KineticWorld

Make: Live Featuring Kinetic Contraptions

2011-03-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

"Make: Live airs tonight! Don’t miss our mechanics episode where guests Lenore Edman, Windell Oskay (in the picture), and Dustyn Roberts join us to show off their kinetic projects"

Mad Scientist Artist Garage Sale - Berkeley - Feb 5 & 6

2011-02-02T13:35:00.000-08:00

MAD SCIENTIST ARTIST GARAGE SALE
@ XIAN STUDIOS
February 5th & 6th
11am - 6pm

XIAN STUDIOS
1037 Murray St.
Berkeley, CA 94710

(one block south of Ashby, off San Pablo Ave. Up the street from Urban Ore)
MAP: http://goo.gl/maps/PPFN

We've got an incredible collection of gear here at our art space and it's time to get rid of it! Incredible prices! Priced to move! Deals Deals Deals!

Art - Art Supplies - Electronics
Circuit Boards - Stereo Equipment
Speakers - Computers - Printers
Hard Drives - Monitors - Servers
Electric Motors - Photography
Camera and Video Gear - Tripods
Clothing - Fabric - Jewelry - power tools
Furniture - Couches - Chairs - Tables
Metal Halide Lights - Books
Motorcycles and Parts - Cars - Bicycles
Wood - Metal - Fans - Heaters
Kitchen Stuff - Blender - Coffeemaker
2002 Ford Th!nk Electric Vehicle
1987 Peugeot 505 Sedan (low mileage, runs great!)
Electric Vehicle Parts (motors, controllers, etc)
Solar Inverters - RGB LED Rope Lights
Video Projectors - Electrostatic Air filters

Arduino - The Documentary

2011-01-14T16:23:00.000-08:00

Arduino The Documentary (2010) English HD from gnd on Vimeo.

We've been anticipating this production for a while, and it's finally ready - Arduino The Documentary is, well, just that. Just watch it :)

Beer Can Leslie Speaker

2010-07-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

Where to begin....?

For starters, if you don't know what a Leslie Speaker is, click here, then come back.

Over at Beavis Audio Research (one of my favorite places for circuits, effects, amps, oscillators, and sonic glee and madness) he has tried to build a rotating speaker using a beer can.

Why would one try to do this? I'm not going to comment on that because I do dumb crap too, all the time, in the name of science...otherwise known as just killing time and keeping my brain out of trouble.

Diavolino - New Arduino Clone

2010-07-08T14:28:00.000-07:00

Just when I wondered if the world needed yet another Arduino clone, along comes one that I actually need. It comes unsoldered, which is great for end use versatility. It has the usual Arduino connector footprint so will work with shields. It doesn't have USB on board which saves money and height. It's red and has flames (of course that's a selling point for me - YMMV) All that for $13! This is pretty sweet.

From the EMSL site:
"Diavolino ("little devil") is a low-cost, easy to build Arduino-compatible development board.

Diavolino has the form factor of an Arduino Duemilanove or Arduino Pro, but with nicely rounded corners and a striking appearance.

It's a low-profile through-hole version, with a simplified design. It's based on a ATmega328P microcontroller, and comes pre-flashed with the Arduino bootloader. Open source design, with bare basics hardware."

Go buy one by clicking here.

Irregular Incurve Robotic Instrument

2009-05-12T11:29:00.000-07:00

Over at ITP, Xiaoyang Feng created the Irregular Incurve as part of his thesis. As Hack-a-Day describes it:

it’s a midi instrument with an array of 12 strung bows mounted to a curved shower rod. the end of each bow has a tuning key. the strings are each picked using independently mounted arms. one servo controls the downward motion of the pick while the other controls the rotation of the shaft. a damper is also attached to each arm. the string vibrations are transferred to a spruce soundbox under the bridge.

There is also video of the instrument in action:

itp 2009 Irregular Incurve string keytar thingy from Gizmodo on Vimeo.

I think that what I like about this piece is that it works from the opposite direction that a lot of work has been going, which is instead of focusing on the interface, and what it is that the audience interacts with, it instead focuses on side of the mechanics of the sound's creation. And I appreciate that. Great piece!

Schematic Fragments at Beavis Audio

2009-02-12T14:09:00.000-08:00

Over at Beavis Audio they've posted a page of handy schematics. I love keeping schematic blocks like this within easy reach as I always seem to need a quick and simple oscillator, amplifier, or filter of some sort.

From the post:
"With all the bits of schematic goo I've been obsessively drawing over the years, it seemed like a good idea to put some of the fragments and misc blocks up on a page. Here it is: Blocks and Fragments. I'll update this page over time as I draw up new things. Note that most are fragments and some are unverified, but there should be some useful bits in there for you."

Aaron Geman @ Mercury20 Gallery

2009-02-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

Kinetic sculptor Aaron Geman is showing a wonderful new kinetic piece at Mercury20 Gallery in Oakland. I think the title is "Parallelotree and the Mechanical Wind", don't quote me yet though - we're looking into it.

TinkerKit

2009-02-06T10:34:00.000-08:00

This is something I have been hoping to see (but smart enough to not try to do myself) ever since I first saw someone using TELEO modules way back when. But when I saw TELEO I knew I wanted something more, and different (and hopefully at a much lower price.) The TinkerKit is currently under development, and is not yet commercially available. We will certainly be following the project's progress with bated breath...or is that bated blogging?

Lifted from the TinkerKit website:
TinkerKit is an Arduino-compatible physical computing prototyping toolkit aimed at design professionals.

The interest in physical computing as an area in development within the creative industries has been increasing rapidly. In response to this Tinker.it! is developing the TinkerKit to introduce fast iterative physical computing methodologies to newcomers, and particularly design professionals.

What is the TinkerKit made of?

The TinkerKit is currently composed of about 30 different parts: 20 different types of sensors, 10 actuators. There is also a set of Arduino-compatible hubs. Each part of the TinkerKit has a standard connector that can be connected through a standard cable to a main hub.

These hubs include:

- A sensor hub for the Arduino (this is a shield that sits on top of the Arduino and allows the sensors to be connected easily).
- A keyboard emulator (which converts any input from the sensors into keystrokes).

At the moment, the sensors included as part of the TinkerKit are:
- Tilt Sensor
- 3 Axis Accelerometer
- Bend Sensor
- 1 Axis Gyroscope
- Hall Sensor
- Infra Red Distance Sensor
- LDR Light Sensor
- 2D Compass
- Rotary Potentiometer
- Capacitative touch Sensor
- PIR Sensor
- Touch Slider
- Touch Wheel
- Ultrasound distance sensor
- GPS
- Encoder
- Linear potentiometer
- Piezo

Intimate Control and the Multidimentional Force Sensor

2009-02-03T01:29:00.000-08:00

Multitouch Prototype 2 from Randy Jones on Vimeo.

So this got the attention of our (that being CTP and I) class today. Multitouch, pressure and velocity sensing?! And under $50 to make!!!? W00t! Three or four of us are gearing up to try and make one these, what, Intimate Controller? Multidimentional Force Sensor? I'm not sure what they are being called, but we want to make one this semester.

CDM, I think, says it best: "Who needs a "top 10 technologies of 2008" post for CDM when this particular instrument could pretty easily top the whole list? Let’s just call it done, and uncork the champagne: major congrats, Randy!"

