Vamos a hacer una prueba /  by Sebastian Morales

So you are wondering why my blog posts are in Spanish? You came to the right place.

For the rest of the semester I have decided to do an exercise and write my blog posts in Spanish. In part it is because I want to share some of the knowledge I am absorbing with people back home. Also, I am learning all of this in english and if I don't force myself to learn the concepts and terms in Spanish, it is hard to later have those conversations without jumping back and forth across languages.

More important however, is the fact that a lot of what I am learning is already written in English and not so much in other languages. I have been thinking a lot recently if learning English should be a requirement in order to learn more advance computer concepts. Although today it might be the case here is an effort for the opposite.

Talking with fellow ITPer Sejo about this, he shared a story he read about Mariano Gomez, who been doing remarkable work in his rural community in Chiapas (south Mexico) connecting isolated communities to the internet. Awarded by the Internet Society as one of the 25 under 25 making a difference in their community he could not receive the award in person. The US embassy denied his visa based on systematic discrimination towards indigenous communities. His house not having a proper address with street names and numbers, his bank account not having enough funds, and his region being a strong source of undocumented immigration. 

I am not sure where I am going with all of this, I guess the story resonated with me because Mariano is fully bilingual (in Spanish and Tseltal, a Mayan language). 

If you are a professor grading me this semester, and have difficulties reading my posts I would like to talk to you. If you are a student or anyone else interested in my posts but can't understand them reach out to me and I'll explain them to you in english. 

Mientras tanto, pasa tanto!

Sockets y Guitarras /  by Sebastian Morales

WAIT... WHAT'S WITH THE SPANISH?

Esta es la primera tarea para la clase de Understanding Networks en ITP-NYU. También es la primera vez que intento escribir este blog académico en Español. También cabe aclarar que aunque todavía no estoy oficialmente inscrito en la clase tengo fé de que alguien más de de baja la clase o de que el prof. Tom Igoe la agrande un lugar. 

La tarea consiste en diseñar y construir un aparato que se conecte a un servidor usando un socket TCP para jugar el juego. La idea también era de usar un microcontrolador tipo un arduino o una mini computadora (sistema embebido) como una raspberry pi. 

El juego es un muy simple, una vez que el jugador logra conectarse al servidor, aparece una barra con su direccion IP en la pantalla. La barra se puede mover arriba, abajo izquierda y derecha. 

El objetivo del juego es trabajar en equipo para que las pelotitas boten de barra en barra haciendo puntos. El video de la izquierda es una muestra.

 

Pensando en distintas maneras en como podría convencer a Tom de que dejara entrar a la clase, se me ocurrió llevarle serenata. 

Si alguna vez visitas ITP, probablemente vas a ver la famosa guitarra de ITP. No se bien la historia pero alguien la donó y pues ahí esta. Algo desafinada, algo maltratada, pero sigue sonando. Ha sido usada para muchos proyectos y noches de diversion. De izquierda a derecha: Justin Lange, Joe Mango (para Cici) y Tiri.

Experimentando con un simple multímetro y la guitarra, medí la resistencia a travez de la cuerda. Para ser honesto me sorprendió un poco la alta resistencia de las cuerdas de metal y como funcionan perfectamente como un potenciómetro lineal. 

Para poder controlar el juego con la guitarra, del lado donde se tensan las cuerdas conecté un cable a tierra del arduino. La püa (cubierta en tape de cobre) la conecté a 5V, y mis dedos los cubrí en tape de cobre los conecté al arduino para medir el voltaje. Así, al mover los dedos y tocar la cuerda podía medir distintos valores desde el arduino. 

Una vez conectado todo:

Para conectarme al servido desde mi compu simplemente usaba el instrucción en terminal:

$ cat /dev/cu.usbmodem1421 | nc 172.22.151.20 8080

esto básicamente significa algo así: agarra (cat) el contenido del serial port (/dev/cu.usb...) y escúpelo ( | ) a la esta ip/puerto (172.22.151.20 8080) usando netcat (nc). 

Para el proyecto final (de una semana), terminé usando un arduino mkr1000 y las bibliotecas <SPI.h> <WiFi101.h> para conectarme directo desde el arduino sin necesitar la compu.

  

Node + Selenium + ITP class search automation /  by Sebastian Morales

Initially motivated by my misfortune of not being able sign up to all the classes I wanted for my next semester at ITP I decided to create a script to constantly monitor the lists in case one of the classes I am interested opens.

For this purpose I am using node.js in combination with Selenium. 

It started with me navigating through the inspector window and analyzing the network traffic as checked classes. I noticed an interesting request that lead to the entire NYU classes database. Every NYU student can login into their account and access this, but the reason why this link is interesting is because it's open to anyone, meaning that I don't have to use my credentials to make the requests. 

