Dot Matrix Board and Projection Testing

Finally my Dot Matrix board are here.

Video 1 : Testing

Video 2 : Projection

Right now I'm working on the foot switch, flash actionscripts and some of the designs. Hopefully I can manage to finish the job before January 10 2011. InsyaAllah.

Zodiac

On the critique 1, Mr Kok Yoong advice me to change my installation setup to star gazing (means user will have to look the projections of the Dot Matrix on the ceiling) and Mr Hafizuddin advice me to change my digital content to symbols of horoscopes (so it will be relevant with the star gazing installation setup)

But I have one problem, the Dot Matrix that I will be using can only display five symbols, while the zodiac have 12 symbols. This is because of the lack of time to build and program another seven displays. This is a problem that I think I can't do anything about it. Now I'm pretty desperate :(

Anyway, here's five zodiac symbols that I will use in the installation.

Sound

This song will be play on loop during the installation

Digital Content

Here's the video that I will use in my installation. The video will be display on the monitor.

This is the main view (when user do not interact)

Aquarius Information (when user step on Aquarius button)

Aries Information (when user step on Aries button)

Cancer Information (when user step on Cancer button)

Leo Information (when user step on Leo button)

Libra Information (when user step on Libra button)

Projection Testing

This is a projection testing video, the board that I use are not the Dot Matrix display because it's still not ready. I bought some cheap LED to test the webcam and the projector. The projections in this video are on a wall, but the real installation will be on the ceiling.

Dot Matrix Schematic and Pictorial Display

Here's the schematic and pictorial display of the Dot Matrix board as given by the technician.

Dot Matrix Display

Schematic

Pictorial

Dot Matrix Interface

Schematic

Pictorial

Push Button

Schematic

Pictorial

Floor Plan

As advice by Mr Hafizuddin and Mr Kok Yoong, here's my new floor plan. It requires a user to step on a foot switch button to trigger the symbol and the user have to look up the ceiling (star gazing). Then the monitor will show informations about the zodiac.

Budget List

Dot Matrix (9 pieces)

RM 225

Custom Table

RM 300

Wiring , Programming Tools , Boards and Circuits

RM 1475

Total

225 + 300 + 1475

= RM 2000

Gantt Chart and Flow Chart

Since I'm renewing my idea, I've made some changes from my previous flow chart

Finalize Proposal

Topic

Ancient symbols and their meanings

Title

Project : The Lost Symbols

Background

Many years ago people uses symbols to communicate with each other before the general use of language. They communicate with the symbols because in their era, symbols are widely use to interpret some of the events happening, a secret code for their tribes/races, and can represents their legacy in their times for the future colonizations.

Problem Identification

A study about some of the famous ancient symbols that are rarely found nowadays and how the symbols represents the meanings of it by observing the art of it's creation

Aims and Objectives

- To let users explore and understand what the ancient symbols is about

- To experiment with a LED board to produce a symbols base on the ancient symbols

- To let users experience that new form of art

Ideation and Concept

Create an interactive informative installation that use LED board to produce the symbols. There will be a monitor showing informations about each one of the symbols. User will have to touch/hit the zone trigger on a table to start the installation.

Review, Analysis and Precedence Studies

http://www.muhammadnaqi.blogspot.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S72WjyGALJQ&feature=player_embedded

http://www.ancient-symbols.com/

http://www.designhistory.org/symbols.html

Updates / Interface Prototype Example

Hello,

I want to change a little bit of my installation project from crop circle studies to symbol studies (interactive information) because I find it's too hard to interpret the meanings of the crop circles, instead I will put the information about the symbols that are rarely use nowadays.

The main idea is still the same (using LED's to generate the symbols)

Here is the interface prototype of my project, I will improvise it to make it better, just want to show some examples

I really, really hope that Mr Hafizuddin will accept my new idea

Interface Prototype

Some of the Output (with informations)

Final Presentation

Teaser Video

Poster and Synopsis

Poster

Synopsis

Crop circle is one of the most unexplainable events that occurred in many countries around the world. A crop circle is a sizable pattern created by the flattening of a crop. It is an organized harmonic forms that manifest around the world, the result of an energy interacting with the physical world - in this case plants. This energy is comprised of light, sound and magnetism. To date, crop circles have been reported in 29 countries, and have appeared in mediums such as wheat, barley, canola, trees, ice, rice paddies, even linseed. Some says that crop circle is a hidden message sent from the unknown entity from other dimension. Some also conclude that crop circle is just another hidden agenda created by an unknown organizations for their own benefits. Albeit the numerous facts and myths stated about the crop circle, it is still a big question for people who really want to know the truth.

