PHYSICAL COMPUTING

Additional Documentation

Code for "Parklights"

Memory Issues Associated With "Parklights"
The memory implemented in the Arduino platform is limited. Because of this, storage of mass quantities of data was the most difficult problem faced in this project.
In the case of "Parklights," 5 arrays were implemented for the storage of data (4 for the light states, 1 for the time). For some reason, we could not create an array longer than 42 values (43 would cause the program to freeze up). This proved problematic in the case of storing values during a long period of time.

Social Box

Social box was created to provoke social situations in an urban context. For review it was placed on Allen Street in Buffalo where it immediately attracted attention from some. Primarily, Social Box could be used as a tool for studying social environments and the reactions of people within these environments. Social box uses sensors that read the proximity of an object in an environment. When Social Box reads an object/person at the furthest range, the box will vibrate. A reading of a closer object will cause a sustained rumbling noise to be produced in the box. The closest interaction would be the insertion of an arm into a sleeve that is accessible by a whole in the top of the box. When one pushes their arm in to its furthest limit a switch will cause a car horn to produce a noise. During the installation on Allen Street pedestrians interacted with the box. Some inferred immediately that this was some sort of artwork. Others seemed genuinely bothered and nervous. This box would likely inspire a range of reactions depending on a variety of factors. These factors may include location and time of day. To locate this in Allentown would be very different than downtown, for example, because of nearby government buildings. When installed on Allen Street, the social box was effective in drawing a variety of reactions from people. However, we think that there is much room for improvement. The battery died pretty quickly and the sensors failed to detect pedestrians as the battery became weaker.

Once I had the prototype working, it was time to get serious.

This project comes from a desire to accessorize the phone booth, allowing it to become a more communicative and interactive space.
I have given the phone booth back its audio and visual seclusion, but in exchange created an exterior performance to graphicly depict the conversation inside.

The door is temporarily attached to the phone booth and is resting on two large casters which imply a sense of mobility. I made a strong attempt to pull the physical characteristics from the existing phone booth by using metallic framing as well as the color of the panels. The LED panels are made of 4 (3) LED series circuits. These light up as a digital response to the signal sent form the Adruino board. Only one circuit at each sampling time is turned on high which keeps a real-time visual connection to the conversations highs and lows. The microphone (super snooper) is using a suction cup to adhere to the mouthpiece of the phone, again reinforcing the temporary attachment to the booth.