation a bit more expressive. Participants have found that the current fluid based distortion is perhaps a bit too subtle for the desired effect of power and control, so we will try and make the graphics a bit more impressive.
flexibility
The B-wind! setup has to be flexible to adapt to different exhibition spaces. We learned from our recent experience what are the parts that need to be more flexible, both at the hardware and software level.
B-wind hardware support needs to be more flexible to allow us to adapt to different room sizes and projection surfaces. This normally means using more than one camera for user input and more than one projector for graphics output.
We will also launch soon a project to kickstart the RTiVISS surveillance kit and we will try to redesign the remote part of B-wind! to use it for remote wind generation and video aquisition.
At the software level, we will focus on making the code more modular and implementing external configuration and tweaking of setup parameters.
efficiency
B-wind! has a lot of moving parts. Getting all of them to work together has been a tough but rewarding challenge. But now that everything is working we need to optimize it to work really fast. Modern hardware has a lot of computing power embedded both in the CPU cores and the GPU. Currently we’re not making much use of it. We will work to better separate parts of the code that can be threaded effectively and to make better use of the graphics and stream processing power of the GPU.
Uff, that ‘ s a lot of ground to cover :) Stay tuned for B-wind! updates in the near future.
Voting for RTiVISS at SXSW 2011: help make Big Brother Go Green
Remember when I’ve posted about my South by Southwest participation in March? For the next SXSW, me and Nuno Correia are now proposing a panel related to the ongoing research. Since voting from the public accounts for about 30% of the decision-making process for SXSW panel programming, I suggest you take a look at our proposal Big Brother Goes Green: Surveillance for Sustainable Forests »
Voting runs through August 27 and the process is simple, requiring that you register first and then return to the page http://panelpicker.sxsw.com/ideas/view/6736 to vote!
… or, starting at SXSW Panel Picker, link “Explore the Interactive Proposals’” and search the panels under the “Green / Sustainability” category, selecting “Big Brother Goes Green: Surveillance for Sustainable Forests” where you can vote and, eventually, leave your comments:)
Also, take a look at the other three CoLab participants from Portugal that submitted proposals to South By Southwest Interactive 2011 – and vote for us ;)))
B-wind! @ O Espaço do Tempo v1.0
This is the first major release of the RTiVISS experience B-wind!, just in time for the AZ Labs exhibition @ O Espaço do Tempo. It reflects the work done over the two residency periods, and adaptations to fit available resources and space during the installation setup.
V1.0 includes multiple projection screens, inviting visitors to flow across the installation space. It uses available wired local network to cut back streaming video latency and an updated fan control code to use an Arduino-based DMX controller for the array of fans. We also set up a camera to capture the installation space and broadcast it live online for project documentation and remote maintenance.
Since the exhibition space is part of a convent surrounded by trees inside the walls of a castle, we managed to set up the remote location part of the installation just outside the exhibition space. This allowed us to optimize resource use — wired ethernet, power cables and DMX control equipment — and to make sure that sensitive equipment, like the IP camera, was kept inside the exhibition space at all times.
Having the two spaces so close together had an interesting effect. The fans rotating outside aroused curiosity that brought people to experience the interactive installation, and the experience of controlling a space so close by inspired people to go outside and see the trees and the fans working.
Now the exhibition is over but B-wind! development doesn’t stop here, we still have a loads of information to process (ouch!).
The whole development experience was very intense and we certainly learned a lot from it. We also got some very good information from the feedback of installation users, and from the video recordings of their interactions.
We’re already hard at work, improving the project for future presentations » Stay tuned for the upcoming B-wind 2.0!
Entrepreneurs interviews
I participated in an entrepreneurship workshop, and one of the assignments was to ask some open questions to entrepreneurs. I thought this could be an interesting opportunity for a skype video talk to get to know more about these entrepreneurs and the great projects they are involved in, so then I spread the word at the workshop presentation and also online.