But here is the kicker: the audio interface that he uses runs at about $1000. That's a bit steep for most people who are attracted to this project precisely because it is inexpensive. In the comments for the video, Randall hints at both OSC and use of the Arduino in future versions, so it doesn't sound like it's out of the realm of possibilities. If true, the latter would really allow this project to get it's legs, while the former could open up whole new realms of possibilities (video manipulation, use in Supercollider, Chuck or Processing).

Exciting!

Arduino Realtime Audio Processing

2009-02-03T01:20:00.000-08:00

I don't know how old this is, but I just ran across it searching for something completely different (ok, not *completely* different, just not this, per se). Anyways, it's a write up for doing realtime manipulation of an audio signal with an Arduino. Pretty cool, and considering all of the other things that you can throw into the mix with an Arduino (flex sensors, pressure sensors, distance sensors, the list goes on) this would be great for live performances.

Read it here.

LED Pushbuttons

2009-01-30T01:28:00.000-08:00

Hack-a-Day has a post up about a neat and clean way of doing led pushbuttons from pros. (translated)

The LED isn’t actually soldered where it passes through the board. The anode and cathode are bent around and soldered to allow the LED a little bit of travel.

Looks really nice. I am going to have to try this on my next project.

via Hack-a-Day

One Chip "Dead Bug" Arduino

2009-01-18T13:02:00.000-08:00

Shamelessly lifted off our pal, Bre Pettis ;-)

Bre Pettis just blogged about a new Arduino variant, called the "O'Baka" made by Kimio Kosaka (baka means "stupid" in Japanese, evidently)

Click here for the project's website.

AKA Show Closing Friday

2009-01-18T12:48:00.000-08:00

Applied Kinetic Arts' show at the Y2Y gallery closes this Friday. The Y2Y Gallery is located at Jeff King & Company, 251 Balboa Street, in San Francisco.

Stay tuned for AKA's next show, where and whenever that might be.

Analog and Digital Synth with MOTU Volta

2009-01-17T02:09:00.000-08:00

CDM has a review of the new MOTU Volta software. This software (currently Mac only) allows users to control their analog synth (with either the MOTU audio interface or the RME Fireface) via their computer and "turns your audio interface into a Control Voltage device."

Read the full review and tutorial here.

Free Electronics Stock Photos

2009-01-14T11:56:00.000-08:00

There's this very cool site, called Electronics-Lab.com, and they have a very cool new thing, and that's a whole lot of nice looking electronics stock photos, all for free. This is great stuff for creating lessons, Instructables, brochures, or anywhere you may need such pictures.

Oh, and yes, the picture on this post is from their collection.

I plan to write more about Electronics-Lab.com in future posts.

Learning Electronics

2009-01-13T11:47:00.000-08:00

Several times a week I get asked by someone what I recommend as the best/easiest/quickest/least expensive way to learn about electronics. Some people learn best in a classroom environment, but a lot of people don't have the time, or the money to do that. My standard recommendation for self study has been, for quite a while now, a 300-in-1 Electronics Learning Lab (so called because they contain parts and instruction for 300 different circuit lessons), and a good book. Both can be had for a total of less than $100.

The book I recommend is Paul Scherz' "Practical Electronics For Inventors" a wonderfully complete tome that is of use from the very beginnings into experthood. The link above is to the second edition. Note that used copies of the first edition are available at very good prices, and it is still a very fine book.

As far as my recommendation for the kit goes, there are two on the market - I call them the black one and the white one. The black one comes from Radio Shack, and I can highly recommend it as I have owned one for years. The two part manual (a good basic electronics reference in its own right) was written by Forrest Mims. The kit can be purchased online, or in most Radio Shack stores for around $70. More info at RadioShack.com

The other unit on the market is available all over the place...but be careful. In my recent searches I found it priced anywhere from $80 to $130 - yes, a $50 swing on the exact same item. The average price is somewhere around $100. I know a lot of this particular kit gets sold, and I know that there are happy customers out there, but I have no personal experience with it. From looking at the list of 300 projects the two kits look very, very similar. Here's the best deal I found on the white kit.

One last thing - neither of these kits contain nor discuss microcontrollers. They are for learning basic analog and digital electronics. The stuff they'll teach you will come in very handy, though, if and when you decide to try your hand at microcontrollers.

BUG Labs

2009-01-11T01:18:00.000-08:00

Over at CDM, they have a write up on the new BUG Labs modular computing platform that caught my eye:

...BUG Labs, makers of open source, Linux-based hardware you can snap together like Lego bricks, now has a range of new modules. Most interesting to readers here: there's an audio module, with input, output, a speaker, and even the possibility of basic onboard DSP. Combined with the other modules - GPS positioning, accelerometer/proximity sensor, physical computing-style inputs and outputs for sensors and robotics and switches and things, a touchscreen, a Linux-powered computer, a camera with stills and video, cell phone SIM - this could lead to some interesting projects. It's certainly got competition from conventional computers and new Linux-powered devices like the Android platform, but then, that just makes for a healthier range of choices for designing your own mashed-up, hacked-up hardware of the future.

Seems exciting to me. What I think will be most exciting is seeing what people will do with this and other open source hardware platforms such as the Arduino and the BeagleBoard

Controlling Sony Camcorders With an Arduino

2009-01-10T01:35:00.000-08:00

Hackzine has an interesting post about using an Arduino board to control a Sony camcorder:

If you're an Arduino fan, you can easily create your own custom devices that can interact with your camcorder using the LANC protocol, allowing you to control zoom and record functions from your own programs. Goose wrote about his own project and example Arduino source:

I found source code to do LANC control with the Arduino board. It was written quite well - it worked the first time out. I made a few changes though, specifically changing it from being controlled by a serial port to being controlled by a potentiometer. I plan to build my own zoom controller with it, using an Arduino Mini.

Read the Hackzine post here.

Make your own Snail Art Car

2009-01-10T00:58:00.000-08:00

Jon Sarriugarte and Krysten Mate have posted an Instructable detailing the building process for their Snail Art Car. Good info here for, for "building any kind of art car... I hope by posting this you gather your own team (most of mine had no experience) and make your own dream car together."

Via Make

Bre Pettis - Rapid Prototype Your Life

2009-01-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

Friend of KineticWorld, Bre Pettis, gave a talk recently at 25C3, the annual Chaos Computer Congress in Berlin on rapid prototyping. BoingBoing has a nice write up here, and Bre has his own post about it here.

vague terrain 12: device art

2009-01-08T20:07:00.000-08:00

Vague Terrain recently posted their newest journal, this time focusing on "Device Art" and "the long lineage of machine making in arts and industry and [collecting] a survey of contemporary work to represent this emerging microcontroller-driven age."

This abundance feeds an underground culture of hackers and 'circuit benders' in much the same way that the post World War II glut of cars fuelled the hot rod craze of the 50s and 60s ... The rise of rapid protoyping and small-run custom manufacturing means that an artist can essentially have a factory in their living room, and produce electronic devices as easily as previous generations made prints or ceramics.

Read the article here.

ArtMachines.org is here!!!

2008-12-19T16:26:00.000-08:00

The ever super and incomparable Violet Blue has a new blog called Art Machines, with the tagline "the art of the machine, and the machines of art". As you can well imagine I sat up and took notice, being crazy about machines and all. Anyway go take a look, and subscribe, and enjoy!!!

