Flappy Bird And A Robot Puppy: A Look Back On Tribeca Hacks <Hardware>

In February, Tribeca Hacks <Hardware> took place in the Made in NY Media Center by IFP. This two weekend hackathon in partnership with Alex Reuben gave storytellers with no background in programming or electronics the chance to design interactive systems using Arduino and Processing, and to produce a working piece of interactive new media art.

The Hack was a great success and made for a fun robot party!

Special thanks to graphic designer John Bloch, and very special thanks to Alex Reben and the Made in NY Media Center for making this Hack possible!

Check out some of the projects below:

Flappy Bird in a Box
Participant: Fawn Qui
Her Project: A physical playable version of Flappy Bird the App
 

Little Drummer Bot
Participant: Maja Simone Cerar
Her Project: A vibration motor ("hand" of robot) that changes rhythms and tempo based on Arduino input from an ultrasonic distance sensor ("eyes" of robot).  This can be used as a free-standing installation or to play drums, bells, violin strings, etc.

Can this machine love you?
Participant: David Rosfeld
His Project: A series of interactions with a laptop computer explores the nature of love.

The City Speaks…Back
Participant: Jessica Clark
Her Project: Based on her ongoing social photography experiment, The City Speaks, Jessica created an Arduino-based prototype for simulating/stimulating responses to my photos of street art—this installation included automated responses triggered by buttons featuring related photos, and then asked participants to record how a particular image "spoke" to them in exchange for a sticker of that photo that they could keep.

ACE (Arduino Controlled Experimentation) Box (v.1)
Participant: Melissa Hays
Her Project: The Skinner inspired "ACEBox v.1" (Arduino Controlled Experimentation) Box (v. 1) was developed for exploring the relationship of visual and mental stimulation (via RGB lighting & photo-booth) in the age of instant media conditioning.

Rufus the RoboPuppu
Participant: Rebecca Poulson
Her Project: A puppy that wags his tail when he detects human interaction based on sound or proximity.


The Spectrum of Ultra Violet
Participant: Debra Anderson
Her Project: Visualized audio recording of Ultra Violet reading from her memoir: "Famous for Fifteen Minutes: My Years with Andy Warhol" using the processing code language to be curated in Debra’s site-specific project installation at Volta NY art show March 6-10. Arduino was used to create an interactive art piece through motion sensors.

Distance and Intimacy
Participant: Suvi Andrea Helminen
Her Project:  Depending on the audience distance to a screen a collage of voices and still images change. As the audience moves closer to the screen the experience unfolds in a range between how others perceive you, and how you see yourself. The installation was created using the Arduino ultrasonic distance sensor and feeding into Processing.