Real-Time Cities: an Introduction to Urban Cybernetics Harvard Design School: SCI 0646900 Spring 2014

1. Jian He Exercise #3: Case Studies in Informationally Driven Actuation Real-Time Cities: an Introduction to Urban Cybernetics Harvard Design School: SCI 0646900 Spring 2014

2. User Interface Design (UID) This set of case studies mainly focus on User interface design (UID), and how they transform different types of data based on user’s experience and interaction. The design processes of those projects not only balance technical functionality and visual elements, but also creating a system that is both operational and usable and adaptable to changing user needs. 1 | Audible Color 2 | Myglo 3 | THREE PIECES sound installation 4 | Luciole 5 | QUANTIFIED SELF

3. 1 | Audible Color Audible color is an audio-visual instrument. Sound is generated based on color detected by a camera. Red, green and blue correspond with certain music notes. When the colors are mixed, the resulting secondary colors produce different notes. The size of the colors influences the volume and frequency of the notes played. Color detection and sound generation were created and are controlled using Processing code. http://vimeo.com/43306909

4. 1 | Audible Color

5. 1 | Audible Color Which of the 10 possible categories of scenarios the Project belongs to? Collective amazement Which sensing technology/ types of sensors are deployed to impliment spatial gaze? Web Traffic How the performance of the piece/instalation is conditioned? Tracking what data is being filtered though algorithmic gatekeepers

6. 1 | Audible Color Which actuation technology is used to provide for dynamism of the piece? Web traffic What connectivity technology is used to connect different parts of the informatically driven system at question? The internet Is the system operates based on a memory of the past and/or anticipation of the future through recognition of past patterns? Memory is a big component that enables us to recognize the patterns of web behavior and how localized it is becoming

7. 1 | Audible Color What is the extreme vision of the scenario? Back to local web traffic Why is the project significant? The World Wide Web has gone local What do you identify as a poetic aspect to the logic of operation of the system at question? Human nature prevails over a global system

8. 1 | Audible Color What challenges are inherent in deployment of the project or maintaining the integrity or level of operation of the system in the long run? Access to data What is your evaluation of the design of the physical manifestation of the system in terms of its esthetics? Very useful to evolve the digital gatekeepers of what we get for our search instead of what we need to see. How can the system scale up or down to fit a different context of operation? How can its logic of operation or technology be re-appropriated for the different context? Easily scalable if the access to the data is provided.

9. 1 | Audible Color How the system will deal with nodal or total failure in operation? Nodal failure and consistent with internet failures. One goes down, others don’t What is the system’s logic of operation and information flow/architecture? Based on Internet architecture What is the nature of actuation explored by the system? Does it explore generation of change that is registred through other senses beyond vision? Web traffice

10. 2 | Myglo Project Video: http://vimeo.com/73686568

11. 2 | Myglo

12. 2 | Myglo Which of the 10 possible categories of scenarios the Project belongs to? Solicits people’s needs Which sensing technology/ types of sensors are deployed to impliment spatial gaze? tactile sense How the performance of the piece/instalation is conditioned? MYGLO offers an interactive, three-dimensional canvas to communicate through creativity. Like phones and computers, it attracts children with lights and colors and responds to their touch, but it is more tactile and encourages imagination.

13. 2 | Myglo Which actuation technology is used to provide for dynamism of the piece? The quilted silicone canvas lights up with different colored LEDs as each pillow is clicked.  What connectivity technology is used to connect different parts of the informatically driven system at question? Movement sensor to electronic switch Is the system operates based on a memory of the past and/or anticipation of the future through recognition of past patterns? No

14. 2 | Myglo What is the extreme vision of the scenario? To spread the entire city with smart lights Why is the project significant? Saves energy Reduces light noise What do you identify as a poetic aspect to the logic of operation of the system at question? Consideration to the environment

15. 2 | Myglo What challenges are inherent in deployment of the project or maintaining the integrity or level of operation of the system in the long run? The lifetime of the light technology could be shortened Movements of birds or other animals may provide false positives What is your evaluation of the design of the physical manifestation of the system in terms of its esthetics? The technology takes into consideration light noise in the city. Depending on the area however, it may be distracting to the neighbors. How can the system scale up or down to fit a different context of operation? How can its logic of operation or technology be re-appropriated for the different context? The project appears to be scalable as each light operates independently of the other. IN a high traffic area, the light may constantly stay on which defeats the purpose of the system.

16. 2 | Myglo How the system will deal with nodal or total failure in operation? Since the project operates on a node basis, it could only face a modular failure What is the system’s logic of operation and information flow/architecture? If there’s a movement, then the light turns on. Recognition of a what is moving requires more technology so it is limited to movement sensors. What is the nature of actuation explored by the system? Does it explore generation of change that is registred through other senses beyond vision? It only utilized motion sensors

17. 3 | THREE PIECES sound installation Project Video: http://vimeo.com/1230792

18. 3 | THREE PIECES sound installation

19. 3 | THREE PIECES sound installation Which of the 10 possible categories of scenarios the Project belongs to? X. Adapting to new environmental conditions Which sensing technology/ types of sensors are deployed to impliment spatial gaze? Simple tension on a cord How the performance of the piece/instalation is conditioned? A car puts tension on the cord brings the balloon down to the ground rendering that parking spot occupied

20. 3 | THREE PIECES sound installation Which actuation technology is used to provide for dynamism of the piece? Balloon filled with Helium What connectivity technology is used to connect different parts of the informatically driven system at question? A cord Is the system operates based on a memory of the past and/or anticipation of the future through recognition of past patterns? Does not apply