ROBOEXOTICA 2008!!!

2008-12-02T01:12:00.000-08:00

As is my way these days, here's last minute notice that Roboexotica 2008 starts this week. You see, I have been working like crazy to get a new piece ready for it. My piece is called The RimShotBot - it tells punchlines, and/or GWBushisms, or whatever I want it to, and gives itself a rimshot every time. I can also summon rimshots on cue when needed. It looks like this:

And more pix will appear in this photoset as they happen.

Applied Kinetic Arts Upcoming Show

2008-11-19T21:52:00.000-08:00

Kinetic art show, this Friday, 6-8PM, Y2Y Gallery at Jeff King & Company, 251 Balboa Street, in San Francisco.

See you all there, I hope!

The Great Handcar Regatta - SUNDAY!!!

2008-09-26T16:15:00.000-07:00

Hiya folks!

This Sunday, September 28th, a grand event is to be held in Santa Rosa, California. It's called The Great West End & Railroad Square Handcar Regatta & Exposition of Mechanical & Artistic Wonders. It's free to get in, and perfect for all ages. Info on our favorite stuff can be found here. You can easily navigate to the main part of the site, as well as specific info and directions from there.

The gang I've come to consider family, who built the Steampunk Treehouse last year, created a 10 foot diameter hamster wheel for humans called The Lumbering Contraption (pictured above). It is set to compete in the handcar races on the railroad tracks at the event.

I hope to see you all there!

photo 1 - Bena Currin
photo 2 - Nick Winterhalter

Yoichi Nagashima, professor of physical computing, SUAC

2008-07-25T11:33:00.000-07:00

Beat Box by Toru Kawarazaki

Yoichi Nagashima from SUAC (Shizuoka University of Art and Culture) just presented a lot of the work his students have done over the years using physical computing. There is a very rich web archive of the work, go look.

Sketching in Hardware 08

2008-07-25T11:09:00.000-07:00

Nathan Seidle, owner of Sparkfun Electronics, thinks very hard about something.

I am sitting at the Sketching in Hardware 08 conference, being held this year at RISD in Providence, R.I. This is the third annual Sketching conference, and my third as well. I will be posting links to interesting stuff that gets presented here. My presentation isn't until Sunday so I have some more time to work on it.

"Sketching in hardware is the process through which we understand the capabilities of emerging hardware technologies.

As digital technology moved into everyday consumer products, the economics of mass production and marketing moved products from open systems that enabled experimentation to closed systems that emphasized ease of production over the ease of consumption. This technology creation culture emphasized scale, a deep understanding of basic electronics and the development of monolithic products designed for use largely in isolation from one another.

However, that may now be changing. Miniaturization, power-reduction and knowledge embedding enable smart components that abstract much of the low-level engineering complexity, while keeping the capabilities of the technology accessible and affordable to people outside of heavy industry. This has re-created the possibility of vernacular technology that can be built from smart parts. People who would otherwise be unable to directly engage with digital technology tools can now augment, manipulate, experiment, build, explore. In other words, sketch. "

Fire Arts Festival 2008

2008-07-11T01:57:00.001-07:00

Holy Moly!!!! I've been so busy getting ready for the annual Fire Arts Festival that I forgot to tell you all about it. Two more nights left - tonight and tomorrow. 7th Street, West Oakland, Near BART. Loads of pix online already.

More info at The Crucible's website.

Mechanicrawl, San Francisco, July 12th

2008-07-03T11:41:00.000-07:00

July 12th, 3PM until 8PM.
You can purchase tickets for Mechanicrawl, or join one of the participating organizations and get in free! Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for children (under 6 are free) and $11 for students and seniors.

A great way to support these mechanical marvels of San Francisco is through their membership programs; links can be found under Main Attractions at the Mechanicrawl site.

"Mechanicrawl is a progressive tour through the mechanical wonders of San Francisco's North Shore showcasing several amazing machines that are usually not available to the public.

You'll be able to map your own route to see the giant running steam engine aboard the SS Jeremiah O'Brien, one of the most complex mechanical computers ever built, The Torpedo Data Computer aboard the USS Pampanito Submarine, turn of the century automata, over 200 coin operated machines and video games at the Musee Mecanique, the Orrey, Solar Synchronizer and new Walking Bearing at The Long Now Museum and Store, special films and exhibits at the Exploratorium and more!"

More info at Make's site.

Nemo Gould, Solo Show, 7-12 in Santa Monica

2008-07-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

Nemo Gould has a solo show, "Second Hand Made", coming up at the Lois Lambert Gallery in Santa Monica. It opens on July 12th.

Nemo has been creating a whole new body of work in preparation for the show, and he will be showing some old favorites as well. We wish him the best on his first show in SoCal. If KineticWorld can scrape up some gas money we'll try to make it down there to cover this show and the Device Gallery show as well.

Of Nemo's new works, I have to say that "Fat Brasstard" is one of my favorites - it can be seen here.

Fantastic Contraption, July 19th, Device Gallery

2008-06-19T13:40:00.000-07:00

Device Gallery
Amazing group show coming soon:
Fantastic Contraption: Featuring 18 innovative artists from around the world whose work explores the mechanical nature of man. This is Device Gallery's inaugural show.
Opening reception: July 19th
Location: La Jolla, CA

The show includes KineticWorld favorites Wayne Martin Belger, Christopher Conte, Nemo Gould, Stephane Halleux, and Mike Libby, as well as: Ashley Wood, D.Hwang, Eduard Anikonov, Eric Joyner, Greg Brotherton, H.R. Giger, John U. Abrahamson, Kazuhiko Nakamura, Theo Kamecke, Viktor Koen, William B. Hand, and Zoran Milvojevic.

Robogames 2008 Opens Today

2008-06-13T13:10:00.000-07:00

Robogames (formerly ROBOlympics) is the world's largest robotic competition, and it happens in San Francisco every year. This year's event opens today at Fort Mason, and runs through Sunday.

From their site:
"RoboGames is the world's largest open robot competition (even the Guinness Book of World Records says so!) We invite the best minds from around the world to compete in over 70 different events. Combat robots, walking humanoids, soccer bots, sumo bots, and even androids that do kung-fu. Some robots are autonomous, some are remote controlled - but they're all cool!"

Location: Fort Mason Festival Pavillion - Directions and more info here
Hours: Friday, 12-7; Saturday, 12-10; and Sunday 12-7
Adults: $25/day or $55/all 3 days
Kids 17-7: $20/day or $40/all 3 days
6 and under: Free

Robotica - Opens June 6th in Alameda

2008-06-03T09:40:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone...I know, I know...I am WAYYY behind on my posts. Sigh. So much to do, and so little me to go around. Anyway, before this comes and goes you need to know that there is a new gallery show called Robotica, and the opening party is Friday the 6th of June (yep, most likely that is TODAY for most of you reading this) in Alameda at Rhythmix, 2513 Blanding Ave in Alameda, CA.

Artists will include Al Honig, Simone Davalos, Kal Spelletich, Michael and Christian Schiess, Amy Jenkins, and Mark Pauline.

I'll be there, so come say hi, and stay tuned here for a report on the show.

http://rhythmix.org/robotica.html

Tech Connect: Robots

2008-05-15T09:51:00.001-07:00

Salusa Glass Works

2008-05-13T20:57:00.000-07:00

Glass artist, Bandhu Dunham creates kinetic sculpture from lampworked glass. These works even include working steam engines. The one pictured above even includes a condenser - that's a part that takes the used steam and turns some of it back into water to reuse in the engine. Dunham also creates rolling marble works. All of it is very very impressive, and even more so when we consider that they are made entirely from glass.

Check out this very cool video of several of his pieces in action.

Many thanks to KineticWorld regular, Jonathan Foote, for sending us the heads up on this one!

Power Tool Drag Races 2008

2008-05-11T23:08:00.000-07:00

The Power Tool Drag Races are back, May 17th and 18th, Ace International Speedway, San Francisco. This year's event will even include some great live music, we're told.

I will not be racing this year - it's my first time not racing at PTDR in quite a few years. Truth be told there are just too many other things on my plate, but I'm okay with that. I'm telling everyone that I've decided to just be happy being a retired champion. I will be spectating though...and undoubtedly heckling as well.

Anyhoo, get over to the speedway and check it out...it's always a blast.

Ace International Speedway, 2255 McKinnon Street, San Francisco...$20 per person at the door to watch, $30 to race.

RoboexoticaUS opening night

2008-05-11T14:30:00.000-07:00

Photo by Scott Beale/Laughing Squid

The first annual RoboexoticaUS opened at Space in San Francisco last night to a very enthusiastic reception. Most every machine worked beautifully, and I even managed to get my Breathalyzer Genie working at the last minute after a move from one room to another mysteriously (and maddeningly) disabled it.

Look for some great coverage here:
Laughing Squid blog
Laughing Squid's photos on Flickr
Wired
Daniel Terdiman's Geek Gestalt on CNET

Photo by Scott Beale/Laughing Squid

These guys are the founders of Roboexotica in Austria - Magnus Wurzer and Johannes Grenzfurthner

As soon as I find a good picture of Simone Davalos and David Calkins I'll post it - they are the organizers of RoboexoticaUS.

RoboexoticaUS this Saturday, May 10th!!!

2008-05-09T08:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry about the short notice, but tomorrow night in San Francisco is RoboexoticaUS, the US sister event to the one in Vienna every Autumn.

"What could be better in life that robots and cocktails? Well, nothing! Roboexotica is the premier cocktail making robot event which happens in Vienna each year. This week it comes to San Francisco. Join us for good music, cocktails, and robots that pour you drinks, insult you, and test your BAC. Several different artists from around the Bay Area and Europe will be presenting their work for your imbibing pleasure."

Details can be had by clicking here

RoboexoticaUS - 8pm-2am this Saturday, May 10th at Space, 354 5th Street in San Francisco.

See you there!!!

Upcoming Show: Paul "Da Plumber" Cesewski

2008-05-07T17:35:00.000-07:00

Paul Da Plumber (aka Paul Cesewski) is the current Artist In Residence at the San Francisco dump. As part of that residency, every artist who holds the 4 month position has a culminating show, and Paul's is on May 23rd and 24th. I've been to see the work in progress a couple times now, and I can tell you that this show is going to be a blast. Paul has long made some of my all-time favorite pedal powered works, and he definitely won't disappoint this time around. That's all I'm going to say, the rest will just have to be a surprise.

From his AiR artist statement:
"Fun is the universal language. Information is learned through visceral experience. Exploring ourselves through motion - we face our joys and excitement as well as our fears and hesitation. Physical memories hold lakeside property in our consciousness.

Much of my artwork consists of bicycle powered kinetic sculpture. Participants move themselves through space by pushing bicycle pedals. People powered machines engage us in active participation with the machines. The process of propulsion is in the hands of the participant. The participant can experiment with the machine and respond to stimulus directly. We experience the organic nature of propelling ourselves.

Playful interaction with the machines results in an individual experience for the participant. Personalities are often revealed when participants act and react. Machines with multiple riders counterbalance each other. The dynamic between participants further unfolds. The machines become personality amplifiers."

Show details:
Friday, May 23rd, 2008 - 5PM to 9PM
Saturday, May 24th, 2008 - 1PM to 5PM
503 Tunnel Ave, San Francisco, CA (click for map)
Friday evening's show will feature performance the bay area's own Crank Ensemble

More about Paul
More about the Artist In Residence program

Applied Kinetic Arts a hit at Maker Faire 2008

2008-05-05T11:57:00.000-07:00

Nemo Gould's "Guzzler" - photo by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid

The show I curated (or as Nemo Gould put it, "he's the glue that holds this all together") for Maker Faire 2008 was a big hit. The number of visitors to our space far exceeded our expectations, and it was a treat to host them all! We needed a name for our group, and Nemo came up with Applied Kinetic Arts, so that's what we were called. In fact it was so much fun I bought the domain! Click here for AKA, and soon there will be something more to see there.

The artists showing as part of the Applied Kinetic Arts show were (in alphabetical order):
Nemo Gould
Reuben Margolin
Christopher T Palmer
Carl Pisaturo
Alan Rorie

I stayed so busy (and over stimulated) that I think I may have taken all of 10 pictures all weekend, but many others were much handier with their cameras so we will be bringing you more pix, or at least links to pix, in the near future.

Alan Rorie's Dihemispheric Chronaether Agitator - photo by Bena Currin

MAKER FAIRE 2008!!!

2008-05-03T00:20:00.000-07:00

Fresh off our jaunt to Coachella 2008 we are off to Maker Faire 2008 in San Mateo, California. I have worked on putting together a group show of kinetic and mechanical works that we will be showing under the name "Applied Kinetic Arts" - Artists involved include Nemo Gould, Alan Rorie, Carl Pisaturo, Reuben Margolin, Jonathan Foote, and yours truly, CTP.

We are set up in the Expo Hall in space #207. If you are at the faire please come by and say hi. We will be uploading pictures of Maker Faire as often as we can this weekend.

Going to Coachella!!!

2008-04-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

Photo by Zachwass2000

In fact leaving in a few minutes. What does a huge music festival in the desert have to do with KineticWorld you ask? Well, for a few years now the grounds at Coachella have included some very cool art, and this year is no exception. I will be helping setup the Steampunk Treehouse. For those of you who don't know, I helped design the lighting and electrical systems for the treehouse, and this year I invented some fireflies that will flit about blinking under the branches...about 30 of them in all. See you when I get back!!!

Steampunk Treehouse website
Steampunk Treehouse on Flickr
Coachella Music Festival

Pitagora Suicchi

2008-04-17T09:50:00.000-07:00

Pitagora Suicchi - or Pythagora Switch - is a science show on NHK TV in Japan. Or was at one time...it's not completely clear to me yet. What is clear is that these videos are made up of clips, from the show, of small Rube Goldberg machines. I have to say that I can be pretty jaded about mechanisms once in a while (even though I love them all, really I do, but I've seen SO many) but quite a few of the elements in these clips literally made me gasp out loud they are so brilliant. So please click that play buttons and enjoy! (oh yea, the music made my brain hurt after about 10 seconds...that's just me, of course...but you have been duly warned)

Special thanks to Nemo Gould of Nemomatic.com for tipping us to this video!

