Author Archive

My first day as a research assistant in Dr. Kim’s Applied Dynamics and Optimization Lab at NYU-Poly was Monday, August 2nd. A 6-camera Vicon motion analysis system was recently installed in the lab, so I got to learn how to use it during the first week. We had a few issues with the lab setup, so I’ve been working on ways to improve it. For example – because the cameras are trained to see bright reflections, anything shiny in the room messes up the data. The floor of the lab itself is shiny, so for the first experiment I was a part of we had to tape paper towels to the floor! Eventually we’ll be getting a force plate to install in a raised floor, but for now we have to find a temporary fix. So, I looked around for other motion analysis labs in the NYC area to get their opinions…

I contacted the NYU Movement Lab I had heard about through Tom Igoe at ITP and was lucky enough to attend one of their game tests this past Wednesday night.

You can see one of the visualizations from the session here. They’re basically working on ways to use motion capture technology with patterns of reflective dots on beach balls to engage large groups of people in collaborative games. They were set up in an auditorium with about 20 cameras pointing into the space, tracking the balls we threw around. We tested a few different games and 3D drawing programs, and had to work together to hit imaginary targets on the ceiling, play a huge game of Simon, and draw in 3D. They’ll be taking this setup to Ars Electronica in a few weeks.

Then on Friday morning I got a chance to visit a lab I’ve had my eye on for a while now – the Leon Root, MD Motion Analysis Laboratory at the Hospital for Special Surgery here in NYC.

The director, Dr. Hillstrom, was kind enough to show me around and talk about all the work they do there. One of their research engineers there is also a PhD student at NYU – in the Ergonomics & Biomechanics program – so I’m looking forward to meeting up again and talking about how our labs might collaborate on some projects. It also turns out that a former classmate of mine at the University of Delaware has been a post doc there for a while now – small world! I’m looking forward to seeing their posters and presentations at the American Society of Biomechanics conference next week.

So other than visiting labs, I’ve been reading up on robotics and gait analysis to try to prepare for some of the work I’ll be doing. We have a lot of research topics to explore so I’m working on clarifying some of that. I’m funded for the first year of my PhD through the lab, but after that we have to work on getting funding from research grants and hopefully through a fellowship or two. I’ll be applying for a few fellowships and scholarships over the next few months, including the Guggenheim Fellowship (a 1 year program) and the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (a 3-year program). Fingers crossed!

These are mostly notes for a discussion section I’m leading at ITP Camp, but I thought gathering them with links here would be useful.

In this 1.5 hour session we’ll talk about motors, torque, and how things move. Then we’ll open in up into a studio/discussion so we can talk about the ideas of the participants and how we can turn them into reality. You can come just for the how-to and discussion, but you’ll get more out of it you have a real project idea in mind that could benefit from what you’ll learn.

Mechanisms and Things That Move, Class 5

Making Things Move: DIY Mechanisms for Inventors, Hobbyists, and Artists

These are mostly notes for a discussion section I’m leading at ITP Camp, but I thought gathering them with links here would be useful.

James Dyson Award
–What they’re looking for:
* demonstrates a significant and practical purpose, offering real benefits to the end user
* is ideally a working prototype
* is designed with sustainability in mind
* is commercially viable
–Awards
–Eligibility

How to come up with the next best thing…

1) Start – Now
Ignore the lizard

2) Find the Product Opportunity Gap (POG)
Become USER driven, not TECHNOLOGY driven
-story of the alarm clock

Where OXO is positioned – with help from Smart Design

Find the pain, brainstorm a solution.

Brainstorming techniques:
Individual vs. Group
Alphabet
Generate as many ideas as possible

Narrow down your idea… weighted matrix

3) Get your $hit together
Learn what you need to know, or assemble a team of people who already know it. It helps to be T-shaped and recruit T-shaped people.

That’s where ITP Camp comes in!