I had a very nice input from all of them, and then I edited the recorded video of the interviews in a non-linear application to integrate all the contributions. Here is the link to the non-linear video of the interviews I edited using Korsakow
It is now available from my website main page directly at the at the “Interviews Entrepreneurs” text box link »
Watch it several times and explore it the way you want to, you will get a different experience everytime – anyway, I recommend you to click on the lower right button for the full screen mode. The interviewed entrepreneurs are Juliana Rotich, John Brennan, Pedro Ângelo and Teddy Ruge. *Thank you so much to you all*
RTiVISS selected for ACM MM 2010
RTiVISS will travel to Florence in October: ’RTiVISS | Real-Time Video Interactive Systems for Sustainability’ – has been accepted as a short paper for ACM Multimedia – Interactive Art Program :)
Already got the reviews, now really looking forward to get feedback to RTiVISS from the ACM MM community!
B-wind v0.2 system architecture map
This is the updated system architecture for B-Wind! developed together with team members Pedro and Maurício during the second half of the AZ residency, nodes marked with dashed lines represent features that we’re planning to develop in the next stage.
Currently, the system involves four main components:
- Real-time video capture and streaming at a remote location using a wireless IP Camera. The video stream is processed in openFrameworks using a custom GStreamer pipeline.
- Real-time motion tracking of the user at the instalation implemented using OpenCV.
- A working prototype of an Arduino based fan controller that can turn on and rotate a 12v fan according to motion tracking.
- Particle effects generated from the user’s performance at the local installation, where motion information is used to displace a fluid simulation grid which is overlayed in the streamed video of the remote location.
We still have to hurry, for there’s some work to be done to customize the system to the available technical resources and to the characteristics of the exhibition space. Go B-wind team, go!
RTiVISS paper awarded at Artech
Best Portuguese paper at the 5th International Conference on Digital Arts Artech 2010 “Envisioning Digital Spaces” – yay RTiVISS :)))
Full paper here »
Sharing the experience
Austin, UT and SXSW flyers, maps, magazines gadgets & music CDs samples – I’ll be glad to share it all with you – live at the Media Ground!
Marta‘s book request is now delivered, just in case you want to borrow from her The Digital and the Children, by the UT professor Craig Watkins, who also did a presentation and book signing at SXSW. His successful book sold out during the SXSW Interactive week!
And… I can’t wait to start to fill out the walls, so watch out for future posts, I’ll be uploading some photos and videos ;)
Restless minds at MoMA
Flying back to Portugal, I got the opportunity to stay for a few days at Newark stopover, inevitably visiting MoMA ;)). Another unmissable experience, not only for revisiting the permanent exhibition masterpieces at a glance, but especially for the two temporary exhibitions – Marina Abramovic and Tim Burton. The exhibitions were both tremendous, conceived by restless creative minds, but absolutely contrasting!
On the upper floor, the controversial new performance proposals by Marina Abramovic, where the human bodies “incarnate” live sculptures – the artist included, for she is there for real at the ground floor during the whole exhibition, an ubiquitous presence – see it by yourself, live online! Shocking at first sight, nobody gets indifferent with such strong messages.
On the ground floor, the fantastic surreal worlds inhabited by creatures brought to life through the drawn lines of Tim Burton, showcasing colorful sketches, sculptures and animations – frantic, I can tell!
Austin-Houston in 3h+
= Austin-Houston flight shuttle
“I was flying back from Austin and the plane broke twice” – this was the true sentence out of three when we were playing a 1 truth/2 lies game after our cancelled flight. Waiting in the airport for 7-8 hours in the perspective of 2 days waiting in Austin, the solution became evident with the almost 4 hour drive in a 10 passengers shuttle bus to Houston, followed by a 6 am flight to Newark…
I was really prejudiced for such waste of time and missed appointments, but the unexpected contretemps became surprisingly fun by the end, as it turned out to be a lesson on optimism and Values to all of us. Thanks for the tolerance tip and contagious laughs, and for all the witty humor and complicity, shuttle fellows ;] Wish you all all the best!!!
{:video soon;}
Let’s keep Austin wired
Couldn’t leave the Austin subject for now without a farewell note to remark that it was a very rewarding experience, intense, AND so intensive! Time was the only scarce resource, indeed.
So beware if you consider visiting or spending a full semester in Austin, there’ll always be weird things to experiment, an authentic excess if you catch up with SXSW, too ;]
Meanwhile, count me in on keeping the connection!
