Interaction project

Mike Blow

Mike spoke to the class on Monday 26th November about Physical Computing, examples like museum exhibits i.e. walking towards something and voice starts. and walking into a room and saying lights which come on.

We talked about Affordance which is an offered way of using something e.g. a handle to pick up a cup. Ergonomics designing things for us to interact with. Multi-touch like Tenon-on, Jazz Mutant, Graphic tablets, Microphones, remotes etc. also links to the way we play the guitar for example.

We looked at sensors like switches to pressure pad. Certain sensor names may include: Proximity that tells you where something is, PIR like a security sensor. Light sensors for example street lamps. Sound sensors in microphones, hydrophones (underwater), accelerometers, vibration. Infrasound this is used in haunted houses.

Analog and Digital input and output

• Analog Signal, continuously varying in level, non-discrete e.g. photoresistor.
• Digital Signal, only two levels, discrete e.e. switch

Output

Some devices can be controlled directly from the output board others like motors need circuits. Anything can be controlled electrically like LED's, lights, buzzers, sounds, smells, air, playback and household appliances.

Sarah Strickett

Sarah started her talk off from the very beginning, she was extremely honest which I admired her for. The film that she reallt aspres to is Close Encounters of a Third kind. Others were Journey to the Moon and Monty Python. She loved David Bowie especially Ashes to Ashes and Terry Gillian producer of Brazil. A pointer she made was to look up JIBJAB. Her website is http://www.sasskid.co.uk/. She showed a couple of her movies the favourite of hers had some snipets from the "White as the come" film, the original dracula movie also she had her friend perform as a mad guy. Many animations and lots of After Effects used. A video she showed was from Chris Shepard whom is her main influence at the moment. She mentioned she worked on 2DTV and Have I got News for You. Her advice to us was:

• Keep sketchbooks


• Listen to music


• Look at CD covers


• Take pictures


• Go to exhibitions


• Go to student shows


• See films


• Look online......One dot zero, resfast.

I really liked her work. We had a chat afterwards and because I was thinking of doing film at this point she mentioned I may want to look at Chris Cunningham or Sophie Calle.

Idea-Generating Exercises

What traditional ritual have you participated in, or are aware of, that reminds you in some way of an interactive narrative? What is it about this ritual that you think is like a computerized interactive experience?

-I was thinking of daily rituals such as eating, drinking, sleeping, waking up, going to sleep, needing food, needing excerise, needing social interaction. I thought of The Sims which covers all of these aspects and makes the user interact with the character. Also made me think of our need to socialise as a ritual and this could also lead to xbox racing games where you can connect to the internet and have conversations and play with other people on-line.

What game or sport have you played that you think could be adapted to a work of interactive entertainment? What would remain the same, what would have to be changed and in what way?

As a runner I was thinking of a game which involved a treadmill like in the gym but in a virtual room so while running there is something to look at and also some kind of shooting game. The treadmill would have to remain the same but the environment in which it is in would change obviously, a room with three screens one at the front and two either side maybe.

What work of traditional storytelling (a novel, a play, a movie, or even a comic book) have you read or seen that contains a narrative technique that could be applied to a work of digital entertainment? What is this technique, and how could it be used?


Can you think of any work of traditional entertainment (poem, short story, novel, play, movie, TV show etc.) that breaks the "fourth wall"? Describe how the fourth wall is broken in this work. Could the fourth wall be broken in a similar way in an interactive work? Why or why not?

....and finally

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My idea is to emphasize the fact all these low-cost carriers are trying to find new ways of getting passengers and at the same time making more money but with attractive price offers. The new add-on war with these airlines is apparant.

The other day when I was on a flight I remember an old lady saying to me, "I remember all those years ago when things were free and seats were bigger". It started to occur to me that it is more and more unlikely we will be going back to those days especially as population grows. With airlines pushing their staff to sell sell sell and advertisements spread all over national newspapers and airports it is clear that the competition is fierce.

As the seats in economy are pretty standard across the board and for years the economy passenger has been lumbered with the same old seat, I am proposing to make the seat a better place to be. A better entertainment system, internet, massage for legs to prevent DVT. A system on the aircraft that will store your information from e-ticket and this will also enable you to order items from your seat at ease as the system keeps the credit card details.

All these extras will be of-course add ons to be more appealing to this particular market.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/may/10/theairlineindustry.travel

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/23/npopulation423.xml

Update

It's been a while I know. I have been busy researching and finding ways I can make this idea work. I spoke with several engineers at Monarch and we chatted about the likelyhood of the new Nasa aircraft they suggested not and with future developments we have already seen the new Boeing 787 and Airbus 380 with engines that are taking more cost 20 percent more fuel efficient. As the States are trying to phase out oil as the prices have now gone up to $100 per barrel. This year alone we are using 80m barrels a day and they predict in 2030 we will need 116m barrels per day. Although some suggest that because the cost will be just too high we will find other ways instead of oil (Newsnight 8/11).

With Hydrogen fuel in high talks in the future it looks as though flying will be as accessible as ever. The idea of creating a new aircraft with faster engines and better for the environment appears already to have been done, I spoke to Captain Jason Newton at Monarch and he pointed me in the direction of the Blended Wing.



Another Engineer pointed out that because average commercial aircraft engines can only take 1200 degrees centigrade of heat from the engines, more and more they are wanting to use ceramics like Nasa use for their shuttles.

My idea seems to have taken a back seat as I was hoping I was the first to have thought of it! Although I must say I have enjoyed my journey so far. My tables are tured back to the interior of the plane.