#technical observation

The motion detection function I have used as part of my prototype has been taken from the following source (I have used Recipe 32). However, there are a few things I want to mention in relation to this. The output action of the motion detection has become 0s and 1s. These outputs control the first camera in the prototype. On the other hand, the idea has now developed in having two cameras instead of one. The first will be low cost camera which will follow for movement in the park. The second one should have night vision and all other CCTV extras - it will be a more complicated and modern camera. The end result of the motion detection will activate this second camera. When somebody is moving in the area of the park, the low cost camera will detect him, then it will send 1 as a result and the second camera will be activated. 

Here is a quick update on my Max/MSP project. I have manage to do the following things with the audio controls:

Access input device for recording custom messages:

open button for creating a file to store recorded information

Toggle control to start and stop recording

Access output device for playing recorded file:

Open button for file selection

Toggle control for play and stop of selected file

Access list with pre-recorded messages to play:

Welcome

Park rules

Warnings

Weather

Time

I thought it would be a good idea to share here some general ideas on my project, so that I can make it more clear to all readers and followers. If you have followed the blog so far, you probably know by now that I have observed one Edinburgh based park for a couple of weeks and I have made some conclusions on its usage and the ways it can be improved. As part of the observation, I had the chance to communicate with local residents and other people using the space, which made me realise that there is plenty of work which can be done for the park in order to make it more friendly and safe place for everyone. 

Based on my observation experience, I have created an idea for an interactive system, which can be implemented within the park. I have also created a design fiction of this intervention, and I'm currently in the process of developing a working prototype, based on my ideas. I'm using MAX/MSP for this technical part of the project. So, what is my intervention all about. Here is a summary of my idea:

1. The intervention is an interactive screen, which has different functions, meant to be used by the public while in the park.

2. It has the ability to greet people and provide them with useful information such as weather forecast, rules in the park, some warnings, current time, etc.

3. The screen has a motion detection sensor which gets activated when somebody enters the park premises. It works by using a camera which can record the person while in the park.

4. In an ideal situation, the screen is able to answer some questions and recognises different faces. If a person is a regular visitor, it is being greeted in a different way - the system acknowledges his return to this space.

5. The screen also has the capability of turning on or off the lights in the park. (At the current moment, there are no lights installed in the park)

I have spent the last few days figuring out how to make my software prototype work. I think that I'm having good progress on my main concept, but I'm not sure how I'll develop all of the features. So far, using MAX/MSP, I have made the following things:

1. The prototype reads data from my laptop camera and displays it as "live video"

2. The prototype generates a list of available devices and option to choose between them

3. Start and Stop access to the camera in form of buttons

4. Made a "Clear" button to clean the list of devices

I'm sharing here some progress screenshots, for reference: