Projects

A multi-user sensor network explorer that provided a haptic, aural and visual experience, allowing viewers to experience sensor data ported from other spaces.
The ubiquitous sensor network and media explorer integrates sound, images, and diverse data sampled throughout the Media Lab into a visual, aural and haptic experience.
Real time data drives the system, allowing the observer to sense the overall activity of the Media Lab.
Sound and images are streamed into our system from a selection of 45 sensor nodes distributed throughout our Lab.
Observers can interact with the piece, both observing the generic activity of the Media Lab and drilling down to browse media streamed from particular locations.
The installation reflects the essence of the Media Lab as a holistic entity.
Exibited in ARS Electronica, Linz Austria and The Media Lab

Worked on a system in the Responsive Environments Group which took in situ high-speed biomechanical data measurements from baseball players on the Red Sox sports team.
Ran experiments with the team during spring training.

In this project reactive instruments for performance were developed.
Reactive instruments provide feedback for the performer thereby providing a more dynamic experience.
This is achieved through the use of haptics and robotics.
Haptics provide a feedback system to the control surface. Robotics provides a way to actuate the instruments and their control surfaces.
This allows a highly coordinated “dance” between performer and the instrument. An application for this idea is presented as a linear slide interface.
Reactive interfaces represent a dynamic way for music to be portrayed in performance.
Demoed at the NIME 2009 conference, accepted as paper.

News Report Video
Paper for NIME

This project involved software visualizations and hardware development for the SPINNER ubiquitous sensor network.
"Spinner is a novel sensor network system designed to detect and capture fragmented events of human behavior that can be collected and sequenced into a cohesive narrative that conveys a larger overall meaning.
Research into narratology will be performed in order to develop a parametric model of effective narratives that can be mapped onto sensor-detectable elements of human behavior.
The network will be comprised of wearable sensors, environmental sensors, and video sensors that can identify and record events that fit specific narratives.
Alternatively, the system can capture all events along with narrative meta-data for cataloging and browsing."

Fabricated a door with embedded magnetic coils that would excite magnets embedded in glasses to allow the viewer to listen into other spaces.
"Listening through doors with a glass never worked too well for us in real life.
But we have now connected a door to many other spaces, where a visitor may place a glass upon and listen to activity in the space beyond.
Shifting a glass along an otherwise plain looking door reveals the sounds of hidden spaces, beyond that door, so that the visitor might know where to go next."

War is often ignored in everyday life. In order to bring war into the everyday, an intervention must be performed.
This particular intervention involves a barrage of smells, sound and light.
The “weapon” developed creates a gentle trauma which is relived in life when certain smells are smelled.
In this way, the trauma of way is, even if only slightly, brought into everyday life.
This was accomplished by developing a gun which shoots smells as well as a strobe and sound.
This combination of senses stuns the viewer creating a gentle trauma that will be relived when they smell that particular smell again.
The device is a custom “weaponized” toy which shoots a torrid of air.
This air contains a smell, and when it reaches the viewer, the flash and high pitched sound accompany it.
The sound is that of hearing loss after experiencing a concussive sound, such as that experienced from an explosion.

Fabricated a robotic corset which would squeeze a mannequin based on the debt the viewer has.
This piece conveys a graphic, bodily sense of debt as constraining and suffocating through its “belt tightening” device and audio-video.
A motorized corset and interactive video installation responds to individual debt levels that gallery visitors submit via their cell phones.
As debt is submitted, the device squeezes a bloated dress-dummy torso through an elaborate pulley and winch system.
Simultaneously, video of gold foil covered chocolate coins cascades down and accumulates at different heights according to amounts of debt.
Absent viewer input, it randomly scrolls through the U.S. national debt, average student loan, and median gallery visitors’ debt that is projected upon audio-video of simmering fat.
Shown In the RISD Sol Koffer gallery, Providence RI.
Link
Video

Developed at NASA Ames Intelligent Robotics Group as a collaboration with Carnage Mellon, National Geographic, Charmed Labs, Google and others.
Robot that takes extreme resolution panoramic pictures. As team lead during the summer, I worked on some firmware, wiki, forum, testing, panorama capture and several other things.
Featured on Engadget, Physorg, Wired, Cnet, ABC News and others.
Link

Hacked animatronic monkey head for an exhibit in The Whitney Museum of American Art's 2008 biennial exhibition. Test video.
Whitney produced video about the robot

Built at EYEBEAM in NYC as part of a workshop, symbolic device for the freegans. Also documented the event in pictures. Exibited in EYEBEAM, Chelsea NYC.
Link

Assembled and programmed six legged robot. Ultrasonic sensors for eyes, 6 dof per leg. Chassis made of black laser cut acrylic.

Made to withstand abuse. Made from easily obtainable and repairable parts. Easily reconfigureable. High torque. Tailored for rescue operations.

Timer made from a water bottle and an I. V. set to visually show deaths due to bad water. Every 8 seconds a child dies from poor water.

An unmarked box is presented to the viewer.
Without knowledge of function the box presents infinite possibilities that boil down to one real conclusion if the button is pressed.
The viewer may find that they become the viewed.
Video

Simple and effective method of image stabilization.
Featured on lifehacker, MAKE, core77, hackszine and others
Has over 70,000 views
Link