Research - Webcam Motion Tracking

AS3 Motion Tracking from Justin Windle on Vimeo.

A demo of simple motion detection and tracking in AS3, used to control a swarm simulation. This piece was originally installed in a gallery space where the movement of visitors influenced the ever-changing generative composition.

http://blog.soulwire.co.uk/code/actionscript-3/webcam-motion-detection-tracking

Research: Ping Pong Screenprint

Lovely video and prints by Grid Plane. (Via Ok great)

KO-OP Invitational Print Day from Gridplane on Vimeo.

Research: Build your own multitouch surface computer

There are a lot of homemade DIY touch screen mock ups and tests out there. These are never quite perfect but maybe something to consider and test?

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/maximum_pc_builds_a_multitouch_surface_computer

Maximum PC's Multitouch Surface Computer from Maximum PC on Vimeo.

Long time no post - Research: Touch Screen

It's been a busy old summer. Looking to get back into the project over the cold winter months.

Just a quick thought about the display of the table - and how to track where the ball hits in a different kind of way & saw these touch panels which can adapt an existing screen into a touch screen.

Link: Virtual Village

"Transform your PC monitor into an interactive display screen with this high quality and accurate widescreen 22” touch panel. The 4 wire panel is the most popular version and can be used by a large variety of contact types, i.e. gloves, stylus, fingers etc.

Ideal for use as POS (point of sale) or for giving directions or instructions – touch screens are an eye-catching and technologically advanced way to communicate in pretty much any business:"

Arduino Starter Kit Arrived!

Now, find time to get stuck into some awesome geekery!

Hardware: Phidgets

Portage: Crossing Points (click for micro-site which, with I worked on with the help of Paul Mackinnon of Dundee University) when setting up the exhibition, which is currently on in Bonhoga Gallery, Shetland, I heard one of the artists speaking about a "Phidget"...

"What are Phidgets?

Phidgets are a set of "plug and play" building blocks for low cost USB sensing and control from your PC.

All the USB complexity is taken care of by our robust API. Applications can be developed quickly by programmers using their favorite language: C/C++, C#, Cocoa, Delphi, Flash AS3, Flex AS3, Java, LabVIEW, MATLAB, Max/MSP, MRS, Python, REALBasic, Visual Basic.NET, Visual Basic 6.0, Visual Basic for Applications, Visual Basic Script, and Visual C/C++/Borland.NET."

Website: http://www.phidgets.com/

Hardware: Arduino

Over the past few weeks I have been reading up on some books, some posted in earlier post Book List. One which I read in one sitting was "Getting Started with Arduino", has made me very excited about stating to work with Arduino on this project.

I must say, all the books Ive been reading are targeted directly at designers/artists of projects just like this, so the books have given me a great understanding as they talk on the same level, I would thoroughly recommend them for any artists or designer thinking about interactivity in their work!

There is a long way to go yet but I now know that what I thought was impossible for me to do, will be totally possible, especially with the help of these books and advice/help from people who are interested in becoming involved. Another thing to explore is the online communities for the likes of Arduino, they will be a great resource for understanding and problem solving!

My next step with this project is to start prototyping using hardware and programming, I am just going through what best hardware to purchase, from the Arduino website there are a number of suppliers in the UK.

Arduino Website
Arduino Forums - to explore!

Suppliers UK:
Cool Components
SK Pang Electronics
oomlout
Robotiq
RobotBits

Got my eye on this one to begin with (Arduino Duemilano Starter Kit - E v2) from SK Pang.

Prototypes: Set up #1 - Sound Test

The Art of Ping Pong Prototype #1 from Jono Sandilands on Vimeo.
Just now I am working how best to do this project, and had this idea to use sound to react to the sound the ball makes when it hits the table.

Shown in the video is a normal computer screen covered by a piece of perspex, using the internal microphone on the MacBook running Modul8 to change and show a random colour every time the microphone picks up a sound. Obviously this will happen with every sound but it could be possible to set up a microphone to pick up sound in only a specific place or frequency.

This is a very simple set up, and I would like to start developing this and also looking into slightly more dynamic set ups using sensors. Long way to go yet, but keep track of my progress on the blog. Thanks for looking!

