User:Jasper van Loenen/grad/First gathering of interests
Teleconferencing
As sort of a starting point I searched for different kinds of teleconferencing devices, after Mano showed this 'amazing' video
(from doublerobotics.com):
It is so weird to think that people would actually use this type of device to 'visit' a gallery. But their website says that "Due to high demand, the first production run of Double has sold out!". So apparently some people are genuinely interested.
Most teleconferencing devices try to give a person that is not in the room a physical presence. The Double 'robot' above lets you drive around a segway with an iPad on top but others add things like arms you can move around so you can interact in that way.
Some try to create whole characters, which often turn out plain scary (partly thanks to the uncanny valley (especially fun when you suffer from pediophobia (fear of dolls) or Automatonophobia ( the fear of anything that falsely represents a sentient being))
I actually got bored quite fast looking at these objects as being teleconferencing devices, but something stuck. I find it interesting how people try to come up with artificial beings to replace their physical self and how others in turn perceive these entities.
I also had to think of the film Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982) in which the main character has to find and 'retire' humanoid robots which are sometimes so advanced they don't even know their aren't human themselves.
==3rd person self
Interesting idea: watching yourself in third person
http://frnkwz.de/thingsandthoughts.html
Unreliable Machinery
"Context-aware technology aims to estimate a person’s activity by analysing mobile device sensors to gain insight into their behaviour and environment. Predefined rhythms of usage and patterns through personal training will soon allow mobile phones and other portable gadgets to deduce what a person is actually doing at any given moment.
[Unreliable Machinery] is a series of analogue objects to fool context aware devices and services. Therefore activity patterns have been recorded and analysed with the help of custom built software, influencing the design and behaviour of the machines.
http://www.nand.io/awareness/unreliable-machinery
Zimoun
Beautiful installations, often consisting out of hundreds of small DC motors which use different elements (like small pieces of string attached to the shaft) to make sound. Though the installations are often just that: a large collection of motors. It doesn't really say anything.
Very simple, yet impressive.
InstaCRT
Making fun of the Instagram hype: upload your photo and it will be displayed on a tiny CRT monitor. An SLR camera will make a photo of the screen and send it back to you, so you can add CRT effects to your photos.
http://instacrt.com/
Hello, printer
Open platform for small thermal printers. http://gofreerange.com/hello-printer
Similar to the (closed but better known) 'little printer' found here: http://bergcloud.com/littleprinter/