Final meeting with Karen and Karen
The final work hit was having lunch with both Karen – Kocher and Gustafson. Despite the tasty italian food I was gifted with, we concentrated on ongoing research issues, plans triggered from this visit, and on suggesting references related to future events in the scope of the UTA-Portugal Program: Summer School, Lisbon workshops, Future Places perspectives, and the awaited UTA/FCT call results (crossing fingers to get RTiVISS onfire ;)).
Then I got a great ride to the bookstore + airport, which concluded my Austin visit in grace… double thanks to each Karen :)) :))
“South by…”
This is the nickname for the South by Southwest festival, one of the new acquaintances from this awesome experience. Sleepless nights/days overtaken by compelling references, some already covered at the conferences, workshops and networking during the interactive week, others from the music field – something like 1900 bands, an insane challenge worth the try!
From the dinosaurs Motorhead at Austin Music Hall,
to the irreverent rock proposals at the British Music Embassy “Latitude 30″ with the General Fiasco among others,
the AMODA Digital Showcase experimental approach by the Portuguese Heitor Alvelos, Anselmo Canha and João Cruz at Club de Ville with “Futureplaces @ SXSW”, the Portuguese David Fonseca at the panoramic top floor of the Hilton Graden Inn releasing his new album “Between Waves”, a collection of songs inspired by life on the road and its highs and lows,
and Belmont’s non-stop 12 am-2 pm free access parallel music festival
to all kinds of downtown Austin bars – Maggie Mae’s,
Darwin’s country style,
Speakeasy,
Buffallo Billiards, and the fancy Dixties, just walk by and feel the beat! The photos can give you a quite vivid idea, but you have to experience it by yourself!
I’m looking forward to work towards coming back next year, hopefully with a presentation regarding RTiVISS ongoing research issues on real-time video experiments in digital interactive environments – I’ll let you know when the time comes, stay tuned ;)
Down on South Congress
I got a glimpse at Karen Gutafson’s suggestion at the alternative Bairro Alto style South part of Austin centre:
Bloodshot Records Showcase | 12 noon until 6pm 15th, annual Bloodshot Records Party @ Yard Dog Gallery. Appearing: Justin Townes Earle, Deadstring Brothers, Scott H Biram, Ha Ha Tonka, Waco Brothers, Exene Cervenka, Ben Weaver, Rosie Flores, Whitey Morgan & the 78s (our latest signing!) and the Silos.
No wristband, badge or invitation needed. It’s free, it’s egalitarian! Beer, music and conviviality. ;)
Worth taking the bus to the southern part of Austin, there I could find much more locals than foreigners… can you guess by the style?
On/Off interfaces
The expressiveness of these spontaneous visual annotations have the power to trigger an emotional response every time I glimpse at it:
Ladies and Gentlemen: join Jeremy Gruy on the RTF tour
Jeremy Gruy is not only our awesome one-man-show tour guide here, but he may also become your right hand as the Tech Staff Assistant, if you’re considering to spend a semester at the Department of Radio-Television-Film situated at the CMA building.
You would certainly apply, if you had this tour with Jeremy’s explanations on the classes subjects, contents, resources and production facilities offered to the film and television UT students. Ready? Let’s go, take a virtual tour now, and come back next year for the real feel :)
Videoranchin’ + workshop
After the meeting with Ben Bays, I was given the opportunity to visit the Videoranching3D studios while working on live music events. A performance worth experiencing, I can assure you, for this is the real emotion of real-time live events! Check the calendar>>
After the show, we managed to talk in a final chillout session at The Belmont outdoor terrace while the SXSW concerts succeeded, brainstorming on the possibility of a workshop in video FX in Lisbon this Summer. I specified the characteristics of the course and the PhD students trends, so that this could be an added-value hands-on-approach experience for everyone.
So… what about the idea of a two week workshop in video effects and 3D environments optimization for real-time processing?
Meeting point for SXSW 2011:
… right on 6th St in downtown Austin! Dedicated to my research supervisor, with whom I’m looking forward to propose working hard in order to apply for a panel at the next SXSW Interactive ;)
Fan-tastic!
Going out for parties at night can become a real prospective work for research, especially if you find THE King of Fans: now wanted for the B-wind project!
So… how can I get one of these back in Portugal? Or I will come back in Austin to implement the B-wind interactive installation with a local fan? We’ll get back to it ;)