Further Study:
NHK TV
Pythagora Switch

Meiwa Denki's Tsukuba Series

2008-04-07T23:49:00.001-07:00

And a Meiwa Denki interview

Super huge thanks to Nemo Gould from Nemomatic for bringing Meiwa Denki to our attention...I think he found it over at Autonomous Mutations
More from Maywa Denki here.

I think I want to be Meiwa Denki when I grow up.

Ira Sherman...Sculptor...Designer...

2008-03-31T22:44:00.000-07:00

excerpted from the site:
"Ira Sherman has been exploring the boundaries of metal fabrication and design since the early 1970s, both as a highly successful custom goldsmith and jeweler, and as an internationally recognized sculptor. His sculptural work uses materials and shapes from science and technology, yet “bio-engineered” to interact with the audience or viewer in a uniquely human way. Many of Sherman’s pieces are, in fact, “prostheses” created around a humorous social concept. These are worn on the body, and may be shockingly intimate. Many of Sherman’s sculptures have sensors that let them interact with the participant or the audience. Parts of his current traveling exhibitions, "Panaceas to Persistent Problems" and "Impenetrable Devices" have been displayed in exhibitions in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Israel and Japan; the Spertus Museum , the Smithsonian Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art and the National Ornamental Metal Museum have recently acquired Sherman art work for their permanent collection."
- Charlie Lewis

Big thanks go out to KineticWorld reader Rob Nehring for bringing our attention to Ira's work.

Creative Kinetics...Brand New Book!!!

2008-03-25T20:36:00.000-07:00

Rodney Frost has a brand new book out called Creative Kinetics. I just got it tonight and it is truly fantastic...no, STUPENDOUS! The 29 chapters include general construction methods, several types of mechanisms, loads of techniques, tons of very informative drawings and photos, and several cool projects for inspiration. 5 stars for sure...buy it now! (please)

Speaking of buying books, KineticWorld now has it's own aStore on Amazon. Don't go buying anything you wouldn't have already, but if you do plan to buy any books think of us, please. The books will cost you the same, but KineticWorld will get a little help to keep us up and running. Thanks in advance! (and I'll get a link up over in the sidebar as soon as I figure out how :-)

Ujino Muneteru makes some great noise...

2008-03-16T19:46:00.000-07:00

Japanese artist Ujino Muneteru uses a wide array of old household appliances, as well as many other familiar objects, to produce some pretty cool sounds. PingMag has an article and interview up, written by Vicente Gutierrez.

Here's an excerpt,
"Not exactly your grandmother's living room, is it? Side stepping the equally playful and bizarre worlds of Chindogu, artistic inventor Ujino Muneteru spends his time developing phallic (and other) instruments called Rotators made of household appliances, tools or furniture and precisely arranges them into a neat bento of sounds. With a coming exhibition in Berlin, PingMag caught up with the noise boy to talk shop about all things analogue."

Special thanks to KineticWorld reader Anthony Disimone for sending us the heads-up!

Scopetris - Tetris on an oscilloscope

2008-03-11T09:25:00.001-07:00

Lars Pontoppidan created a Tetris game using a simple microcontroller for the program, and a standard oscilloscope for the screen, and called it Scopetris. For those of you who saw my post about the oscilloscope clock, and saw how excited I got - well this is even cooler. You see, an oscilloscope is a fairly boring piece of equipment, that sits around the shop waiting for something to do, and then when you use it it shows you waves (changes in voltage over time) and then you move on. It is a tool that was never designed to show an image of something other than those voltages over time. These projects change all that. No, this isn't some earth shattering advance in technology, it's simply hacking at its very finest.

A shout out to Rolf van Widenfelt for bringing this project to our attention.

Nemomatic Scooter, "Quicksilver", Completed

2008-02-24T22:17:00.000-08:00

Nemo Gould of Nemomatic has completed the Quicksilver scooter project (an extremely cool project that I had a teensy hand in) There is also a new video of it being ridden posted to YouTube.

Nemo made the "body" for the scooter from a very wide range of found aluminum objects, and in true Nemomatic fashion the whole far exceeds the sum of the parts.

More info on its construction over at Instructables.

Talk 2 My Shirt - a blog you should read

2008-02-22T14:31:00.000-08:00

Talk2MyShirt bills itself as "Everything you want to know about wearable electronics", and while I knew a few things about it, these guys have page after page after page of news and info about the intersection between technology and what we wear (and carry, etc). Go take a look, I'm sure you'll be blown away.

Hussein Chalayan, Lasers, and Dresses...oh my!

2008-02-22T10:11:00.000-08:00

KineticWorld reader HeatherLyn tips us off to some amazing clothing done last Autumn by Hussein Chalayan that incorporates lasers and crystals...and models too, of course. Pretty amazing stuff from relatively common technology. Just go look.

The "making of" video
The show video
Hussein's official website

Stripboard...let me show you it...

2008-02-14T14:14:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has ever used perfboard knows that building projects on perfboard can become a wiring nightmare pretty quickly (ahhh, I kinda miss the days of wire-wrap on occasion) Well, enter "stripboard". It's been around for a while, especially in Europe, but has been somewhat slow to catch on in the US (you will also see it called Veroboard sometimes). I decided to post about it today because it's now easier to find here, and its popularity really seems to be taking off. There is even software now to convert electronic schematics to stripboard layouts...with auto-routing! (don't worry if you don't know what autorouting is yet, or why this is so cool) Having this kind of software is a great way for people to post and exchange stripboard designs that are clearly drawn and easy to understand. I haven't tried any of these programs yet however, but am about to. I will post some info about them as soon as I have.

Stripboard at Wikipedia

Stripboard at Futurlec.com

Stripboard at Maplin in the UK

Example simple circuit, on stripboard, at Muzique.com

Example of a more complex circuit at MFOS

Time Fountain by Nathan True

2008-02-14T00:52:00.000-08:00

AKA - UV strobes can be fun!

I hadn't seen this one before, but I love it! (Special thanks to KineticWorld reader, HeatherLyn Scotland, for bringing it to our attention) It's called a "Time Fountain" and Nathan True built it. It's a device which creates drops of fluorescent dye, and uses UV LEDs strobing in time with the drops to freeze them in space and time. It's really quite captivating to watch, and can be seen over at the Make Blog.

There is also a page of Nathan's works at cre.ations.net

Four Of My Favorite Non-kinetic Artists

2008-02-13T13:50:00.000-08:00

Jeanie M.

Jessica Joslin

Elizabeth McGrath

Sarina Brewer

Why am I blogging about these non-kinetic artists? Well, I love Jeannie's, Jessica's, Liz's, and Sarina's work, and dammit I wish at least some of their work moved. So maybe this is just a little bloggy nudge in that direction...or maybe I just wanted all you readers to scope out some more great art. Yea, that's it!

Take Control Of Your Tone!

2008-01-31T11:22:00.000-08:00

At Build Your Own Clone!

Build Your Own Clone sells kits to build guitar effects pedals, otherwise known as "stompboxes." You may be saying, "when did this turn into a musical equipment blog?" but bear with me a second. Any artist who works with sound, not just "music", can make use of guitar effects to modify and shape those sounds (this assumes that the artist is making use of some source of electrical signals for their sounds) Pedal effects can be used with microphones, contact mics, magnetic pickups, and can add some incredible variations.