21. 3 | THREE PIECES sound installation What is the extreme vision of the scenario? To add this balloon to every parking spot in the city Why is the project significant? Saves time in looking for a spot Saves gas Gets cars parked faster, reducing traffice What do you identify as a poetic aspect to the logic of operation of the system at question? Solving a big environment problem without the use of any digital, electronic and hardware technologies

22. 3 | THREE PIECES sound installation What challenges are inherent in deployment of the project or maintaining the integrity or level of operation of the system in the long run? The effect of Helium diminishes with time which makes maintenance not practical What is your evaluation of the design of the physical manifestation of the system in terms of its esthetics? Applicable to parking lots, but not sure it is to a city How can the system scale up or down to fit a different context of operation? How can its logic of operation or technology be re-appropriated for the different context? Scaling it could make maintenance costly

23. 3 | THREE PIECES sound installation How the system will deal with nodal or total failure in operation? If a balloon fails, drivers may not be able to see a vacant parking spot What is the system’s logic of operation and information flow/architecture? If the balloon is visible to the drivers in the parking lot, that means the parking spot is vacant What is the nature of actuation explored by the system? Does it explore generation of change that is registred through other senses beyond vision? Actuation is only done through the physical push on a rope. It does not go beyond vision

24. 4 | Luciole http://vimeo.com/18740926

25. 4 | Luciole

26. 4 | Luciole Which of the 10 possible categories of scenarios the Project belongs to? The stairs communicate the designer’s concept and the audience engages with it Which sensing technology/ types of sensors are deployed to impliment spatial gaze? Pressure sensors How the performance of the piece/instalation is conditioned? If there is pressure on the step, to actuates the relevant musical note

27. 4 | Luciole Which actuation technology is used to provide for dynamism of the piece? Electronic relay that translates the pressure on the step into having the sounds of the note relevant to that note emit the sound What connectivity technology is used to connect different parts of the informatically driven system at question? Electric connectivity Is the system operates based on a memory of the past and/or anticipation of the future through recognition of past patterns? No memory involved in this project.

28. 4 | Luciole What is the extreme vision of the scenario? Regardless of the number of pedestrians, the sound to make a coherent song, by playing the next not in a particular song. Why is the project significant? Gets people to use the stairs rather than the escalator What do you identify as a poetic aspect to the logic of operation of the system at question? A reminder to play and stay active through music

29. 4 | Luciole What challenges are inherent in deployment of the project or maintaining the integrity or level of operation of the system in the long run? Could turn too noisy to the neighborhood as there is no coherence to the steps. What is your evaluation of the design of the physical manifestation of the system in terms of its esthetics? Playful, engaging and useful How can the system scale up or down to fit a different context of operation? How can its logic of operation or technology be re-appropriated for the different context? Its conceptual I believe, not necessarily replicable. Only demonstrates the possibility of making simple stairs into an interactive object.

30. 4 | Luciole How the system will deal with nodal or total failure in operation? Since pedestrians are not expecting the stairs to emit any sounds, a failure may not lead to complains. However, it may lead to the feeling of abandonment What is the system’s logic of operation and information flow/architecture? If there is someone stepping on a specific step, the sound of a not come out in an interval similar to a piano What is the nature of actuation explored by the system? Does it explore generation of change that is registred through other senses beyond vision? Answer… …

31. 5 | QUANTIFIED SELF http://ciid.dk/education/summer-school/ciid-summer-school-2013/quantified-self/

32. 5 | QUANTIFIED SELF

33. 5 | QUANTIFIED SELF Which of the 10 possible categories of scenarios the Project belongs to? Inter-subjective relation between trucks that encounter traffic and are rerouted to a a more optimized route Which sensing technology/ types of sensors are deployed to impliment spatial gaze? Data driven How the performance of the piece/instalation is conditioned? Accumulating traffic, emission, length of time and geo-location data of each drop off location, the trucks are given an optimized route.

34. 5 | QUANTIFIED SELF Which actuation technology is used to provide for dynamism of the piece? Data is delivered to GPS devices on trucks What connectivity technology is used to connect different parts of the informatically driven system at question? Wireless technologies – cellular Is the system operates based on a memory of the past and/or anticipation of the future through recognition of past patterns? Yes, fully based on patterns of time of day and where is a package being delivered to.

35. 5 | QUANTIFIED SELF What is the extreme vision of the scenario? That all delivery trucks to following the same optimization mechanism Why is the project significant? It saved UPS 20 Million miles so far, reducing time and energy spent to deliver each package What do you identify as a poetic aspect to the logic of operation of the system at question? People easily relate to the simplicity of the project as we all know that it takes more time to make a left. Also puts UPS in a positive “green friendly” company.

36. 5 | QUANTIFIED SELF What challenges are inherent in deployment of the project or maintaining the integrity or level of operation of the system in the long run? The system is dynamic enough to optimize the route. So if a left is feasible, then the truck would take that route. What is your evaluation of the design of the physical manifestation of the system in terms of its esthetics? Simplicity of the application could reduce traffic in the city How can the system scale up or down to fit a different context of operation? How can its logic of operation or technology be re-appropriated for the different context? Commercial delivery businesses could benefit from this system including the post office.

37. 5 | QUANTIFIED SELF How the system will deal with nodal or total failure in operation? A car may be routed to the wrong destination, but because its nodal, that may not impact 95000 other vehicles of UPS What is the system’s logic of operation and information flow/architecture? The shortest amount of time to a destination determines the route of the truck What is the nature of actuation explored by the system? Does it explore generation of change that is registred through other senses beyond vision? Data translating into a driven route