Computational Design Lab

Projects

Rock radio Rock radio Rock radio This project focuses on the aesthetics of interaction – how the radio’s form carries meaning, guides interaction and expresses sound/music.  Rock Radio is designed to provide fun and exploratory experience for radio listeners. You can wake up the radio by knocking on it, while playing the dance between two pieces of rock-shape […]
Glass Pixels Glass Pixels Glass Pixels This prototype demonstrates the possiblity of using switchable “smart glass” to create a low resolution, ambient display. This matrix of six panes of switchable glass was designed to display simple, one-dimensional data in a user’s periphery. In this iteration, users can control the content of the display by tweeting a keyword to […]
Row House Marquee Row House Marquee Row House Marquee The two hundred and fifty individually controlled LED light bulbs embedded in the ceiling of the marquee create a constantly changing, interactive light installation. Permanently installed at the Row House Cinema in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh, PA, the installation forms blobs of light over pedestrians as they pass underneath. The effect […]
Traffic Lights Traffic Lights Traffic Lights Traffic Lights extracts abstract patterns from live public video feeds and translates those patterns to light. Custom software allows users to draw polygons on top of live video. Each polygon measures the amount of change in the section of video directly beneath it. The software then translates that value to the […]
Note Cubes Note Cubes Note Cubes The initial idea was to create a touchable and interactive experience to connect the sense of space with the sense of sound/time to aid young child to build curiosity and interest in music. Note Cubes is a toy, which is a set of high-tech interactive blocks for children to explore sound, notes and rhythms […]
Reverberating Across the Divide Reverberating Across the Divide Reverberating Across the Divide Reverberating Across the Divide reconnects digital and physical contexts through a custom chronomorphologic modeling environment. This modeling interface uses a three phase workflow (3D scanning, 3D modeling, and 3D printing) to enable a designer to craft intricate digital geometries around pre-existing physical contexts. Reverberating Across the Divide: Digital Design Meets […]
Bio-inspired Fabrication Bio-inspired Fabrication Bio-inspired Fabrication This work aims to use inflatable materials and pneumatics as an approach to bring organic properties to machines and to facilitate a safe man-machine interaction with its elasticity. It is designed to achieve a multi-directional locomotion. The fabrication technique was studied from Multigait Soft Robot by Robert F. Shepherd. More on Man via Machine.  
Sketch It, Make It Sketch It, Make It Sketch It, Make It Sketch It, Make It (SIMI) is a modeling tool for designing items to laser cut. Unlike traditional interfaces that rely on modes and discrete keyboard and mouse input, SIMI recognizes rough, hand-drawn input. It interprets this as linework (e.g. lines, arcs), editing commands (e.g. erasing) or geometric constraints (e.g. right […]
Social Industrial Robotics Social Industrial Robotics Social Industrial Robotics   ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ :::: PROCESS ::::         ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ References: Hyung-Kew Lee; Sun-Il Chang; Euisik Yoon (2009). Dual-Mode Capacitive Proximity Sensor for Robot Application: Implementation of Tactile and Proximity Sensing Capability on a Single Polymer Platform Using Shared Electrodes. Sensors Journal, IEEE, volume […]
Algo.Rhythm: programmable drum robots kits Algo.Rhythm: programmable drum robots kits Algo.Rhythm: programmable drum robots kits   Algo.Rhythm is a set of drum robots with programmable behavior. Each drum robot records pattern of beats when knocked on, and replays the rhythm by hitting its neighbor robot with a pre-programmed twist. Arrange the kit to compose algorithm based drumming performance, and learn computational concepts like sequential execution, […]
The Posture Suspenders The Posture Suspenders The Posture Suspenders Introduction: The Posture Suspenders senses posture in real-time and via vibration alerts the user to bad posture. Thereby the user develops muscle memory for correct posture. Slouching: Slouching not only makes you look bad it also causes long-term damage to your health. A bad posture can result in back pains, […]
