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“The goal is to figure out exactly how much energy and effort goes into taking trash from homes to final disposal, which could help guide consumer choices about products while they’re still on the shelves.”

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/07/mit-using-electronic-tracking-on-trash-to-change-consumer-habits.php

The trash tag periodically measures its location and reports that data to the server via the cellular network.   The first generation of trash tags was based on GSM cellular phone technology that estimates the tag position by measuring signal strength from each cell tower in sight of the device and comparing it to a map of cell phone towers – a technique known as CellID triangulation.  The location accuracy is not as good as GPS but tends to be more robust, as cellular signals can be picked up inside buildings and from within piles of trash, not requiring an unobstructed sky view. The second generation of tracking tags uses the best of both worlds – GPS and CDMA cell-tower trilateration based on the Qualcomm inGeo™ platform, which utilizes Qualcomm’s gpsOne® technology to provide both accuracy and availability for position tracking applications like ours.   Future generations of devices will work seamlessly across CDMA/GSM/UMTS networks, a feature that will allow tracking items across international borders.

In order to ensure a long enough lifetime to track the trash to its final destination, we developed ‘duty cycling’ algorithms, which we use along with inGeo™‘s “Low Duty Cycle” technology which provides hibernation capability that keep the tag off most of the time, turning it on only every few hours to sense and report its position. The tag also uses a motion sensor, which allows it to continue being in hibernation mode if no movement has been detected, thus further extending the battery life. If movement has been detected, the motion sensor wakes up the device to check and report its new position. Our algorithms vary the sampling rate in response to conditions sensed by the tag. In particular, the tag uses a set of orientation sensors to sense changes in position to increase the location sampling rate when the tag is apparently moving, and whenever previously unseen cell tower IDs are observed.

All of the components used in the tags are RoHS compliant, which means that toxic material levels are below both U.S. and European Union standards for electronics products for which the Trash Track tags can be legally introduced into waste streams.

The triangulation / tower location service is provided by navizon.com.

http://senseable.mit.edu/trashtrack/how-it-works.php?id=3

Motion

noun

1 the action or process of moving or being moved : the laws of planetary motion | a cushioned shoe that doesn’t restrict motion.

• a gesture : she made a motion with her free hand.

• a piece of moving mechanism.

2 a formal proposal put to a legislature or committee : the head of our commission made a motion that we rewrite the constitution.

• Law an application for a rule or order of court.

3 Music the movement of a melodic line between successive pitches : they rely heavily on repeated chord tones and much less often on conjunct melodic motion.

verb [ trans. ]

1 direct or command (someone) with a movement of the hand or head : he motioned Dennis to a plush chair | [ trans. ] he motioned the young officer to sit down | [ intrans. ] he motioned for a time out.

2 make a proposal in a deliberative or legislative body : [with clause ] she recognized the majority leader, who motioned that the body adjourn.

Using a combination of the following quantifiers of motion, data can be collected and stored for analysis.

Radar- a system for detecting the presence, direction, distance, and speed of aircraft, ships, and other objects, by sending out pulses of high frequency electromagnetic waves that are reflected off the object moving and back to the source of the waves.  Origin: 1940s  name comes from ra(dio) d(etection) a(nd) r(anging)

Speedometer- a device that measures the speed in automobiles and other mobile mechanical equipment.  In a boat this apparatus is referred to as a pit log.  In a plane it is called an airspeed indicator.  Traditionally in cars speedometers consist of an arrangement of magnets that rotate around one another on the output shaft on the rear of the transmission thus calculating the speed of the vehicle.  This method is being replaced by electronic speedometers which use sensors to establish speed and directions of the output shaft.

Tachometer-an instrument that measures the rotation speed of a shaft or disk, as in a motor or other machine.  These measurements are quantified in rotations per minute (RPM).  This device measures the frequency of movement.

Odometer-device that indicates distance traveled by a car or other vehicle.  The device itself may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two.

Camera-“motion picture”  Video cameras can either document a live broadcast for realtime observation or they can record to a storage device.  Live feeds are often used to observe a site from a remote location for tactical as well as security/surveillance needs.

PACHUBE

Store, share & discover realtime sensor, energy and environment data from objects, devices & buildings around the world. Pachube is a convenient, secure & scalable platform that helps you connect to & build the ‘internet of things’.

So What Exactly is it?

If you have a device, building, environment, or sensor (either physical or virtual) that is connected to the internet you can register a feed to store, share, graph, and distribute its datastreams in realtime.

What does this mean?

Data is logged on the internet from these various devices.  This information is categorized and made accessible to other pachube users.

What is Pachube used for?

If you are….

… a consumer, you might connect up your electrity meter to track it over time, embed usage graphs in your own website, calculate your realtime carbon footprint or use iPhone or gPhone applications to monitor it remotely

… a tinkerer, you might connect up basic home-automation devices, so that you can control them, or have them respond to your office or distant family’s environment

… virtually-inclined, you might have your Second Life environment respond to sensors in the realworld (or vice versa)

… an architect, you might use site-specific realtime sensor data to modulate (or generate) a Sketchup model, or use EEML data in conjunction with IFC-compliant models (as can be exported from AutoCad, etc.) to undertake post-occupancy evaluation

… a facilities manager, you might connect up specific outputs from your Building Management System, so that specific data items (like current energy consumption or temperature level) can be shared with the public without compromising security

… a property developer, you might connect together several buildings to allocate resources or monitor energy consumption and occupancy

… a product designer, you might design a set of networked objects, lamps or furniture that react to each other at a distance, even from either sides of the planet

… a device designer, you might create a population of mobile gadgets that makes use of ad-hoc and one-to-many sensor connections, or USB dongles that respond to each other at a distance

… a maker, you might build blogjects and devices based on Arduino that can connect to each other across the network, or share their realtime sensor data with dozens of others

… an interaction designer, you might build environments that respond to climate data from different parts of the world (or, perhaps, other interactive environments)

… a graphic designer, you might create dynamic realtime visualisations (using Processing or Flash) of physical sensor data

… a web designer, you might build a website that responds in realtime to conditions or interactions in the physical world (for example, by using javascripts to change document elements dynamically in response to sensor data)

… a wearables designer, you might produce smart clothing or footwear that connects and interacts across the network and foster communities around people who wear them

… a developer, you might webscrape interesting data to add it to the repository or route feeds via other web services to create mashups

… a blogger, you might subscribe to RSS or Atom feeds of particular sensor taggings, and get updates when new feeds are added

… a games designer, you might create networked or online game that enable players to interact across the planet, or respond to conditions in the physical world

… a sociologist, you might monitor communities of geographically-specific sensor data in order to inform the design or participation process

… an urban designer, you might track pollution and climate data from a section of the city and embed this data in external websites for public information purposes

… a researcher, you might log sensor histories over time, export graphs and compare aggregates of similar sensor types

… a fleet or stock owner, you might track, and make public or private, the location and status of individual vehicles, ships, inventory or livestock

… a space scientist, you might extract individual data items from a spacecraft (like “interplanetary magnetic field”) and make them available for public dissemination

reference: http://community.pachube.com/what_can_i_use_pachube_for

MOTORS

A motor is a device that creates motion.  It is not an engine.  An electric motor is a maching that converts electricity into mechanical motion.  There are several different types of electric motors that operate on different systems and produce a variety of output functions.

AC/DC

An AC motor is driven by alternating current.  Two types of AC motors are synchronous motors and induction motors.  DC motors operate on direct current electricity and include brushed DC electric motors and Brushless DC motors.  There are also electrostatic motors that use attraction and repulsion of electric charges, servo motors that are commonly used in robotics, and internal fan cooled motors.  another relevant forms of motors include hydraulic motors that operate on pressure systems.

The important thing to understand is that these motors are manufacture and essentially programmed to perform a certain output.   The input of these functions can vary in form.

SMS, MMS, EMAIL

SMS-short message service.  Can send text messages up to 160 characters long.  Most commonly from one mobile device to another.

