May 16, 2006
"Remember" Suit for Babys
04:38 PM wearable + robots
Do you want to remember the first years of your life? Now you can, with the help of the memory suit from MNEMOSYNE.com. It is a suit for babys and little children, that keeps pictures and audio files with the help of a small integrated camera and microphone. The power supply is also hidden in the suit, it is powered with bioelectrical energy.
Via MNEMOSYNE.com
Email this | + digg | + del.icio.us | View CC license | Subscribe to this feedRFID for animals on heat
03:21 PM rfidTwo months ago, Konomi wrote about this interesting Japanese project to RFID tags in cow's stomach to predict child birth. Now comes the news that researchers of the INRA in Montpellier (France) have devised a method that uses RFID tag to detect when female mammals are in heat.
A tag is injected under the skin of the female sheep. The male is equipped with a tag reader that reads and registers the tag number of the female animals that welcome "sexual intercourses". The data is then wirelessly transmitted to be analysed by the cattle owners. The system would enable a better management of artificial insimination in cattle.
Via Internet actu < INRA.
RFID in animal: RFID in cow's stomach, RFID tags for stray Delhi cows, e-sheep do it for themselves and Follow the Flocks. I also like Pata negra ham with added GPS.
Email this | + digg | + del.icio.us | View CC license | Subscribe to this feedJob offer for interaction designer
02:55 PM designMy friend Retto Wettach is looking for an Interaction Designer, who would like to play a major role in an academic project - sponsored by the industry.
The project investigates tactile interaction with mobile devices and Retto is looking for somebody who is familiar with the status-quo in this area (research and art) and who is also able to conceptually develop new interaction design ideas and implement them with what he calls "just-enough-prototyping"-techniques (as e.g. video prototyping and physical computing).
The project will be starting as soon as possible and taking place in Berlin. You can contact Retto: wettach (a) fh-potsdam.de
Now something to make you want to work with Reto: I met him when he was teaching at Interaction Design Ivrea but he's been in the field of Interaction Design for quite a while, first with IDEO in San Francisco, then with Sony in Tokyo. Now he's teaching Interface Design at the University of Applied Sciences in Potsdam, Germany and heading the Interaction Design Lab IDL.
He is also interested in weird places and little adventures. With his partner Michaela Vieser he published an amazing book on Overlooked Sights in Germany (it's in english and german).
Email this | + digg | + del.icio.us | View CC license | Subscribe to this feedCannonballs for police officers and fire fighters
12:05 PM transportThe circus trick of firing a person from a cannon is being patented by DARPA as a way to get special forces, police officers and fire fighters onto the roofs of tall buildings faster.
DARPA proposal and human cannonball from 1925
A ramp with side rails would be placed on the ground near the target building at an angle of about 80¬ƒ. A person would then sit in a chair, like a pilot’Äôs ejection seat, attached to the ramp. Compressed air from a cylinder underneath would be released to shoot the chair up the ramp's rails. At the top the chair would come to an instant halt, leaving the person to fly up and over the edge of the roof, to land on top of the building.
To get the trajectory right, DARPA suggests a computer could automatically devise the correct angle and speed of ascent. The patent also claims that a 4-metre-tall launcher could put a man on the top of a 5 storey building in less than 2 seconds.
Via New Scientist.
More darpa madness: The Deep-Bleeder Acoustic Coagulation project, planes to act like plants, Non-acoustic sensors detect speech without sound, cyber-insect army, and in the always surprising Defense Tech.
Related: Pumpkin shooting.
Email this | + digg | + del.icio.us | View CC license | Subscribe to this feedPower Play
10:05 AM artJohann van der Schijff’Äôs meticulously finished machines toy play with the notion of military and manufacturing industry’Äôs power.
Bomb
Examining power relationships in society, the Power Play pieces take as point of departure a line in Lev Manovich’Äôs The Language of New Media: "as the pioneer of interactive filmmaking Graham Weinbren argues, in relation to interactive media, making a choice involves a moral responsibility."
Slaansak/Punch Bag
Van der Schijff's aim is for the viewer to be forced into a position of choice in their engagement with the work ("shall I hit the blow-up doll / punch bag or not?"). The workmanship and finishes (facilitated by computer-aided design and manufacturing techniques) are meticulous, and are aimed to emulate and appeal in the same way as objects in designer-lifestyle shops.
Lazy Susan
Lazy Susan operates as a scanning device: as the viewer enters the field covered by the rotating top section, the animation projected onto the screen tracks the viewer with the top section of the interactive sculpture follows the viewer. Instead of being merely looked at, the artwork "looks back" at the visitor for a few seconds before it continues to scan for new targets.