D.I.Y Pneumatic Linear Actuators D.I.Y Pneumatic Linear Actuators D.I.Y Pneumatic Linear Actuators The D.I.Y. movement has many implications for the future of creativity and commerce. The impact of inventing what one needs rather than purchasing it promises to be empowering, fun, and inspirational. In a long term effort to develop dynamic computer controlled surfaces, I began exploring fluid control (in this case, […]
choreoBots choreoBots choreoBots choreoBots: a tangible music visualization platform from Charles Doomany on Vimeo. ChoreoBots consist of a set of internally illuminated modular forms that physically deform in response to changes in ambient sound. To visually delineate different components of music, three different module sizes were developed, each with there own respective input […]
Rebbelib Reconstructed Rebbelib Reconstructed Rebbelib Reconstructed Rebbelib Reconstructed from Deren Guler on Vimeo. Rebbelib Reconstructed is a robotic grid based on an ancient stick chart used by Micronesian sailors to show sailing paths. I hope to develop algorithms that abstract tangible and intangible data into analogous shapes that depict complex relationships in a simple tangible object. […]
SENSEable Shoes SENSEable Shoes SENSEable Shoes SENSEable Shoes is a hands-free and eyes-free foot-computer interface that supports on-the-go interaction with surrounding environments. We recognize different low-level activities by measuring the user’s continuous weight distribution over the feet with twelve Force Sensing Resistor (FSR) sensors embedded in the insoles of shoes. Using the sensor data as inputs, […]
NaughtyBox NaughtyBox NaughtyBox NaughtyBox is a playful device that represents ambient sound with physical movement. By putting four tiny magnetic cubes inside the box and singing, the cubes dance and bounce in response to the sound. When you stop singing, the NaughtyBox will stop making noise and become quiet again. If we replace […]
SkruiFab: A Sketch-to-fab system SkruiFab: A Sketch-to-fab system SkruiFab: A Sketch-to-fab system SkruiFab is an experimental sketch-based tool that supports designers to fabricate things with a laser cutter. Here is a video that gives a glimpse of what we hope to achieve. FlatCAD 2 Videoboard v2 from Gabe Johnson on Vimeo.
Neurospasta Neurospasta Neurospasta Neurospasta is a free-form Kinect game platform for full-body experimentation and play. Participants control their own Kinect-based puppet. They can also select 3 functions (Scale Body, Repel Head, and Switch Head) to control the other player’s avatar.     Concept One of the most amazing thing about the Kinect is […]
Fabricate Yourself Fabricate Yourself Fabricate Yourself Fabricate Yourself is a project that documented the Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction Conference. Usually we think of documentation in terms of text, photography and video, but given the tangible theme of the conference we decided to engage the community by capturing and fabricating small 3D models of attendees. This […]
GIFFI-Gift for Future Inventor GIFFI-Gift for Future Inventor GIFFI-Gift for Future Inventor Giffi from kuanjuwu on Vimeo. Giffi intro from kuanjuwu on Vimeo. Giffi, gift for future inventor is a construction kit which can let childern build their own robot or kinetic sculpture. It consists of moving parts and support parts. There are three types of moving parts now: rotating, linear actuating […]
kRC kRC kRC Sensing The Kinect sensor’s IR depth camera and rgb camera was accessed through processing. The closest point to the sensor produces an x,y coordinate set that controls signals being sent to the remote control. A red dot is placed on the screen to let the user know what is the […]
woodScreen woodScreen woodScreen woodScreen is a prototype of embedded sensors and lighting in plywood. This is part of a series of experiments in reactive lighting and organic user interfaces. In each instance the input and output devices remain hidden below the surface and recede into the background when not in use. woodScreen is […]
TraceBot TraceBot TraceBot TraceBot is a drawing machine designed to raster light and shadow. The pen scans the drawing area and when there is shadow the onboard microcontroller signals the motors to rasterize the light as a pixel. As the bot scans the wall, a photoresistor controls a servo that moves the pen […]
Ply_plastic Ply_plastic Ply_plastic A project by the director of dFAB in CMU, Jeremy Ficca, that was presented at the digital fabrication conference, Input_output. The shape of buckled veneer strips was used as a pattern to form a graded transition from veneer to plastic, which is a material oriented pattern.