Final Year Studio - Development - 4 Servo Unit Screen

2 unit servo close up 400, originally uploaded by Jimbo (Alan James Wellock).

Above I simply added an additional two servo units and activated them again by pressing specific keys on the keyboard. The servo arms twitched again so next time I will defiantly try adding resistors to the breadboard. Also I will need to develop the actual text size, spacing and font so that I can specifically show a desired character. Unfortunately due to the size of the model the text will be small but if the concept works at this size, there would be no reason why it couldn't just be scaled up in theory. One final thing to do once I am sure this style of screen will work will be to glue the semicircle to the circular servo arm using a poly melting glue such as the one you find in model kits.

Final Year Studio - Development - 2 Servo Unit Screen

2 unit side view 400, originally uploaded by Jimbo (Alan James Wellock).

Above is the latest development of my analogue servo display screen. The code hasn't changed but I have managed to make brackets that support and hold the servo motor as well as attaching the blank semicircle screens to the servo arms. As you can see by the videos above I am very excited with the way the rotating screens are performing. It really gives the feeling of a 'clock work' like mechanism as well as a cool 'whizzing' noise, giving the medium a wide associative bandwidth. The only problem at the moment is a slight twitching every so often from the servo arms which I think may be down to the power rate being sent out by the Arduino output pins fluctuating. To solve this I will try putting resisters between the pins and servo motor.

Special Study - Initial Subject Area Planning

The main focus for my Special Study will be to investigate into how the aesthetics and physicality of media used in areas of connection or 'Non-places' such as airports, railway stations and search engines, add to their identity and effect their inhabitants.

I hope to ascertain a greater understanding of how non-places portray themselves to output the correct kind of subliminal signals to their inhabitants and efficiently control and encourage public interaction, as well as looking into how media and its "Associative Bandwidth' is used to both inform, entertain and move people through these environments.

Technologies/Styles/Methods:
- Route mapping
- London underground brand identity
- Art deco transport graphic design
- Public sign graphic design
- Analogue displays systems
- Digital display systems
- Train depiction in Film
- Virgin Trains branding - 'The Return of the Train' campaign

Key People, Artists, Technologists, Specialists of Fields and Communities of Practice:
- Marc Auge - Non-Place Theory
- Bruce Mau - Associative Bandwidth & Global Image Economy
- Norm - Swiss airport graphic signage
- Cassandre - 'Romanticism' of art deco transport
- The Lumieres - Arrival of the Train La Ciotat film
- William Turner - Rain, Steam and Speed
- Harry Beck - London underground map creator
- Robin Collyer - Public space photographer
- Crowd Control Theory
- RKCR Y&R - 'The Return of the Train' campaign
- Trioka - Cloud installation
- Thompson & Craighead - Beacon installation
- Helvetica font

Process of Documentation:
Blogging
Bookmarking
Sketchbook
Photographs
Video
Overall presented in a Flash Mini Site

Final Year Studio - Research - Data Visualisation - Beacon

Image courtesy of www.thomson-craighead.net, originally uploaded by Jimbo (Alan James Wellock).

Created by Thompson and Craighead this split-flap display screen uses live search activities to control what letters are shown on it. In a sense it almost acts as physical mirror to our digital activities. Although similar to part of my idea I still feel confident that by making my own analogue style rotating screen and digital search mapping tool I can further enhance what this and other projects that I have researched are trying to highlight to the audience. The increasing ease in availability of both physical and digital mediums really highlights the need for a wider understanding of a medium's associative bandwidth.

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Final Year Studio - Research - Analogue Screens - Cloud

Created for British Airways by Trioka this sculpture uses 4,638 flip dots to create an artistic impression by replicating the physical presence and sound of traditionally mechanical airport information systems. Each dot is able to be flipped independently, this results in a series of programs that transform this black matte 'blob' into and almost organic cell. Trioka like myself are trying to bring some 'romanticism' back into travel, they state 'The indicators, dots which can flip from one side to the other with an electric impulse, have a fantastic materiality, a physicality which more modern technologies often lack, de-materialised into the virtual,' in summery my theory that analogue screens have a much wider associative bandwidth than ther digital counterparts.

Taking eight months to produce this project I feel represents a key factor in relation to my own idea. It is the idea of physicality, the restrictions that analogue screens have over digital but which at the same instance seem to enhance the epxerience due to this restriction in flexibility. The main aim for my idea is to show this to the audience and allow them to understand the difference in sublinal signal projection between analogue and digital technology mediums.

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Final Year Studio - Research - Data Visualisation - Similar Diversity

Image courtesy of http://similardiversity.net/, originally uploaded by Jimbo (Alan James Wellock).

Produced in the multi-purpose tool VVVV and visualised using Processing this artwork investigates the similarities and differences in comparing different religions and their followings. Christianity, Islam and Judaism holy books were used to pull data from. The arcs represent character connections between each of the words, and the font size and bar charts underneath each display the amount of verbs that are mostly used with the key words in the holy texts. Various typographic visualisations of this visualisation were then produced using the most popular words, one being just above the mans head in the image.

I have included this work on my blog because I think it is an elegant use of both typography, graphic and colour to visual textual data. In its entirety the various arcs used in the visualisation give the piece an almost cathedral like persona.

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Final Year Studio - Development - 4 Servo Motor Control Breadboard

4 servo board blog, originally uploaded by Jimbo (Alan James Wellock).

Above is a the wired breadboard used to control and power the motors. The only problem is that to power the servos I must use a 9V battery. Also the servo motors rely on a very high electricity ampere rate, for example once the voltage in the battery falls to approximately 7V it becomes to weak to power the servos. As this is happening when only four servo motors are connected, the battery will not last, if at all when asked to power twelve. So to replace the battery I am going to buy a Regulated AC Adaptor to eradicate this minor problem and give me a constant current rate to the servo motors.

