Micro-Project: Dream Journal

Task #1:

What I think the performances “Thinking back herself…” and “Bamboo curtain” by Angeline Young means or represents (I did not do any background research because I wanted to learn more about the work through the artist herself. Please pardon me if I have the wrong perception in my initial stages of exploration.).

“Thinking back herself…”

I feel that “Thinking back herself…” is an evocative dance performance on the memories of Angeline’s past, about her mother’s forced migration through China during the Chinese Civil War (c. 1946-1949). Her dance performance was executed with quick and energetic movements, which seems to translate the strong emotions she was feeling as flashes of memories going through her head at that time. The addition of a narration by the artist, in English, makes the work more impactful and meaningful to English viewers as they can understand and empathise with her.

I wonder what does the white powder represent…could it be snow? (Like the period of the Civil War happened in winter, and the vigorous movements of the foot painting in the white powder represents people running in snow?)

“Bamboo curtain”

I feel that “Bamboo curtain” is an intimate dance performance as the artist chose not to narrate in this piece and may have done so because she wants us to focus on her movements and interactions with the inanimate objects around her. In addition to her graceful hand gestures, her incorporation of the sound of nature along with water and the bamboo objects give us an impression of a natural environment with bamboos, birds and water; which was perhaps where she wants us to imagine we are at.

What does the action of taking off your clothing represent? (Could it be…you are entering a warm house from outside which was cold?)


Task #2: Recording your dreams

I did not manage to remember any dreams vividly other than two of them.

  1. My ex-roommate returns to stay with me and I felt really happy because I am no longer alone. My room felt warm and cosy as compared to reality where my room felt cold and empty. She told me that she misses me and knows that I have been good to her, thus she returns to stay with me. When I woke up from my dream, I realised that she was not around and the room only had me.
  2. There were many people holding onto a rope which was swinging between two ends of two mountain cliffs. Tiffany, Erica and I were the last three people on the end of the rope. The rope was swinging at an insanely high speed. Erica asked me if she should let go. I replied that she should and she did. However she let go too late and the inertia brought her crashing onto the opposite cliff we were swinging to. She fell into the water beneath us. I was screaming in my dreams “NOOOOOOOO! No Erica! NOOOOOOOOOO! ERICAAAAA!!!!” and I woke up momentarily, realising that I was moving my mouth to speak up but my voice didn’t come out. Immediately, I went back to my dream again in a desperate attempt for a better ending. Back in my dreams, I was still holding onto the swinging rope. I felt guilty, sad and remorseful as compared to the initial feelings of fear. As my emotions grew heavier and heavier, the rope begins to slow down to a stop. I felt the rough wall of the cliff and made my way down to the water in search of Erica. I dug at the water creating loud splashes and to my surprise, the water was shallow and I immediately felt Erica’s arm in my palms. Erica was alive! She said to me “I am alive!” almost as if she was validating her existence. Tiffany and I carried her out of the water as she appeared motionless. Then I woke up.

Task #3: Translating journal entries into video

⌊Dream part 1⌉

password: Dp1

password: Dp1g

In part 1 of my dream, I was holding tightly onto a rope which was swinging at a rapidly (insanely) high speed between two cliffs of two mountains. I looked up and I saw my friend, Tiffany, who wore an expression of fear, which I think reflects off me. Above her, there were many others like us who were holding onto the rope for dear life. I looked down and I saw my friend, Erica, who was at the end of the rope, experiencing the fastest speed as compared to any other people who were holding onto the rope. She asked me “Should I let go? Should I jump?”. I thought she may stand a chance surviving if she lets go, and I told her to let go. However, the rope was swing so fast, she let go at the wrong moment. She crashed into the rocky walls of the opposite mountain and fell into the water. I was screaming in my heart as I couldn’t hear my voice in the wind. I didn’t want to belief that Erica had fallen in a fatal way. Still holding onto the rope with dear life, I woke up from my dream.

With the addition of glitch, I wanted to show a rocky outlook on my left and right as I swing from one side to another. In addition, I think the glitch goes really well with the feelings I had in my dream: tense, lost, and fearful; as represented by the darkness of my surrounding.