Research: UVA Speed of Light

Previously blogged (here) United Visual Artists installation at the Oxo Tower Wharf, South Bank, London, in April this year. http://www.uva.co.uk/

"Speed of Light celebrates the tenth anniversary of broadband in the UK. Stripped back to its essentials, optical fibre is a thin strand of glass, with nothing more than a flickering beam of light traveling along it. United Visual Artists have used this beam as the starting point for the work."

More info:
Speed of Light

Prototypes: The Art

Thought I would post one of the example pieces I did last year of what a final Art of Ping Pong piece could look like. During a game of ping pong on a specially built table, sensors embedded in the table record where the ball makes contact with the table during a game. Not only does this allow player interactivity on the animated surface but, after game play an original piece of artwork is automatically printed and hung as a piece of art during further gameplay at an event.

More examples coming soon. Thanks for following!

Research: Distance Lab

"Distance Lab is a creative research organisation bringing together digital media technology, design and the arts to redefine and overcome the disadvantages of distance in learning, health care, relationships, culture and other domains.

In addition to conducting academic research, the Lab works with briefs from industry and governmental partners, providing advice, generating ideas and building prototypes that inspire and can lead to new innovative products and services."

www.distancelab.org

Funding!

Great news! The Art of Ping Pong has received a Shetland Arts Visual Artist Award, this will go towards bringing the project forward and develop my technical skills with the aim of having a finished, or well developed prototype by next year! Big thanks to Shetland Arts!

Over the coming summer months, I plan to be cooked up inside working on test pieces, I am still very interested in collaboration and advice/ideas anyone may have so please get in touch with me: hello@jonosandilands.com

Research: Jenny Holzer

Exhibition @ BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art

Jenny Holzer Projections

Book list: Interactivity & Design

As a reference, can't see me getting my head around all these books... times like this when you miss the uni library...

Processing A Programming Handbook for Visual Designers and Artists by John Maeda

Processing: Creative Coding & Computational Art: Creative Coding and Computational Art (Foundation) by Ira Greenberg

Making Things Talk: Practical Methods for Connecting Physical Objects by Tom Igoe

Creative Code: Aesthetics and Computation by John Maeda

Physical Computing: Sensing and Controlling the Physical World with Computers by Tom Igoe

Physical Computing: Sensing and Controlling the Physical World with Computers by Tom Igoe

This next one looks like a good place to start.



Programming Interactivity: Unlock the Power of Arduino, Processing, and OpenFrameworks by Joshua Noble

Im sure this list will grow...

And here it grows:(6/5/2010)


Learning Processing: A beginners guide to programming Images, Animation and interaction by Daniel Shiffman


Note: Look into Arduino
Book:

Getting Started with Arduino by Massimo Banzi

Software: Pharos

Found this software via the Mirrie Dancers project here in Shetland. They are using the software to take in user generated videos and output to lots of LED light units (each with 36 individual LED's inside I should add). These lights are installed to different structures around Shetland.

Anyway the software seems to be generally used for large scale projects and architecture, lots of arts related projects much like Mirrie Dancers.

Lots of info and hardware/software available from them on their site: Pharos Controls

Research: Interactive LED unit

Work by Ross Colquhoun. An interactive LED unit that includes motion sensors. Quite like how you can see all the 'gubbbings' inside, through the perspex top.
A process of the build on flickr is also very interesting Interactive LED Unit Build Process (Set).

Research: LED dance floor

A project from some MIT students, Looks really interesting and must have a good read through the info on the site, also includes lots of photos, videos and downloads of software etc. Brilliant resource for the display. http://www.scotttorborg.com/disco-dance-floor/

Now add interactivity...

Love Sport - Love Ping Pong

These are all cool, but Ping Pong! Awesome fun.

Research - United Visual Artists

"United Visual Artists have created a new site specific work for the Oyane Plaza, in the Roppongi Hills district of Tokyo, to mark the opening of UK-Japan 2008. Contact is a responsive floor based installation which allows visitors to use their kinetic energy to generate audiovisual forms that will interact with the user, and communicate with each other. Contact marries advanced computer vision techniques, physics simulation and a unique display surface to create an experience that aims to highlight the results of peoples interactions with each other, and their environment."