A natural wood that has been infused with acrylic resin, which enhances both the beauty of the wood and its durability. The acrylic-infused process converts wood into a dimensionally stable material that repels water, resists dents and abrasions, and is much harder than untreated wood. This process allows abundant softwoods to be used in the place of scarcer hardwoods. WoodSure’s proprietary acrylic-infused process also intensifies the wood-grain pattern, amplifying the drama of wood’s natural internal structure.

My reaction to this product is understanding the long term compatibility issues of a natural material with very dynamic properties encased within a man made resin with more static properties.

http://www.woodsure.com/assets/images/05WW017-SpecSheet_6-30[1]Sell%20Sheet.pdf

STONES

Tempered transparent glass is used in the construction industry for windows and other applications. Construction glass is often over-ordered to account for breakage during shipping and installation. Unused tempered glass from construction and renovation sites that cannot be processed any further often ends up in landfills.

Where the acquisition of tempered glass from construction sites and other postindustrial sources is possible, Joel Berman Glass Studios utilizes this glass in the manufacture of Stones. Approximately 80 percent of a typical sheet of the glass is made from recycled material. Although Stones is primarily a waste product, it appears much more luxurious than the tempered transparent glass from which it came.

Check out the website of this designer.  He does some pretty amazing stuff as far as architectural glass goes.

Website of Designer

http://www.jbermanglass.com/glass/glass.html

INTERAC TABLE

Andreas Störiko designed the InteracTable in order to answer questions regarding the nature of work in the new millennium: Why does an increasing rate of media discontinuity block our thinking although it is the digital age? What should furniture that allows teamwork on the computer look like? What would a digital work environment that actually encourages creativity look like?

The InteracTable is a high table with a large-format, interactive screen integrated into the top surface, which serves as a shared working platform for project groups. The InteracTable combines high technology with familiar work practices; it is operated by a pen or a finger instead of a keyboard or mouse.

The design as a “normal” high table creates a familiar atmosphere for discussions and allows natural integration within seminar and conference spaces. Most importantly, the InteracTable provides a meeting place in an infomal atmosphere for all those involved in a project. Such a work environment promotes creativity and innovation and supports shared processing of complex information structures such as project plans and engineering drawings.

I found this “material” to be incredibly relevant within the realm of design.  As digital technology plays an ever increasing role within design disciplines adaptations must occur to make our current technology more efficient and more comfortable for those who must interact with it.  This includes the computer wiz as well as those who are stuck in their ways and know basic functions and are not willing to extend their knowledge of technology.  While the interac table may not be the answer it is on the right track.  While we use a smart board hung on a stand the interac table appears to be more stable and portable.  Instead of standing infront of the stand sharing a smart pen users can surround the interact table and use their fingers and personal pen like objects to operate the table.

For  the fourth site observation I chose to position myself at the eastern end of N. St. Peter Street and the southern end of St. Ferdinand St.  This position allowed a wide perspective by sitting on the ecotone of three urban environments.  To the North the order and regularity of the mixed use community remains intact while to the West there is a strong presence of a blend between light industry and commercial space.  East, directly adjacent to my position is the Nocca Institute as well as an adaptive reuse residential project.  This position was chosen to observe temporal change in as many different environments that could be observed in one sitting.  This specific site due to its location and lack of inhibitors would be a logical continuation for larger scale change within the neighborhood while the backdrop of the established neighborhood remains within close reach.  It was my hope that my observations within close proximity would be juxtaposed by those observations down the St. Ferdinand corridor reaching deep into the inner gridiron.

My observations began at 1:17 p.m. and ended around 3:30 p.m.  A 2-3 hour observation period allows one to get a small understanding of the changes that occur on a site.  My observations consisted mainly of changing weather, light, the influx of traffic, a variety of sounds and the occasional Saturday biker/jogger.  A twenty-four hour+ observation would have introduced elements of routine, security, and overall use.

Understanding change is crucial to understanding a site.  In order to truly understand a site it is imperative that one knows how it is used.  These uses change throughout the day as well as throughout the week and year.  This will effect your assessment of the elements that lie within this site that could ultimately influence a design or program of use.

I was stopped on my walk back to my car by a thirty year resident of the neighborhood.  My observations until this point were helpful in understanding the micro-scale of this physical site.  However, I think it is equally important to understand others, especially residents, perception of a site, not just your own.  This gentleman provided a macro-scale analysis of changes that he sited within the neighborhood.  These trends and fluctuations reinforced my models of gentrification and forces that are involved.

