Final Idea and Research

We have finally thought of a solid, concrete idea, only took like 3 weeks. So here we go.
As I've said before, we wanted to come up with a physical representation of the heart, in the form of a wired model. But that was the wrong idea for this module, I believe the Everyware module has more of physical side to it, this is the digital representation side to it.

We will take a user, strap a heart rate monitor to him/her, link it up the computer and using processing and arduino we will create an accurate representation of the users heart, my job is to create that representation. We have decided that an animation of a 3-D model would be perfect, and to manipulate each valve of the heart with a value, a value that will be taken from the users heart beat. 

This video shows what I plan to create. 


I have worked with heart rate monitors and controlling the input to the heart and the output of the heart, below is a video of a university project I did last year. I hope you get a good explanation of what I accomplished. 

   
We plan to manipulate the users heart rate with a mixture of various fear and love videos. We will have an even number of videos that will scare/shock or calm the user, mash two of them together into 'one clip' and randomise it. We will be able to control when the video's are played, but not in an order.

We could add an extra element that is similar to the Milgrim Experiment. Where we add an extra person (who doesn't know anything about the experiment  and 'tell them' they are going to be in control of this experiment and be in control of the users. That they have to keep going no matter how afraid the user is. 
This would be a good experiment to preform as well, because we can see 'as people' because of today's society, how desensitized we are. We  can see if the user doesn't have a high heart rate because he/she isn't scared. Or the possibility that they like to be scared, they find it a thrill. 



Picture by Natalie Williams, a very rough depiction of what we hope to achieve.

Idea No.2

With this idea, we wanted to look at sonification and how we can represent sound and music digitally. Natalie and Iain play an online game called 'Mine Craft'. Where the player can build and mold his own world according to what you want to do, you can build great castles, houses, farms, roller coasters  pretty much anything you can imagine. 

There is a musical creation mode on the game, where you can tune and program your own music using these items known as curious objects. You put those together with other various 'curious objects' and you can create music, and songs and just random awesome noises. 

This is a really in depth video of what I am talking about, and how to make music.

Eventually when we looked into this project, we thought it wouldn't be our own work, be piggy backing of the back of someone else's hard work, plus this has been done many times before. We felt it wasn't really worth our time and effort, as this is more of a hobby exercise for people that are really into Minecraft. In a sonification sense, this would be an interesting idea to go for as you are creating your own music digitally, piece by piece. 



Sonifikeyboard

We looked into keyboard manipulation as well as our Minecraft idea, switching the keys around to get it to do something else. We would take a QWERTY keyboard, take out the keys and replace with them our own touch keys, switch the inputs to force the computer to create something visually stunning. Most likely use processing, as well as playing a different note when we press the specific keys.

Natalie has drawn up some designs.



We'll be looking into audio and visual outputs, creating something that is shown below in the video would be amazing, but technically very difficult. 

The group have been talking about using this device as an educational device, teaching children from all ages about music using visual aids on a compute screen, instead of having to read sheet music, which from my experience can be very frustrating and hard. If the learning musician had such a device that they can connect various notes and keys with visuals than they would learn faster and more efficiently. 

There has been reported cases of musicians seeing lights and colours while they play their instrument, this can be common among pianists, this is also a variety of synesthesia. Look at my previous blogs for more about synesthesia. 

Ideas Number 1

So we have hit a bit of a halting point. A lot of the ideas we are coming up with aren't really, well sometimes I'm not sure why, not 'digital' enough. Not complicated enough. Not really sure. 

Here are some of the ideas we have come up with.

A physical beating heart 

My idea was to create a 1 meter (roughly) tall wire shaped model representation of the human heart. Stick a lot of LED's in it to simulate blood pressure, then attach those to the computer using arduino and processing. A user will be hooked up to heartbeat sensor which will link to the programs. Stick the user in front of some shocking/horrific videos and measure their heartbeat using the computer than the results will be physically represented with the lights of the heart. 

Critically assessed within the parameters of the brief, this could be seen as too easy, or not unique enough as there are other examples like this out there. Not quite the same but varied along my idea. Plus there isn't a digital data visualization, which is a must in the final outcome of the project.    

Examples- 

I think getting a proper mechanized model working would be too difficult and complex for us 3 to get working in just a few weeks, plus having no experience in that field. But this where we wanted to go with our idea. 

Another way we were thinking of going was to animate a beating heart, as shown in this video.

But we also wanted a physical representation of a heartbeat, instead of just a digital output. We want both.

Term 2

So new term, new start. 

The project brief is to use new and unique sophisticated techniques to animations, visualizations, sonifications and simulations. As well as to demonstrate technical, practical and conceptual skills in order to create 'something'. 

To complete this long 6 week project we are going to be combining our knowledge and understanding of various technologies, and look at the possibilities of which software and technologies to use, for example : 

• Video camera’s 
• Non-linear editing; data 
• Stop motion or time-lapse
• Mobile phones; sensors 
• Streaming media. 

With these varied technologies at our finger tips my group are going to be exploring and designing within the field of digital time based realtime media, whilst taking into consideration -

• The output of the information gathered with design and display.
• To research experimental and innovative projects to visual technologies and data collection by artists and technologists.
• The opportunities and advancements offered by the forms of new technologies including visualisations, sonifications, animations and simulations.

Me, Natalie and Iain have become a group, our skills are quite diverse so I think together we can come up with a project that is  extremely technologically interesting and diversely unique.  

• Iain is an extremely good programmer so he can create what we conceptualize between us all.
• Natalie is an amazing artist and can add a lot to the table through art and design.
• I am a over all type of guy, programming, art, film, stop motion, manipulation etc.