Tag Archives: Research

3D_002_Inspiration_and_Process: Sound Texturizer Trial and Error

My Work, Process, Research, , , , ,

Hi!
Okay so we are supposed to create our own sound texturizer, and looking through past years references, it is indeed not gonna be an easy one :’)

THE IDEATION

At first I tried to Youtube a lot of videos for inspiration.
This video is the one that somehow inspired and motivated me the most.

My favorite instrument is actually number 8 ‘Chateau Paulie’. It was not really an instrument but a village-sized art and musical installation.
It is basically the idea of using wind to move pipes which create sounds. And people can pull some ropes to adjust the ‘fan’ creating the sound they wants.
This makes me want to create a customizable sound texturizer.

My very first idea was to use water, and using the idea of water having different pitch when having different level. However as I thought more of it, I had the idea of sound travelling through water.

After some long thought, I finally decided to use the idea of sound texturized by being reflected through long tube and cylinder. And for the source of the sound, instead of the initial idea to blow something, I decided to move things around.

THE PROCESS

A. MATERIALS

First step is to find the sound reflectors: the carton cylinder and washing machine pipe.
Both have texturizing effect, with the washing machine pipe having a more hollow and deeper effect.

Next is to find the sound creator. I decided to make use of a biscuit tin can, creating a hole on the end to connect with the cylinder.

B. CREATION

Firstly, I drilled hole in the metal tin. It was quite time-consuming as we need to drill shape holes one by one before creating

Then, I created the insert part of the sound creator by dividing them into 3 different layers.

  1. Part 1: plastic case part to put in customisable things inside  and sound is created from friction between components and plastic
  2. Part 2: middle part to put in chains and wire sound dragging around the metal can
  3. Part 3: metal part to put in customisable components and the sound is created form friction between components and metal

Next, is to create the support for the cylinder and tin, they are made of boxes.

Then the next step is to connect the can tin—carton cylinder—washing machine pipe and put them on the support! YEAY

I also created ways to take out the components and allow customising them without taking out the whole thing.

TADAA the Soundtube is created!

C. INNER COMPONENTS

I want to have various type of components made of different type of materials.
Ranging from those creating louder friction sound like coins and macaroni to those creating softer friction sound like foam balls and foam pieces.

D. HOW SOUNDTUBE WORKS

The player rotate the sound creator either to rotate it in one direction or changing the direction repetitively.
When it is rotated, the components inside the sound creator will create sound out of friction. This sound will be reflected in the carton cylinder, changing it’s frequency as the sound becomes deeper and hollower. Afterwards, the sound will further reflected inside the washing machine pipe before being heard by the listener.
The rhythm and beat are adjusted by modifying the tempo of rotation.

E. HOW SOUNDTUBE SOUNDS
(Precaution! Sound recorded are loud! Better lower your computer volume)

At first the plastic case was filled with water.
I expected the sound to be like when I shake the plastic case only:

However after realising that the plastic case kind of dampen the water sound and the rotation create much slower movement than shaking the plastic case (which result in less intense sound being created). The sound became like this:

As the water sound became really soft and almost unheard, I decided to use solid components as the friction sound is louder.

And here is some different experiments on sound recording of the Soundtube!

Finally, out of curiosity, I put in my phone inside the whole sound creator and set an alarm and recorded the sounds.

Conclusions:

  • Switching the components between part 1 and part 3 caused differences! (most likely only when it has loud friction sound component i.e. no affect when both are soft friction sound components)
  • Adding components increased the intensity of the sound to a certain extent only i.e. the addition of component is not proportional to the increase of intensity (most likely because the surface area is already full of components and the speed of rotation is slow)
  • Using soft friction sound components did not really make the sound softer and dampened (maybe because the chains and wire frictions and part 2 still contributed loud sound)
  • For the alarm, the sound creator only actually amplified sound inside as it is made of metal and reflects sound! And the sound reflectors make the alarm sounds heavier and more further away, it also somehow created a limitation for the pitch of the sound i.e. sound at high pitch is limited and created like ‘echo-y’ effect (the sound reflectors really changed and texturised the initial sound!)

Thank you!