Annotation Diagrams to come…

The origins of Mardi Gras lie in a roman festival known as Lupercalia.  This social event took place in February of every year and was easily adopted and adapted after the Roman embrace of Christianity.  This carnival became a period of abandonment and celebration that preceded lent, thus providing a Christian interpretation to a pagan tradition.

As Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire the tradition of carnival was established throughout Europe.  In France this carnival period grew to be known as “Mardi Gras” or Fat Tuesday.  French exploration and expansion into the gulf coast of North America provided the introduction of French culture including Mardi Gras.  In 1699, French explorer Iberville declared a point on the Mississippi River “Point du Mardi Gras.”  This spot was sixty miles from the future location of New Orleans, but the tradition and establishment of New Orleans as the geographical center of Mardi Gras in North America was easily transferred.

New Orleans is not the only city that takes Mardi Gras seriously.  Mardi Gras/Carnival is a very widely celebrated holiday all over the world.  It seems that most countries and regions that were once part of the Roman Empire (which was enormous) celebrate some form of what we know as Mardi Gras.  These countries include:  Belgium, Brazil, Canada, several Caribbean islands, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Guatemala, India, Italy, The Netherlands, Panama, Spain, and Sweden.

I went to college with several people from New Orleans along with a large amount of people from Mobile Alabama.  The kids from Mobile often argued with the kids from New Orleans as to who had a better Mardi Gras.  I know this may seem like a pointless argument, but it always captured my attention as we were in rural Virginia, hundreds of miles away from all of the fun.  I honestly had no idea until then that Mardi Gras was celebrated with any real degree of pomp and circumstance outside of New Orleans.

This year I was able to experience Mardi Gras first hand.  On Friday I attended a local parade here in Baton Rouge in the Southdowns neighborhood.   The parade started at 7:00 pm.  We saw several floats pass that I would describe as over the top and this was just a small local community coming together to show their Mardi Gras spirit.  There were floats with flames projecting upwards fifty feet and floats with flashing lights, and disco balls.  I would describe the whole event as over-stimulating.  It was like going to see a local jam band with a real bad light show.  As beads and foam footballs were flying through the air these sporadically lit floats were moving in another direction.  All in all I had a wonderful time.  It is always great to see a local community come together and show their pride.

A visit from my mom for my birthday and a family meeting put a slight kink in my plans.  I was going to head down to New Orleans on Sunday, but had to head down Saturday for the day due to her arrival on Sunday and a family meeting on Monday and Tuesday in De Ridder which I had to attend.  I arrived in New Orleans around eleven o’clock on Saturday.  I had big plans of attending the three parades that day as well as meeting up with my two cousins who grew up in New Orleans and another cousin from St. Francisville.  I never made it to the parades and I never ended up seeing my cousins.  Instead I walked around the marigny and bywater for about two hours and then headed to the French Quarter.  I ended up walking around just people watching and I wouldn’t even really know how to begin to describe what I saw.  There was a certain level of excitement as well as joy within the air.  These people were happy to be in New Orleans.  They were happy to be carefree.  I know we were urged to document our experience through pictures, diagrams, and text, however I felt that the best way to document my experience in New Orleans was through recording the sounds.  This included the chatter of pedestrians, the rocking of manhole covers, the screaming, the jazz band, the children tap dancing on the sidewalk, the “who dats,” the clanking of beer kegs in delivery, the zydeco music spilling out of the bar onto the street, the requests for beads, and the numerous other sounds of a city in celebration.  That is what interests me the most about Mardi Gras.   The beat of the city can change creating a sense of unknown excitement that fills the air and is felt but not seen by all.  I had a camera and took a bunch of pictures, however I felt that the most defining element of my small Mardi Gras experience were the sounds.

Mardi Gras Sound Clip 1

Mardis Gras Sound Clip 2

The first sound clip is walking North on St. Peter Street and then heading west down Bourbon St.  The second clip is walking east down Bourbon St. ending at esplanade.