⌊Dream part 2⌉

password: Dp2

password: Dp2g

After I woke up, I fell back to sleep. Apparently, my dream continued with part 2.
In part 2, I was holding onto the rope, except I was feeling different from part 1. I was feeling guilty, sad, and remorseful. I fear that I would not get a chance to speak to Erica again. As my feelings grew heavier and heavier, the rope starts to slow down to a stop. Before I knew it, I could feel the rocky walls with both hands off the rope. I made my way down to the water in search of Erica. To my surprise, the water was shallow. To my amazement, I found Erica very easily and she was still alive. There were no bruises on her and she was saying to me, “I am still alive!”, as if validating her own existence. I grabbed her hand and pulled her up, but she appear motionless. Tiffany and I carried her and we left together.

Here are some images of what I have jotted down of my dream:

IMG_20160224_032917_HDR IMG_20160224_033038_HDR IMG_20160224_033056_HDR IMG_20160224_033157_HDR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Continue reading “Micro-Project: Dream Journal”

Research Critique: Dance Performance

Eiko and Koma: My Parents

Gestures & movement:

0:54
0:54

@ 0:54 – A lady grabbing onto twigs placed against her torso with her arms tense and trance-like facial expression.

1:07
1:07

@ 1:07 – “Land” – twisting of body against the ground/ in a writhing movement.

4:01
4:01

@ 4:01 – crab walking with elbows crossed between two people, then falling and trying to stand up again through the action of supporting each other with their arms interlocked.

The mover’s relationship to “the box”:

For most parts of the film, the movers are the main focus as they are located in the centre.

1:05 - 2:22
1:05 – 2:22

In the second segment (1:05 – 2:22) showing a remake version of “Land”, Oregon, WI: ADF Video, 1995 by Eiko and Koma, the movers were filmed on ground level with slow controlled panning of the camera to the right and slow gradual zooming out of the lens. We observe them in a third person point of view on their specially designed space of dirt and a neutral colour scheme achieved with the muted tones of their clothing and dim lighting.

2:23 – 3:58
2:23 – 3:58

After the third segment (2:23 – 3:58) showing some old films of Japan in the past, in the fourth segment (3:59 – 5:56), we see two people moving away from the lens towards a backdrop of a sea.

Sound:

Crickets, birds chirping, sounds of nature, a wind instrument playing in the background, a person narrating at a time

Speed:

Slow motion

Dynamics:

Dramatic changes in actions and expressions,

1:00
1:00

Example 1 – A lady grabbing onto twigs while her expression changes slowly from one that appears as if she was in a trance (eyes half-closed and mouth hanging open uncontrollably) into an expression of shock, as if she was being stabbed with twigs @ 1:00.

From page 104 of Eiko and Koma: Dance Philosophy and Aesthetic by Shoko Yamahata Letton,

Some mountains are males, and others are females. These mountains make love at night and they separate before we know what happened. – Eiko

Example 2 – Two people who appear half-dressed squirming like worms or slithering like snakes on the ground, where the ground is dirt and soil, a scene described in the video as ‘Land’ where two mountains were said to be making love. Their body appear contorted in twisted positions which feels uncanny as they appear almost nonhuman @ 2:00.

 

 

 Motion Control

Gestures & movement:

Quick darting movement of the camera.

2:08
2:08

 

2:09
2:09

 

2:18
2:18

Liz Aggiss interacts with the camera and looks at us with a confrontational gaze. She made several unrefined gestures such as swiping her nose @ 2:08 and cleaning her teeth with her fingers @ 2:09, then spitting at the camera (at us) @2:18.

2:40
2:40

 

2:41
2:41

 

2:43
2:43

2:40 – 2:43, Liz Aggiss starts to push the walls of the confine space she is in, exhibiting acts of a claustrophobic.

4:50
4:50

@ 4:50, Liz Aggiss had expressions of fear as she jumps out of a cubicle with her mouth wide open.

The mover’s relationship to “the box”:

We view in the first person point of view, where our eyes are represented by the camera lens – inferred from the circular vignetting along the edges of the rectangular screen of the box.

Sound:

At the beginning, we hear sound distortions resembling rapid fast forwarding and rewinding of a sound clip/ an operating vacuum cleaner.

1:31
1:31

@ 1:31, we can hear slight inputs of bone-cracking sound when Liz Aggiss moves her body and head. Sounds like dubstep can also be heard.

@ 2:08, we hear swiping, scrubbing and spitting sound.