3D Project 2
Research: Hearing and Touch
In Class: Sound Fabrics and Soundscape
Inspiration and Process: Sound Texturizer Trial and Error
Final: THE SOUNDTUBE

3D_003_Research: Clown Fish (aNEMOnefish)

My Work, Research, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

INTRODUCTION
Clown fish refer to 28 species of fish that are living around tropical coral reefs found in the warm water Indian, Pacific Oceans and the Red Sea. Here are some of them. Since the famous Disney movie Finding Nemo, the popularity of the clown fish increased and they are being breed by human. (Nemo is the Occelaris sp.) The Oceans, Reefs & Aquariums (ORA) is the leader in captive bred clownfish. Below is the pictures of the clown fish species with some addition developed by the ORA.

Clown Fish Species

KEY SENSES
1. SENSE OF SMELL
Like people, fish have noses. Water flows through holes called nares into two chambers. Each chamber contains a rose-shaped structure called a rosette. Odor molecules stick to cells on the rosette called neurons. Those neurons then shoot a quick signal to the brain. That’s how a fish detects a scent.
Upon hatching, baby clownfirsh rise up to the sea’s surface and begin the planktonic stage (floating on the sea) for about 11-12 days. Then, they will use their sense of smell to find their way home. They swim toward the scent of leaves from the islands’ trees. They also detect odors to find food, avoid predators and prepare for mating.
(!!) The sense of smell worsen as the water becomes more acidic! At the current rate, clown fish might lose their ability to ‘go back home’ and avoiding predator by the end of the century! frown

2. SENSE OF HEARING
For clown fish, the ability to hear is crucial as it makes them able to detect and avoid predator-rich coral reefs during the daytime (coral reefs are home to many species that can feed on small clownfish). They do this by monitoring the sounds of animals on the reef, most of which are predators to something just a centimetre in length.
(!!) Researchs show that clown fish in more acidic water showed no preference for moving away from threatening sound, while those exposed to normal levels of acidity move away from the perceived danger source. The acidity doesn’t seem to physically damage the fish’s ears, so maybe the damage is neurological, or maybe they are “stressed by the higher acidity and do not behave as they otherwise would.” This could seriously impact their survival in the long term. frown

BODY STRUCTURE

Clown Fish External Anatomy
Clown Fish Bone Structure

RANGE OF MOTION
It can freely move to any direction by moving its tail to move forward and side fins to help them steer.

Clown Fish Movement

A journal said that clown fish performed a bizarre little wiggle dance, flapping its fins while dodging and turning.
That creates fresh water circulation for the stationary anemone, allowing it to access more oxygenated water, speed up its metabolism, and grow faster. That’s also good news for the clown fish, which have more room to hide within the anemone.

SYMBIOSIS MUTUALISM WITH SEA ANEMONES
Symbiosis describes the special relationship between clown fish and sea anemones. They are the only fish that do not get stung by the tentacles of the sea anemone. Clown fish have a slimy mucus covering that protects them from the sea anemone. However, if this covering is wiped off of a clown fish, it will get stung and possibly be killed when it returns home to the anemone. The clown fish and the sea anemone help each other survive in the ocean. The clown fish, while being provided with food, cleans away fish and algae leftovers from the anemone. In addition, the sea anemones are given better water circulation because the clown fish fan their fins while swimming about.

(The video below is really good in showing the movement of different species of clown fish and different species of sea anemone, it also has part where the clown fish is trying to scare away human diver in order to protect the sea anemone)

INTERESTING FACTS

  1. HERMAPHRODITE (an organism that has reproductive organs normally associated with both male and female sexes)
    In a group of clownfish, there is a strict hierarchy of dominance. The largest and most aggressive female is found at the top. Only two clownfish, a male and a female, in a group reproduce through external fertilization. The clownfish are hermaphrodites, meaning that they develop into males first, and when they mature, they become females. Also, as mentioned earlier, more than one clownfish is able to live in a sea anemone. If the female clownfish is removed from the group, such as by death, one of the largest and most dominant males would become a female. The rest of the remaining males will move up a rank on the hierarchy.
  2. STING PROTECTION
    The clown fish is also famous for it’s seeming immunity to the stings of the sea anemone. Most clown fish are found either in or around sea anemones which the clown fish inhabits both for protection from predators but also the readiness of food.