Follow Your Pez Dispenser
Practice Your Pitch

*A lot of these notes are from Creating Breakthrough Products. Here’s a link to the book website and where you can buy the book

I’m considering enrolling in a Mechanical Engineering PhD program at NYU-Poly in the Applied Dynamics and Optimization Lab under Dr. Joo Kim in the fall. I would basically get to study biomechanics and robotics for a few years and work with fun tools like his new Vicon motion capture and analysis system. That way in a few years I can start my own lab somewhere, teach a few classes, continue consulting work, etc. So I would be a doctor, but not the kind that helps people.

Ben and I just launched our Kickstarter project yesterday to raise money for installing SADbot in Eyebeam’s window gallery. We already have four backers in less than 24 hours! Come join the fun at Kickstarter and then come by Eyebeam starting June 8th to see SADbot in action (if it’s sunny).

I also just signed up to teach a session at ITP Camp for grown ups this summer at NYU. It’s a mash-up of an artist residency and a summer camp for adults that spans the whole month of June and there are tons of interesting sessions shaping up. I signed up to teach a 1.5 hour session on Making Things Move on Monday June 7th.

I’ve been hard at work on Making Things Move at Eyebeam lately, and will also be working on an installation for the window gallery over the next month or so. Ben, part of the tech team here, had an idea to install a interactive solar powered drawing machine in the window gallery that passers by can communicate with through sensors on the inside of the glass. We’ve decided to call it the Seasonally Affected Drawing robot – SADbot for short. Since the power for the motors will come from the sun, it will only be active and moving when the sun is shining. It should be up in early June, in time for the Re:Group exhibit at Eyebeam. If you’ve never been, it would be a great time to visit! Open studio hours are 2-4pm on Tuesdays, and the bookstore is open 12-6pm Tues – Sat. We’ll be working through the details of the installation over the next month, so if you stop by you might catch a glimpse of us on the roof installing solar panels and/or mirrors.

I got an email today that started:
______________
greetings Dustyn,

where to begin? I’ve been a fan for some time but honestly think I’ve only ever seen-in-person a solar charging station. I have yet to encounter your work at Eyebeam, but I hope your residency is going well.
______________

I can’t think of a better way to catch someone’s attention! The email was from Nick Normal, who formally offered me an invitation to participate in the upcoming World Maker Faire he is co-organizing that will be held at the New York Hall of Science in Queens this September 25th and 26th. I was going to propose something anyway after attending the original Maker Faire in San Francisco for the first time this year, but it was certainly nice to get formally invited. If nothing else, it means that I’m internet famous enough to be on his radar somehow. Which is excellent, because we’ve never met.

While working on my NYU class on combining simple machines, I stumbled upon this gear ring. Ben Hopson collaborated with entrepreneur Glen Liberman of Kinekt Design to realize this first piece in what will be a line of kinetic jewelry. My first reaction: I want one. My second reaction: I want to collaborate with them on future designs! I took an intro to silversmithing class a few years back at Studio 174, which has since split into Liloveve and Fitzgerald Jewelry. They both do beautiful work, but alas, no gears. I’ll definitely be in touch with Ben Hopson and Kinekt soon.

Actually, the offer from American Express was mailed to Dustyn Robot, my official company name:

You see, Dustyn Robot is registered as a sole proprietorship. In NY state (not sure about others), you can’t register a sole proprietorship with a name that ends in an S that makes it plural – believe me, I tried. So when I register as an LLC one of these days, it will be Dustyn Robots, but for now, I’m just one robot.

Although it would be nice to have a shiny gold business card, I track all my income and expenses on my existing cards through mint.com and it’s working out great for now. Actually, I just finished my 2009 taxes and it took the whole weekend, so I’m looking forward to using mint.com to categorize expenses as I go this year. Cheers to free online tools!

One of the perks of being an adjunct at NYU is access to a professional development fund to support activities like attendance at an academic conference, meeting or other relevant professional development activity. I applied for the maximum of $1,000 to support travel to Maker Faire in San Francisco this May, and just got a letter in the mail today saying that I was awarded the grant! The Maker Faire lines up well with my residency at Eyebeam to finish my book, Making Things Move, and hopefully after I get a taste of what it’s all about I can participate more formally in the Maker Faire in New York in September.