The Pretoria-born artist's iconography was informed by the bright colours of township sculptures, Zulu beading and Xhosa fabrics. In addition to the obvious connection to wooden children’Äôs toys, a direct lineage can be traced to the tractors, lorries and aeroplanes made from discarded Coke and Nugget tins combined with blue wire on my uncle’Äôs farm in Ventersdorp, and the bright enamel paint applied by hand to my sculptures, writes the artist.
Check Johann van der Schijff's first solo exhibition, Power Play, at Bell-Roberts Contemporary Art Gallery, Cape Town, until 20 May 2006. More pictures in the catalogue of the exhibition.
See also: Fabrice Gygi's aesthetics of authority.
Thanks Rob!
Inside / Out
09:00 AM installationOn the night of April 28th, downtown Memphis was turned into an interactive lighting installation as 9 buildings were integrated with a system that sampled the information of movement and energy within buildings and transferred it to the tops to control a dynamic lighting display. With Inside / Out, by James Clar, people walking around the South Main gallery district of Memphis were able to see each building node and its activity before entering them. So if one gallery or coffee shop was busier than another place down the street, people could see that activity registering via the panels on top of the buildings.
Each building node used a laser diode system to track the amount of people entering and exiting the space, and then used this variable to create animations and patterns on the rooftops. The rooftop system consisted of a microcontroller to intepret the data sent to it from below and solid state relays to control 16 bulbs diffused by blue plexi in a display.
"Inside / Out" attempts to use architecture and buildings as giant, living pixels. And by taking the information from inside these pixels to control the lighting outside makes it possible to create a living canvas over downtown Memphis whose acvtive mesh and dynamic display represents the interaction between people and architecture.
(video)
Other projects by James Clar: Light Mesh for Habitat hotel, the Infinity Case.
Email this | + digg | + del.icio.us | View CC license | Subscribe to this feedMay 15, 2006
Space Invaders 2006
07:47 PM augmented reality + gamesSpace Invaders 2006 is an outdoor video game that takes advantage of real world architecture spaces and transforms them into a game playground. Basically, the video game is projected onto a building. The player controls an aircraft by moving his/her body in the space to shoot down the invaders before they move off the building.
The invaders come out of the wall cracks and move down to the ground. The player has to move left or right to control the motion of the aircraft. Whenever the player jumps, the aircraft shoots out a bullet.
Developed by Evan Barba and Kuan Huang.
Other works by Kuan Huang: Virtual Instrument and Cellwish.
Related: Blinkenlights.
Cocoons against stressful life
06:55 PM wearableJennie Pineus's iconic Cocoons are intended to provide a simple and accessible solution to shelter us from a stressful, intense environment filled with impressions. They can be enjoyed at home, or in the city.
They also comes in a portable version. The Cocoonmask is an individual personal relaxation sheath that can be taken and used anywhere. It folds up and comes in its own bag.
Related: Mella Jaarsma's cocoon, Ingrid Hora's protections for moments of disturbance.
Via neo-nomad.
Email this | + digg | + del.icio.us | View CC license | Subscribe to this feedRFID Snakes and Ladders
03:03 PM games + rfidRFID Snakes and Ladders is a game currently played at the Media Centre, Huddersfield, until June 2nd.
The rules are the same as the traditional game, except the whole building ’Äì which is home to over 120 separate small businesses - becomes part of the game board.
Players get a counter containing an RFID chip. They have to pass it in front of the giant dice and check how far they ’Äòrolled’Äô on a connected website. If they land at the bottom of the ladder, they pass their counter in front of the model ladder to climb it. If they hit the head of a snake, it’Äôs a slippery slide unless they get to the model snake in time.
Models are placed around the Media Centre: in the entrance, the cafˆ© bar and outside the lifts.
Players take a turn every three hours (unless they throw a six or land on a snake or a ladder, when they have to act quickly). In this way the game becomes part of the normal working day. Players might take a turn when they first arrive, another when they grab a coffee, and another at lunchtime.
And if they land on a bonus square, they get a secret prize. Players who reach the top square first win prizes from the centre’Äôs Cafˆ© Ollo menu.
RFID Snakes and Ladders is a great way of connecting people who inhabit the same location, but who often feel isolated from each other.
