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Sensing the pulse of gsd site-speci c biometric project Context

GSD building is conceptualized as a palace of design production. Opened studios stretched on as well as their authors. Personal spaces became publicly reachable; sometimes even consciously exposed. GSD just like a living organism breathes design activity. However, in overwhelming context of studio terraces, students are sometimes overexposed. Pressure of design assignments, readings and terms, together with visual dispersion and overall dynamics mark GSD as creative, but latently stressful place. This project questions relation between personal and collective life rhythm inside institution like this, and possibilities of visualizing it and

gsd studio terraces

proposed. First one is real-time sensing station which should provide response to spatial conditions of the studio terraces, and second one is actuation station which should visualize personal as well as collective heartbeat of GSD in real-time.

gsd studio terraces

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Tube Installation
Tube Installation is based on Biofeedback method - the process of becoming aware of various physiological functions using instruments that provide information on the activity of those same systems, with a goal of being able to manipulate them at will. Processes that can be controlled include brainwaves, muscle tone, skin conductance, heart rate and pain perception. Biofeedback may be used to improve health or performance, and the physiological changes often occur in conjunction with changes to thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Installation has two parts: interactive screen with future ambient, and the room where sensing and visualizing (biofeedback) process is taking place. Before entering installation person have to pick one or multiple points on RGB color palette (interactive screen). This choice will be crucial for making personalized ambience inside installation. If person chose just one point (one particular color) this color should gradually appear during the sensing process inside the room (as the heart pulse gets will be starting color atmosphere (highest heartbeat rate), and other should be transit point to the last color point which should determinate ending atmosphere inside installation (when one reach lowest constant heart pulse).

biofeedback model - wikipedia

interactive screen - illustration

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This way person can design its own real-time color ambiences and data collected this way could be used to statistically determinate most calm or most nervous color, or the most popular color routes. After person enters the installation, connects to a sensor and take comfortable, static position, screen on top of the installation (above the persons head) will start to emit color according to persons choice and transform installation into real-time responsive architectural system. As heart pulse gets slower, according to personalized color path. Since color transformation is controlled with heart pulse, slowing down becomes personalized and manipulated journey through color spectrum. Real-time visualization of heartbeat is bringing to consciousness importance of controlling your own breathing and pulse, especially in stressful situations of dense productivity and social dynamics.

tube installation - model

tube installation - photomontage

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Heart of the GSD

Heart of GSD is installation which should actuate personal and collective heartbeats measured in Tube installation. This means that these two installations should communicate through wireless network. Every personal measurement in ambient room will be transmitted and actuated in real-time on the Heart of GSD installation using sound, movement and color. Bigger part of installation will be meterological balloon settled on the wooden base with installed subwoofer inside. Pulse measured in BPM will be transformed in pulse sound (heart beat bass sound) actuated through Subwoofer beneath weather balloon. Because of small weight of balloon, sound frequency of subwoofer would not only serve as audio actuator but also as physical pulsation actuator. This audio and physical pulsation should be actuated simultaneously with the projection also based on pulse (BPM). Therefore, in order to design dislocated real-time beating human heart, there should be code which will translate pulse data expressed in BPM to the visual pulse (color pulse), and audio pulse (bass).

heart installation - photomontage

gsd installation

- model

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First 30 seconds of each pulse measured in the Tube installation will be memorized and application code will count collective average pulse rhythm after each pulse input (BPM). Average collective pulse, actuated in the same manner as personal pulse, will function as a screensaver, since it will be active just when personal heartbeat measuring is not taking place. On wooden base of Heartbeat installation should be installed screen which would show mode of actuation (personal / collective) and pulse rate (BPM). By actuating heartbeat in real time, this installation tends to visualize collective design activity and transform GSD building into living organism.

project functioning - model

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Urban scale
It would be interesting to see how this idea would function in urban surrounding. In this sense urban equipment could become sensing station place where pulse sensors could be implemented. It is important to map different pieces of urban or transportation equipment which are frequently in contact with human capillary tissue (benches or handrails in subway). Different pulse results could be measured according to different urban location, for example in the bus station and the park, or among two different parks. Pulse rate i.e. amount of stress should be visualized on the map in real-time and this data could have great value in determinating which are the most stressful or the most peaceful parts of the city. Also this could have big impact on future design proposals especially in context of landscape architecture, urban design and design for public domain. If we introduce possibility of visualization as a main attractor for collective pulse sensing, it could be possible to redesign urban ambiences with transforming light conditions or projections according

urban stress visualizer - illustration

Therefore, by using almost the same code and technology from GSD biometric project, stressful and boring ride in a tram or a subway could become realtime therapeutic session which can make people to use public transportation more frequently, or it could even have positive effects on negative occurrences in public transport such as violence or pick-pocketing.

subway implementation - illustration

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Commercialization
Commercialization of the project can go in both: private and public direction. Private direction would be transposition of

with its terrace based spatial logic is similar to a similar emotional states among its users. In this case measured using well known psychometrical and factor relation of stress, pulse rate and conscious as well as unconscious perception and use of particular color or ambient. This also applies to public commercialization which has good example in subway biometric project proposed above.

