workshop 1

First Lesson

The first lesson we had was a short introduction about radiation. Also we needed to make an antenna by ourselves and we used our phone as radiation object. The antenna needed to be of a specific length to pick up the signal. Also we made a LED on the antenna that turned on when we used the phone to transmit signals on the 2G network.

We've made the form of a elephant

Voorbeelden Digital craft/Fashion

- CHBL Pity Coat

This Jacket is designed by an Austrian company, Coop Himmelb (L) au. You can use it when you want to disappear. When you put you're phone in the jacket, google can't find you any more. The piece is made of metallized fabrics, which are blocking radio waves and shielding the wearer against tracking devices. You are no longer reachable on your mobile phone and no information from your credit card can be captured.

- BB. Suit

Designed by Borre Akkersdijk , a Dutch textile developer. And this prototype is actually the opposite of the CHBL Pity Coat. It's woven with with copper wires. With these wires you can activate Wi-Fi, GPS, NFC and Bluetooth. This makes you turn into a portable hotspot with MP3 streaming opportunities. The Wires can't hurt you because because they are hidden between two layers of cotton.

-Paparazzi Lover

Paparazzi lover” helps the wearer to remind photographers who the real star is. In a sea of flash lights, the interactive technology in the dress senses when the crowd needs a gentle nudge to properly direct their attention. In response to the photography, the 62 embedded led lights turn on to catch the eyes of everyone. The dress was created in collaboration with fashion designer Anbasja Blanken.

-Smart T-SHIRT has GPS and sensors that monitor your heart rate

The ‘D-Shirt’ is made from a special fabric woven with sensors which record your heart rate, GPS location, route, speed and altitude They send the information to a small detachable transmitter on the back of the shirt, which sends transmissions to the smartphone via Bluetooth Inventors have unveiled a new digital running shirt which has all the features of an electronic tracking device and more.

File:By French company Citizen Sciences.jpg

workshop 2

RTL-SDR Dongle

During this lesson we learned how we need to use a RTL-SDR Dongle with the program GQRX.

We learned also the difference between FM Radio and AM Radio.

A couple of notes I made during this lesson:

kilo Hz = one thousand Hz

mega Hz = one million Hz

giga Hz = one thousand million Hz

signal frequency:

1 Hz is one wave length in 1 sec.

2 Hz is two wave length in 1 sec.

How more Hz you have, how higher the sound.

Doppler effect: when you are standing still and something passes by really fast, while making a certain sound, the sound will change.

signal = a tone

FM = changes frequency (Frequency Modulation)

AM= changes amplitude (Amplitude Modulation)

We needed to experience with the dongle and pick up sounds and signals. I worked together with Mirthe. At first it was really hard to find a signal or sound so we did some research on the internet how to use the RTL-SDR dongle. After searching for a long time we finally found a radio station.

We tried to find signals of planes but that didn’t worked out. After this we only picked up some noises of which we could not figure out what they were.

We also tried to pick up signals somewhere high outside but that didn't worked either.

workshop 3

Imaginary Radio Research

During this lesson we worked in groups and were instructed to come with a concept for an imaginary radio. After a while we had our concept and presented it. Next we had to work out the concept of another group.

This concept was about communication trough water.

It needed two buckets with water, located in separate rooms.

In one bucket a sensor is built. When you talk into the water of this bucket, the water in the other bucket reacts on it.

We used one music box and made a little box around it. On the top we put water.

So when you connect you're phone with the box and play some music the water oscillates.

The sound needed to be very hard if you want to see something.

We also looked if it worked when someone calls and talks trough the phone.

This worked, but only if the sound was very loud. So the caller needed to screa

small version

We also did try it with wool, but this was not working.

you need to have really hard music to see something

Imaginary Radio

For this project we needed to work in groups of two persons. Mirthe and I formed one group.. The assignment was to make a form of communication with a big influence on people and culture. We needed to come with a complete scenario of this.

At first we did thought about what kind of story we wanted to tell and what we wanted to use for it. We thought of doing something with light, reflection, electromagnetic waves, materials that can influence the electromagnetic waves etc.

We wanted persons to communicate with each other but without seeing or hearing the other person.

We thought of using it during a job interview because a lot of times job candidates are judged on their look. We decided that our new communication mechanism was ideal to rule out racism.

The communication would happen by using a projector that we made ourselves. So you can write something and the man or woman on the other side can read this on the wall.

We also thought about making it more digital because you can also judge someone on ones handwriting.

The project worked out very well but we came to the conclusion that it could be much easier by using a transparent sheet. You write something on the sheet and by shining a bright light through it, it can be read on the other side where the light hits the wall. It turned out to be much sharper than using a projector.

This is our poster with the scenario

workshop 4

Pirate Radio

For this workshop we worked together with a MICA student. We were separated in different groups. Each group had a different assignment.

