Graffiti Analysis Sculptures

Graffiti Analysis: 3D from Evan Roth on Vimeo.

Graffiti Analysis: Sculptures is a series of new physical sculptures that I am making from motion tracked graffiti data. New software (GA 3D) imports .gml files (Graffiti Markup Language) captured using Graffiti Analysis, creates 3D geometry based on the data and then exports a 3D representation of the tag as a .stl file (a common file format compatible with most 3D software packages including Blender, Maya and 3DS Max). Time is extruded in the Z dimension and pen speed is represented by the thickness of the model at any given point. I then have this data 3D printed to create a physical sculpture that serves as a data visualization of the tag. For the Street and Studio exhibition at the Kunsthalle Wein, I collaborated with an anonymous local Viennese graffiti writer and had the GA sculpture printed in ABS plastic. Graffiti motion data of his tag was captured in the streets (for the first time) at various points around Vienna.

More information (including software, source code, and many more pictures) can be found at Evan's website.

Self-Folding Origami

Robert Wood of Harvard University, Daniela Rus and Erik Demaine at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology take us to a new level of robotic creepiness with self-folding origami.  The device is able to morph itself into new shapes using shape-memory alloys that line the edges of triangular modules.  Each module also sports a strong magnet that holds the final form after a module has executed a desired fold.

3D Printed UAT Shadow Sculpture

Last week I built this shadow sculpture inspired by the cover of the Pulitzer-prize winning book "Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid" this is a 3D-printed form that casts three orthogonal shadows in the shapes of the letters UAT.    After I printed it, I used some blue LEDs and foam-core to build a little display platform for it.

Here is the Inventor part file: UATCube.ipt