The Simulation of the Brush Stroke Based on Force Feedback Technology

A novel simulation method of the brush stroke is proposed by applying force feedback technology to the virtual painting process. The relationship between force and the brush deformation is analyzed, and the spring-mass model is applied to construct the brush model, which can realistically simulate the brush morphological changes according to the force exerted on it. According to the deformation of the brush model at a sampling point, the brush footprint between the brush and the paper is calculated in real time. Then, the brush stroke is obtained by superimposing brush footprints along sampling points, and the dynamic painting of the brush stroke is implemented. The proposed method has been successfully applied to the virtual painting system based on the force feedback technology. In this system, users can implement the painting in real time with a Phantom Desktop haptic device, which can effectively enhance reality to users

A proposal of calligraphy learning assistant system with letter portion practice function using projection mapping

Purpose For several decades, calligraphy has been popular among people in Japan, China, and even in the world. Traditionally, a teacher teaches how to write letters on a paper with a brush, and a student will imitate them by referring to the model letters. However, if a teacher is not available, this method will not be applicable either. This study aims to propose a calligraphy learning assistant system (CLAS) using projection mapping, which allows a student to learn calligraphy by him/herself. Design/methodology/approach By following the letter writing video of a teacher that is directly projected on the paper, a student is able to learn the stroke order and writing speed in addition to the letter shape. Moreover, the letter portion practice function is incorporated in CLAS to allow a learner to repeat practicing hard portions of each letter. Findings For evaluations, the authors implemented CLAS using Raspberry Pi and open-source software and asked students to use it. The results confirmed that CLAS is effective in improving calligraphy skills of novice students. Originality/value With CLAS, a student can practice calligraphy using a conventional brush, ink and paper at a desk while looking at the model letter writing of a teacher projected on the paper using projection mapping

Momentum

Momentum was an exhibition of work by 8 applied artists who incorporate digital technologies in the creation of their artworks. The exhibition included 7 original objects created by Illner, using a combination of traditional craft-based and digital technologies such as rapid prototyping and laser engraving, and in materials such as paper, glass and silver. The show took place at Craft in the Bay, which is a leading centre for showcasing new crafts in Wales, with an internationally recognised reputation. The show travelled to the University of Hertfordshire (UH Galleries), a national centre for the theory of practice-led research (2012/13). An accompanying symposium brought together the artists the issues and themes arising from the use of new technologies within contemporary crafts. Illner's pieces were also shown in Framework Gallery (UH) as part of a group show The Printed Image (2012). Illner's work for this show was "an enquiry and exploration with materials, processes and techniques." (Dr. Cathy Treadaway, Momentum catalogue) Illner is described as a maker with “a playful and creative approach to materials and forms – these contrasting qualities are fundamental to her way of thinking, making and inspiring others.” (Felicity Cooke, Momentum catalogue). This work continues Illner's ongoing research project exploring how the digital can be embedded within materials, to create new possibilities in form and technique. Includes collaboration with other craftspeople and technical specialists, in order to develop innovative technical solutions to material connections. Illner’s current research use laser engraving on layered glass to create virtual imagery through shadow and reflection, challenging viewers to reflect on their perception of materials and their visual characteristics. Illner's practice-led research has also been shown in UK and European galleries over the last 20 years. Her work features in the Crafts Council and other private collections

The Crisis of Language in Contemporary Japan: Reading, Writing, and New Technology

My dissertation is an ethnographically inspired theoretical exploration of the crises of reading and writing in contemporary Japan. Each of the five chapters examines concrete instances of reading and writing practices that have been problematized in recent decades. By calling attention to underlying moral assumptions, established sociocultural protocols, and socio-technological conditions of the everyday, I theorize the concept of embodied reading and writing thresholds. The scope of analysis is partly informed by popular discourse decrying a perceived decline in reading and writing proficiency among Japanese youth. This alleged failing literacy figures as a national crisis under the assumption that the futurity of children's national language proficiency metonymically correlates with the future well being of its national cultural body. In light of heightened interests in the past, present, and future of books, and a series of recent state interventions on the prospect of "national" text culture, it is my argument that ongoing tensions surrounding the changing media landscape and symbolic relations to the world do not merely reflect changes in styles of language, structures of spatiotemporal awareness, or forms of knowledge production. Rather, they indicate profound transformations and apprehensions among the lives mediated and embodied by the very system of signification that has come under scrutiny in the post-Lost Decade Japan (03/1991-01/2002). My dissertation offers an unique point of critical intervention into 1) various forms of tension arising from the overlapping media technologies and polarized population, 2) formations of reading and writing body (embodiment) at an intersection of heterogeneous elements and everyday disciplining, 3) culturally specific conditions and articulations of the effects of "universal" technologies, 4) prospects of "proper" national reading and writing culture, and 5) questions of cultural transformation and transmission. I hope that the diverse set of events explored in respective chapters provide, as a whole, a broader perspective of the institutional and technological background as well as an intimate understanding of culturally specific circumstances in Japan. Insofar as this is an attempt to conduct a nuanced inquiry into the culturally specific configurations and articulations of a global phenomenon, each ethnographic moment is carefully contextualized to reflect Japan specific conditions while avoiding the pitfall of culturalist assumptions. Understanding how an existing system of representation, technological imperatives and sociohistorical predicaments have coalesced to form a unique constellation is the first step in identifying how the practice of reading and writing becomes a site of heated national debate in Japan. Against theories that problematize the de-corporealizing effects of digital technology within reading and writing, I emphasize the material specificity of contemporary reading and writing practices

Sensitive Calligraphy Robot & Design Review Creation

The calligraphy robot is a proof-of-concept platform for a high precision combined control system with position and force control. The platform is a gantry system and an end-effector with series elastic actuators. PVT control was utilized to achieve smooth curves without noticeable shaking or jagged lines. This design has potential implications for surgical robots. The Cornell Cup competition required design reviews to mimic a professional engineering process. However, there is a lack of helpful guides to critically approaching the creation of a design review. The Cornell Cup reviews are the analytical basis for a study of choices made during creation and the forces that influence those choices which culminated in a handout guide to help other students improve their design reviews

Contemplative Space: Design for Generative Parametric Tessellations Applied to a Shell Structure

This thesis focuses on surface articulation of a shell structure constructed through a generative, parametric, modular design process. The shell form uses vault topology that adapts to varying site conditions such as topography and shape and that serves as contemplative space. Contemplative and aesthetic qualities have been achieved by analyzing aspects of spatial vernacular muqarnas and emulating aspects of their geometry within new surface ornament. By abstracting muqarnas, and exploring aniconic character informed by both vernacular precedent and contemporary parametric design methods, the design offers a specialized new interpretation of this historical type of ornament. The design proposes an expandable master system. Two strategies based on this system are illustrated, both organized with similar components: columns (load-bearing modules) and bridges (modules for covering spans). Different behaviours are exhibited: first, symmetrical and homogeneous form and, second, non-symmetrical and heterogeneous form. The second layer of this complex system uses the topology of a vault system. A decoration system proposed for articulating interior-oriented surfaces is based on algorithmic geometry. This system offers two different characters, first inspired by muqarnas as a specific vernacular ornament, primarily from traditional Persian architecture, and second as a non-cultural, neutral ornament originating from computational design and achieved by deformation of mesh division. Software tool use is illustrated, demonstrating how scripted Grasshopper software components hosting custom C# code passages are used within a multi-layer design process. Research informing this design focuses on historical and contemporary architecture. Contemporary precedents, “Arabesque Wall,” by Benjamin Dillenburger and Michael Hansmeyer, and “La Voûte de LeFevre” by Brandon Clifford and Wes McGee are described. An analysis of these precedents explores how emerging digital technologies informed by history, can create a new design ecology and culture. Additional discussion considers cultural and phenomenological observations and aesthetics of the design in its physical and psychological aspects, considered in contexts that range from topology of the form to visual perception of the internal “contemplative space.” This investigation indicates points of contact between arabesque art as vernacular ornament and contemporary, computer-based art. Computational and parametric design is considered with regards to its effect on contemporary design culture. Parametric strategies, software, and C# coding used in the thesis are illustrated. The spatial ornament known as muqarnas is analyzed as one example of algorithmic ornament, illustrated through a contemporary “art of the knot” designed using parametric tools. In the last part of the research, features of the vault system are demonstrated historically and through individual examples of each kind. In parallel, contemporary shell structure and form optimization by means of computational simulation and morphogenesis are investigated. The parametric system developed in the thesis design provides an opportunity to design a complex geometrical system that can be applied to shell-like envelopes. Design studies included within the thesis feature free-standing shelters capable of hosting a variety of public or private activities. Emphasizing visual and decorative qualities, visualizations of the applied design system are developed and positioned within sites in different locations