Author: xli4@andrew.cmu.edu

Lisa, Leah, Qiao

In order to celebrate Pittsburgh’s new focus on technology and culture, our team is proposing Pittsburgh Delta, a data-driven, informative sculpture that hangs from the Pittsburgh International Airport’s atrium ceiling. This sculpture visually informs Airport visitors about the different events that are happening in the city of Pittsburgh.

For those who are pressured on time, Pittsburgh Delta, will serve as an abstract tessellation (consists of individual moving equilateral triangles) representation of a map of the city of Pittsburgh that calls out different event location hotspots.

For those visitors with a bit more time to explore, they are able to actively interact with the installation for a more legible visualization of the data. After visitors connect to the Airport’s free WIFI through their smartphone, they will be presented with a Pittsburgh Delta ad. This web page will inform visitors about the sculpture and also how to locate it. It will give visitors the ability to read into details about the events that are happening in Pittsburgh through Ticketmaster and Eventbrite.

Currently we are using the Ticketmaster dmaID API. Specifically, we are parsing data for the city of Pittsburgh area based on venue locations and the number of events.  

The tessellation map consists of individual moving equilateral triangles. There will be a minimum default movement assigned to all triangle: meaning even if there are no events happening, the map will still maintain a constant movement.  

When there are events happening, the venue location data will determine which area on the map will increase beyond the default movement. 

The number of events in a specific venue will determine the severity of movement to each individual triangle in that area.

functional Model:

Arduino Tilt Sensor Motor

Team: Lisa Li, Leah Ling, Willow Hong

We began choosing the thermistor as our input. After changing lot of the codes and then running it, we found that the thermistor was not sensitive enough: there were not enough variance the printed data. We actually wanted a input that would give more distinct raw data; therefore, we changed the input to a tilt sensor.

We started with a speaker as an output. But we soon found that firmata did not work with speaker. So we moved onto a motor.

System function: tilting the tilt sensor in different directions (from -90 degree to 90 degree) changes the speed in which the motor vibrates.

Stella Artois: Give Beautifully

This interactive light installation was designed by UNIT9 for Stella Artois’ global Christmas campaign ‘Give Beautifully’. It was released December of 2015. The concept was to create a space that gave city dwellers a canopy of stars that they otherwise would not be able to experience due to the mass amount of lights in the city during the night.

 

The installation is 20m x 20m and consists of clusters of interactive and kinetic stars. The floor is made of glass so the stars can reflect off of it and double the impact of the stars: creating a sense of infinite amount of stars.

There were three types of stars that differed in sizes and functionality: largest ones were kinetic globes; small static globes; and a cloth dotted with hundreds of LEDs stars. When the audience raised their arms towards the sky, the movement triggers the large stars to descend down towards them.

Five of the large kinetic stars were extra special. When the audience reaches for one of those particular stars, they flash white and a hidden camera captures a picture of the people reaching up from below.

Website

The Event of a Thread

This installation by Ann Hamilton was shown at the Park Avenue Armory in New York. The center piece of this installation involves 42 swings hung from the ceiling. The swings are divided into two fields by a large white curtain that bisects a 55,000 sq.ft. hall.  The swings are connected to each other and the curtain via ropes and pulleys. A visitor’s momentum on the swing  activates a rolling undulation of the curtain. The two fields of swings mirror each other so when corresponding swings are moving at the same time, the undulation of the curtain is enhanced.

Artist Website

Hyperallergic Article