corporative use - illustration

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Components and Budget

Actual components: Processing stations (computers) x 2 600 $ Meteorological balloon 40 $* Subwoofer 70 $* LCD Touch screen 3,5 30 $* Color 128x128 LCD 15 $* LCD screen 200 $ Arduino board x 2 60 $* Pulse sensor 30$* Wires 5$* Additional electronically equipment (electricity cables,) 20 $ Additional physical equipment (construction parts,) 50 $* TOTAL: 1120 $ (all included) *300 $ (using GSD equipment) Virtual components: No virtual components in budget

pulse sensor - hardware

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references
Pulse Room is an interactive installation featuring one to three hundred clear incandescent light bulbs, 300 W each and hung from a cable at a height of three metres. The bulbs are uniformly distributed over placed on a side of the room has a sensor that detects the heart rate of participants. When someone holds the interface, a computer detects his or her pulse and exact rhythm of his or her heart. http://www.lozano-hemmer.com/pulse_room. php

pulse room

The idea for Color the Name project came from a desire to give a truthful answer to a simple childish question: Do you know which color that is?. Well of course we do, for it is a simple question and one does not have to be a genius to answer it. But do we really pair the same color values with the same color names? Does that mean that beige means exactly the same color value for all of us? Is there a precise border between crimson and purple? Which values are considered to be blue and which are far too light or greenish for that? How can we tell? Who can we ask? h t t p : / / w w w. c o l o r t h e n a m e . c o m / i n d e x . php?lang=EN&about=1.

color the name - installation

URBAN CYBERNETIC PATENT

Underground Emotional Mapping (2011)

Fig. 1

Patent for Underground Emotional Mapping

( 0 ) Mapping the emotional condition of subway passengers using skin conductance sensors and GPS. ( 1 ) Inventors: Nikola Bojic Correspondence Address: 36 Oxford St Cambridge 02138, MA

Fig. 2

(2) Keywords:biofeedback, subway, stress, skin conductance, sensor, tracking, map, light (3)

Project is based on idea of mesuring emotional state of subway passengers and accordingly influencing on their emotional state by changing light ambience. Background of this project is bio-feedback, psychological method used for stress treatment. Since measurements are based on skin conductance sensors installed inside subway wagon and tracked by GPS, project aims to transform usual subway map to underground emotional map with a final idea of designing smart phone app which should make these geolocated-emotional data publically accessible in real-time.

ABSTRACT

URBAN CYBERNETIC PATENT

Underground Emotional Mapping (2011)
(4)

DESCRIPTION

(5)

TECHNICAL CLAIMS

Project is based on Biofeedback - process of becoming aware of various physiological functions using instruments that provide information on the activity of those same systems, with a goal of being able to manipulate them at will. Processes that can be controlled include brainwaves, muscle tone, skin conductance, heart rate and pain perception. Biofeedback may be used to improve health or performance, and the physiological changes often occur in conjunction with changes to thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Eventually, these changes can be maintained without the use of extra equipment. By incorporating skin conductance sensors in handrails inside subway wagon, it becomes possible to apply biofeedback method on the subway passengers. Using data provided by sensors, it is possible to determine level of emotional arousal (especially stress) and accordingly make changes in light conditions inside wagon which should have therapeutic effect on passenger. Changes in light conditions primarily imply transformations of light color and intensity using existing psychological knowledge on perception and color effects on emotion. This project could also have positive impact on violence and criminal in subway. Data produced by this type of sensing will be geo-located using GPS, and therefore make base for transforming common subway map into underground emotional map. New map produced in real-time has goal of providing information about collective emotional state on one particular subway station or in one particular wagon, or on one particular line. This knowledge could influence not just emotion of passengers but on a broader urban and social system since it potentially can have effect on decision making about riding in subway, or entering in one particular station, as well as on creating routes which are not just pragmatic but also therapeutic and enjoyable. Smart phone app should make this new map accessible and user-friendly to general public. Emotional data provided within this project could also be used for infrastructure management and for further design decisions related to underground and its on-ground socio-spatial context.

Project uses Galvanic Skin Conductance sensors which provide information about human emotional arousal. Sensors are implemented inside handrails and sensing field is expanded to all steel tactile surfaces inside subway wagon. Also, processing unit is installed in every wagon with aim of counting average data of collective emotional arousal. These averages should be counted once per minute in order to provide up to date information. Average data is attached to geo-location, and they are both visualized on map in different color gradients. During the ride changes in emotion should be visualized in real-time on color transformations and this color transformation will be visible as gradient on each subway line as wagon would move. This new map of based on emotion lines not on just subway lines will become part of smart phone application which should enable people to plan their routes not just on principle of shortest path, but on principle of the most relaxing path. Algorithms which balance length of ride and length of relaxation should provide user possibility of choice in planning their routes.