Michael Naimark

INTERACTIVE TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROGRAM
SUMMER 2006
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
(rev. 4/4/06)

SUMMER SESSION I: MAY 15 - JUNE 23

TIER 1 -FOUNDATION COURSES
Introduction to Physical Computing
H79.2301 (Tom Igoe) Tuesday/Thursday 6:30 p.m. to 9:25 p.m.
This course expands the students' palette for physical interaction design with computational media. We look away from the limitations of the mouse, keyboard and monitor interface of today's computers, and start instead at the untapped expressive capabilities of the human body. We consider uses of the computer for more than just information retrieval and processing, and at locations other than the home or the office. The platform for the class is a microcontroller, a single-chip computer the size of a postage stamp, programmed using BASIC. The core technical concepts are digital, analog and serial input and output. Students have weekly lab exercises to build skills with the microcontroller and related tools, and longer assignments in which they apply the design principles in a creative application. Some programming skill is suggested; otherwise the willingness to learn some coding independently as the class progresses.

TIER 2 -WORKSHOPS
Digital Sound Lab
H79.2266 (Daniel Palkowski) Tuesday/Thursday 6:30 p.m. to 9:25 p.m.
Advances in the field of digital sound have placed the art of soundtrack production directly into the hands of the artist. Current technology now enables us to collect, combine, control and manipulate audio materials digitally, allowing us the artistic freedom to experiment with sound to a hitherto unprecedented degree. In this course, students learn the skills needed to create and produce a digital soundtrack. Topics include digital editing and sampling, mixing and MIDI. Through lab assignments, lectures, discussion, listening and observation, students learn basic and advanced concepts in audio production. The goal of the course is to enable students to produce soundtracks of both artistic interest and professional sound quality for their own media projects.

Systems: Hacking Everyday Objects
H79.2460 (Todd Holoubek) Tuesday/Thursday 12:00 p.m. to 2:55 p.m.
In this class students create an interactive piece by hacking into common everyday devices and machines and repurposing the components within. We learn alternative and low cost methods of developing circuit boards. In this way we explore systems by examining the components and repurposing them for a new system designed by the student. This includes using elements from existing appliances and constructing ones own homemade circuit boards. We focus on cost effective methods of construction. On a larger scale, we also look at how entire systems can be repurposed with little modification to the original system. This may include looking into the workings of common appliances. The class examines both the hardware and the software sides of recycling technology. Students also look at "throwaway culture" -- and the surrounding issues of ethics, impacts, and alternative solutions for discarded technology (currently only 2% of consumers will hold onto a particular device for 5 years or more). Students are asked, "What can we recycle from this throwaway technology and what should we do with what can't be reused?" This deconstructionist approach to physical computing includes taking an appliance apart, then creating components from the ground up as part of the new system. By co-opting the components of other systems and combining them with our own, the students have the opportunity to explore the make up of a system, create a new one, and provide commentary about technology in today's culture.
A final project is required.

SciViz: From Interactive Virtual Spaces to Scientific Visualization
H79.2510 (Jean-Marc Gauthier) Tuesday/Thursday 12:00 p.m. to 2:55 p.m.
Jump in as we look at ways to design interactive virtual spaces to help us further understand scientific visualization. This class challenges students to walk a thin line between being faithful to the physical world while expressing themselves using interactive 3D content. Scientific visualization using virtual reality applications took a new turn as interactive 3D brought that reality to a entirely different level. This class explores new possibilities offered by Maya and Virtools for creating and programming various examples of scientific visualization. The favoring of rules, behaviors, physics and artificial intelligence in the structures of video games is examined as a source of inspiration for visualizing scientific content. In addition, the dynamics and forms of real-life evolutionary systems are observed. The class presentations look into projects created for both scientific and creative fields, with the main focus addressing concepts covering medical research and archeology to A-life systems, natural phenomena and bio-mechanisms. Other topics covered in class include: the design of virtual objects with interactive controllable and transformable parameters, virtual simulations of physical spaces using light, sound and physics, and emerging topics in virtual reality including artificial intelligence and autonomous agents. Students prepare weekly assignments and a final project that may take place inside a Cave system where individuals can enter, learn, play and work inside a virtual environment. No pre-requisite is needed for this class. Please check the syllabus at http://www.tinkering.net/sciviz