@ 2:40, we hear creaking sound as Liz Aggiss pushes against the walls of the cubicle and sound of her body rubbing against the smooth walls along with deep, intense breathing.

2:57
2:57

 

4:16
4:16

@ 2:57, we hear a short excerpt of a music playing with a faint voice singing along to the tune which stops abruptly and plays again @4:16.

4:30
4:30

@ 4:30, as the lady back against one of the walls, we hear a clanking sound, almost as if a machine has started operating. The clanking and creaking sounds grew as the wall starts to sink inwards shrinking the space that Liz Aggiss is in.

5:00
5:00

@ 5:00, the music starts to play again after the sound of breaking glass. The music starts to sound like an opera.

Speed:

Faster than normal speed that is similar to what a person with high adrenaline rush and high anxiety would experience.

Dynamics:

Dramatic changes in actions,

@ 0:06, the screen lights up in a blink introducing us to what looks like soil and sand.

@ 0:20, we passed through a door in a blink into an apartment space towards a cat (that was frightened and ran away)

 

@ 0:28, we passed through another door into a bedroom where Liz Aggiss, who was wearing a long gown, sleeps on.

0:35
0:35

@ 0:35, we ascending to the air from the ground and viewed Liz Aggiss from a high angle.

@ 2.43, we entered Liz Aggiss’s head and is transported to a white/ blank/ empty landscape with a small cubicle in it. Liz Aggiss lies in the cubicle and the cubicle starts to shrink, forcing her to jump out of the white landscape into a bizarre landscape where she wears a red dress which was attached to the ground along the edges of the dress.

Depth of perception (how we see things in 3D):

Abrupt movement of camera where the camera tilts in various sharp angles, explaining rough handling of the camera in the first scene where our role comes out from underground. At the same time, the perception of space was described with mostly low angles inviting us into an ant’s point of view.

6:39
6:39

However @ 0:35, when the angle suddenly changes from low to high, we get the impression that our role is something that can fly. Liz Aggiss became the centre of attention and she interacts with the camera and with us through the screen. @ 6:39, the camera tilts 180 degrees, and Liz Aggiss who was standing shifted to be in an upside-down-hanging position.

DATAMOSHING (continuation on Research Critique: Glitch Aesthetics (The Collapse of PAL))

In this self-directed project, I refer to DATAMOSHING: Image bending under Glichet Resources (Click on me, you know you want to :)).

According to the resources, I made glitches with Audacity, an open source, cross-platform audio editor and recorder.

For this project, I would like to share 27 glitches (and one that is an original image I had created) in a pdf: Glitch with Audacity, where I create glitches through image bending with audacity.

The following is a short video I tried to piece together with sound tracks from YouTube. Credits for sound: Coolal and EB7BMV

As compared to the previous video I did titled Rosa Menkman (can be found here), the difference between the two can be observed by the experimental techniques. For the previous video, I made use of a pre-set online glitching tool to create the glitch images, whereas for this video, I experiment with image bending with Audacity.

This new approach provided me with a better understanding of how certain types of glitch are created. Audacity allows me to trace back my footsteps and work flexibly back and forth, whereas the pre-set online glitching tool does not have the “Step backwards”/ “Undo” button and the “Step forward”/ “Redo” button. Moreover, after working with Audacity, I realised that it provided me a wider scope of glitch patterns as compared to the pre-set online glitching tool. Personally, I actually prefer the aesthetics of the glitched images made with the online glitching tool. That being said, both Audacity and online glitching tool have proved to be very useful tools for creating glitch art.

 

Research Critique: Glitch Aesthetics (The Collapse of PAL)

To begin with, watch a short video of PAL coloured bars (stop at 0:40 if you don’t want to hurt your ears).

Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a colour encoding system for analogue television used in broadcast television systems in most countries broadcasting at 625-line / 50 field (25 frame) per second (576i). Other common colour encoding systems are NTSC and SECAM.

Since I was so intrigue with PAL coloured bars and glitch as inspired by Rosa Menkman, I found a way to create a glitch video with the help of an image glitch tool and an extract of the sound track (14 seconds long) from the YouTube video above (Just for fun). I let the tool break the code for me, so I had an easy time.

