A unique marble track that displays a message in a physical way, using an intricate system of Arduino's,  moving parts, and sensors. Once the process is complete, it relays the  message back to the computer for the user to read, incorporating technology components, while remaining visually pleasing.

The entire studio was based on the concept of information, and specifically how it is communicated, passed on, and displayed. Humans take this exchanging of information for granted with the current technology available, relying on call and text to talk to eachother. Although with this prompt, we formulated a new idea of how to display messages and communicate to eachother words in a visually pleasing way. It works by representing this information using the travel of a marbel, which starts at the top of the structure. It is dropped onto a shoot, controlled by a stepper, which spins until finding the right degree, where it is dropped into one of the 30 possible slots for it (a-z and punctuation). The ball will then hit a switch on the way daown, telling the computer a certain value, from where it will be relayed back onto the computer and shown there. There will also be a pulley mechanism which brings the marbles back to the top, placing them into the shoot once again. 

It is quite a complex idea and design, as the many aspects make for a intricate yet seemingly simplistic demonstration. We drew inspiration from things like the wheel of fortune, or price is right, hoping to recreate the viewers feelings. The entire project calls for consistent work and many steps to complete, although we will try our hardest to produce the best product we can.

Our idea is called The Floating Pendulum and is a device that consists of a constantly moving pendulum which ultimately sends messages between two computers. The pendulum can triggers two switches at each tip of a V which creates the message from 1s and 0s. Our prompt for this project was to make a system that physically transferred messages while working in groups of two. After brainstorm many possible options, my partner, Rachel, and I decided on a system that involved a pendulum hitting switches to transfer messages decoded from 1s and 0s. There are four main parts to our system: the base, the V, the "hangman", and the pendulum. The V and 'hangman" sit on top of the base and the pendulum is suspended from the "hangman". The main use for this system is to transfer communication and took several iteration to progress. The final iteration of the system will be made out of acrylic and possibly metal. We used a laser cutter to make it and it will have pieces created using a 3D printer. Other tools we have used in the process can include a drill press and a electric saw on some iteration of the system. 

A large visual representation of 8-bit binary communication, using large clear tubing and purple water to represent data transfers. 

If you've ever learned about computers, chances are that you found it pretty confusing at first. One of the more vital confusing concepts is how wires work: i.e. using "0's and 1's" for transferring information. In order to help people figure out these concepts, I decided to create what is essentially an oversized wire that uses oil and purple water to represent 1's and 0's. In the design I use one pump in an oil reservoir and another in a water reservoir, joined into one main tube. Both the pumps are connected to an arduino which processes your input, transfers it to binary and figures out which pump to trigger when. In the system I have set up, the oil represents 1's, and the purple water representing 0's (would make more sense the other way, but it would be a lot more expensive).

The history of information exchange dates back to the 1700s. From signal lamps to newspapers, people use these old and anciet ways to communicate everyday. Over the last several years information exchange has grown and has made it a lot easier for people to communicate everyday.  For our physical encoding studio, Julian and I made a unique project that would show how information exchange is used today. For our project, we made a catapult that would be able to lauch a certain type of ball into a color sensor. Instead of going with a certain letter or number engraved into the ball, we went with an emoji! Eventually, the emoji ball would funnel down into the color senor, this sensor would be able to recognize the expression and display  on the computer.

The catapult is made out of wood with a hammer that hits down on the lever. When making the emoji balls I used a program called Fusion. In this program I am able to make an iteration of what the 3D emoji ball would actually look like. We wanted to create something that has never been done before. Our project exists today because we want to show people a fun way of communicating. Not just the traditional texting or calling, but a way for people to connect with each other threw a catapult. Our goal is that the person using our product is pleasantly surprised and overjoyed with our new way of communicating.   Texting and calling someone can be boring, but using a catapult with emojis to talk to another person is absolutely more entertaining. 

"Beads Not Speed" is a physical way of showing communication by using the speed of beads. The pattern of the beads speed is seen by a sensor which is then sent to a computer, decoded, and written out for the receiver to read. 

Humans can track information and communitcation all the way back in time. Whether it was through tying knots on rope, using messanger pidgeons, or morse code, communitcation was and is everywhere. Now in days, the types of communication include texting, calling, or tweeting which has become super easy and simple. The Physical Encoding studio did not focus on making communication simpiler but, on the idea of physically showing communication happening. My partner, Nya, and I created a board which two gears and a sensor that detects the timming of the beads to decode a message. We are using bianry code, a system that uses 0's and 1's to create a letter, to make the messages in the computer. The users will type a message in one computer, the gear will let the beads out in the correct order, a sensor will track the beads, and the information from the sensor will get transfored onto another computer. Though this is a long way of communication, this is giving people the opertunity to take a deeper look at communication and information. Our project is showing people how communitcation, a thing that we sometimes take for granted in our everyday lives, works. 

The history of information exchange dates back to the 1700s. From signal lamps to newspapers, people use these old and anciet ways to communicate everyday. Over the last several years information exchange has grown and has made it a lot easier for people to communicate everyday.  For our physical encoding studio, Julian and I made a unique project that would show how information exchange is used today. For our project, we made a catapult that would be able to lauch a certain type of ball into a color sensor. Instead of going with a certain letter or number engraved into the ball, we went with an emoji! Eventually, the emoji ball would funnel down into the color senor, this sensor would be able to recognize the expression and display  on the computer.

The catapult is made out of wood with a hammer that hits down on the lever. When making the emoji balls I used a program called Fusion. In this program I am able to make an iteration of what the 3D emoji ball would actually look like. We wanted to create something that has never been done before. Our project exists today because we want to show people a fun way of communicating. Not just the traditional texting or calling, but a way for people to connect with each other threw a catapult. Our goal is that the person using our product is pleasantly surprised and overjoyed with our new way of communicating.   Texting and calling someone can be boring, but using a catapult with emojis to talk to another person is absolutely more entertaining.