The Memory of Objects
H79.2556 (Carlyn Maw) Monday/Wednesday 12:00 p.m. to 2:55 p.m.
The Code of Hammurabi is over 35 centuries old. The department of energy has commissioned a design competition for a "Hazardous Waste" marker that will retain its meaning for 10,000 years, and your Physical Computing final will be obsolete in 3 months. Since we began saving information on magnetic disks, we have taken our collective memory beyond the capacity of a human being to perceive directly. What would it mean to use those very advances in technology to reverse the process and create objects with meaning and grace? This class looks at the issue of preserving information over time by embodying it in tangible objects. Emphasis in the readings is on what it means to be "archival" or to be on a "human scale" and the question: "What is worth saving?" Technical topics include:
- How to "read" found objects with sensors, cameras and scanners;
- How to generate literal data objects using the laser cutter and other technology;
- How to cut the cord between you and your programming environment by making projects that adapt without being reprogrammed.
Examples are offered in PicBasic Pro, Processing, Flash, Perl and Java although students may pick the programming environment of their choice to complete assignments.
Prerequisites: Introduction to Computational Media (H79.2233) and Introduction to Physical Computing (H79.2301), or the permission of the instructor.

Agile Web Development
H79.2558 (Dedi Hubbard) Tuesday/Thursday 3:15 p.m. to 6:10 p.m.
Having a dynamic web site to promote, document and share projects is a necessary professional tool for more and more people. The barrier of entry for creating custom database driven web sites has traditionally been very high. However, there are a bunch of new methodologies and frameworks out there that help ease dynamic web development. This course is about using them to creating web sites from the ground up, in a quick, easy, organized and understandable way that can actually be much easier… and even (gasp!) fun. Agile Web Development favors an iterative, build and change, build and change approach. There's a strong focus on getting a project up and running quickly and adding functionality in stages that include designing, implementing and testing. At any given stage in a project, there is a working application ripe for new features and further development. Methodologies that will be covered will include utilizing a model view controller architecture, database abstraction through object relational database mapping, templating systems to separate presentation from logic, test driven development, and using source code management (subversion). Students will begin with basic exercises leading to the development of a fully functional database driven web site serving their own needs. The class will use the Ruby on Rails language and framework. This class is for people with some experience with programming and with HTML. Some prior experience/knowledge with XHTML/CSS and a basic understanding of SQL is also recommended.

SUMMER SESSION II: JUNE 26 - AUGUST 4

TIER 2 -WORKSHOPS
Digital Sound Workshop: MIDI and Synthesis
H79.2284 (Dan Palkowski) Tuesday/Thursday 6:30 p.m. to 9:25 p.m.
Probably the most significant trend of the decade so far in digital audio has been the gradual shift away from the dedicated hardware synthesizer to the 'soft' synthesizer, that is, a synthesizer that is simply a programming environment on a general-purpose computer. With the increase in CPU speed and disk capacity, such soft synths are becoming more powerful and flexible. This course will serve as an introduction to tools, which allow you to repurpose the computer to be a soft synth. The main focus will be on Cycling 74's Max/MSP software, as well as its video component Jitter. You will learn to use the tool to manipulate synthesizers (both hard and soft), generate and manipulate audio signals and alter live audio and video, and much more. The Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) specification will be explored as a control system both generally and from within the Max environment. Exploration of synth methods in a typical MIDI device will lead in turn to DSP techniques including FM, Additive Synthesis, Granular Synthesis, Waveshaping, and Physical Modeling. Video will be treated as an extension to the sonic palette, and integration will be sought between visual and aural creations. Portability is stressed, and students are encouraged to work with their own tools as appropriate.

