User:OUK/year 3 manoukmoreau
Contents
Persons of interest
Men in Grey - The Critical Engineering Manifesto:
Michelle Teran - Peek-a-Boo Cantenna:
Richard Vijgen - Architecture of Radio:
What I find interesting about both of these projects, is that the information is getting visual. You can not only get the radio waves and listen to them (like with the antenna we're now supposed to do), but also see the visual information they include.
I have been thinking of what I've ever done with electromagnetics, but the furthest I came were the electives hardware hacking and kinect hacking. Oops.
Findings with the antenna
Listen to my findings at https:// vimeo. com/ 187191026 (& delete the spaces, ofcourse)(attention: it's not very relaxing).
I didn't find much different things than the others from the class - some encoded signs from probably the fireworkers or the ambulance, radiosignals and some voices in the distance. But actually, the things I hear don't really matter. I would like to have these waves made visual in some sort of way that you can use them; use all of the information you're getting in. To make something from it; the form of the waves, the image, the colours they get with Gqrx.
Research
How to use the pattern of the radiowaves without just 'producing a snapshot' of the waves? Than we shouldn't create something in one form - like a knitting pattern or a drawing - or only if it keeps changing. The painting of Christopher Gaston made me think of a light installation which reacts on the waves surrounding it.
I like the idea of raising knowledge about the radiowaves who're always around us. Like Richard Vijgen said: "If the radiowaves are hitting our bodies all the time, people deserve to know." The form of Architecture of Radio is more attractive to me than a light installation - the colours of the radiosignals in Gqrx could create a psychedelic landscape.
How the world might look like without us seeing it - like a hidden sci-fy world.
There was this project from Luis Hernan, who got the signals on photograph. He managed to set up a system allowing long exposure photography to have a visual representation of wi-fis waves, giving an impressive result.
Brainstorm
But how are we going to show those waves? How can you raise awareness?
- A psychedelic landscape from radiowaves shown through virtual reality
- Electroshocks from electronic devices* (*smartphones, laptops, ipads ect.)
- A röntgenscreen which shows the waves through the body
- A small robot who reacts on the waves of devices by walking away from them
- A big robot who hunts the waves of devices
I like the idea of a small robot who reacts on the waves of the telephone in your pocket - like it's saying, "No, I didn't ask for that, I'm leaving". Like this, we know there is something around us that we're not aware of - and we didn't ask for that eighter. The best thing would be that it also would have a little speaker, so it can let us hear what the little robot is creeping away from.
First Sketch
This is the sketch of my MonsterMouse, Susy the Sensitive Mouse. When she picks up your phonefrequency, you can hear the sound through her ears (a high, beeping sound). Reacting on this, she'll starts to move. I picked a mouse because they hear in high frequencies, crawl low on the ground and because of designreasons (with ears and a tail, right?). Next job is to focus on the robotwork; I'm quite sure this should be able with a Raspberrie Pi.
Imaginairy Radio
See the video at https ://www. youtube .com/ watch?v=ewX ty_VxAKM (remove the spaces). The idea of this radio is that snails are often the recievers of not-wanted morsecode, which get banged on their eyes. Now the human-being becomes the reciever of messages.
Final Sketch
Where my first sketch was made to raise awareness under children, this project is more of a art performance; still to raise awareness, but more on playing level for young and old. The little robots will start moving (driving on small wheeles) when there's a person in the room calling, and they recieve the waves of the cellphone.
Prototypes
I waited way too long with making prototypes - electronics were scary and I didn't know what to do with them. I looked around in books and over the internet to make my concept stronger; why is it necessary to create awareness about radiation, and how is the best way to do it? After a document of research, I realized I really needed to make something real - I wasn't coming any further with the project.
My first work with a motor and a battery involved! This is small and cheap to produce, which is close to my first sketch and close to the animals which also react on radiation - like bees, ants and birds. This first prototype made me think of more different materials to use for a stronger concept - like balloons, sponge, swiffers and polystyrene.
This was the Sinterklaaspresent. A vibration clearly doesn't work when there's no thin material to send the vibrations to which make it walk - well, that's what I needed to find out by a rubber.
Starting the receiver
Now I started the Real Thing, I also had to make the Real Thing: the actual receiver of the electromagnetic waves. I had a website where they showed exactly how to do it, so what could go wrong?
After cursing for four hours above the solder-machine, I don't think this way is really my way. Next to that, Simon came by and said: 'Oh, this is your first? Those never work mostly.' Aaaaaaand back to brainstorm.
The Receiver
The room is not going to be filled with little robots, that's for sure. But I had to try to make this little receiver to work. After cutting all my solderwork off the plate, I went to a familymember to work on it together. And... Yes, with a bit of cheating, I had a receiver which actually worked. I showed how it worked to several people, and they were all quite shocked by the thought that everything they were being around with every day, had a electric field around it and a specific sound. It's just something you don't realise - and that's what this project is about from the beginning.
The Film
To show the concept without the actual robots, I decided to make a video about how the concept works and how it would raise awareness. I did research on the parallax effect (making motions with pictures, see: https:// vimeo .com /28709243), but it turned out my computer couldn't handle it. So I am going to try to make a little animation.
And at last, the animation itself: https:/ /www. youtube. com/ watch?v=xkZIJ8Ce QkQ&feature=youtu.be
