Reflections on the ITP Spring Show 2008
I am always interested in what is going on at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU since I had graduated from there back in 1996. Each year the possibilities grow greater and greater. What fascinated me this year was the inclusion of energy efficient devices and installations. These technologies are not only needed but are also getting more accessible to designers and artists. Here is my friend Derek Wright checking out a solar powered GPS unit called a ‘Solar Walker’:
This device designed by Justin Downs is to help track and care for lions in Kenya by the ‘Lion Guardians.’
What can we expect next year? I think that the availability of cheap printable solar cells from NanoSolar and Konarka will make for a lot of great new ideas and I can’t wait to see what will be done with them, especially at ITP. This goes towards what I consider ‘user friendly environmentalism’ (more on that later). Solar cells will also be more efficient taking advantage of a fuller spectrum of the sun by the use of nanocrystals.
Another interesting item by Jaewook Shin was called Blogicks, which combines a Lego like building tool with social networking by capturing the building and putting online share for others to build or to remember what you built after you have taken your blocks apart. The kind of thing you wished you had when you were a kid and probably still wouldn’t mind playing with.
And finally, as there is always so many good ideas at these events to be quite overwhelming I leave you with the Brushbots, small little critters that paint their own world.
Technorati Tags: ITP