Rosa_Menkman_RGB_Photoshop_monster

 

Rosa Menkman is an artist and theorist who works with glitch, encoding and audio feedbacks, which are also known as visual noise artifacts. Visual noise artifacts usually occur from unintentional distortions in both analogue and digital media.

page_1

Menkman has written a book, ‘the Glitch Moment/um’, on glitch artifacts, co-facilitated the GLI.TC/H festivals and curated numerous exhibitions on glitch art. She is currently pursuing a PhD at Goldsmiths, London.

From page 8 of The Glitch Moment(um),

I describe the ‘glitch’ as a (actual and/or simulated) break from an expected or conventional flow of information or meaning within (digital) communication systems that results in a perceived accident or error.

Unlike many people who show dislike towards these accidents, Menkman shares an optimistic view on them. She sees these artifacts as a tool to help us understand the obfuscated alchemy of standardizations via resolutions. Rosa Menkman’s ‘resolutions’ are ‘studies of solution’. She investigates solutions between different kinds of materials, and what one wants to do with them.

From Rosa Menkman on Resolutions ,

when there is no real question, we need creative problems.

On Rosa Menkman on Resolutions by Institute of network cultures, Rosa Menkman explains why she started to study resolutions:

When she was in New York City, she was walking around even though she was not feeling well. A friend explained to her that he just got the flu vaccination, because there was a big outbreak of flu according to Google Flu Trends. Instead of getting a flu vaccination (like what her friend did) because big data are showing that it would be wise to do so, Rosa Menkman was more interested to know why she was not feeling well. She mentioned that the amount of available data/ information we can find with keywords is so great now, we are no longer bothered to ask questions anymore. Through her glitch explorations, Rosa Menkman advocates that we should learn how to make questions again.

The Collapse of PAL was a video footage first developed as a commission for SOUND & TELEVISION (Copenhagen, Dnk). It is based on the analogue PAL video signal, compressions, glitches and feedback artifacts that are complimented by (obsolete) soundscapes that originate from both analogue (PAL) and digital media (DVB). Rather than a stream-lined sound-image of digital convergence, SOUND & TELEVISION strives to act as a springboard for an aesthetic “media-clash” reflecting on the political-aesthetic of old and new media forms.

From page 8 of The Glitch Moment(um),

By introducing a critical and melodramatic narrative to a work of glitch art, I tried to underline that there is more to glitch art, and more at stake, than just design and aesthetics.

Apart from design and aesthetics, there is signal, noise, liveliness and flow along with standardized production formats in the aspects of the television medium which are reshaped in digital, networked media. The Collapse of PAL is a transmission art project that explores the performativity of television along with challenges brought about by a converging media cape.  In this performance, the transmission itself became the artwork. The performance reflects on different significant aspects of the changing conditions of broadcasting. In the new DVB-T (digital terrestrial television) environment, the very transmission format of TV has changed, from symmetric analog to asymmetric data flows, encoded in the MPEG format and decoded through software implemented in everything from flat-screen TV’s, set-top-boxes and PC’s.

In “The Collapse of PAL” (Eulogy, Obsequies and Requiem for the planes of blue phosphor), the Angel of History (as described by Walter Benjamin) reflects on the PAL signal and its termination. This death sentence, although executed in silence, was a brutally violent act that left PAL disregarded and obsolete. While it might be argued that the PAL signal is dead, it still exists as a trace left upon the new, ‘better’ digital technologies. PAL can, even though the technology is terminated, be found here as a historical form that newer technologies build upon, in- herit or have appropriated from. Besides this, the Angel also realizes that the new DVB signal that has been chosen over PAL is different, but at the same time also inherently flawed as PAL.

So what I understand from this passage is that there is a subject called “the Angel of History” who narrates the story of the termination of PAL signal. In the video, PAL was described to be inherently flawed as “a pile of debris growing skyward” and “connections that were just not good enough”. The new, ‘better’ digital technologies – DVB signal that takes the role of PAL today, was built upon PAL. As the new digital technology, DVB signal, was a development from PAL, traces of PAL remain evident in its inherent flaws. The Angel then realises that the idea of DVB signal having traces of inherent flaws similar to that of PAL, makes DVB signal inherently flawed too. This was quite ironic to me as one would expect that the newer technology should be better and not have persisting flaws from older technology.

Every form of glitch, whether breaking a flow or designed to look like it breaks a flow, will eventually become a new fashion.