Crop circles are not a modern phenomenon, over 200 cases have been reported prior to 1970. Some eyewitnesses claims that crop circles forming in under twenty seconds; these witnesses describe sightings of “incandescent or brightly-coloured balls of light which either precede a crop circle or are actively involved in its creation; in some cases shafts of light have descended onto a field and swirled the crop into a geometricshape in less than fifteen seconds.” Such reports are often described by farmers and local residents.

The early designs in 1980 appeared primarily as simple circles, circles with rings, and variations on the Celtic cross. By the late 1980s they had developed straight lines, creating pictograms not unlike the petroglyphs found at sacred sites thoughout the world. After 1990 the designs developed exponentially in complexity, and today it is not unusual to come across crop glyphs mimicking computer fractals and elements expressing fourth dimensional processes in quantum physics.

This interactive and infographic installation will uncover some of the mysteries of crop circles by using an electronic LED’s as a new medium to form the symbols. The symbols that will be present are selected from the most complex and meaningful as decoded by the researchers. Although there will be numerous questions about the genuine interpretations of the symbols, this installation will give users some new ideas and info to think about. The user will start the installation by walking around the LED board, there will be several sensors on each corner to trigger the patterns, plus there will be a monitor showing about the origins, history, actual patterns and information on each of the symbols.

Contextual

Mr Kok Yoong ask us to define the actual context about our project. In my understanding, my project is about an unknown symbols from the crop circles that has been related with supernatural things and conspiracy theory. I tend to create a new kind of "Crop Circle" based on interactive installation using an electronic LED's (Dot Matrix) on a board.

From what I understand, my project covers 4 context as advice by Mr Kok Yoong.

-Historical Context

-Social Context

-Political Context

-Institutional Context

Historical Context

1. UFO incident near Roswell, New Mexico that started the extraterrestrial phenomenon in June or July 1947

2. People started to pay attention about the unidentified flying object and related them to the military aircraft

Social Context

1. After the famous Roswell incident, many science fiction movies / tv series started to take place in entertainment industries (The X-Files, Star Wars, Star Trek, ET, Independence Day)

2. New Pop Culture / trend about extraterrestrial and alien and people started to make money of it's popularity (Alien Workshop)

3. The discovery of Crop Circle became a new form of art for the designers and artists.

Political Context

1. Some believe that the government wants to divert people's attention about the global or local problems such as war crisis in the middle east, economy crisis, education crisis and the political crisis in the United States.

2. Some also believe that the government tend to generate fear among their citizens about the possibilities of war against the aliens from outer space.

3. Many weapons of mass destruction were produce as a national security excuse

4. Big countries fought each other for blaming that the UFO is actually a spy plane for spying an enemy, this create more excuses for more war.

Institutional Context

1. More people back to religious institutions because they are afraid of the unidentified extraterrestrial threats.

Flowchart

Budget

Content Development

In my previous technical specifications, I chose to use six motion sensors to trigger the patterns, but I think the cost is too high, instead, I decided to use webcam as a movement sensor on the top of the Dot Matrix Board.

Artist Impression

Six Different Symbols

This is the patterns that I will use in my installations.

Technical Specs

Last weekend, I went to Jalan Pasar to gather some information about technical specification about my project, I went to Nixie Electronic store and asked the technician there about the possibility of making a single board of 576 light bulb and make them light up in different patterns and sensors.

The technician said it is nearly impossible to build the device because of it's budget and time problem.

So he suggest to use Dot Matrix instead of light bulbs. But the overall size of my project will be less than the original.

Dot Matrix

This is the illustrated picture of a single Dot Matrix

and this is the whole size of my project that should be (top view)

this is the picture of a motion sensor that I will use to trigger the patterns (still considering)

Survey

Project Sketches / Ideation (CANCEL)

Overall view

Pattern 1

Pattern 2

Pattern 3

Crop Circle Patterns

Precedence Studies

Deep Screen by Muti Randolph

For his installation Deep Screen at our New York event today, creator Muti Randolph installed 6,144 motion sensitive light bulbs that will change color and sounds based on their interactions with the participants that walk through them. He stopped for a moment to talk to us about the thought process and technology behind his illuminated interactive environments.

