Dev Camp Blog ’10
Welcome to the Dev Camp blog. Here you will find daily, even hourly updates of what's going on at the Dev Camp.
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Picture taken from Stephen Hobley's website: http://www.stephenhobley.com/blog/2009/03/01/pixartwiimote-sensor-library-for-arduino/.
CasparThis is the last day and part of the last night of the Camp. Seems like that around 2.30 the battery gave out. You got to give it to the participants, because as you can see they were still going strong.
Good Morning
Dev Camp
It is the morning of the 6th day and there are about 10 hackers from 3 different projects still moving through the project space. They pulled all nighters and have shown us the true-hacker spririt.
The team of ikStaar and the two knitting teams are still present. You can see they are all tired. Not sleeping an entire night is both physically as emotionally draining. But although their tiredness is recognizable in their body language it in no way rubs of on their installations.
Pol slowly puts his head on the table knowing that their installation is fully completed. And as Travis willingly demonstrates their knitting machine to anyone interested to play it is safe to assume most of this energy is derived from the club-matte the so potent energy drink.
Hats of to you guys. Enjoy your victories.
TTL: aproximately 12 hours
Dev Camp Day 5
We are counting down and our hackers are gearing up for a final sprint.
The ikStaar installation looks like it is getting there. The wooden rings have been mounted on the base and this, combined with the two chairs that can be used by the players, makes it look like a proper installation. They also made the tactically sound move transferring their installation to a more central spot. And even though the LEDs still need to be attached and the television has yet to be added the 4 men are getting increasingly close to the completion of the project.
While the guys of the sock knitting machine are taking their time to think of the final title of their project they are still adding some touches to their inst...
Ubi de Feo
Dev Camp Day 5
It feels like introducing Ubi is not necessary. He has been all over the place, but as he is yet to feature in one of our blog posts I will shortly present an insight into our Italian mastermind. Ubi is the person with the biggest ikTag (RFID-tag) around. It also says pornstar. Last year he was a participant and this year he has been a trainer/assistant for the hackers.
What was the hardest thing you were confronted with during the camp?
Making a circuitboard to control the drill that operated the tapisserie de bayeux knitting machine.
Why was this hard?
I had to twiddle with the magnetic sensors. This went wrong twice. The movement of the cord should trigger the sensors to measure the distance it has until it reaches the end of the machine. When it reaches this point it should stop. I had to implement the possibility of bilateral movement, with the drill turning its movements the other way around when it reaches the end of the fabric.
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Some thoughts from a non-coder
Dev Camp Day 5
Stringing code while eating boerenkool. You got to appreciate it.
I always thought I was good with computers. Although I have never even came close to programming anything I have always been able to figure out my own issues. Since the camp started I have come to the conclusion that I am maybe less skilled then I thought. It made me realize that there are levels of skill that I previously was not aware of. In a way, it made me see something that was always very abstract to me. This realization of course was a positive one. I do not want to describe it as grounding, but the camp certainly gave me a new found appreciation for the very advanced skills the individuals in the camp possess.
The process...
Hacker Ethics
Dev Camp Day 5
The boys and girls present at our camp are the natural descendants of the early hackers living in the 1950s and 1960s. Why you ask? Let me quickly explain.
This is the 5th day we are sitting here. We are working hard. The hackers are going on around the clock to assemble their ambitious installations. Sleep deprivation, identity crisis, hunger and thirst are all factors that come into play, but the central element that is felt all around is just sheer excitement in being involved. Creating something out of nothing in just 5 days is wonderful. Add the willingness to help each other out and you can see how this camp feels rather warm (even if the temperatures outside can be chillingly cold).
Hacker Ethics is a term coined by Steven Levy in his book Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolu...
The Deadline Cometh
Dev Camp Day 5
The last day has begun and things are starting to heat up. With physical mock-ups of the installations scattered through the space it's time to stop building prototypes and start constructing the real thing.
The ikScream installation is probably the furthest physically. The team along with Mhairi MacFarlane have made a giant foam ear that will be used to scream in. They are still debating the future color that they will paint it in although they are inclined to go with Mediamatic magenta.
Day 4: Red, Red, Green
ikStaar
See who can look the longest at the other without blinking. Winning means eternal glory, losing everlasting humiliation.
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Luis and Seth are staring on each other, the ikStaar installation can measure who looses the eye contact first.
The game starts when the LEDs flash 2x red and then land on green. Two PlayStation Eyes function as referee. Targeted at the participants faces and a supported by a software program that is designed to recognize the blinking movement of the eye they oversee the match. When one of the contestants blinks the LEDs around the stations will start flashing violently and cameras will record the emotional response expressed by the loser.
Even though they already have a functioning blinking game going on the team still has a lot of work lying around. Firstly the different programs that have been written have to be adjusted to fit with each...
Day 4: Markers, Socks and Arduinos
Blowing your Sock on!
A blowing context that influences the color of a never ending sock. An educational game filled with politics, psychology and philosophical theory.
Regrettably they had to part with the idea of alcohol induced coloring due to the limited amount of time and the presence of just one knitting nest. But making up for this loss is a new gaming element. The team has decided to use not one pressure sensor but three. The user that blows the hardest on the sensor will have the color corresponding to his sensor coloring the thread.
At the moment the team is working with a mock-up checking if the system they are using is feasible. It all looks a bit fragile, but again it is a mock-up and I guess the carpenters are already working on a more solid frame for the coloring station. Also they ...
Day 4: Interactive race against the Clock
Interactive VJ
Crowd sourced visuals will set the atmosphere alight at future parties in Paradiso.
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Sicco and Kendra work on the Interavtive VJ-
These are the LED sticks that will become the glow sticks that will be used to control the visuals.
By registering to the Mediamatic network you are free to add as many images as you like. The team is working on an installation that will make it possible to project these pictures on one of the big screens at Paradiso during an event. To share a picture you simply have to send a text message to the server and moment later the image will be projected on the screen for all of Paradiso to enjoy. These elements can then be transformed with glowsticks armed with a infrared light source that will be distributed between attendees. By (cooperatively) shaking and playing with it the attendees are able to change the properties of the images on scr...
Deborah