To create the video, Menkman had exploited the analog PAL signal from a NES, image bending, a broken digital photo camera, teletekst, digital compression artifacts, video bending artifacts (DV, interlacing, datamoshing and black bursts) and feedback. For the sound, she used a cracklebox, feedback, a telephone eurosignal, morsecode an old Casio keyboard, feedback filters and a couple of DV-compressed video soundbends.

As much as I have researched on The Collapse of PAL, I cannot fully comprehend the process of its making, the tools and media as I have never worked and do not know how to start working on them. These are some of the other readings I did: PAL video timing specification for PAL signals and more readings on Rosa Menkman’s blog.

I would like to end off with two prominent music videos: Kayne West’s welcome to heartbreak (2009, directed by Nabil Elderkin), which was mentioned in a TED video by Rosa Menkman: Glitch – Benchmarking the deranged: Rosa Menkman at TEDxUtrecht, and Chairlift’s evident utensil (2009, Ray Tintori). I am interested on how the videos were made…going to find out more about it’s making and something called datamoshing.

Micro-Project: Glitched Aberrations

Lion Yawning
Lion Yawning

 

Glitch Lion Yawning
Glitch Lion Yawning

 

How to create glitch on mac and windows

I wanted to glitch more images, but the glitch did not work on every images and I wonder why…if anyone know why I couldn’t glitch images the same way I did as referenced from the link above, please leave a comment below! Many thanks ~

So I found out how to glitch more images by editing only along the lower two-third of the Wordpad, except the differences are very subtle. I was hoping for more drastic changes and weird colours coming into the picture, but nope…

Original image of a deer
Original image of a deer
First glitch of deer
First glitch of deer
Second glitch image of deer
Second glitch image of deer
Third glitch image of deer
Third glitch image of deer

 

I like how the glitch images look like distorted flashing images of a moving deer. I don’t know why the glitch images always turn out in a rather neutral tone. Does anyone know how to make colourful glitches?

Research Critique: Telematic Dreaming

Before we go into a summarized research on “Telematic Dreaming” with reference from ‘Virtual Bodies‘, I would like to address a few terms: the first, second, third and fourth space is defined by the local space, the foreign/ remote space, the virtual/ electronic space (non-edited) and the virtual/ electronic space (edited), respectively.

“Telematic Dreaming”, by Paul Sermon, is an installation made within the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN). This installation enables two participants to engage in a strong sense of intimacy and shared presence in the third space, where they lie on beds in remote locations.

The set-up for “Telematic Dreaming” is as follow:

  1. Two beds are located in separate locations, one in an illuminated space (first space) and another in a blacked out space (second space).
  2. A camera is situated directly above the bed in the first space, sending out live video image of a person (local) lying on a bed to a video projector above the other bed in the second space, which projects the image onto the bed with another person (foreign) lying on it.
  3. A second camera next to the video projector sends a live video image of the projection of person (local) beside person (foreign) back to a series of monitors surrounding the bed in the first space.

From page 216 of ‘Virtual Bodies’,

Seeing is feeling.

In “Telematic Dreaming”, two participants are not allowed physical touch and can only feel each other using their sense of sight. However, I can’t help but ask the question: Can we touch with our eyes?

Also, from page 216 of ‘Virtual Bodies’,

Digital design oscillates between the physical and the virtual, just as it oscillates between the reflective and the transparent.

The telepresent projection surface acts as a mirror that reflects one person (local) within the reflection of another person (foreign). At the same time, these reflections forces participants to form relationships with each other through a transparent touch – a touch that cannot be felt by their corporeal body.

I think; therefore I am.

Cartesian dualism is a belief that there are two kinds of reality: material and immaterial. This principle is supported by René Descartes, a French philosopher, who believes that the body and the mind are separate from each other. There is an increasing acceptance of the principle of Cartesian dualism where people believe that the virtual body is disembodied and unrelated to the physical world. In ‘Telematic Dreaming’, it is easy to assume that a projected image is merely a reflection of reality and not reality itself. While it is a fact that the projected image appears to be a reflection of reality, it is superficial to say that the projected image is separated from reality completely.

I seldom feel without thinking, or think without feeling.

We cannot touch with our eyes but we can materialise what we see as the feeling of being touched or touching another. This belief is further emphasized by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an English poet, who was quoted saying, “I seldom feel without thinking, or think without feeling.” The visual images registered in our minds can be led by our thoughts to be associated with certain emotions which may build up to become feelings.

