Lab 18: Project Prototyping

Outline

In this lab you will:

1. conceptualise ideas for your mini project
2. explore interaction design
3. start implementing a prototype for your project

Introduction

Welcome everyone!

Blog posts are now complete. The next item of assessment is the Mini Project.

What is a Mini Project and how will it be assessed. Let’s have a look at the Deliverables Page for the Mini Project

From this week until Lab 22 (Week 2, Term 4) we will be working on the mini project.

Remember that there is always the resources page in case you need help with any programming concepts.

More Than Human

The prompt for this year’s project is “More Than Human”, as envisaged by author James Bridle, and a range of academic scholars of ecology.

Some inspiration:

Entanglement with Microbiomes

“With only around ten percent of human bodies made up of ‘human’ genes, the rest of us consists of trillions of microbes, parasites and viruses: the microbiome (Smart and Smart 2017)”¹

Interdependencies with Insects

“The particularity of insect-human relationships is first revealed through the ardor and “unspoken mobilization order” that permeates the village as the weather turns warmer and the mulberry trees bud. An unusual tranquility befalls the early stages of the silkworm season. Villagers refrain from visiting neighbors and making noises characteristic of village space on typical days. “For a guest to come and frighten away the spirits of the ripening eggs — that would be no laughing matter! At most, people exchanged a few words in low tones when they met, then quickly separated. This was the ‘sacred’ season!” (Mao Dun 1981: 150)”²

Animal Spirits

“One day seeing a new construction crew on the farm I asked what was being built so close to the main gates. Without a pause Wada-san told me that he was having trouble sleeping as he was haunted by the tamashi (most commonly translated as soul) of cows in the form of greenish blue dancing lights. He continued—while I earnestly wondered if he was having a laugh at my gullibility—that such entities can bring about great misfortune to a farm and he reasoned that paying for an exceedingly expensive chikukonhi plaque (livestock funerary monument) and yearly services from the local Buddhist temple was a way to protect the farm and allow him some peaceful sleep”³

Hyperaccumulators

“… plants which have evolved the capacity to thrive in naturally metal-rich soils that are toxic to most other kinds of life. They do this by drawing the metal out of the ground and storing it in their leaves and stems, where it can be harvested like any other crop. As well as providing a source for rare metals, …, these plants actively benefit the earth by remediating the soil, making it suitable for growing other crops”⁴

Animal Consensus Decision-Making

“Red deer, …, will start to move off from a rest area once 60 percent of adults stand up; they literally vote with their feet. “⁵

Link to COMP1720

We are looking into Interaction Design. Here are the lecture slides from COMP1720!

EXTN1019 is a derivative of COMP1720 - Art and Interaction Computing. The lectures slides and resources might be useful.

Design / Conceptualisation

1. Write down some ideas about your interpretation of the theme for the prototype/project.
2. Discuss any sources of inspiration you want to include. Include the name of the artist/musician/writer and the name of their work (if you can find it).
3. Discuss how the works you’ve found evolve over time. What do you find interesting and why? Do the works make you feel a certain way and why?
4. How might you incorporate some ideas from the works you identified when designing your prototype?

Summary

Congratulations! In this lab you:

• started implementing your prototype
• explored ideas around Ways of Being
• investigated interaction design