The actual script is available on github (https://github.com/sebmorales/seleniumITPClassSearch).

At this point the script will run uninterruptedly on my local machine though a node server. Future steps is to have it run on my digitalocean server. 

The script will check the classes I am interested in every two minutes, if for some miracle one of the classes is open, it will automatically login into my account and enroll me. Then send me an email. 

So far it has worked for one of my classes! Two more to go :)

Once a class is detected as waitlisted or open, it will automatically login into my account and sign me up for the class. 

The following images represent the process, a failed attempt of registering me for live web. Failed attempt because the class is currently closed.

The actual script is running with phantomjs, which is sort of an invisible browser, meaning that it has no actual GUI and it runs in the background. 

Digital Consequences api integration /  by Sebastian Morales

As our digital existence evolves, we continue to discover (rediscover) the meaning of our virtual self.

People often refer to the "real" life as "real" which implies the existence of another type of life which is not real.

The fact is that this parallel reality is less of a parallel and more of a strong weave, perhaps a different manifestation of ourself, but nonetheless ourselves. 

Digital consequences is a social sculpture. Feeding of people likes and loves, shares and comments.

After developing a chrome extension to detect and send changes on a fb live, I decided to use the api instead. It turns out that the fb live is not as live as fb wants us to believe.

Using the API Graph is quite simple to use. After learning the basics I tried to access it though node.js using express and passport-facebook . That proved to be annoyingly difficult so I decided to look for other alternatives. 

Looking at the Network flow every time I did a request thought the fb graph api, I realized that the url was quite 

Fb url api call found on network headers.

Then I realized that as long as my token is alive (I think this last a little over 1h but could be mistaken) I could simply request that URL and fb would respond with a JSON file. 

Controlling 360 Environment Node.Js + Socket.io + Three.js /  by Sebastian Morales

Our Sense Me Move Me final project is a multifaceted performance. For part of it we will be projecting a 360 environment on the walls, ceiling and floor of the room. Perhaps inspired by VR, maybe as a critic to it, or in an effort to make it more inclusive, we are going to use a single projector on wheels. As we turn or tilt it the projection will react to reveal the proper side of the virtual world. 

Using the sensors inside an iphone you can accurately identify the orientation of the phone. If only there was a way to send all these numbers live to my laptop... Interesting fact, a couple of years back laptops (mac book pros) used to have similar features to protect/lock the hard drive in case the computer found itself falling, as hard drives were replaced with SSDs, this feature faded away.

Connecting phone to laptop
Before I continue I wanted to thank Or Fleisher for his help me set up the server properly. 

Now that I look back at it, it all seems quite straight forward but at the time it seemed daunting.

 

 

 

The entire code is also available on github

Not sure about this but I'll likely use it as reference in the future. First started creating a npm package.json file, and importing all the packages needed. 

 

After setting up all the pages and the server, you can now seamlessly control the the view of a 360 world by tilting, and rotating your smartphone. 

Finally, since we were using a projector and wanted to give an effect of shining a flashlight into a world, we added a alpha image of a spotlight, this would hide the edges of the projector. 

The 360 image is actually a composite of two image quickly merged together to create a more dramatic and surreal environment. 

https://www.foro3d.com/f111/background-360-grados-en-cycles-115111.html

http://www.themodernnomad.com/sossusvlei/

NETMEDIA Final Proposal /  by Sebastian Morales

 

I want to use fb infrastructure to create a live video broadcast of a machine about to perform an action. Users/viewers can move the machine by "liking" the live video or "loving" it. A "love" moves the machine to the right, a "like" moves it to the left. There is a time countdown in the feed, when the feed reaches zero the machine executes the inevitable action. By liking/loving, the users can reposition the machine, that way they can prevent/ensure the machine from executing the action on a subject. As of what the action and the subjects are? I am not sure. 

Examples include:
   - Fish in fishbowl- a hammer.
   - Dollar bill destined for a fb watcher- a lighter/shredder
   - Wall constructing deconstructing robot.

Why facebook? 
   - The idea of someone being "more real" than an ip address/ not anonymous. People can visit your profile and get some information about you. 
   - The wider reach of audience through an established infrastructure.
   - The established presence and role fb has in today's society and its appropriation. 

Why Left and Right and not destroy or save?
Our actions may be simple, but their consequences are often complex, rarely black or white. At the end, that which happens is often a mixture of uncountable inputs,  a machine to which we all contribute without necessarily understanding how. By clicking left or right you are collaborating (efficiently or not) with a larger audience. The result will be your collective decision, even if it is not the majority's choice.

Thoughts about the internet
   - How it tends to polarize, how "as an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Hitler approaches 1"(Godwin's law). 
   - The chance for a meaningful interaction decreases, hatred grows and biases are strengthen. 
   - Then way the medium (internet) nourishes on its own blood to exist. 