Command Line Wave Ver. 2 by Daito Manabe and Motoi Ishibashi

'Command Line Wave' is a work combining live performances and installations that use light cubes with built-in handheld microphones and sounds for controlling the patterns of the light. What you hear from a fax or a modem when they are connecting is the information transformed into sound under a certain rule and it somehow sounds cool. I came up with an idea of making sound for my live performances by generating sound under a certain rule. (Not a musical rule, but a rule that derives from a technical reason for communication.) The plan of commands to control the patterns of light on the cube becomes the rule and the sequences of those commands generated under the rule becomes music. Also, the connection of the cube has an uncertainty depending on the position and angle at which it would be placed. This is not a simple interactivity on a one-on-one level, but a work that generates not only micro rules but also macro and spatial rules by selecting commands according to the information received previously such as by how many percent the object is unreactive. The cube not only glows in response to sound , but also blinks and glows in a curve sometimes, regardless of the sound. How the cube glows can be controlled by sending sound commands. For example, in one scene, the cube blinks regardless of the sound, in the next scene, the cube reacts to low pitch sound and glows red. After that, the cube reacts to low pitch sound by glowing blue, middle pitch sound by glowing green, and high pitch sound by glowing red. Creating the cube object and designing the plan of commands is merely making a platform. There are many possibilities for which this can be presented. If one wants to enjoy such a media work using those commands and exchanging data, usually one needs a computer or a special interface device. However this work only requires speakers、and one can enjoy the results to the full extent. For example, you can input commands to an audio CD and the cube would respond fully to the sound. This work can be played using existing infrastructures.

Concept: Daito Manabe + Motoi Ishibashi

Sound Programming: Daito Manabe

Device Programming: Motoi Ishibashi

Cube design: Toshiaki Yanagisawa

Critical Commentaries : Crop Circle

Crop circles uses symbols as medium to sent a message, The complexity of the crop circle attract many people around the world to analyze and interpret whats the meaning behind it. Some people are attracted by the beauty of the crop circles and they want to create their own. But many are paranoid about where it come from and they create a lot of stories. Some stories are very strange by relating the crop circles as a message from aliens and some says that it's a propaganda by the government.

I personally didn't believe that crop circles are made by aliens. I believe that theres some community / secret society / government made all this to distract us from being focus into things that really matters, like war in Palestine. They want us to live in fear and when we are searching for the right solution, they themselves can finally give us the "protection" because we don't have another options.

This is a story about two guys who started the trend.

"In 1991, two men from Southampton, England, announced that they had conceived the idea as a prank at a pub near Winchester, Hampshire. Inspired by the 1966 Tully Saucer Nests, Doug Bower and Dave Chorley made their crop circles using planks, rope, hats and wire as their only tools: using a four-foot-long plank attached to a rope, they easily created circles eight feet in diameter. The two men were able to make a 40-foot (12 m) circle in 15 minutes.

The pair became frustrated when their work did not receive significant publicity, so in 1981, they created a circle in Matterley Bowl, a natural amphitheatre just outside Winchester, Hampshire—an area surrounded by roads from which a clear view of the field is available to drivers passing by. Their designs were at first simple circles. When newspapers claimed that the circles could easily be explained by natural phenomena, Bower and Chorley made more complex patterns. A simple wire with a loop, hanging down from a cap—the loop positioned over one eye—could be used to focus on a landmark to aid in the creation of straight lines. Later designs of crop circles became increasingly complicated.

Bower's wife had become suspicious of him, noticing high mileage in their car. Eventually, fearing that his wife suspected him of adultery, Bower confessed to her, and subsequently, he and Chorley informed a British national newspaper. Chorley died in 1996, and Doug Bower has made crop circles as recently as 2004. Bower has said that, had it not been for his wife's suspicions, he would have taken the secret to his deathbed, never revealing that it was a hoax."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_circle#Bower_and_Chorley

Health Icon

This is a World Health logo, they used a picture of snake circling the stick. Can snake be relate to health?

This is the original one,

The asclepius wand, or asclepius rod is is an ancient Greek symbol associated with astrology and with healing the sick through medicine. The rod of Asclepius symbolizes the healing arts by combining the serpent, which in shedding its skin is a symbol of rebirth and fertility, with the staff, a symbol of authority befitting the god of Medicine. The snake wrapped around the staff is widely claimed to be a species of rat snake, Elaphe longissima, also known as the Aesculapian or Asclepian snake. It is native to southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, and some central European spa regions, apparently brought there by Romans for their healing properties.

Data Visualization : Total Ancient Symbols