Younger sibling to the bC16 the new Chimera bC8 lacks the patchable banana jacks but has a whole some sweet sequencing features -
A powerful DSP generates a VCO and LFO (similar to the bC16), also the DSP performs VCF and VCA functions as well controlling the patching of functions to each other and running a simple but powerful ' one button' pattern sequencer. bC8 is controlled by eight rotary knobs and one push-button. Four LED's indicate battery status, LFO and EG level and other mode elements. bC8 pattern sequencer records the timing/duration of the button presses and all the knob settings for each action, these can be altered live for acid loops etc…
… and of course it's cuter than a bug's ear! (I'm liking this for-factor more and more) - Chimera bC8 [via Music Thing] Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Music | Digg this!
I'm very proud to announce a new board, designed and developed by the RepRap Research Foundation. Its called the Magnetic Rotary Encoder, and it uses a magnet to provide positional feedback information. It is based around the AS5040 chip, and provides 10-bits of resolution per rotation (1024 different positions!) It has 5 different output modes, a 6.1mm hole that fits the magnet for easy aligning, plenty of diagnostic LEDs for coolness, and 6 different mounting holes for ease of use, including GM3 gearmotor mounting holes.
Intended for enhancing the Reprap's extrusion process, this board looks like a good workout for those surface mount soldering skills. View source files and more - Magnetic Rotary Encoder v1.0
Stockholm artist Aleksandra Stratimirovic formed the above image from many small containers upon a grid-like shelf -
"Sunny day" is an installation made of 4464 small medical glass vials filled with different coloured liquids, in a sterile laboratory framework with a fluorescent backlight. When taking a couple of steps back the vivid image of a girl appears, standing at a lakeside, with summery blue sky above. Dimensions 2 x 3 meters.
Meredith Scheff has an interview with scientist/artist Alan Rorie. Alan was involved in the Steampunk Treehouse and the Dihemispheric Chronaether Agitator.
To me, science is largely about taking concrete aspects of the world and abstracting so that they can be communicated. I would spend weeks and months working on my thesis and the result would be some bit of data that only existed on the computer and in the mind of my peers. I realized that I needed to create real objects, things and stuff that existed in the world. Art, to me, is the flip side of science; it's about taking the abstract ideas that exists in your mind and communicating them by instantiating them in the real world as solid objects.
Look at this amazing chair by David Karoff, on Rag and Bone Bindery's blog - they saw it at Myopic Books in Providence, Rhode Island.
Rhode Island artist David Karoff welded the chair and attached the paperbacks: they have holes drilled though their insides and are slipped onto a hidden rebar frame. All of the materials are recycled - even the books, which are cast-offs from the Rochambeau Library Book Sales.
It even looks like it might not be painful to sit in . . .
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Alice Wang's tyrant makes waking up a little more important... via Engadget.
This alarm clock steals your mobile phone and randomly shuffles through your contact list and calls someone every three minutes after the desired wake up time.
This looks like a concept piece, but you could actually build one of these in few ways... Bluetooth snarf a phonebook, or just allow contacts to be transfered, use the phone SIM and GSM module, or connect up with a web service that shares your contacts with your phone and dial'em up via Skype. Read more | Permalink | Comments | Read more articles in Arts | Digg this!
Sebastian Tomczak has been playing around with controlling VGA output from an Arduino. Using Max/MSP to process audio and send data to the Arduino and a standard VGA output to send sync data to the monitor, he's been able to put together some cool video effects.
You can grab the Max patch and Arduino code from Sebastian's post. I dig the effect - it reminds me of the cool C64 demos kids used to make.
