Groove Mechanic » Projects http://groovemechanic.net Tech. Music. Toys... they're all the same Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:35:47 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc Cellular Worlds http://groovemechanic.net/2009/12/cellular-worlds/ http://groovemechanic.net/2009/12/cellular-worlds/#comments Fri, 04 Dec 2009 04:35:21 +0000 abel http://groovemechanic.net/?p=981 shot-05745 shot-05378 shot-02457 shot-01882 shot-01629 shot-01461 shot-00356 shot-00281 shot-10960 shot-09909 shot-09771 shot-09521 shot-09402 shot-09058 shot-08365 shot-07692 shot-06249 shot-05744 shot-05148 shot-02453 shot-02130 ]]> http://groovemechanic.net/2009/12/cellular-worlds/feed/ 1 TessalTable http://groovemechanic.net/2009/06/tessaltable/ http://groovemechanic.net/2009/06/tessaltable/#comments Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:46:10 +0000 abel http://groovemechanic.net/?p=829 shot2_crop

TessalTable

Presenting the TessalTable, a tangible user interface for children, aged 8-10, to create patterns and pictures using pieces of images and moving video. Children use tiles to“pick up” a piece of an image. The tiles act as containers for visual content which can be arranged and rearranged anywhere on the application surface. The tile-based controls allow for simultaneous multi-user input. A preliminary study found that children understand and engage with the interface. The ability to arrange and rearrange dynamic images invites users to explore geometric patterns and connected motion.
Movie of Tile Control
Paper about TessalTable
Click image to view full photo. Concept This is a diagram of the table construction. Birds-eye view of the tabletop. Tile space is on the left. Video palette is on the right. Each tile contains a unique part of the video Three basic tiles are functional right now. I plan to make 3 more shapes to include. The tiles are tracked using the reacTIVision library. The tags are placed on the underside of the tiles. The Mirror Piece reflects all tiles across the mirror plane DSC_0013 lighttiles_crop overview_crop ]]> http://groovemechanic.net/2009/06/tessaltable/feed/ 0 Kaleidoscope http://groovemechanic.net/2009/02/kaleidoscope/ http://groovemechanic.net/2009/02/kaleidoscope/#comments Mon, 16 Feb 2009 18:13:04 +0000 abel http://abelallison.com/wp/?p=331 abelandtable_crop

Kaleidoscope

The Kaleidoscope is an interactive, reactive system for tessellating the world around you.  The project is part of an ongoing investigation of creative expression using images from the world around us.  It uses a live web-cam as the video input, tiling the image on-screen to produce kaleidoscopic images.  The system also allows for feed-back loops by pointing the camera at the screen.  The result is a recursive fractal image that moves and fluctuates as the camera tries to auto-adjust to the ever-changing image.

The idea for a video kaleidoscope was the result of brainstorming with Hayes Raffle and Sean Follmer at Nokia Research.  For the installation, the camera was surgically implanted into the eye of a stuffed bunny rabbit, and the kaleidoscope image was displayed on a 28″ television screen mounted on the floor.  The software was written using Processing 1.0.1.  There is no other image processing done aside from taking part of the camera image and tiling it on screen (i.e. no additional color operations, etc).
Kaleidoscope from Abel Allison on Vimeo.
Click thumbnails to view full image. The Kaleidoscope was displayed on a standard television turned on its side. The low-res image of the tv made for some great effects. To make the setup look nicer, the TV was covered with a sheet. I cut a hole in the top so that the screen could show through. This cute guy was my excuse for a camera stand. I wanted something creative and provocative. Something to attract people to the image. This guy was made by cutting open his back, removing an eye, and shoving the camera up and through the eye hole. I then sewed his back shut with needle and thread. The Touch IdiotBox abelandtable img_0737 A wondeful look This is a resulting image when the refracting glasses were worn by the rabbit. Pretty neat. This shows the more traditional kaleidoscope mode. N triangles tiled around a center point. Every other triangle is reflected so that the edges coincide. We discovered half-way through the night that the Rabbit could wear the glasses. You can see the difraction of the christmas lights on the TV screen. I guess that's me taking the photo. I love the TV's interlacing artifacts. abelandtable_crop ]]> http://groovemechanic.net/2009/02/kaleidoscope/feed/ 2 SeaMe! http://groovemechanic.net/2009/02/seame/ http://groovemechanic.net/2009/02/seame/#comments Sun, 08 Feb 2009 21:53:36 +0000 abel http://abelallison.com/wp/?p=30 you could make a fish?]]> shot2_crop

SeaMe!