Our group was split into two. One group should come with a concept and the other group should make a transmitter.

I was joining the group involved in making the transmitter because I had difficulties understanding it, and creating a transmitter would help me understand it.

It was really nice and I had a lot of fun making it.

We made a transmitter with a connection in which you can plug in your phone, When playing music on your phone it could be received on the radio after finding the right frequency.

We had a schematic drawing with all components and how it needed to be connected.

The transmitter did not work at first because we made errors in some connections. After a while and with a lot of help we found every mistake. We tried again but could not find the right frequency.

concept: Pirate Radio

Micro radio stations have a long history of connecting people within communities, often serving as platforms for talk shows where people can call in to a host with their personal questions. With the creation of the Internet and the consolidation of information, people are increasingly turning to online search engines to answer their most personal questions. These platforms provides individuals with the feeling that they have been heard, without human interaction. Pirate Radio aggregates the most frequently asked Google search questions, responding to them using the Rogerian Method ( a psychotherapy technique that answers questions with questions). Micro radios' legacy included answering questions posed by community members. What does it mean when a bot answers frequently Googled questions?

The schematic drawing with all components and how it needed to be connected.

concept imaginary radio

First ideas: ‘Interessante spontaniteit in een anonieme vorm van communicatie, die je in een niet-anonieme vorm nooit zou kunnen ervaren.’

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsQh1AT6qUE

Idee:

Mirth and I had the concept with the job interview at first. But we wanted to do something else, something that would interest us a little bit more. We liked the previous Idea with the wall and the communication through a wall, without knowing what is behind it. It could be basically anything, also something fictive. We were brainstorming about something that could symbolize the touching of something 'unknown'. We immediately thought of a few science fiction movies and series we've seen. It's almost a common thing within science-fiction stories to let different species meet each other through a touch by hands/fingers. We thought this was an interesting out come to do a concept with. What we know about science fiction is that it is a lot in a certain style that could be a nice factor within our project. We looked some science fiction movies and comics up, to get an idea of the visual image of science fiction. We also looked for some inspiring artists who already did something with this type of 'wall communication'. A few examples are:

‘You Fade To Light’ is is an interactive media installation that provokes a kinesthetic dialogue between the viewer and their very own mirror image. The work encourages the audience to physically and intuitively experience the creation of light itself. 2u

These 2940 yellow and black plastic spheres across a 35m-long wall made up the fun and engaging interactive pop-up installation at London's King's Cross station called Song Board

Eventually we thought of making a communicating wall/ maze. We wanted to make a maze as a symbol for trying to reach another dimension. You know there is a way, but the way to it is hard to find but it's not impossible to reach the other world. The maze will be from textile. You can't really touch each other skin by skin but experience the presence of each other by seeing silhouettes through a textile wall. When you get closer or touch the wall, the silhouette will change. You communicate trough touching the wall. On one the hand trough analogue communication, on the other hand trough digital communication. Analogue by changing the colors of the maze by hand and digital trough light sensors (lighting up when someone gets close). Here is a floor map from our installation:

We wanted to make the maze analogue and digital, because we wanted to show a big contrast to those two, but also a common element. In science fiction there is in general almost an exaggerated form of non technical humans and high tech unknown creatures. We wanted to combine these elements also in our maze.

Assignment week 1 (by Joëlle)

"Besides further developing a detailed sketch/visualisation for your own project, please answer the following questions for one of your group members."

Seline

1. What theme are they investigating? Communication through walls in a maze.

2. What would be an appropriate question/challenge to answer in this project? How do people perceive communication through touch. This project is mainly focussed on elements of surprise, curiosity and noticing changes. How will you trigger the user to keep exploring and finding their way through this maze?

3. Name an interesting reference project that has yet to be mentioned (what does this work remind you of?) Seline talked about how she was inspired by sci-fi movies/series like Stranger Things and Interstellar. I think are both a great example of storytelling in this surreal non-existing world. So try to see how you can create your own imaginary world inside this maze that you want to make. I've also created a list with several references:

4. In what context do you forsee the final result situated in (commercial product/service, gallery object/installation, public intervention, experimental publication…. ?) I think this maze would make a great installation in a museum.

5. What weakness or threat should be urgently addressed? Think about what the message or thought behind the maze will be. Is there an end goal for example, or is it just about making a statement?

6. What would you propose as a logical next step? Trying out different forms of communication through material. So testing textures, lights, sounds and see how people respond to this.

7. What might you be able to offer in terms of expertise/common interest that could be potentially useful for this project. I have some experience with filming and editing. In film you often create a certain atmosphere by create a soundscape, so that's where I could help out.

8. How does/could the project connect with radio / electromagnetic spectrum? I think this project is all about communication between two, or more, people just like a radio (station) would.