Ezekiel Honig (Anticipate/Microcosm founder) explores warmth in electro-acoustic music "into a comfortable space between techno, house and ambient"
Ben Neill, "mad scientist of dancefloor jazz" (CMJ Magazine) continues to evolve live music with his newly-redesigned, original mutantrumpet
Michael Una plays custom digital, acoustic, and circuit-bent instruments, with a robot drummer, for rhythmic, textured, and melodic musical experiences
Todd Thille makes sounds from the electromagnetic signals of potted plants
Guitarist Animalstyle plays through home-built 8-bit fuzz pedals and Game Boy foot controllers
Roger Tsai DJs with hand gestures using his original digital gloves "Groovy Hand"
Peter Kirn balances musical styles and Wii balance boards with a live music and keys set and vocal strains pulled from his Gmail spam folder
plus live visuals:
Joshue Ott creates live visuals with his homemade superDraw generative illustration tool
Paris and Don Miller (No Carrier) create glitchy, lo-fi visuals from custom-created 8-bit visual software on Nintendo and Commodore systems
vade spins out live hacker imagery and sniffs data packets in 3D
Bill Jones creates live cinematic worlds inspired by sci-fi noir
Where: The Hotel Pennsylvania, New York City (map); head to the main door, on your left is the entrance to Penn Pavilion and you should see a table there. When: Friday, July 18 2008 - performances run 11pm - 2am Cost: US$10 at the door. First come, first served. (free if you have a conference badge)
Ah, a blast from the video storage past. The now dead VHS tape gets remixed as a 4 port USB hub thanks to a clever maker who even decided to use the incoming power line from the USB port to create this glowing blue backlight. So next time you are thinking of dumping your old tapes, think again and turn them into something your friends will envy.
Don't want to shell out a few hundred bucks for one of those iPod speaker docs? This Tupperware homebrew dock and speaker set is a cheap alternative and pretty simple to build with little overhead investment. There's even a trapdoor for easy access for your iPod when you hit the road.
GetLoFi has a nice rundown on how to get your bending with an inexpensive surplus "Saw III" voice recorder -
The device costs $2 and includes as set of 2 AAA Batteries! When it comes to bending there are a few interesting points and also some annoyances. The drawbacks include: no Loop Mode when play button is held, there is also a gap between each playback, and a audible beep at lower speeds before the audio starts. Despite the shortcomings there are a some very nice features. The recorded sample is stored even if batteries are taken out and the standard speed length of the sample is about 30 seconds.
The batteries alone could cost you more - gotta love those surplus deals! - Circuit Bending a SAW III Sampler (Thanks, Doctor Popualr!)
This car mod turns it into a cartoon car getting blown up in an explosion or being melted by the sun. We're not sure if it is actually drivable or not though.
Controlling audio with a micro-controller can be difficult, really difficult. The Wave Shield, from LadyAda, makes it simple. There is a bunch of sample code on the LadyAda website to get you up and running fast once you build the kit.
The Wave Shield is just one component that will be integrated into an interactive piece that I will be documenting over the next few weeks for Make. I will reveal more about the project as soon as I figure it all out. However, I will tell you that it uses a Wave Shield, an Arduino, a Minty Boost, and Youtube.
Step 1: Solder the SD Card component The SD card holder is a surface mount component. Don't let that scare you, it is fairly easy to solder. All you have to do is solder the 4 "side tabs" first, then take your time and solder the rest of the pins. I had added too much solder to one of them and it created a "bridge". I heated it up and touched it with some solder wick and it was fine.
Apparently the (3) pins on the right side are not used, they are the really small ones, but I soldered them anyway.
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In 2007, Valve Software released Portal, one of the most enjoyable and creative video games of the year.
But you already know that.
I have created a custom voice file for GPS units with a stylized voice in the fashion of GLaDOS, the charmingly creepy antagonist of the game. That's right. You can now dutifully follow directions from your GPS unit all the while wondering if the next instruction will lead you to your GPS-planned doom in a car wash retrofitted with flame throwers and sawmill blades. Take a look at the video below for a very quick sample of the voice.
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Customize your noise-generating robot-themed analog synth by building your own! The Bleep Labs popular Thingamagoop robot is now available in kit form as the ThingamaKIT, so you can make it entirely unique.