SeaMe is an interactive application that lets children create a fish that will come to life.  They choose the type of fish they want to create, color in the creature, give it attributes, then bring it to life.  The fish is transported into our virtual aquarium where it interacts with other fish.  Each fish becomes part of the natural foodchain, eating some fish and being eaten by others.
Click image to view full photo. Step 1: Draw your Fish Step 2: Import your fish Step 3: Read about the fish you have created Step 4: Observe your fish in its environment! Place your fish on the screen and it is shown on the monitor as it will appear in the fish tank. This is Bernie This is Cleveland One idea for foodchain structure fishstatemachine1_edit 5th Graders making some fish The kids were so into it. The thing they enjoyed most was being able to draw whatever fish they wanted. A softball fish GiantOctopus! SeaMonster SleekFish SoccerFish IdiocyFish Can't wait to go back and show them the new additions to the app Here is the tank during the daytime. Here is the tank at night. This is our big button hacked out of a Staples "That was easy" button. paper-cutout-prototype-003 paper-cutout-prototype-007 paper-cutout-prototype-001 paper-cutout-prototype-010 paper-cutout-prototype-008 This was my initial prototype of doing background subtraction to extract cut-out fish from the camera images. It works really well! These are the photos taken during the extraction process. 1) Red photo 2) Green photo 3) difference 4) normal photo 5) generated mask 6) Final result This app shows what your fish will look like before you send it to the tank. shot2_crop ]]> http://groovemechanic.net/2009/02/seame/feed/ 0 Cellular http://groovemechanic.net/2008/12/cellular/ http://groovemechanic.net/2008/12/cellular/#comments Tue, 16 Dec 2008 01:28:13 +0000 abel http://abelallison.com/wp/?p=116 picture-10_crop picture-10 picture-9 picture-8 picture-12 picture-11 picture-101 picture-91 picture-81 picture-17 picture-16 picture-15 picture-14 picture-13 picture-12_0 picture-11_0 picture-10_0 picture-9_0 picture-8_0 ]]> http://groovemechanic.net/2008/12/cellular/feed/ 0 Avocado Scoop http://groovemechanic.net/2008/12/avocadoscoop/ http://groovemechanic.net/2008/12/avocadoscoop/#comments Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:47:13 +0000 abel http://abelallison.com/wp/?p=8

Avocado Scoop

The Avocado Scoop is a new take on slicing avocados.  Its purpose is to both scoop and cut slices at the same time.  The scoop is made out of cast aluminum.  To use, the user holds the scoop at the narrow end and scoops into the fruit sideways, using the teeth in the scoop to cuts slices as it travels through.