"After the Media Centre we hope to test the game in places where people are in danger of feeling cut off or lonely," said Andrew Wilson of Blink Media. "For example in sheltered housing or the children’Äôs ward of a hospital, where playing a simple, ongoing game with others might help to bring people together face to face."
Developed by new media company Blink. Game programming and web design by C.H.I.P.S.. Hardware by Daniel Blackburn of Carbon Based Games. Illustrations by Andy Sykes. Models by Richard Dawson.
Thanks Stefan!
Energy supply from gym workout
12:12 PM bodyIt is estimated that the average person produces up to 300 watts of electricity during a workout session - enough to power a washing machine for an hour.
Scientists at Stirling University are working on a grid that can harness electricity from exercise bikes, rowing machines, treadmills and cross-trainers and use it to power the gyms themselves or even light up hotel bedrooms and kitchens.
Antal Lakner's wall-painting workout machine
Researchers Tao Pei and Emmanuel Pogoson's system would store electricity in a similar way to wind farms and wave machines. Gym equipment would be attached to generators or a central power source that could convert kinetic energy from movement into mechanical energy.
Is it possible that no one had thought about it before?
UPDATES: thanks to LeisureArts for reminding me that such project already exists: the Notions of Expenditure.
Alex points me to this bikepower used to generate electricity, but i have a soft spot for this ingenious water-pumping merry-go-round.
Image from Antal Lakner's Passive Working Devices
series, a sarcastic view on how hi-tech machines have changed people's
relationship with the environement and with their own bodies.
Related: Mobile design for runners, Bikes turned into game controllers, the wonderful Arnold Schwarzenegger's Total Body Workout MP3s, Double-Gravity Suit System.
Via Scotsman.
Email this | + digg | + del.icio.us | View CC license | Subscribe to this feedRadio Map
10:19 AM installation + locative + soundRadio Map, by Michael Hohl and Stephan Huber, is an immersive telematic environment that enables participants to walk about a projected photorealistic image of the Earth and listen to live internet radio programs that are located at the corresponding locations all over the world.
Once a person walks about the map, a graphic element is placed into the direction of movement. Called the PoI (Point of Interest), it is used to select radio stations. Should more participants enter the space, all their lines connect to this single element, creating a shared PoI, which is placed in the calculated middle of all participants. The individuals have to collaborate to navigate the PoI. This encourages complete strangers to act as a group while exploring the map for radio stations.
As the PoI approaches the location of a radio station its volume increases giving the impression of "tuning in" to it. If the PoI is located between two or more stations that are close together their signals would mix. This creates potential for surprising "mixing" of the sound. Yet participants are always able to accurately ’Äútune into’Äù a station avoiding disturbing effects.
Experiencing the content and local colour of the actual radio programs invokes surprise. Participants become aware of different time zones, weather conditions, Summer and Winter, and the fact that we are living on a globe that is rotating around the Sun.
Related: Gravity and Resistance, The Earth as a CD player.
Via res-qualia.
Email this | + digg | + del.icio.us | View CC license | Subscribe to this feedLiving walls
08:14 AM designTwo years ago, i blogged about BioWall, a wall that pulsates beneath people's fingers, repairs itself and even selfreplicates. Rachel Wingfield has come up with a different concept of BioWall. This one is a hand woven 3D structure that can be crafted into lace-like surfaces of any dimension and form. Fiberglass rods are bowed into rings and woven together to form a strong and flexible tension-compression system. The structure is based on the principle of self-similarity enabling it to work from the nano to the macro scale. It can be seen in our natural environment in the formation of bubbles, living cells and water molecules.
With plants living and growing around the structure, BioWall can become an indoor wall that divides space and cleans the air of the room.
BioWall invites individuals to craft their environment and understand and use the geometries of life. A new design practice can be realised through observing and learning from botanical life, cooperating with it rather than working towards its extermination. Photosynthesis, growth, phylotaxis and response to stimuli provide a strong framework for creating reactive surfaces.
Check BioWall at HauteGREEN, an exhibition of the best in sustainable design, May 20-22, 12-7pm - 70 North 6th Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
This Spring, the New British Designers exhibition at droog@home was also showing the BioWall as well as two other works by Loop.ph.
Weather Patterns are window units which emit light at night and allow sunlight to reflect during daytime. They contain printed electroluminescence panels sandwiched between glass and a mirror. A computer reads data from a dedicated weather station on site and uses this information to animate the printer EL pattern. that allow a building to communicate the changing weather cycles in the hours of darkness. (video)
Blumen Wallpaper uses again electroluminescent technology in an ornate printed design that is at the same time a working electrical circuit. The repeating pattern allows the piece to be cut into smaller sections and even reassembled. Sensors in the wallpaper respond to various external stimuli and make the pattern react to its environment. For example, patterns in the sound environment can be transformed into visual patterns on the wallpaper. (video)
On flickr, some rather lame pictures i took of loop.PH's work.