OTHER FACTS

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Pomacentridae
Genus: Amphiprion

Size (L): 10cm – 18cm (4in – 7in)
Life Span: 4 – 8 years
Colour: Black, White, Orange, Red, Yellow
Diet: Omnivore
Favourite Food: Algae
Habitat: Tropical coral reefs
Main Prey: Algae, Plankton, Molluscs
Predators: Fish, Eels, Sharks

Bye bye

3D Project 3
Research: Clown Fish (aNEMOnefish)
In Class: The Nemo Movement
(coming soon)

Resources:

Animals, A. (n.d.). Clown Fish. Retrieved March 8, 2017, from https://a-z-animals.com/animals/clown-fish/
Hogan, T. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved March 8, 2017, from http://www.dive-the-world.com/creatures-clownfish.php
Investigation. (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2017, from http://tolweb.org/treehouses/?treehouse_id=3390
Leader, J. (2013, March 01). Clownfish, Sea Anemone Relationship: Fish Do Wiggle Dance To Help Out Host. Retrieved March 8, 2017, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/01/clownfish-sea-anemone-wiggle-dance_n_2789711.html

Increased CO2 Causes Clownfish to Lose Sense of Smell, Swim Toward Predators. (2010, July 14). Retrieved March 8, 2017, from http://worldgreen.org/increased-co2-causes-clownfish-to-lose-sense-of-smell-swim-toward-predators/
Kwok, R. (2015, November 01). When the nose no longer knows. Retrieved March 8, 2017, from https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/when-nose-no-longer-knows

Clownfish risk going deaf. (n.d.). Retrieved March 8, 2017, from http://www.hear-it.org/clownfish-risk-going-deaf
Richard, M. G. (2011, June 01). Ocean acidification makes clownfish go deaf (poor Nemo can’t hear predators anymore…). Retrieved March 8, 2017, from http://www.treehugger.com/clean-technology/ocean-acidification-makes-clownfish-go-deaf-poor-nemo-cant-hear-predators-anymore.html

Image credits:
http://s967.photobucket.com/user/oceanseeker/media/SHOP/CLOWNFISH-LOWRES.jpg.html
http://s967.photobucket.com/user/oceanseeker/media/SHOP/CLOWNFISH-LOWRES.jpg.html
https://image.slidesharecdn.com/clownfish-130530023920-phpapp01/95/clown-fish-3-638.jpg?cb=1369882379

Maldives QI, Part 5


https://www.google.com.sg/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fs-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com%2F736x%2F93%2Fb0%2Fc5%2F93b0c58dd20a2045db6a43735d36f184.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2FAlliekat1008%2Ffish%2F&docid=Lgrp0K69bWQFAM&tbnid=jhKYwWMQr1fblM%3A&vet=1&w=620&h=620&bih=708&biw=1517&q=clownfish%20cute&ved=0ahUKEwiniLDVg8zSAhVKfrwKHT91BMgQMwhzKE0wTQ&iact=mrc&uact=8#h=620&imgrc=jhKYwWMQr1fblM:&vet=1&w=620

2D_001_Research: Que Sara

My Work, Project 1 Que Sara: Research, , , , , , , , ,

Hi!

So at first I brainstormed all the possible job that I am interested to do.

Job Brainstorm
Job Brainstorm

With all the random and scattered list, I narrowed down into (not based on any particular order):

  • Robert Langdon
    Being a fan of Dan Brown’s novels, I want to be Robert Langdon, a professor of symbology and go for many adventures. He is someone who interpreting iconology, deciphering symbols and code.
    I first thought that the term for the job is ‘symbologist’ but it appeared that no such vocabulary in the dictionary. Well, I can be him.

    Symbologist Brainstorm
    Symbologist Brainstorm

    I researched and looked for various symbol that can be modified to letters of my name. Also thumbnailed some possible composition like:

    1. putting my initial in between random symbols
      symbologist
    2. editing famous historical artefact with symbols and add my initial to it.
      E.g. the tablet in the film Night at The Museum

      The Golden Tablet of Pharaoh Akhmenrah
    3. The gate to an ancient city with my initial
      layer-11
    4. Cemetery or graveyard or mummy case with my initial
      group-6
      Out of all four, the one I want to made is honestly the last one. Until I realised that it feels like preparing my own grave (literally)………
      So I decided to pause working on this job……… for good.
  • Jules Verne
    Another job inspired by novels, I want to be an adventurer or traveler. Things like weird places, new findings, ancient plants, extinct animals are somehow appealing to me.

