Medialab Prado

The OpenLab Friday workshops propose a collaborative workspace on creative uses for electronics and programming. Participants may both propose projects for development and collaborate on projects proposed by other participants. The working groups, which will be formed by Engineering students and external participants from other subject areas, will be structured in two modules:

1. Physical computing and new interfaces for musical expression
2. Artificial vision applied to interactive facilities and the scenic arts

Target audience:

artists, architects, engineers, programmers, educators, etc.

Dates:

16th, 23rd, 30th November

14th, 21st December

11th, 18th January

Timetable:

17:30H - 20:30H

Location:

Electronics Laboratory at the Higher Technical School of Industrial Engineering (ETSI Industriales) (c/ José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2. 28006 - Madrid)

Number of vacancies:

15 per module

Registration deadline:

Applications to participate in the workshops must be sent in before 31st October.

Selection:

In selecting the participants, the following aspects will be valued:

• Personal interest and artistic and/or research experience in areas that are related to the issues proposed
• Willingness to collaborate
• Interest and quality of proposals presented
• Technical knowledge related to the workshop

NOTE: Applicants are asked to inform on the application form if they have their own laptop to take to the workshops. This is solely for organisational purposes and under no circumstances shall this be taken into consideration when selecting the participants.

I. Module on physical computing and new interfaces for musical expression

Tutors/coordinators: Ángela Ramos, Igor González, Enrique Tomás, Enrique Esteban

Contents:

Development of small electronic designs, production of robots with low-cost materials and designing musical instruments that use sensors to control sound.

Creation of interactive objects

• Sensors and actuators that use different interfaces to allow for interaction between the real and the virtual environments.
• Experimentation with the possibilities of wireless technology in interactive facilities.

Electronic technology applied to sound and music:

• Designing new electronic music instruments with or without micro-controllers
• Research on capturing musical gestures using sensors
• Composition of sound structures using computers, with Pure Data and Max/MSP. Introduction to Computer Music.
• Final project: creation of an electronic music Big Band: designing and producing instruments and composing works for the group.

During the course of the workshops and on a parallel basis, specific projects will be presented with the possibility of experimentation/ collaboration.

• José, un robot autista (José, an autistic robot), a project by Ricardo Iglesias, Mario Ruiz and Gerald Kogler. Research and creation of a robot that does not respond to normal external stimuli, demonstrating autistic symptoms of refusing social interaction and the absence of communication. Experiments will be performed with the Roomba vacuum cleaning robot. (This proposal is being developed as part of the Madrid Procesos Project, Avam – Artistas Visuales Asociados de Madrid.

• e-Flute: A prototype of an electronic flute, by Enrique Esteban.

Tools:

Arduino platform and Processing, Pure Data and EMI environments. Arduino platform and Processing, Pure Data and EMI environments.

Number of vacancies: 15

II. Module on artificial vision

Tutors/coordinators: Martín Nadal, Jorge Cano

Contents:

• Creation of audiovisual facilities that allow for interaction using a video camera (or other elements, such as microphones, etc.).
• Computer vision techniques and strategies for handling images and sound in real time.
• Application to interactive facilities and the scenic arts.

During the course of the workshops and on a parallel basis, specific dance and drama projects will be presented, with the possibility of experimentation/ collaboration with the latter.

Tools:

OpenFrameWorks

Number of vacancies: 15