Final Year Studio - Development - 4 Servo Motor Control

Once I had two servo motors working I then wired up four. These worked on exactly the same principles as before and were very reliable in reaction. The next step for my development is to create an array that then stores a collection of key inputs so that the input values can be collected in various groups and then sent to the servo motors, a key factor when I want specific website addresses shown separately and independently from each other.

Final Year Studio - Development - 2 Servo Motor Control

Above is a video of multiple servo control in which I control both motors using the 'a,' 'b,' 'c' and 'd' keys on the keyboard. Using Processing, angle values are sent to the Arduino that then fills an angle position array up with these values. Each servo object then pulls a value from this array and outputs it to its specific servo motor. This then means that when a key is pressed servo 1 moves then on the next key press servo 2 moves and so on. Although in my final idea the servo screen will react to text charactors on the screen, it is very useful to use key presses at this stage for easy testing.

Final Year Studio - Research - BAE Systems Poster

Image courtesy of www.rkcryr.com, originally uploaded by Jimbo (Alan James Wellock).

Although not advertising a public transport service this idea is very effective at bringing the idea of our understanding of associative bandwidth that we use to compare both the physical and digital world. Here a microchip style image has aeroplanes superimposed onto it creating an airport style illustration. Allowing the audience to make the connections between electronic development and mechanical advancement. It also allows the user to start comparing the physical and digital world before he or she has even seen the product or idea. This poster I think is very effective and is display method that I could adapt and enhance for use in advertising and explaining my project.

Final Year Studio - Research - Virgin Atlantic Billboard Posters

Image courtesy of www.rkcryr.com, originally uploaded by Jimbo (Alan James Wellock).

While I was searching for Virgin Trains branding literature I came across these billboard posters of Virgin's airline brand. Completely different to the train branding, image is used as the key feature in the above examples, type is simply an information feature.

Final Year Studio - Research - London Midland Trains Website

Image courtesy of www.londonmidland.com, originally uploaded by Jimbo (Alan James Wellock).

Final Year Studio - Research - South West Trains Website

Image courtesy of www.southwesttrains.co.uk, originally uploaded by Jimbo (Alan James Wellock).

Final Year Studio - Research - East Midland Trains Website

Image courtesy of www.eastmidlandstrains.co.uk, originally uploaded by Jimbo (Alan James Wellock).

Final Year Studio - Research - Eurostar Website

Image courtesy of www.eurostar.com, originally uploaded by Jimbo (Alan James Wellock).

After briefly looking at the overall branding of Virgin Trains I am going to have a look at other train service company identities to just get some extra influence for my idea's brand.

Final Year Studio - Research - Virgin Trains Website

Image courtesy of www.virgintrains.co.uk, originally uploaded by Jimbo (Alan James Wellock).

Any respectable transport company now has a dynamic website and Virgin Trains is no different. It is interesting to compare the update-able design of the website to its fixed print and film counterparts. Notice how although the main aim for the website is to inform the viewer, italicised type and slanted graphics still emphasise and advertise the speed of Virgin Trains, subliminally. It is important to take from the Virgin Trains branding that their marketing media almost act like sign posts, instructing the audience to either their website or train stations to then buy into the product they offer. This is done by using the same colours, images and typography on all of their branding media, so the audience does not misunderstand who is giving them the message.

Final Year Studio - Research - Virgin Trains TV Adverts

Image courtesy of www.rkcryr.com, originally uploaded by Jimbo (Alan James Wellock).

Most recently Virgin Trains' new identity has been moved to the small screen using both real life film parodying the 'Railway Children' and stylised animations. Again italicised typography is used but slanted so that it catches the audience's unexpecting eye as well creating the sense of speed and motion.

Final Year Studio - Research - Virgin Trains Billboard Posters

Image courtesy of www.rkcryr.com, originally uploaded by Jimbo (Alan James Wellock).

Above are some billboard posters again designed to emphasise the speed and efficiency of Virgin Trains.

Final Year Studio - Research - Virgin Trains Branding

Image courtesy of www.rkcryr.com, originally uploaded by Jimbo (Alan James Wellock).

Since my idea uses our knowledge of the associative bandwidth of an actual train station system, it will be important to create an identity that further enhances this association and allow comparisons to occur. In the United Kingdom Virgin Trains is seen as having one of the most contemporary transport company identities and their marketing and branding created by the agency Rainy Kelly Campbell Roalfe Y&R tries to replicate and bring back the 'romanticism' of train travel.

Above are some posters that have been used over the past couple of years on various campaigns. The typography used is especially vital to showing motion and speed, key factors in public transport advertising. The posters have a feel and identity that I would like to build on for my idea.

Final Year Studio - Development - 4 Key Servo Motor Angle Control

Above is the development of the code used in the Roboduck activity. The single servo is controlled by the user pressing either the right, left, up or down arrows on the keyboard. The Processing code checks for which key is pressed then sends out a value to the Arduino board. The Arduino board assigns this value then to the servo angle variable and outputs the instruction to the specified pin, the servo arm then moves to this angle. This is done many times a second as the Arduino board checks whether Processing is sending a value, and a key is being pressed. The next step is to us the ASCHII keychart to allow the user to use the whole keyboard to send values to the servo motor as well as creating an array that allows values to be sent to multiple servo motors. I have tried this just using two servo motors but the control seems very intermitent and unreliable. Ideally once this code is completed I will be able to transfer this program to one that then reads what letters are on screen, again sending out specific values to the servo motor for each charactor.