Also by Rachel Wingfield: Emotional fabrics, The wake up duvet.
Email this | + digg | + del.icio.us | View CC license | Subscribe to this feedInterview of Rory Hamilton
05:19 AM design + interview
I have never met Rory Hamilton
(so far) but i've blogged the works of several of his students. Some of
them told me i should have a look at his website which in turn lead me
to asking him if he had time to answer my questions. Rory Hamilton is a
design consultant, and educator in Interaction Design at the Royal College of Art till 2005, and before that at the Bartlett School of Architecture. He's now a visiting lecturer in Innovative Product Design at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, Dundee.
Together with Dr Jon Rogers (Dundee University), he's doing a research about "Art, Design and Visual Perception" working on projects with the University of Sussex and University of Manchester. He even finds some time to work in fine art collaboration with Suky Best and recently showed at the Tate Britain, in London.
How did someone with a background in fine arts land in the merry world of interaction design?
I went from a Sculpture BA to an MA in Multimedia mainly because that
was the only field where computers were being use in the early 90s. It
was then, at Central St Martin's that I came to love design. Working
with Maxine Gregson, I created a work called Cognitive Overhead.
It dealt with the possibilities of the screen-based interface and
playing with the familiar metaphors we all accept as the only way
things can be. I was also teaching computing at the Bartlett School of Architecture.
These two influences were a great introduction to the world of
Interaction Design. Then of course going to teach at the RCA with Gillian Crampton-Smith
was an education in itself. At that time the emphasis was mainly on
screen based work, new metaphors, new software and some physical
interaction. I find now that not many students are interested in the
screen or just in a superficial way; personally I find the idea of
designing software, (I mean the function as well as the look and feel)
how it can link with the web and physical objects really exciting. But
these things are cyclical and so it'll change again. I think web 2.0 is
helping that. But designers have to stop thinking that the onscreen
world of Windows and OSX is fixed and kick it about a bit.
Does your art practice influence your teaching to future interaction designers?
Not really, if anything it's the other way around; techniques and
processes I use in teaching tend to come into my artwork. I find design
more exciting and fluid as a pursuit. Most of my recent artwork is
bloody hard work (the cowboy animations have around 8000 drawings). Art
wise I'd like to be the most successful Sunday artist in the world.
It¬¼s like therapy to me and it's a bonus when others like it. Art can
be solitary but design has to engage with people and technology and
that's what I really love.
How many years of experience are there behind the everything i know website?
Eight years of Interaction teaching with five years at the Bartlett and
the fine art before. I've grown up with the technology and seen
Interaction go through many phases. I've also changed my own focus,
design teaching remains a passion but I've started doing corporate
consultancy and this feels like an area where I have a lot to give. I
like to think of my experience as not just mine but also the collective
experience of hundreds of student projects I have worked on, the
technical issues we¬¼ve had to overcome, the search for inspiration, the
need to communicate sometimes quite difficult projects to the public.
When I stopped full-time teaching I felt like my head was going to
explode. It was so full of facts, stories, techniques, so to get them
all out I created everything i know.
How much does the feedback from readers of everything i know incites you to modify the content of the website?
I do get a lot of mail from people (students, designers, tutors)
thanking me for putting this stuff up there, it's the kind of
information that can't really exist in academic institutions- it's too
informal and anecdotal. I'd like to do it as a book at some point but
for the moment the site seems to have something for everyone. I
sometimes get requests for topics and I try to cover them, I'd actually
really like to get more of that. I'd also like to show some past
projects form former students but I wanted everything i know
to be more neutral to begin with. I don't want people to be distracted
by projects and lots of images but to read and digest the stories and
methods I have to share.
My favourite emails of course come from my old students, and they all
say one thing; "When I read it I can hear you talking as though you
were right there", which is great because it's that informal, friendly,
slightly ranting feel I was going for.
The never fall in love with your user
chapter in particular strikes a chord with me. Do you have real
example(s) to illustrate that idea? I have the feeling that the "never
fall in love" concept must be hard to combine with that other piece of
advice you give in the Gonzo design chapter that invites interaction designers to become part of their subject group.
