This is a proposal for a project that I will be submitted for MUMT306, CART360, and CART214:
"We're always looking for new physics; new behavior that has never been seen before. Once we find it, of course, we start to daydream."
– Marc Kastner
I propose to create an apparatus capable of synthesizing new forms of quasi-physical "computational matter" in a neutral substrate. Computational matter is different from ordinary matter in that it is defined only phenomenologically – the only properties are affective properties. By bracketing materiality itself, we can begin to think of matter as something programmable. We can imagine new hybrid materials that defy physical laws. These new active materials can then be used as raw material with which to build responsive interfaces, tools, spaces, structures and art objects.
I am interested in creating a prototype 'material synthesizer' using sensate silicone gel embedded with coupled vibrotactile and sonic actuators. The gel, when contorted, will exhibit various vibrotactile and sonic behaviors associated with materials other than gel, be they real or imaginary. My hypothesis is that by exciting the gel strategically in response to interaction, I can synthesize the sensation of manipulating a new material. More specifically, I hypothesize that I can make silicone gel, a flexible, stretchy material, feel brittle.
The apparatus will consist of an array of sensors to sense contortions of the gel, a microcontroller and radio to send the sensor data to a computer, software to extract features from the sensor data and map them to parameters of a physical-modeling synthesizer, another microcontroller and radio to send audio data back to the object, and a custom 'cross-over' to share the audio between an array of vibrating motors and speakers. All circuitry will be sewn onto a layer of translucent fabric and cast into a silicone gel mold.
For sensing, I plan to experiment with fiber-optic bend sensors. I will arrange them in a grid in order to generate a two dimensional contortion map. This will be mapped to a physical model defined in IRCAM's Modalys system. The sound generated by the physical model will drive an array of small 'shaftless' vibration motors as well as small speakers. I may use special transducers designed for vibrating hard surfaces rather than traditional speakers.
Finally, I plan to present the project not as an interface or an art project, but as a demo for a new material about to enter production. I will create a fictional company and set up an engineering-demo-style booth to advertise the project in various high-traffic areas at Concordia and/or McGill University. The project presentation will be partly a performance. I will prepare a routine promoting the near-future (next year) mass adoption of active materials as materials for building and designing interface products.
I'm interested in enchanting everyday spaces. Picture a walk through the forrest. You come across a patch of moss and gingerly step across it, breathing in the fresh smell of amphibious plant matter. What if our cities could feel like this?
Imagine a section of a metro station with floor, bench, and walls made from "responsive gel". Artists could be contracted to script interaction scenarios for these surfaces. The behavior would not be invasive, distracting, or confusing, but calm, passive, and delightful, like the watery squishing of moss. For instance, the floor could be scripted to feel like thin layers of ice that shatter beneath your feet and the bench like a bank of snow as you fall into it.
See progress blog and project documentation (one post up). Alternative documentation can be found at my CART360 portfolio site.
