Category Archives: 01-introduction

amwatson

15 Jan 2015

Hi all!

My name is Amanda Watson, and I’m a 4th-year BXA undergraduate studying CS and Directing.  So far, my software interests have mostly been low-level, but I’m hoping one of the outcomes of this semester and this class is learning from others and developing strengths across the stack.

I am in theory supposed to be graduating this semester, but have made the dubious choice of splitting my graduating semester in two to do some work at Disney Research.  So I will likely still be here in the fall, researching and finishing my probability requirement.

The project I’ve been working on for the past year is a little ‘different’ from my past work, and what one might expect of creating new culture.  In May of 2015, two friends and I created The Moroso Project  with the express purpose of seeing what happens when one builds everything at once.  Our goal was to design and build a CPU, programming language and operating system written in our programming language on our architecture as simultaneously as possible.  Building a hobby operating system isn’t exactly a novel idea, but we saw this as a diplomacy/design challenge rather than a technical one.  Traditionally in projects, you have to work with someone’s precedent or expectations — we wanted to see what we could do when everything was negotiable.  Today, we have a fully-functional compiler and operating system that is starting to get a graphics library, in the hopes of having it be able to play Doom and other small games.

I know this isn’t the sort of thing one typically thinks of as artistry.  And maybe it isn’t.  I like talking about this project because it’s something I’m passionate about, and because, as a director, I find it compelling to play around with how people work and collaborate.  The operating system tends to be the wall most of us hit when we’re trying to create new software, something we lack the power to change.  25-30 years ago, new architectures and operating systems were constantly being developed, but today, we’ve established such strong paradigms that it seems unlikely that these environments are going to change.  My hope is that, by having control over the entire stack, I’ll be able to explore what’s possible in development.

Zach Rispoli

15 Jan 2015

Hi everybody,

I’m Zach Rispoli and I’m currently a sophmore art and computer science student at CMU, planning on applying to the BCSA program next semester. My work is mostly internet-based and focuses on the intersection of technology and the supernatural. I’m also interested in the strange and distrubing new forms of surveillance that are now possible with the internet.

This semester in IACD I hope to complete some projects that require some specific technical aspects that I can’t do on my own, and also to experiment with new ideas and collaborate with other students.

Homepage: begolag.com
http://www.twitter.com/devbego/
http://www.github.com/devbego/

A prior project:

Screen Shot 2015-01-15 at 12.30.07 AM

Google Earth: Biblical Accuracy Mode is a satirical expansion to Google Earth in which the simulation of the earth strictly adheres to biblical scripture. The program runs in a browser using Three.js and has a small website disguised as an offical Google webpage.

Orlando-Ferguson-flat-earth-map_edit

This structure of the earth was proposed in 1893 as an updated version of the flat earth theory that could still exist with physics at the time.

The project is meant to seem confusing and absurd, and to maybe convince others to think more skeptically about the power of Google and other giant tech companies.

LValley

15 Jan 2015

Hi, I’m Lauren Valley

I like:

bees, welding, brains, scars, learning, milk chocolate, warmness, and the feeling you get when you wake up and you think you have class but actually its the weekend

I dislike:

small text, old bread, knee pain, feelings, crumbs, dark chocolate, being simultaneously cold, wet, and grossed out

Project: SPACE
15929753437_92a4b4d5f6_c

For a while, I was really fascinated with the concept of reduction.

For example, how an object can be completely altered by removing a single element—such as a room without a door can quickly become a prison and a cell phone without battery can seem like a nightmare, but to me, one of the most interesting examples of an artifact sans its surrounds is a head without a body.

Yes, it’s still a head, and despite the obvious unsettling image, I enjoyed how a narrative is automatically evoked in regards to what is really happening in the piece and how the head got into the position it is.

LaurenValley.com

Hello Me! – The Introduction Post

I’m an ECE major with a double major in CS and I’m working on a minor in Art as of last semester. I like to write fast efficient code that makes stuff that looks cool. This semester I hope to learn about some technologies I am inexperienced in and to use them to create interesting projects.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/mkellogg92

Github: https://github.com/kellogg92

Snow

Last semester for Concepts Studio I: Self and the Human Being we had been given a project to make daily observations and then archive these observations in a project. I decided to make an endless snowy landscape where the observations are the snow.

snow620

I like this project because it is visually pleasing and has a calming effect. I do however believe the particle motion of the snow (words) could have been improved, and I would have liked to try creating and adding some light background music.

Introduction- Priya Ganadas

Name: Priya Ganadas
Status: Graduate Student
Program: Tangible Interaction Design
Background: Electrical Engineering, Interaction design

Homepage: http://priyaganadas.in
GitHub: https://github.com/ypag
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/Priya013, @priya013

Example Project- “CMU-View from Afar” with Claire Hentschker

Why
In our initial research process we spoke with many current CMU students who had taken a campus tour prior to their arrival at school. They all mentioned that the tour took place outside of the buildings on campus, so they were unable to see inside the some of the labs, lecture halls, and eating areas in an adequate fashion. Many international students also mentioned that they were unable to visit CMU for a campus tour before their academic career here began, due to an inability to travel to pittsburgh just for a short visit. With this information, we attempted to create a tool for potential students, or anyone interested for that matter, to view the inside of rooms at CMU without leaving the comfort of their home, wherever that may be.

How
The project aims to provide an ‘inside’ view of Carnegie Mellon’s facilities. Our website, cmuviewfromafar.tumblr.com, provides this experience. It is a three step process:

1. A PDF is downloaded and printed out. This becomes the interface for the tool. (see fig. 1)

2. An instructional video can be watched on the website, explaining how the printed PDF is then folded into a paper box. (See fig. 2)

3. A .apk file, an application for android devices, can be downloaded from the website, and installed on a desired android smart device. (see fig. 3)

Now, when the application is opened a camera view is held over the box and a [glitchy but recognizable] room within Carnegie Mellon University is augmented onto the box, on the screen of the device. Different rooms can be toggled between, using a small menu located on the side of the screen.

View From Afar from Claire Sophie on Vimeo.

In this prototype, three rooms are available within the menu.  An art’s Fabrication lab located in Doherty, a standard lecture hall and Zebra Lounge Cafe, located within the School of Art.