The finished product! An early prototype of the teeth to make sure they would cut Another tooth prototype Early wireframe models to experiment with different scoop shapes. It was important to test the scoop's path of travel through the avocado to make sure it was not awkward. A plaster mold of an actual avocado for testing purposes. First wooden form. This was meant to be a rough prototype to see what problems arise when making the form. One grip prototype. This one was dumped. A second grip idea. This one led to the final design. The idea is for the handle to fill your palm. The second wooden form was much more involved. I began by hollowing out the inner shape using a fordome tool. I used a contour gauge to check my curves. I then cut the top-view outline using a bandsaw and disc-sander. Afterwards, I milled slots for the teeth in the top, as shown. The teeth were made form small blocks of wood sanded on the drum-sander. I used bondo to fill the gaps in the teeth. Once it dried, I sanded it down by hand to get nice fillets. Once the bondo was done, I finally formed the outside shape of the scoop using various sanders, followed by hand-sanding. After sanding, I applied thin layers of shellac to give a nice finish and shine. The scoop pattern sitting in the drag (the bottom half). The wood piece is removed to become a runner for the metal to flow into The cope right after pulling. We were extremely lucky to have it look this good on the first go. Once it's out, you have to be extremely careful with it. Heidi and My flasks on the line ready to be poured. It took a while to get to this point. The McCords are using their crane to lift the crucible with the now molten aluminum. This is what the cast looks like right after pouring After casting, it turned out the scoop was way too thick, so I took it to a mill to thin it down. I had to get creative with the fixturing since the scoop has such an organic shape. It was not pretty after milling, but I managed to smooth it back out using the belt-sander next. The final shot! mill1_crop ]]> http://groovemechanic.net/2008/12/avocadoscoop/feed/ 0 The A Project http://groovemechanic.net/2008/11/the-a-project/ http://groovemechanic.net/2008/11/the-a-project/#comments Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:36:28 +0000 abel http://abelallison.com/wp/?p=139

The A Project

This was an experiment with the letter ‘A’.  The goal was to see what sorts of silly things I could do with one image.  I guess the goal was to impose a constraint and see what resulted.
An 'a' disintegrating into tiny a's This 'a' disintegrates into dust An animation of a's being broadcast to the world Converting greyscale images to ascii Entry I made for Chris Reed's filler book. picture-2_crop ]]> http://groovemechanic.net/2008/11/the-a-project/feed/ 0 Fisix http://groovemechanic.net/2008/06/fisix/ http://groovemechanic.net/2008/06/fisix/#comments Mon, 09 Jun 2008 00:47:11 +0000 abel http://abelallison.com/wp/?p=92 2pens wiimoteirpen irpen20_03 irpen20_02 fisixshot_crop fisixshot_crop1 ]]> http://groovemechanic.net/2008/06/fisix/feed/ 0 Floatopia Boat http://groovemechanic.net/2008/05/floatopia-boat/ http://groovemechanic.net/2008/05/floatopia-boat/#comments Fri, 09 May 2008 01:01:04 +0000 abel http://abelallison.com/wp/?p=106

Floatopia Boat

Floatopia was a day to be remembered.  It is a rare spring when Stanford’s Lake Lagunita is actually filled with water.  Such occasions much be taken advantage of to their full potential, and I think Floatopia was exactly that. My colleagues Erik Goldman, Alex Blackstock and I constructed one of the finest vessels known to man using only our bare fists (and power tools), our wits (perhaps a baby pool), and garbage (with a fine piece of Texas memorabilia to boot!). The vessel was built to support a lot of weight.  The body consists of a baby pool as the main structure.  Underneight the pool, we stuffed 4 giant garbage bags filled with styrofoam packaging peanuts and empty plastic bottles (with the lids screwed on).  On top of the pool, we built a simple wood deck for stability.  For navigation, we used an 8′ piece of metal conduit and pushed off of the bottom of the lake. The raft could hold 6 people comfortably and took on very little water.
About to shove off We navigated using a pole to push off the bottom The lake really did look nice Our proud flag flying high Inside our raft were bags filled with foam peanuts and empty plastic bottles twodudes_crop ]]> http://groovemechanic.net/2008/05/floatopia-boat/feed/ 0 Toriton Replica http://groovemechanic.net/2008/03/toriton-replica/ http://groovemechanic.net/2008/03/toriton-replica/#comments Sun, 09 Mar 2008 00:33:48 +0000 abel http://abelallison.com/wp/?p=80 The bowls in action Closeup at night with ambience Early prototype If you look really hard, you can see the photoresistors. The laser pointers are hung above the camera that took the photo. Closeup shot of glassware, stones, and water. You can see the photoresistor poking out under one of the bowls. The goal was to be discreet, make it more of a mystery. dscn4440_crop ]]> http://groovemechanic.net/2008/03/toriton-replica/feed/ 0