More places to look, in case you are interested...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_pedals
http://www.guitarsite.com/effects.htm
http://www.amptone.com/bookseffects.htm
http://www.musicfromouterspace.com/
http://paia.com/
http://www.thingamajigs.org/
http://www.axeandyoushallreceive.com/

Special thanks to Benny, and the rest of the gang, at Real Guitars in San Francisco for the heads up on BYOC.

Roger Wood's Victorian Clocks

2008-01-22T12:19:00.000-08:00

Roger Wood makes some wonderful clock assemblages (you know, the kind we love with all those fiddly old parts?) up in Toronto, and you can see them at his Klockwerks site.

Special thanks to KineticWorld reader Dan Haskell for bringing the Boing Boing post about Roger to our attention (Sorry Cory, I haven't been able to read Boing Boing in the last few days ;-)

The Art of Andrew Smith

2008-01-21T23:00:00.000-08:00

Last summer I was in Salt Lake City, and on my way to dinner I walked past a place called Iao Gallery and saw art moving in the windows. Being into kinetic art as I am, I had to go inside and investigate. I met the owner of the gallery, Shadna Sieger, and got introduced to the art of Andrew Smith. Andrew has a lot of great stuff to look at over at his site - I encourage everyone to go spend some time poking around there. After my gallery visit I had a great dinner down the street...all in all a very nice walk in Salt Lake City that evening.

The art of Judith Fegerl

2008-01-16T22:54:00.000-08:00

Be sure to check out The Chinese Nightingale (I think it's my favorite)

Musee Patamechanique

2008-01-16T22:37:00.000-08:00

"In the manner of the great Wonder Rooms of yore, the original theatre of the broadest scope, Musee Patamechanique is a hybrid institution, a museum cum-laboratory, cum-carnival for the senses.

Please, accept this offering as an introduction to current practices in the field of Patamechanics, and a re-introduction to that wonderful sense of the marvelous, the magical, and the sublime that existed before the demise of the historic Cabinets of Curiousities."

Musee Patamechanique article in the Boston Globe

The Art of Scott "Gaspo" Gasparian

2008-01-16T11:08:00.000-08:00

Scott Gasparian, better known to all of us as Gaspo, is a California artist who creates wonders out of LEDs, electronics, mechanics, and a few other assorted things. His most recent glowing buddha, the Chakratron, is truly a marvel to behold. Be sure to search through the galleries to see all of Scott's work.

The Chakratron has its own website as well here.

Experimental Musical Instruments

2008-01-14T16:49:00.000-08:00

I have to admit that among all the kinetic works, my greatest fondness may be for things that make noise, sounds, and music, and a really great source for such noisy, as well as musical works is Bart Hopkin's site Experimental Musical Instruments. Pictured above is "Savart's Wheel", designed by Bart himself. This piece is, "widely acclaimed for the fact that it makes the most obtrusive, obnoxious and irritating sound imaginable." Now that is kinetic art that I can really get behind.

Be sure to check out their amazing listing of books, as well as back issues of the incomparable "EMI Journal" published between 1985 and 1999. Also not to be missed is their selection of hardware and electronics for your own experimental designs - all of this can be found in their Catalog area.

BlinkM from ThingM

2008-01-14T10:32:00.000-08:00

A very cool new programmable LED module is on its way from ThingM, and will be available very soon.

from their site:
"Have you wanted an LED that can fade from deep red to bright purple? Flash like a police light? Turn on with the subtle fade of an incandescent bulb? Flicker like a candle? That's BlinkM.

We've attached an ultra bright wide-angle RGB LED to a microcontroller. Using BlinkM Sequencer, our software that fuses a color picker with a drum machine, you program BlinkM to be any color, and blink and fade in virtually any pattern.

When you've programmed your BlinkM, you unplug it and pop it into your project. Apply 5 volts, and it does its thing, whether that's glowing your favorite pinkish purple, or pulse like an old neon light. All for under $15."

Jon Sarriugarte's Boiler Bar

2008-01-14T09:20:00.000-08:00

Friend of KineticWorld.com, and all around great guy, Jon Sarriugarte, sends us word that his Boiler Bar will be making an appearance at The Crucible's "Hot Couture:A Fusion of Fire & Fashion" show this week. Leave a tip and get a fireball :-)

Fantasy Mechanics - Machines Tell Stories

2008-01-09T13:10:00.000-08:00

Fantasy Mechanics - Machines Tell Stories is an upcoming show at the Phaeno Science Center in Wolfsburg, Germany. The show opens February 23rd and runs until June 29th.

Loosely translated from their site:
"Phaeno is showing wondrous mechanics and comical automata in the new special exhibition, "Fantasy Mechanics - Machines Tell Stories". More than 70 kinematic installations of renowned machine artists from England, the USA, and Russia will be on display in the Wolfsburger Science centers. The automata tell humorous, absurd, and sarcastic stories and comment on life. The connection between artistic aesthetics and the openly presented technology represents the special attraction of the works of art."

Here is the page for the exhibition in German

Special thanks to Sarah at Cabaret Mechanical Theater for bringing this show to our attention.

KMODDL - Kinematic Models for Design Digital Library

2008-01-06T17:15:00.000-08:00

"KMODDL is a collection of mechanical models and related resources for teaching the principles of kinematics--the geometry of pure motion. The core of KMODDL is the Reuleaux Collection of Mechanisms and Machines, an important collection of 19th-century machine elements held by Cornell's Sibley School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering."

The art of Dan Grayber

2008-01-06T02:04:00.000-08:00

Current show:
Self Resolving Problems at Art Engine Galleries until January 12th. Art Engine is located at 1035 Mission Street in San Francisco, CA.

Lifted from Dan's site:
"Many of my pieces are small, spring loaded, mechanical objects. They are intricately designed and fabricated to accomplish one of the most simple, yet most essential tasks that an autonomous object can. This task, this need, is that of holding itself up. In most cases, my pieces accomplish this by actively attaching themselves to specific architectural features and individual objects."

The art of Michael Pfleuger

2008-01-05T00:45:00.000-08:00

I haven't found out much about the man, but I like his work.

LASER TAG by G.R.L.

2008-01-05T00:20:00.000-08:00

I've loved this thing ever since i first saw it. Graffiti Research Lab has a projector system, mounted in a van, that can project images onto the side of a big building. That alone could be pretty cool. But with this system you hold a laser pointer and use it to write on the side of the building, and the projector follows the laser, creating a huge tag of wherever you point the laser...did that make any sense? Just watch the video, and prepare to be awed.

Oh, and btw - look for the simulated "paint" dripping...pure genius.

The artwork of Jeremy Mayer

2008-01-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

Excerpted from his site:
"The work of Jeremy Mayer has, over the past 20 years, unfolded from a fascination with the relationship between the micro and the macro; this inspiration is manifest in his work viscerally, philosophically, physiologically, and sociologically. He has created an iconoclastic body of work that ranges from sculpture using resin and disassembled typewriters to hyper-realistic drawings borne of ruminations about the future of consciousness in relation to technology."

I don't think that they move, but I simply can't resist old typewriter parts (or any old machine parts in general for that matter)

Crucifix NG

2008-01-02T23:11:00.000-08:00

"Crucifix NG is a printed electronic circuit board in the shape of a crucifix. This handheld, wall-mountable device houses a battery-operated transmitter that broadcasts an ASCII, non-denominational version of the Lord's Prayer at 916 megahertz.