What I've seen happen is students (and professional designers) getting
too influenced by their user group. From taking everything they say as
gospel; like: "It should be green and purple" to feeling that they
can't possibly design anything for this group because the users are so
perfect (especially with very niche users, hobbyists etc). But everyone
has to remember that THEY are the designers and their opinions matter
too.
A student last year (Sohui Won) did a great study of Goths, but after doing that she was really stuck because she had come to like them and respect their lifestyle so much that she was overwhelmed. Me and my teaching partner, Sarah Pennington asked her to pick out her favourite anecdote and work from that. It was about a guy with wrist tattoos who bought ladies jackets because the shorter sleeves showed off his tattoos better. Sohui then went on to design clothing that had automated "revealing" functions. We also encouraged her to take the design idea away from the Goth group and into a wider user group. This approach worked well, showing that a little help to step back and see detail rather than the overwhelming mass of information could work wonders.
Still, I do encourage people to get involved with their users and even slightly too involved can be useful. But you always need to be able to take that step back. This can be done with help from others or by getting someone outside of the project to look at your findings. You'll start to see it from a different perspective and begin to generate ideas, inspired by, not prescribed by your user group.
Can you give us one or several example of products or design studio that best embody the everything i know approach?
Products is hard, I love the iPod shuffle for its integration with a mental model created by the earlier iPods (see my page about it).
It's that building on success but not being afraid to do something that
others might consider a step back that's so great. Another "product"
I¬¼ve loved recently isn¬¼t a product at all but a TV programme. BBC's Making Slough Happy
was a social experiment in trying to make the people of Slough happier,
using many different methods, physical, spiritual, psychological. I
thought it was really inspiring and backed up an idea of Sarah
Pennington and I that design should get more optimistic and a bit less
critical. Using people's welfare and wellbeing as you inspiration can
really help with this.
I think for openness of approach and a genuine interest in people,
process and innovation I'd have to mention the service design company Livework. They
continue to develop new research and inspiration techniques and aren't scared to tell others about them. That's the same with IDEO,
the best thing they ever did was to be open, to show others their
process, their research projects and business methods. All the other
companies jealous of IDEO¬¼s reputation should keep that in mind.
Some student work I've really enjoyed so far this year is by Ed Lewis from Innovative Product Design in Dundee.
He's dealt with micro-generation of electricity in the home and made
wind turbines from recycled materials. But he's done it all with a
great sense of humour and dedication. There seems to be a real
commitment to sustainability and the environment with current students
which is really impressive. I can remember when it was not "cool" to
deal with those issues. Jon Coombes at Central St Martin's is
another example, his subtle changes to existing products, and services
attached to those products, really show possibilities for the future of
manufacturing and consumption. And on the inspiration gathering side- I
think Murray Sim from
Dundee has done a fantastic job which should serve as an example of
applying almost every method from "everything i know" in one year.
Check out his site and get inspired.
You've given workshops and talks at businesses round the UK, in
India, and Korea. Are businesses receptive to bold creative ideas? If
no, do you think it might change?
I think it is changing. I recently worked with Microsoft in Cambridge
and was really impressed by their openness to new design approaches and
possibilities. I think the kind of techniques I talk about in everything i know
can be applied to many situations and it only takes minimal risk to
implement. I don't expect companies to change into colleges, but
sometimes their staff could do with a break and a different kind of
design challenge. I don't think companies really appreciate how
difficult inspiration is to find on your own or how easily a few small
challenges can stir up creative juices.
It's funny going to talk in other countries or in other fields. I often
show lots of old work by myself and my students and the audience loves
it. Then at the end the questions always go: "But how is this relevant
to the real world and our work?" I always ask "Did you like it?" They
say, "Yes," and I then say, "Well what's the problem?" What I have to
explain is that the kind of proposals that you see coming out of places
like the Innovative Product Design course in Dundee, RCA Interaction
Design, Central St Martin's, and Ivrea aren't always meant to go
straight into the real world. College is a time to experiment and
invariably those people who did experiment at college and took risks
end up being great employees- the really creative people that companies
need to drive them on.
I read that you're "a keen fan of western movies," yet in your Wild West work you seem to denounce the clichˆ© and repetition within the genre. So what's in western that you find so fascinating?
Clichˆ©s don't have to be bad, they make up a common language of our media experience. I'd say that we (Suky Best and I) are pointing out just how nice it is to see the familiar scene: "Stranger in Town" or "Village Gunfight".