Saw this installation piece in the video posted previously for openFrameworks (post). Shows brilliantly the sort of idea I imagine for the screen again, and also for the type geometric graphics I envision and used in examples for The Art of Ping Pong - some fantastic images below and video (its great shows how the interaction with the shapes work) on United Visual Artists site.

Software - openFrameworks

"openFrameworks is an open source C++ toolkit for creative coding."

made with openFrameworks from openFrameworks on Vimeo.

Software - Processing

"Processing is an open source programming language and environment for people who want to program images, animation, and interactions. It is used by students, artists, designers, researchers, and hobbyists for learning, prototyping, and production. It is created to teach fundamentals of computer programming within a visual context and to serve as a software sketchbook and professional production tool."

Notes: Free, multi platform, online resources:

OpenProcessing
Processing @ Vimeo
Processing @ del.icio.us
Processing @ Flickr
Processing @ YouTube

Video below made in processing, by previously researched company: Postspectacular (see research post)

Happy 2010! from postspectacular on Vimeo.

Research - Moment Factory

Fun, interactive wall display in Canada, by Moment Factory. As people walk past the wall it is animated with a range of different graphics on the large LED display.

"The installation includes tracking devices and low-resolution LED displays and is capable of showing many different visualizations based on the presence and movement of people...generated by 35,000 LED light bulbs."

Wow.

(via FormFiftyFive)

Research - 21.19

Some seriously good work by Australian studio 21.19. They must be fans of Ping Pong as they have this great self promotion piece (below) and on the front page of their site you can play some pong.

21.19 Self Promotional film from Adam John Bracegirdle on Vimeo.

Below is quite an interesting still from the video, how they have traced the path of the ball, mapping out where it is making contact with the table.

Thinking for 'The Art of Ping Pong' to have two cameras motion tracking the ball? - one from the side (like below) and one from top to sense exact x-y-z position of ball on table?

Software - Max/MSP

"Interactive visual programming environment for music, audio, and media"

"In use for over twenty years by performers, composers, artists, scientists, teachers, and students, Max is the way to make your computer do things that reflect your individual ideas and dreams."

Notes: Loads of tutorials and examples on YouTube.

Software - vvvv

"vvvv is a toolkit for real time video synthesis. It is designed to facilitate the handling of large media environments with physical interfaces, real-time motion graphics, audio and video that can interact with many users simultaneously.

vvvv uses a visual programming interface. Therefore it provides a graphical programming language for easy prototyping and development.

vvvv is real time. where many other languages have distinct modes for building and running programs, vvvv only has one mode - runtime.

vvvv is free for non-commercial use. Commercial use requires a license. Get the latest version from the Download section.

vvvv is being developed by the vvvv group."

Notes: PC only. Interesting examples of use @ vvvv on Vimeo

interactive multitouch bar from tonfilm on Vimeo.

"interactive multi touch cocktail bar. video tracking using infrared light. software is vvvv."

Research - LED touch sensing

"Multi-Touch Sensing through LED Matrix Displays

Using an LED display bidirectionally to optically detect finger touches"

Video example/test posted by Jeff Han, Computer Sciences New York University.
More projects about multi touch and tracking (below human tracking) on his profile at NYU here.

Research - Postspectacular

Postspectacular have some fantastic work exploring software and interactivity. One project for the launch of KEF Muon speakers (video posted below - link) they have a large LED floor which is reactive to sound. It looks fantastic!

I wonder how an array of LEDs like this can be set up to track the location of the ping pong ball?

Kef Muon – sound reactive installation from Moving Brands on Vimeo.

The Concept Video

The Art of Ping Pong - YCN/Anomaly Commendation 0809 from Jono Sandilands on Vimeo.

Welcome to The Art of Ping Pong

'The Art of Ping Pong' is the outcome of a brief to encourage people to play more table tennis and was set as part of last years YCN awards. At this stage the project is a concept which uses specially built technology to record where the ball makes contact with the table during a game. This allows player interactivity and game play to create original pieces of artwork, which are printed and displayed during further gameplay at an event. The concept project received commendation.

I am currently developing this project and applying for funding to build the table.

During the next stage of development for the project I will be documenting my process on this blog.

There is scope for collaboration, and would like to hear what people think.