Code and Me
H79.2400 (Amit Pitaru) Monday/Wednesday 6:30 p.m. to 9:25 p.m.
In this course we examine the foundation of programming and the craft's influence on our personal creative process. Programming languages are inherently ever-changing and often require new syntax and structures to be learned. Does this perpetual learning-curve stifle our creative process? Or in contrast, can the abundance of technical know-how cloud a simple vision? Considering these issues, students identify and improve the way they work with technology and particularly software design. The first session covers foundation concepts and techniques in visual computational media (principles of producing color, shape, composition and motion), interaction/usability principles (GUI/UI, gesture mapping, locus of attention, affordance), sound design for interactive systems (live input analysis, multiple-samples management, synthesis), and overall project design (Col John Boyd's O.O.D.A loop). With this knowledge at hand, we observe how third-party software affects our work and in response we construct our own software tools. Students then use their tools to build towards a final project and provide an account of personal observations (for example, how much time was spent building the tools vs. observing/practicing/using them, and how does this reflect on the final quality of the product). The class is delivered using Processing, but other platforms are welcomed and encouraged. The nature of the assignments is minimalist and simple, so you may use the class as a primer to programming, or just take a step back and re-examine how technology relates to your creative process. In both cases, a better understanding of the craft is within reach.

Live Image Processing and Performance
H79.2422 (Luke DuBois) Tuesday/Thursday 3:15 p.m. to 6:10 p.m.
This course teaches the ins and outs of using image processing software with an aim towards some type of real-time use (e.g. a performance or installation). The class looks at ways to manipulate different visual media (time-based, still, vector, and rendered) in real-time to allow students to develop interesting real-time performance systems. While the focus of this class is on using Max for visual work (through a software package called Jitter), it also looks at how to integrate interactive elements (sound, physical interfaces, etc.) into the work. Class time is spent on interface design and software development issues as well. The class explores some interesting capabilities of the software in terms of real-time camera input and tracking, generative graphics systems, and media transcoding. Throughout the class students develop and share ideas on live performance as a medium for visual expression, and learn the software tools necessary to put these ideas into practice in the form of idiosyncratic performance systems. A final presentation may take the form of a group performance.
Students should have some working knowledge of Max/MSP before taking this class.

Producing Participatory Media
H79.2482 (Shawn Van Every) Tuesday/Thursday 6:30 p.m. to 9:25 p.m.
Traditional broadcast media (television and radio) are in a time of transition. Broadcast is being pushed in new directions by the increasing ease of producing compelling material, and by the interactive and social nature of the internet. Blogs and other internet based social networks have given rise to an audience that is eager to engage with and participate in the creation of media. This appetite is quickly moving into the realm of television and radio with new avenues for distribution and new means for audience interaction offering serious challenges to traditional broadcast. The goal of this course is to introduce students to new technologies and methods for creating participatory media and making it available. Students develop new ideas for helping this transition along both on the internet and in the traditional broadcast space. This course requires weekly assignments, student presentations and culminates with group projects. Guest speakers from the field may visit the class.

Design and Development with Flash
H79.2512 (Eric Socolofsky) Monday/Wednesday 6:30 p.m. to 9:25 p.m.
Programming is often viewed as an arcane art, an esoteric skill opposite from design and far removed from user experience. With the advent and evolution of higher-level programming languages, however, the power of coding is becoming accessible to an increasingly broad audience of designers, artists, and curious onlookers. This course explores the use of programming as a tool to sculpt interactive experiences, in the context of Macromedia Flash's Actionscript programming language. Students begin with a focus on core programming concepts, and move quickly into using these concepts to prototype personal projects. While the focus of the course is on developing with Actionscript, emphasis is placed on keeping within the context of designing usable systems and rich user experiences.

AVAILABLE FOR BOTH SUMMER SESSIONS:
Internship
H79.2100-2101

NOTE: Courses are 4 points unless otherwise noted, with the exception of Internship, which ranges from 2 - 6 points.

For more information about ITP, please visit our website (http://itp.nyu.edu) or call 212-998-1880.