    Traveler Brainstorm
    Traveler Brainstorm

    Identical with different modes of transportation to travel, I listed down possible transports. I also drafted ‘NAT’ using different lines related to water, air and soil transportation (train, ship, airplane). Decided the background ca be a world map, and the lines can be red showing the path or plan of a journey.
    However I did not pursue this composition further as I found more interesting ideas coming up for another job.

  • Witch
    Well, I can’t help to want to be one. Especially Elphaba of the Wicked, somehow I am weirdly attracted to her character. (?)
  • Avatar!
    Not the movie Avatar. It’s the animated television series Avatar: The Legend of Aang. The bender for fire, water, wind, earth. Control the balance of the Earth. Another one I can’t let go…
  • TV Show Winner
    Participating and winning amazing TV shows like Amazing Race, Fear Factor, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? are some of my childhood dream I cannot say no to. Spent time to watch them routinely weekly. So nostalgic.
  • Extreme Sport Athlete
    Extreme sports like cave diving, sky diving etc is another things that attracted me. But reflecting on the reality, I just hope I could do them at least once before I die.
  • Marine Mammal Trainer
    Free Willy! I have been liking marine mammal especially dolphin since little, being their trainer seems fun.

Here is another list after browsing through the internet, looking for weird and unusual job.

  • Iceberg mover. Might have save Titanic. Who knows?
  • Snake milker. Aaaaaaa so interesting I cannot! I like how a snake’s skin feels.
  • Fortune cookie writer. It’s all a lie.
  • Crime scene investigator or detective.
  • Shepherd.
  • Swordsman. Zoro of the anime One Piece. Sword Art Online.
  • Chocolatier. Childhood game and dream job.
  • Ghost Hunter. Another one inspired by childhood movie.
  • Time Traveller.
  • Origami artist and paper sculptor.

    OrigamiArtist and Paper Sculptor Brainstorm
    Origami Artist and Paper Sculptor Brainstorm

    For origami artist, I planned to fold real origami, paste it on paper and take photo of it. After consultation (thanks Shirley) an interesting idea was to hang it instead of pasting it. Then, the paper can use texturised Japanese origami paper with plain background to contrast the elements.

    As for the paper sculptor (initially was an alternative for the origami artist), there are so many different type of paper sculpt.

    I planned to create layers of white paper with the shape of NAT. And I did the draft.

    Paper sculptor
    Paper sculptor experiment

    However I decided to not do it for the real thing as it feels too plain and I could not find a nice composition other than a plain classic one.

Later on the options evolved and I ended up having these as the finalised ones:

  • Batik maker
  • Chinese Vampire Hunter
  • Shadow puppeteer
  • Colour sand artist

Continue reading here.

3D_002_Research: Hearing and Touch

My Work, Research, , , , , , , , , ,

Hi!

So I’ve been researching on human senses, to be exact are hearing and touch.

HEARING (Audioception) is the ability to perceive sound by the sense of hearing.

How does the human sense of hearing work?

Ear anatomy:

screen-shot-2017-02-12-at-5-24-58-pm
Ear Anatomy

(Click here for interactive version)

Process of hearing:
Sound waves enter the ear canal, making the ear drum vibrate and moves the ossicles. The last bone of stapes knocks on the membrane window of the cochlea, causing fluid in the cochlea to move. This movement cause stereocillia to bend and create electrical signal that caused the auditory nerve to carry signal to the brain.

Interesting Facts:

  • Human ear still functions even when a person sleeps. It continues to pick up sound but the brain block them out.
  • Human ears are self-cleaning by producing ear wax (cerumen) which protects the ear from dust and friction.
  • Frequently cleaning ear wax can damage the tymponic membrane and lead to deafness!
  • Wearing headphones for an hour will increase the bacteria in ear by 700 times.
  • Ossicles is the smallest bone found in a human body.
  • The inner ear helps human balance as they walk or run.