Take for example,

Man presents a rose
Man presents a rose

I see a man presents a rose to me,

I am happy,

I feel loved.

 

 

 

 

Similarly,

Man flirting with a woman
Man flirting with a woman

I see the man who I love flirting with another woman,

I am angry,

I feel my body heat up.

 

 

As the principle attributes of the mind and the body does not exclude each other, we cannot refer to the principle of Cartesian dualism to explain that the virtual body is different from the corporeal body. Likewise we cannot assume that the virtual body is separate from the corporeal body.

From page 217 of ‘Virtual Bodies’,

But Sermon deliberately avoids providing an audio link so as to concentrate attention on the meeting of two bodies separated in real space but virtually conjoined: “human interaction was reduced to its simplest essence: touch, trust, vulnerability.”

To further emphasize on the visual aspect of this project, Sermon prevents participants from communicating with each other by removing the audio function from the live video. This way he portrayed human interaction in its essential form of touch, trust and vulnerability, relying solely on sight for the success of his work.

extimitat_60-620x412
Meeting of two bodies separated in real space but virtually conjoined

While participants place themselves in vulnerable positions as they expose their emotions to each other through actions and sight, they can be selective with what they want to believe in. In the case where a man in the second space punches a projected image of a woman in the first space, the woman can choose to close her eyes or deny the act of violence and brutality from the third space such that she no longer believes that the image of the woman in the third space is herself.

From page 218 of ‘Virtual Bodies’,

the distinction between materiality and immateriality in the technology is movement: as moving beings people take on an alternative materiality, while objects become immaterial in their inertia

Rather than choosing to believe that the virtual body is separated from the corporeal body and is incapable of materiality, Suzan Kozel, one of Britain’s leading dance and technology artists, chooses to believe that an alternative materiality exist in the virtual body as the emotions felt through the mind can stimulate the body to react accordingly – just as when she held out her hand in the first space, to ‘receive’ the rose that was presented to her from a man in the second space. She believes that the only difference between virtual (mind) and reality (body) is movement – while she exerts materiality in the first space by moving her hand, she appears to be exerting an alternative materiality in the third space (as we see only an image of her and not her physical body) and the rose (object) appear immaterial in the third space (as the rose is intangible to her in all of the spaces since the rose does not exist physically in the first and third space and she does not exist physically in the second space to be able to really touch the rose – they are on parallel planes).

To conclude, Sermon’s “Telematic Dreaming” explores into the materiality and immateriality realm of touch where participants interact on a psychological/ spiritual level by using their minds to develop emotions and feelings of touch. If I were to appreciate “Telematic Dreaming” like how I would appreciate a painting, I feel that ‘movement’ in performance is the subject and the use of ‘third space’ and ‘sight’ is the medium, the vehicle that brings us the performance.

And yes, I am terrible at summarising because this post is definitely more than a thousand words.

More on Cartesian Dualism

Programming

Arduino

This post is a reflection on what I have learnt in programming during the lesson on week 4.

Programming can be summarised into three terms:

Input –> Controller –> Output

Using Arduino, a software development kit (SDK), we can programme electronic components such as the LilyPad in three steps:

Programme –> Compile –> Upload

To start off, we download the software here and install it for use.

Once the software installation is complete, we can open by double-clicking the icon and we should get what is shown in Fig. 1.1.

Fig. 1.1 Arduino is a software development kit (SDK) which can be used to programme Uno, Mega and Lilypad
Fig. 1.1
Arduino is a software development kit (SDK) which can be used to programme Uno, Mega and LilyPad

 

LED Light and Infrared Sensor

To begin, we connect the LilyPad in place using a USB adapter to our computers/ laptops.

Lilypad with USB adapter
Lilypad with USB adapter

Next we proceed to a number of steps to test for the LED light:

  1. “Tools” –> “Board…” –> “LilyPad Arduino”
  2. “Tools –> “Port”
  3. “File” –> “Examples” –> “01. Basics” –> “Blink” (Fig. 1.2)
Fig. 1.2
Fig. 1.2

We attach an LED light to the LilyPad using wire cables, where the positive terminal (Anode) of the LED is the longer end as compared to the negative terminal (Cathode).