Inspiration/Influence

http://wafaabilal.com/domestic-tension/

http://wafaabilal.com/domestic-tension/

Perhaps one of the biggest sources of inspiration for this project is Iraqi-American artistWafaa Bilabl. 

In 2008, in efforts to bring himself and the world closer to the war conflicts tearing apart Iraq Wafaa lived for 31 continues days in a gallery in Chicago. His loyal companion an internet controlled paintball gun. Anyone in the wold with an internet connection could move and aim the gun as well as pulling the trigger.

 

Other thoughts:
Lately I have been reading a lot about the way internet transforms our behavior.
 - We often think about things online as easily accessible, and the truth is that for the most part, the web is invisible to us. Yes, you can write a post and have it read by anyone in the world, but how often does that happens.
------------
Perhaps play with money. Have a (100?) dollar bill and a random player form the crowd. The player has the chance to convince the people not to burn the note. Let the world decide. 

In about 10 minutes the fire turns on half the space, if the dollar bill is on that side it gets consumed by fire. Else the person gets the dollar bill through facebook messenger.  

This action will be repeated every hour on the hour for 10 hours.

Why one dollar? 
Because I can afford it. 
Because there is no difference between wining $1 or $10. Perhaps $100 starts making a difference. $10000 would be great but I can't afford to lose.

Perhaps there could be a system where people could pay to increase the pot.

Is the money being destroyed real?
Not sure, apparently it could be illegal. Do I really want to loose that money. Perhaps it make sense in the larger skim of things. 

 

 

 

Urban Tumors /  by Sebastian Morales

Urban Tumors is a hypothetical series of artworks emerging inside the decadent MTA infrastructure. The project was inspired by a couple of thoughts:

  • Decadence of current affairs
  • Vacuum as the seed for life.
  • Tumors as a self generated condition 
  • Maintenance as art 
  • Increased digital shadow

Download obj.

Vacuum as the seed for life

Yaxchilan Mexico

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tumors as self generated condition

 

Maintenance as art

Mierle Ukeles1

Mierle Ukeles1

 

Increased digital shadow

 

 

 

Decadence of MTA

Pictures 2 and 4 photo credit, Melissa Orozco

This a rendering of how the new wall might look once the tiles are maintained. 

before.jpg

Process:

Modeling

https://www.cgtrader.com/free-3d-print-models/art/scans-replicas/face-and-neck-studyFace and neck study free 3D print model- ClayGuy

https://www.cgtrader.com/free-3d-print-models/art/scans-replicas/face-and-neck-study
Face and neck study free 3D print model- ClayGuy

Using some quick pictures I took from the area, and using a metro card for sense of scale, I was then later able to model an approximation of the the actual tile missing.

I then removed the eyes section of the face and merged it with the brick model.

Fabrication

After considering milling I decided to 3D print instead. This way I could move a little faster. The CNC machine has been really busy lately. 

I was actually surprised on how well the scale turned out after my basic "scan".

The actual mold was a real failure so I ended up just using the 3D print instead. 

Matching color 

I never realized how difficult it could be to match a color without a sample. The only samples are form photos of the station that I had and although being underground the lighting is always artificially the same. My camera showed dramatic differences between shots. I ended painting a couple of wooden blocks and comparing them against the actual bricks. Thank you to Akmyrat for his good (color blinded!!!) eye and help matching colors.

Priming and painting 

Now you can go and do your own hypothetical Urban Tumor! If you actually wanted to install it you can go to Canal 6th station in NYC and find the perfect place for it. You can also modify it to replace bricks at home or to build an entire wall and divide a continent!

SMMM Kinect Alternative Skeletons /  by Sebastian Morales

Forward Kinematics

For the following exercise I wanted to experiment with idea of linking every joint of the body to another, in a linear fashion.   

Graphics by Ron Rockwell

The idea is perhaps inspired on concept of industrial robot arms where the position of the end effector is a combination of all the previous joints. The first joint having most effect on the final position and orientation.

Forward kinematics calculations consists of finding the end effector position and orientation by computing the joint parameters. We are most interested however in finding the joint parameters based on a desired end effector position and orientation. This is known as inverse kinematics (IK).

 

Another interesting video showing a similar concept of kinematics is the X125, in particular the series 2. 

Kinectron + p5js

The forward kinematics for this sketch are quite simple, based on Mimi's code, I simply did another function and passed all the joint values in my desired order (arms first, legs second, spine third and head last) to achieve the widest range of movement. 

To create the single line of joints I only had to simply push and pop the matrix once for the entire set of joints.

I realized that the order of joints is not as relevant in the program above, this because I am only translating position but not adding rotation depending on joint orientation. (Full code)