Many people affix crucifixes and other religious iconography to the walls of their homes for metaphysical security. Crucifix NG goes a step further, bathing a physical space in an anointed electromagnetism."
-
Thanks go out to Paul Badger at Modern Device Company
for sending us the link.

RSS feeds on KineticWorld are up!

2008-01-02T18:59:00.000-08:00

We got the feed working, so have at it!
Link over there on the right, or use this one: FEEDS!!!!

Big thanks to Jamais Cascio for not only helping get the feed working, but also for helping get post titles up and running tonight too. Oh yea, and for the hot chocolate too.

Carl Pisaturo - Machine Artist

2008-01-02T00:10:00.000-08:00

San Francisco artist Carl Pisaturo has some great stuff over at his website. Carl has always produced some amazing machines so it's well worth taking a look.

Les Machines de l'Ile Nantes

2008-01-01T22:40:00.000-08:00

Many of you probably remember The Sultan's Elephant by Royal de Luxe. The artists behind that amazing show have a grand new project in Nantes, France called Les Machines de l'Ile Nantes.

"A team of machine builders have set up their workshop in the industrial warehouses of the former shipyards, at the heart of the Ile de Nantes. The designers let their imaginations roam from the treetops to the savannah to the ocean depths, building a bestiary of living machines that escape the confines of the workshop to populate this area under redevelopment. The Great Elephant, the Marine Worlds and the Heron Tree are urban sculptures open to the public. Like doors to the world of dreams and magical journeys, they give this area a mysterious feel harking back to the time when it was the starting point for vessels setting out to travel the world"
- Francois Delaroziere and Pierre Orefice

Loads more info available in this PDF.

A couple of sources alerted us to this info, but I think the trail started at Laughing Squid.

Fentix Cube - World's first cubic touchscreen computer games platform

2008-01-01T14:10:00.000-08:00

Featuring a unique ultra-bright (even in daylight) full-colour cubic screen and a unique cubic multitouch touchscreen technology (patent pending) this games platform has been programmed to implement various multi-dimensional games, puzzles, and lighting effects.

BBC online article

Lev and Thumpbot play Crazy

2007-12-31T13:48:00.000-08:00

Our friend Ranjit over at Moonmilk.com has a video of Lev, a robotically played theramin, and Thumpbot which is essentially a solenoid played gathering of things not normally used as percussion instruments, playing Crazy by Gnarls Barkley. Poke around a bit and you'll find them playing Patsy Cline's version of Crazy too.

Roboxotica 2007

2007-12-31T12:53:00.000-08:00

Okay, so we are posting this a little after the fact, but we were on hiatus when it was going on. Roboxotica 2007 took place in Vienna, Austria, this past November. We were there. I took a piece of art - a piece of art that I programmed in the gallery 2 hours before the show opened, on a microcontroller that I soldered together 30 minutes before. Yea, I'm pretty bad-ass that way ;-)

Anyway, loads of fun was had. Loads of stuff was shared and learned. People liked what they saw. We can't wait until next year.

Links to peruse:
Roboxotica
Metroblog
Crave
CTP's Pix on Flickr

Robots Are Art - Float Gallery - Oakland CA

2007-12-31T12:13:00.000-08:00

The Float Center Gallery is running a show called Robots Are Art until January 17th. Works on display from 15 or so artists - sculpture, painting, and mixed-media works. Artists include Cheryl Finfrock, Camp Peavy, Mike Wilder, Willy Matsuno, Max Chandler, Paul Gibson, Mark Murry, Scott Wiley, Liz Mamorskey, James Lovekin, Paul Baker, Nemo Gould, Al Honig & Dr. Johnathan Foote, Mark Galt, Frank Garvey, and yours truly CTP.

Follow the link for details, hours, and directions.

NEMOMATIC

2007-12-31T11:21:00.000-08:00

N E M O M A T I C- The kinetic, robotic sculptures of California artist Nemo Gould

Nemo's got some new stuff up on his site...very cool stuff, as always. The piece pictured here is called "Eureka".

Fantastic Chinese Robots

2007-12-31T10:52:00.000-08:00

Mr. Woo's (or is it Wu's?) collection of homebuilt Mr. Woos (or is it Wus?)

Watch the video

thanks to Nemo for bringing it to my attention

KineticWorld Rides Again!!!

2007-12-21T16:35:00.000-08:00

We took a couple of years off, simply put. But the time seems right for KineticWorld to get back on the web. So here we are. News and info about kinetic art, electronic art, time-based art, physical computing, and anything else we feel like, frankly.

Thnaks for coming to take a look.

CTP

2005-11-04T11:35:00.000-08:00

Hektor:Graffiti Robot

I forgot to post this a while back. Hektor is a very simple little device that will spray paint stuff on your wall. I want one!

2005-11-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

Tool For Armchair Activists

Just the name alone makes me giggle - Armchair Activists? Nicely done.

This is a box that mounts to a pole, has a cellular phone and a loudspeaker. You can send it any message you want it to yell via SMS. As should be expected it will end up blathering 99.99% crap - but maybe that's the point?

2005-06-02T16:59:00.000-07:00

New SSC-32 Servo Controller from Lynxmotion

Kids, this is huge. No, it's massive.

32 channels of serial servo control. All high resolution. All for $40. That in and of itself is cool but there's more. Here's what Lynxmotion has to say about it:

This is the best servo controller value available. 32 channels of 1uS resolution servo control. Bidirectional communication with Query commands. Synchronized, or "Group" moves. 12 Servo Hexapod Gait Sequencer built in. MiniSSC-II emulation, like having 4 of them. Plus much more!

The much more includes, "The motion control can be immediate response, speed controlled, timed motion, or a combination. A unique "Group Move" allows any combination of servos to begin and end motion at the same time, even if the servos have to move different distances. This is a very powerful feature for creating complex walking gaits for multi servo walking robots. The servo's position or movement can be Queried to provide feedback to the host computer. Any output can be used as a TTL level output. There are 4 inputs that are static or latched, so you don't have to worry about missing a short event."

And it's even comes assembled.

This is huge...and I'm grinning from ear to ear

2005-06-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

New Action From The Billboard Liberation Front - at Laughing Squid

The Billboard Liberation Front just pulled a prank that included an animatronic Ronald McDonald...from what I have read it was their first billboard liberation to include an animated figure. Let's hope it's not the last.

2005-03-28T11:10:00.000-08:00

Reuben Margolin :: The Wave

This is an incredible piece...just watch the video. It is a plane made up of wooden rods, linked at their ends into a grid. The grid is then made to move in a 3D wave by a system of cams and cables. Its motion is simply astounding.

I'm going to go see it later this week...I'll try to write some more about it after I've seen it in person.

2005-03-22T10:46:00.000-08:00

ArtBots: The Robot Talent Show

Sorry for the short notice, but I have been extra busy lately. The call for submissions deadline for Artbots 2005 is April 1. It's in Ireland this year from July 15th to the 17th.

ArtBots is an international art exhibition for robotic art and art-making robots. Each year we publish an open call for submissions, inviting artists from around the world to send us information about their work. No firm rules exist on the types of work that can participate; if you think it's a robot and you think it's art, we encourage you to submit. The final list of participants is a mix of works selected from the open call submissions and additional artists invited by the ArtBots curators.