LED
Blue LED
Hunter-Decoder-Cable
Wire cable

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To verify for errors during programming, we can click on the tick button (Fig. 1.3) and refer to a black bar below (Fig. 1.4).

 

 

Programming 1.3
Fig. 1.3 Verify errors and upload

 

Fig. 1.4 Black bar and red highlights for errors
Fig. 1.4
Black bar and red highlights for errors

Refer to Fig. 1.5 for more.

Programming 1.5
Fig. 1.5

To conclude, the lesson on programming was something new to me. I learnt the physical appearances and to differentiate between components such as the old LilyPad versions from the new ones (New version has an additional SD card holder unlike the old version that only has a charging port). I believe that there is still a long way before we can materialise our learnings through hands-on practice. I hope that my post would be beneficial in guiding me and my peers to do well in programming.

Research Critique: Sensing Garments & Smart Textiles

Wearable Kinesthetic systems for capturing and classifying body posture and gesture by Alessandro Tognetti, Federico Lorussi, Mario Tesconi, Raphael Bartalesi, Giuseppe Zupone and Danilo De Rossi

This review evaluates the design, the development and the understanding of sensing garments for the human body gesture, posture and movement. Sensing garment is defined as the incorporation of innovative, comfortable and spreadable sensors with garments.

Sensors are directly built in LYCRA fabric by using conductive elastomer (CE) sensors. The CE used is made by a silicon rubber and graphite mixture, manufactured to conduct electricity. This mixture can be applied on an elastic fabric substrate according to the shape and desired area for the sensors using an adhesive mask. CE sensors is a good technology as it provides both sensors and wiring by using the same elastic material and does not use noticeable metallic wires which may restrict the movements of the wearer. CE sensors show piezo-resistive properties when a deformation is applied and they can be integrated onto fabric or other flexible substrate to be employed as strain sensors.

Printable elastic conductors with a high conductivity for electronic textile applications (a) Fabrication process of elastic conductor ink. Upper picture, elastic conductor ink. Scale bar, 10 mm. Lower picture, printed elastic conductor with high resolution. Scale bar, 100 μm. (b) Printed elastic conductor and demonstration of the stretchability. Scale bar, 10 mm. (c) Conductivity dependence on tensile strain of printed elastic conductor with and without surfactant. The maximum stretchability of elastic conductor with surfactant is limited by the strain limit of the substrate. (d) A comparison of this work to recent work in elastic conductors. Data points are extracted from the following papers: light blue filled triangle, Ag nanowires (Ag NW)—the study by Xu and Zhu23 (calculated from resistance change under the assumption that the total volume does not change); orange open square, Au nanoparticles (Au NP)—the study by Kim et al.22; blue open triangle, Ag nanoparticles (Ag NP)—the study by Park et al.21; purple open circle, multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT)—the study by Chun et al.24; black filled square, single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT)—the study by Sekitani et al.15; light purple filled diamond, polyaniline (PANI)—the study by Stoyanov et al.25; red filled circle, this study (corresponds to c). (e) Initial conductivity and stretchability dependence on surfactant content. The weight ratio of Ag flakes, fluorine rubber and 4-methyl-2-pentanone was fixed at 3:1:2 (volume fraction, 1:1.94:8.74). Red circles, initial conductivity; blue squares, stretchability. (f) Initial conductivity and stretchability dependence on the Ag flakes content. The weight ratio of fluorine rubber, 4-methyl-2-pentanone and surfactant solution was fixed to 1:2:1 (volume fraction, 1:4.5:1.64). Error bars in e,f represent standard error.
Conductive Elastomer (CE): Printable elastic conductors with a high conductivity for electronic textile applications
(a) Fabrication process of elastic conductor ink. Upper picture, elastic conductor ink. Scale bar, 10 mm. Lower picture, printed elastic conductor with high resolution. Scale bar, 100 μm. (b) Printed elastic conductor and demonstration of the stretchability. Scale bar, 10 mm. (c) Conductivity dependence on tensile strain of printed elastic conductor with and without surfactant. The maximum stretchability of elastic conductor with surfactant is limited by the strain limit of the substrate. (d) A comparison of this work to recent work in elastic conductors. Data points are extracted from the following papers: light blue filled triangle, Ag nanowires (Ag NW)—the study by Xu and Zhu23 (calculated from resistance change under the assumption that the total volume does not change); orange open square, Au nanoparticles (Au NP)—the study by Kim et al.22; blue open triangle, Ag nanoparticles (Ag NP)—the study by Park et al.21; purple open circle, multi walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT)—the study by Chun et al.24; black filled square, single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT)—the study by Sekitani et al.15; light purple filled diamond, polyaniline (PANI)—the study by Stoyanov et al.25; red filled circle, this study (corresponds to c). (e) Initial conductivity and stretchability dependence on surfactant content. The weight ratio of Ag flakes, fluorine rubber and 4-methyl-2-pentanone was fixed at 3:1:2 (volume fraction, 1:1.94:8.74). Red circles, initial conductivity; blue squares, stretchability. (f) Initial conductivity and stretchability dependence on the Ag flakes content. The weight ratio of fluorine rubber, 4-methyl-2-pentanone and surfactant solution was fixed to 1:2:1 (volume fraction, 1:4.5:1.64). Error bars in e,f represent standard error.

