Occupy Outer Space -
Arecibo Mike -
2421: Final
While my proposal invloved a very ambitious idea in which I would control an animation using a guitar. The final result ended up being more closely related to my first assignment, the namesake of my page.
Inspired by the Arecibo message, I liked the idea of distilling information about humanity with the least amount a data possible. I wanted to combine this method with another the content of another messegage we sent to potential extraterrestrial life, the Voyager Golden records. The Voyager probe, which was launched into space in 1977, contains two golden records, record players, and instructions on how to use them. The idea it that aliens could find these and lean about life on earth. I thinks it's a little absurd to expect aliens to use a record player, but I embraced the idea, and I ended up making the guitar that I originally planned to use for the animation. I think of it as the intsrument that I would send to aliens with instructions for them on how to play it, so they can recreate sounds humans created thousands of years ago, ligtyears away.
I used a combination of gaffer tape and copper tape to isoltate each string and each fret, effectively creating a button push when a string is fretted. I used five frets, so a total of 30 inputs to the Arduino Mega that sends the data to the computer. I can show chords by running current through all the strings, but to show individual notes like I do in the final project, I put copper tape on my fingers, so the signal is only received when my fingers touch the strings. I filmed timelapses of making it.
CLICK HERE FOR THE TIMELAPSES
I use p5 serial control to send the inputs from the Arduino, so I can control viusals in the p5 web editor.
It's not really useful other than seeing the code, but I've embedded the p5 sketch below.
Here is one of the output from the p5 sketch. It's the refrain from Elliott Smith's Waltz #2. The lyrics go, "I'm never going to know you now, but I'm going to love you anyhow." I think it's a nice message for humans to send into outer space for aliens to maybe receive long after we're gone. Also the vocal medody is really emphasized in the instrumental. It's as if you understand what he's saying without ever hearing the lyrics.
While my proposal invloved a very ambitious idea in which I would control an animation using a guitar. The final result ended up being more closely related to my first assignment, the namesake of my page.
Inspired by the Arecibo message, I liked the idea of distilling information about humanity with the least amount a data possible. I wanted to combine this method with another the content of another messegage we sent to potential extraterrestrial life, the Voyager Golden records. The Voyager probe, which was launched into space in 1977, contains two golden records, record players, and instructions on how to use them. The idea it that aliens could find these and lean about life on earth. I thinks it's a little absurd to expect aliens to use a record player, but I embraced the idea, and I ended up making the guitar that I originally planned to use for the animation. I think of it as the intsrument that I would send to aliens with instructions for them on how to play it, so they can recreate sounds humans created thousands of years ago, ligtyears away.
I used a combination of gaffer tape and copper tape to isoltate each string and each fret, effectively creating a button push when a string is fretted. I used five frets, so a total of 30 inputs to the Arduino Mega that sends the data to the computer. I can show chords by running current through all the strings, but to show individual notes like I do in the final project, I put copper tape on my fingers, so the signal is only received when my fingers touch the strings. I filmed timelapses of making it.
CLICK HERE FOR THE TIMELAPSES
I use p5 serial control to send the inputs from the Arduino, so I can control viusals in the p5 web editor.
It's not really useful other than seeing the code, but I've embedded the p5 sketch below.
Here is one of the output from the p5 sketch. It's the refrain from Elliott Smith's Waltz #2. The lyrics go, "I'm never going to know you now, but I'm going to love you anyhow." I think it's a nice message for humans to send into outer space for aliens to maybe receive long after we're gone. Also the vocal medody is really emphasized in the instrumental. It's as if you understand what he's saying without ever hearing the lyrics.