TOUCH (Tactioception) is the body’s ability to feel physical sensation

How does the human sense of touch work?

Skin anatomy:

Sense of Touch
Sense of Touch

(Click here for the interactive version)

Somatosensory (touch receptors)
– mechanoreceptors (pressure, vibration, texture)
– thermoreceptors (temperature)
– pain receptors
– proprioceptors

Process:
Stimuli is accepted by somatosensory and the nervous system carry the information to the brain.

Interesting Facts:

  • Skin is the largest organ of a body, it makes up 15% of the body weight.
  • Skin is constantly renewing itself.
  • Touch can reduce blood pressure and heart rate.
  • Touch stimulates brain to release endorphin.
  • The sense of touch gets worse as human ages.
  • Touch is crucial for a baby’s development.

Similarity between frog and human?

It is really fascinating to find out that we are somewhat quite similar to frogs. It is not something I expected before.

  • Body structure
    The body structure of frogs and humans is comparable as have skin, bones, muscles and organs. Further, both frog and human bodies can be broken up into a head, a neck, a trunk and limbs.
  • Organs
    Both have lungs, kidneys, a stomach, a heart, a brain, a liver, a spleen, a small intestine and a large intestine, a pancreas, a gall bladder, a urinary bladder, a ureter, a cloaca. Males and females of each species have testes and ovaries respectively. In general, their organ structure is similar, but frogs have considerably less complex anatomies and they do not have ribs or a diaphragm.
  • Vertebrates with nervous system
    They have similar systems, including nervous, circulatory, digestive and respiratory. Both are classified as vertebrates, with a spine and nerves that spread across the body. Both frogs and humans have very developed senses of hearing, which is managed by the nervous system. However, frogs can only detect high-pitched sounds with their ears; low-pitched sounds are detected through the skin. Both frogs and humans also have developed senses of sight and smell.

    sdf
    Frog vs Human Body Part

    image
    Frog vs Human Digestive Organ

Summary:

image

3D Project 2
Research: Hearing and Touch
In Class: Sound Fabrics and Soundscape
Inspiration and Process: Sound Texturizer Trial and Error
Final: THE SOUNDTUBE

3D_001_Research: Smell (and Taste) and Memory

My Work, Research, , , , , ,

Hi!

We were asked to research on how smell related to the memory. After some research, I found out that both smell and taste (with the addition of tactile and thermal sensations) create flavor, and this is the one factor that is greatly related to one’s memory.

TASTE (gustaocception) is the ability to taste and to discriminate flavors.
How does the human sense of taste work? the taste bud on the tongue (papillae) have very sensitive microvili which sends message to the brain about the taste.

Sense of taste
Sense of taste

(check here for the interactive version)

Interesting facts:

  • Four basic human taste are sweet, salty, sour, bitter.
  • In early 1990s, the 5th taste of umami was recognized.
  • Fat could be the 6th taste.
  • The tongue map is not exactly right as there is no clear cut map of which parts of tongue taste what.

SMELL (olfacception) is the ability to sense and perceive smell.
How does the human sense of smell work? 
Odourant stimulates chemoreceptors which gives electrical impulse to be passed on to the brain. The brain interprets the pattern of electrical activity as specific odors and olfactory sensation.

Sense of Smell
Sense of Smell

(Check here for the interactive version)

Interesting facts:

  •  Smell is intimately linked to behaviour, mood and memory as the olfactory bulb is part of the limbic system (include amygdala and hippocampus)
  • Anosmia is the inability to smell that can be caused by sinus disease, growth in the nassal passage, viral infection and head trauma.
  • In 1991, Richard Axel and Linda Buck published a paper on olfactory receptors and how the brain interprets smell. They won the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
    Three percent of a human genes are olfactory receptor type.

Smell and taste with addition of tactile and thermal sensation create flavour. Flavour is the sensory impression of food. This flavour is the one that evoke human’s memory.

And why does smell is the sense that most easily evoke memory compared to other senses?

  • Smell is firstly being processed in hippocampus which is identified as crucial for creating new memories for events.
  • Smell information is transferred directly to olfactory without passing through the thalamus like other senses.

Summary:

image-2