The biggest advantage of sensorised garments would be the achievable idea of wearing garments for long duration while being monitored without discomfort. Sensorised garments are a possible alternative and comfortable tool for use in many rehabilitation areas, in sport disciplines and multimedia field.

Modwells: Wearable Bio-Sensors That Improve Physical, Emotional Health A specialized sensor garment that monitored the wearer's body position. If she deviated from her goal alignment, the system sent an alert via iPhone or iPad to correct her posture.
Modwells: Wearable Bio-Sensors That Improve Physical, Emotional Health
A specialized sensor garment that monitored the wearer’s body position. If she deviated from her goal alignment, the system sent an alert via iPhone or iPad to correct her posture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wearable Electronics and Smart Textiles: A Critical Review by Matteo Stoppa and Alessandro Chioleio

This review delves into the latest developments in the area of Electronic textiles (E-textiles) and focuses on the materials and their manufacturing process. It explores the strengths and weaknesses of different techniques and emphasizes on achieving a balance between flexibility, ergonomics, low power consumption, integration and autonomy.

E-textiles are fabrics with embedded electronics in a way that components and interconnections are almost unobservable with moldability and distinct size that is unachievable with conventional electronic manufacturing techniques. Embroidering, sewing, non-woven textiles, knitting, weaving, braiding, coating/laminating, printing and chemical treating are some ways of combining electronics with wearables.

“Aeolia” by Sarah Kettley, with Tina Downes, Martha Glazzard, Nigel Marshall, and Karen Harrigan, explores the process of incorporating stretch sensors into garments through weaving, knitting, and embroidery techniques
“Aeolia” by Sarah Kettley, with Tina Downes, Martha Glazzard, Nigel Marshall, and Karen Harrigan, explores the process of incorporating stretch sensors into garments through weaving, knitting, and embroidery techniques

With E-textiles, we can use computation and sensors to manipulate outfits to suit our sensory needs. Smart textiles may eventually be integrated into our daily lives. The function of wearable technology rely on their ability to recognize the behaviour of their wearers and the environment they are in.

Example of use of conductive thread in ‘Human Antenna’ by Florian kräutli

The employment of new materials such as conductive threads, conductive inks and organic semiconductors, along with technologies such as a drawing die with a steel mount and a ceramic/ carbide/ diamond core for wire drawing, sheet-based inkjet and screen printing that can print conductive material on various substrates, sintering technology, stretched sensors, pressure sensors, bio-potential sensing systems, capacitor sensor, electrochemical sensor and power supply technologies, in wearables, will serve as a means of increasing social welfare and might lead to important savings on welfare budget.

Tactile Dialogues is a beautifully designed e-textile pillow constructed with touch sensors and vibrating motors. The pillow is used to generate a positive interaction between a caregiver and an individual suffering from severe dementia.
Tactile Dialogues is a beautifully designed e-textile pillow constructed with touch sensors and vibrating motors. The pillow is used to generate a positive interaction between a caregiver and an individual suffering from severe dementia.

My thoughts:

While E-textiles and Sensing garments involves various complexities with the use of specialised technology, I believe that they have great potential to aid us in many ways in the area of social welfare.

Additional research and adaptation:

Bio-sensors

Sensors

Conductive Elastomer

Digital Health

Human Antenna

nanomaterials

E-textile pillow