The next film we are making is the "Rodeo" and is a great big clichˆ©
but works for us as a powerful metaphor for masculinity, sexuality, man
and nature, America's place in the world and global culture. Clichˆ©s
can be really useful, in the right place.
Any film or actor you'd recommend to someone who's not a fan of western?
Clint Eastwood in Outlaw Josey Wales, will give you action, drama, humour, weird romance (on screen and off) and a nice seventies feel to it.
Anything with Clint Eastwood is worth watching.
Thanks Rory!
Don't miss Rory Hamilton students' degree shows:
Dundee 19th-27th May (but they are coming to show at New Designers too 6 July - 9 July)
Central St Martin's (Southampton Row) 23rd June - 1st July
RCA (part2) 23rd June - 2nd July
May 14, 2006
Loop space
05:36 PM architectureBase_4 (Bidisha Sinha, Andres Flores, Simone Contasta and Elena Bertarelli) have published their project for an interactive space for the London Olympics in 2012.
The various sporting venues dispersed in the city would be broadcasted within the looped venue of the Loop.space Olympic pavilion, enabling different types of crowd to enjoy several sporting events at the same time. Inside the pavilion, each looped space is perceived as an immersive environment in which the relationship of scale and proportion between the viewer and projection are modified.
A prototype in scale 1:50 shows the deformation of the structure and the relationship of the pavilion to the feedback mechanism
The pavilion can unfold itself as needed into a network of spaces which are defined by parameters of time, boundary, crowd density and program; the structure is able to continuously adapt itself to any kind of boundary condition.
View of the pavilion in Trafalgar Square, allowing groups to congregate in different loops according to their sporting interests
There are 3 structural deformations: tilting (vertical deformation), loop formation (horizontal curvature) and twisting (diagonal deformation), and each space can perform them singularly or in combination to achieve the spatial quality requested by the programme and the user.
Multifaceted polygons mounted on a spline form the pixilated wall capable of transmitting the data stream. Over each polygon either 5mm or 15mm LEDs are installed (similar to the Smartslab system), allowing a perfect viewing resolution from both close and distant proximity. The locomotion of the structure is an integral part of it, with embedded direct drive wheels within the lowest row of the pixel polygons.
The project won the Biennal Miami + Beach Possible Futures Competition 2005.
Via resarch.
Email this | + digg | + del.icio.us | View CC license | Subscribe to this feedMay 13, 2006
Aminima: special computer games
05:56 PM games
The 16th issue of aminima is dedicated to computer games.
As usual, Andrea and her team have managed to gather an amazing amount of superb texts (in english) and clever writers:
Laura Baigorri discusses Game as critic as art; Joan Leandre, Brody Condom and Anne-Marie Schleiner write about Velvet-Strike and France Cadet about SweetPad; Domenico Quaranta talks with Cory Arcˆ°ngel; there are articles by Molleindustria, Arcˆ°ngel Constantini, Margarete Jahrmann and Max Moswitzer, Jodi; Alex Galloway has a story about Warcraft and Utopia; the sexiest geek in the galaxy, aka Marta Peirano, writes about Political games; Jillian McDonald presents Stand by your guns and Ricardo Miranda Zˆ†ˆ±iga his Vagamundo project and there are many many others texts.
I discovered the magazine a year ago at an art fair, i bought an issue because i was curious and came back the day after to buy all the other issues available at the booth. The amount of ads is surprisingly low, the magazine is clearly a labour of love and its issues can be found fairly easily in Spain. For those living outside Spain, there's the possibility to order the bi-monthly magazine by contacting aminima at aminima dot net. Os lo recomiendo.
Email this | + digg | + del.icio.us | View CC license | Subscribe to this feedHooligan chants silenced by delayed echoes
11:40 AM soundFootball stadiums could use a new sound system that neutralises abusive or racist chants with a carefully timed echo. The echoes trip up efforts to synchronise a chant, neutralising an unwelcome message without drowning out the overall roar of a crowd.
To chant in time a person must keep track of several different sound sources around them.
During the tests of the prototype echo system, volunteers were surrounded by loudspeakers that simulated the sound of a chanting crowd and were asked join in. However one speaker replayed the crowds chant with a short delay. When the delay was greater than 200 milliseconds the volunteers found it too difficult to chant coherently. Increasing the delay made it even more confusing.
Any real implementation would need to be closely monitored. "If you frustrate an audience by making it impossible to chant, you need to be very careful how you channel their frustration," explains Sander van Wijngaarden, from the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research in Delft. "If they stop chanting but start rioting out of frustration, then you're worse off."
Via New Scientist. Image.
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