In the studio Arbonauts 2, the group continued with the work done in Arbonauts 1. Emily, Jess, and Kate L. worked on a project called Roboflower. Roboflower is a robotic flower whose petals open and shut. The flower would communicate the conditions inside of the Arboretum to the general public by opening, closing and changing colors. In this studio the group took the original design of the flower and tweaked it and changed things so that the design would be cleaner and move more smoothly. They also worked with 3D modeling software to create a moveable flower head. Kate, Emily and Jess had a lot of technical and other difficulties, but in the end came out with a working model of the roboflower that was good looking and functioned well.

Roboflower II

NuVu's “Nature-Tech” Collection

Emerging Trends Show, Boston Fashion Week, 2013

Within nature there are many beautiful forms, colors and designs: from the tiniest sea caterpillars exploding with striking colors, to the mighty redwood trees standing gracefully with their elegant structure. Nature is full of beauty and fascinating patterns. This year, NuVu Studio’s Nature-Tech Collection takes inspiration from nature and its fascinating and complex patterns and blends this with the fabrication technology. The Nature-Tech Collection is meant to inspire, create awe, and involve some level fantasy, and create a sense of wonder and illusion.

Using the combined power of digital design (computer aided drafting, 3d modeling) and rapid prototyping tools (laser cutters and 3d printers), the NuVu Studio designers have developed new and unique patterns and forms for the garments included in the Nature-Tech Collection that otherwise would not be possible through traditional methods and processes.  The collection uses a breadth of materials including various industrial materials made accessible through the digital fabrication methods such as plywood, polycarbonate, renewable bioplastic polylactic acid (PLA), and High-density polyethylene (HDPE).

The Nature-Tech Collection is composed of five looks: Pyramidic, Frost Dress, Avian Poncho, Body Accordion, and Jellyfish Hat.

Photos by Romana Vystova & Naf Visser

See more photos on the 2013 Boston Fashionweek page.

Using the open source RoboHand prosthetic as a basis for design, students re-envisioned the device to provide functionality beyond the capabilities of a traditional digit-based prosthetic. Students worked with the eNable online community which produces low-cost prosthetics to children for whom a standard prosthetic is cost-prohibitive and impractical due to growth. Students also worked with a local peer in need of such a prosthetic and are currently in the process of organizing a design charette matching users and young designers.

DIY Prosthetics

Do you think you can design a better MBTA map? That was the question this planning and certography studio asked.

In celebration of National Transportation Week (May 12 — 18, 2013) the MBTA and MassDOT sponsered a contest to tap into the creativity of riders and to build on the public′s interest in mapping. The contest offered contestants the opportunity to develop alternative versions of the MBTA rapid transit (or “spider”) map. 

Many of the student projects were given honorable mention and showcased on the MBTA web site.

T-Map Challenge

This studio had two goals; to make something using the new linear actuators and to stress test the linear actuators for the coaches who were developing a new product. Using the linear actuators, we created Hexabot, which is essentially a six-legged spider robot. We used one linear actuator and one servo per leg to control the height and the rotation. We wanted to build a walking robot by the end of the studio.

The robot can easily lift itself and a payload of about 2 kilograms. Each of the legs is attached to the central hexagonal base using loose pin hinges. The servo on each of the legs is linked to the base using a four bar linkage. Since the linkage is in the shape of a parallelogram, the servo horn will always stay parallel to the side of the base. This makes it easier to program and control the rotation of each leg.

Each leg is also made using a four bar linkage in the shape of a parallelogram. This shape is beneficial because the part of the leg that is hitting the ground does not rotate. If it did rotate, the robot would have difficulty balancing. The actuator is attached to the upper point on the side closest to the base and to the lower point on the side furthest away from the base. When the actuator pulls, the leg is lowered, effectively lifting the robot. Likewise, when the actuator is released and goes back to its normal state, the leg is raised, lowering the robot.

Hexabot

In this studio, students designed fun physical fitness activity/game that can be played using Kinect hardware as a digital game projected on a wall or floor. The games were built in Unity 3D and the Kinect enhanced game play to achieve the physical fitness objective.

In Splat, the player tilts their phone left and right to avoid paintballs that are coming at the player. Your goal is to try and make it as far down the course as you can without getting hit, and in the fastest time possible. In real life, paintball is an exciting, fast paced game that not everyone has the opportunity to experience. This game is based on one aspect of paintball, dodging paintballs that are excelling towards you. Splat was created using Unity, a 3d modeling world, and C# and Javascript codes.

Health Games

In the Visualizing Food Studio, , students will learned about information design using the tools of data visualization and infographics, digital filmmaking, digital art, illustration, storytelling and production. They Created compelling visual effects and use them in their stories using Adobe After Effects. The studio was intended to allow students to be creative with media while being thoughtful and critical in communicating a message.

Seed to Soup focuses on the character's disatisfaction for the canned and processed soup that he was planning on eating. Clearly unhappy with the contents of the can, he sets out to create his own soup from scratch. Gathering an onion from his own garden, and preparing it the way he pleases, he was finally satisfied with his meal. 

Seed to Soup is a video representation of how the slow food movement needs to be reignited in society. Food of today has become faster and more efficient as opposed to being home grown and organic. Being more efficient doesn't always mean better. Food starts to lose its taste and wholeness, and it just feels less personal. Seed to Soup helps portray our distaste for the fast food ideal. Instead of driving to the store to pick up fruits and vegetables that shouldn't even be stocked all year, we want to entice the viewer into growing it themselves.

Visualizing Food