Obviously this isn't how any of us thought our finals would play out, but on the other hand this pandemic has given me a pause for reflection on what kind of stuff I'm really interested in pursuing. In a way, isn't the best thing we can have the chance to be true to ourselves? : )
To facilitate brainstorming, I sat down and made a list of things available to me and topics I'm interested in pursuing.
Considering the fact that I only have one Arduino Nano on me, it seemed wise to separate my resources into the physical and digital. On the physical side, we have:
An Arduino Nano, breadboard, USB cable, cardboard (with tools for cutting cardboard), whatever I can order (delivery time and money permitting), my own body, my pen, whatever I can find around the house, my notebook, and my thoughts.
... Not super encouraging on the physical side, though necessity is the mother of invention. On the digital side, I have:
Cameras and computer vision, p5 and everything that comes with that, ML (in Python, if necessary), websites/digital design, APIs, data from wherever (like the weather station), Unity and game development, and AR.
I thought long and hard about the topics which had interested me throughout the semester, especially what I had been drawn to during my visits to the virtual gallery. Some of the topics that were especially interesting to me were serendipity and randomness, which we talked about last class and which are especially needed during our current situation where so much of our life has become a small routine. I also really wanted to do something with time and memory, which I think was what I was getting at during the cube project I did. Both of these are really broad and vague topics, though -- it's always getting specific that I'm not good at.
Random Project Ideas
Random idea 1: Originally my cube was supposed to use audio, and I'd still like to do something with audio. Maybe an installation that sits somewhere and plays audio from a previous season once the seasons have changed. When I went onto the balcony yesterday, it smelled like spring. I was surprised, I thought: "How could I have forgotten the smell of spring?" But I forget it every year.
Random idea 2: A lens that lets you view memories. This could be done with camera vision, I think. A movable part of the camera just time-shifts the video feed back ten seconds or something. This needs a little oomph, though.
Random idea 3: I was thinking of the idea of waiting for something. Sometimes when we wait for something for so long, we want it so badly even if it's not that great. So maybe there's something you keep around that only ever has a 0.01 chance of doing something each day, and you have to keep trying every day. Though this would be frustrating without enough feedback.
Random idea 4: I was thinking of Yeseul's intangible sculptures for this one. My notebook/diary is an object that I immediately identify with, and I was wondering how I could use the concept of a notebook or the data inside as an impetus. Maybe people could read lines from my diaries and then make something based on an abstract question, like "how did that day smell"? Something out of clay, or a drawing, or something like that. The question here is how to recreate memories -- if you make it physical, what does it look like?
Random idea 5: I liked the BloodBank game shown in class. I was thinking about other unique ways to control games. I could do my own thing with light and shadow, if I wanted to.
OpenCV Exploration
OpenCV was a little intimidating for me, since the reference was kind of difficult to navigate and I'm definitely no pro at Java. In the end, I opted for a simple modification of the WhichFace example: since we're all supposed to be staying away from each other, I wanted it to let out a warning when two faces were detected, since that means people are too close. It's a little on the nose, but that's ok.
The problem, I realized, was that everyone was staying away from me and I had no one to test it with.
Comments? Questions? Concerns? Email me here!