2005-03-17T10:48:00.000-08:00

RoboGames

Did I mention that RoboGames were coming up in a couple weeks?

Did I mention that I have entered a piece in the artbots category?

Did I mention that they even had an "artbots" category?

Did I mention that I'll be there taking pictures and having fun and that you should go too, and that 20+ countries will be represented there, and that there's going to be several hundred robots there, and that it takes place on the campus of San Francisco State University the last weekend in March, 2005?

Not yet you say? Well, consider yourself told! See you there!

2005-01-18T09:07:00.000-08:00

James Roller's Vintage Amusements.

Very cool collection of old coin-op "digger" amusement games.

2004-12-07T15:02:00.000-08:00

Clockwork Prayer: 16th century automaton:

"In the Smithsonian Institution is a sixteenth-century automaton of a monk, made of wood and iron, 15 inches in height. Driven by a key-wound spring, the monk walks in a square, striking his chest with his right arm, raising and lowering a small wooden cross and rosary in his left hand, turning and nodding his head, rolling his eyes, and mouthing silent obsequies. From time to time, he brings the cross to his lips and kisses it. After over 400 years, he remains in good working order."

This is a quite fascinating story, well worth a read.

Many thanks to Max Chen for bringing it to us.

2004-12-07T11:35:00.000-08:00

eMachineShop - Online Machine Shop - with FREE CAD Software

This is incredible...truly incredible. I was speechless when I first saw this. Imagine free design software, which quotes you a price on custom machined parts as you design and is smart enough to keep you from making dumb mistakes, or at least keeps you from designing in elements that aren't easily doable. Then takes your order, sends it off to a machine shop, and your parts arrive at your doorstep in a few weeks.

If this system works well it's a huge leap forward for tinkerers, inventors, roboticists, and gizmo phreaks everywhere.

eMachineShop article on USA Today

2004-12-06T11:42:00.000-08:00

CTP, Gary Goddard, Jeremy Lutes, and Bruce Cannon at dorkbotsf

time:
7:30pm Wednesday
15 December 2004

place:
The Crucible
1260 7th St
Oakland, CA

Should be a fun time. I'm going to talk about automata, and bring some of my own. You'll have to be surprised at what the other guys are doing.

2004-09-28T23:43:00.000-07:00

Robonexus - Santa Clara - October 21-23, 2004

Sounds pretty cool...I think I'll go :)

RoboNexus is the largest and most comprehensive robotics event ever produced in the U.S. Focused on the fast growing personal and mobile robotics marketplace, RoboNexus has something for everyone!

* RoboNexus Consumer & Entertainment Program featuring 100's of robots, robot competitions, educational programs, and more!
* RoboNexus Exposition featuring over 50,000 square feet of exhibition including robotics competitions, the hottest robotics business and consumer products and new robotics technologies and applications. Includes the Emerging Robotics Technology Theater.
* RoboNexus Professional Development Program featuring 4 full day conferences for business professionals, entrepreneurs, investors, hardware and software engineers, developers, researchers, investors and hobbyists.

2004-08-17T17:09:00.000-07:00

Where's the updates???

With Burning Man coming up, August 30 to September 6, we've been up to our eyeballs with getting ready for it.

I promise more great stuff when we get back!

If you are up there come see us in the 3:00 Plaza - BYB Bike Repair.

2004-08-09T21:54:00.000-07:00

Grand American Traveling Dime Museum

Circus Contraption announces the imminent arrival of its Grand American Traveling Dime Museum! For a modest admission you will be privy to a vast Collection of Exhibits guaranteed to Educate and Entertain. Featuring Miracles of Man and of Nature, Curiosities of the Past and Marvels of the Modern Age. A veritable Confectionery of exquisite Novelties awaits the genteel Visitor.

2004-07-30T13:51:00.000-07:00

They're English. They're eccentric. They're automata with lots of attitude.

At least that's how the SF Chronicle bills the show. It is well worth visiting, or did I already tell you that?

Anyway, thought y'all might like to see the press on it.

PS - my recently finished coin-op piece, "Awe-Tomata", is somewhere over there on display as well.

2004-07-22T11:22:00.000-07:00

EXTRA EXTRA - THIS JUST IN!!

What happens when you turn a British automata artist loose in the Exploratorium and give him a heap of tagboard, wood scrap, old motors and access to a graffiti artist? Come find out....

Keith Newstead, from the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre arrived yesterday and is in the process of sketching and gathering materials, and planning to be fairly far along on a new piece in time for a brown bag presentation this Tuesday.

Keith will talk about his work, show past pieces, and share his newest automata, a life sized urban angel, constructed here at the Exploratorium.

Join us Tuesday, July 27th @ 12:00PM in the Production Studio.
You're also welcome to stop in before Tuesday to see the work in progress.

I was just over there yesterday, and his urban angel was already taking shape and should turn out quite wonderful. The CMT exhibit is great as well, and well worth a visit.

2004-07-19T16:23:00.000-07:00

Question

Ever wonder...
What is artistic quality?
Where is the meaning in the work?
Who decides what is art or who is an artist?

This isn't specifically about our beloved kinetic and/or electronic art, but I'd say an event like this, done right, is worth a visit by anyone who has created, viewed, or heard of "art".

The Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University announces an experimental project to provoke and address questions frequently asked by visitors about art and its presentation in museums. Featuring objects from the Center's collection, 'Question' will be open July 14, 2004 through January 2, 2005. Admission is free.

'We are not even referring to this as an 'exhibition,' because we want to break out of the boundaries that the term 'exhibition' sets up in people's minds,' explained Patience Young, the Cantor Arts Center's curator for education. 'We are throwing out our assumptions in order to challenge ourselves and engage visitors in new ways. As we distilled a list of queries from the general public and visiting students, we discovered that some of the most basic questions are the most provocative. 'What is artistic quality?'; 'where is the meaning in the work?'; and 'who decides what is art or who is an artist?' have stimulated animated discussions among the staff.

For more information, call 650-723-4177

More food for thought:
Art Crimes
But Is It Art? by Cynthia Freeland

2004-07-08T08:43:00.000-07:00

Exploratorium: Tinkering!

Good news! The Exploratorium in San Francisco is running an exhibition called simply "Tinkering!" this month and next.

Great news!!! As part of the show they have secured the Cabaret Mechanical Theatre automata collection to have on display until October 3rd. If you have never heard of or seen these machines you owe it to yourself to go see them while you can. These are many of the pieces that not only got me to dive whole hog into kinetic art and automata building, but also helped me retain my sanity while I was living in London many years ago.

Once I have gone for a visit I will report back, and maybe include some pix...if they'll let me.

2004-06-21T09:43:00.000-07:00

ArtBots: The Robot Talent Show

The third annual ArtBots: The Robot Talent Show, an international art exhibition for robotic art and art-making robots, will take place September 17-19, 2004 in Harlem, New York City. Twenty works created by 43 artists have been selected for the show.

Here's the Wired blurb from last year.

Best testimonial ever - "I think this robot [cat] is a lot cooler than Fred, my cat," said 9-year-old Hannah Nevin of Brooklyn. "Fred only hisses and throws up on the rug." Good to know, Hannah!