Recent Projects

Christopher Hall

Experimental Media | Interactive Design

Recent Projects:

Below is a selection of projects I have created or worked on in the pursuit of creating engaging user experiences. Some are practical, some playful, and others are outright crazy. All are driven by a sense of narrative while exploring the intersection of technology and human behavior.

SIM

Now artists all over the world can have their music "mastered" by accomplished engineers at arguably the top studio facility in the world, at a fraction of the normal cost. "Mastering," for the uninitiated, the process of finalizing a record for record label approval, radio airplay, and mass duplication.While the concept of "internet mastering" certainly isn't a new one, SIM is the first service to offer a comprehensive, one-size-fits-all solution for any artist - major, independent, or novice - with a trusted name like Sony Music Studios behind it. While the service is open all customers, SIM has been specifically tailored for artists who use popular social networking sites for promotion, such as MySpace, PureVolume, and GarageBand. SIM is well on its way to joining iTunes and MySpace as essential tools for all artists in the digital domain. .

Brewery Management System

The Brewery Management System is comprised of a mesh network of wireless sensors and control points allowing the brewer to access this brewery from anywhere in the world. Temperature, light exposure, PH and density can be remotely monitored through a web interface. SMS messages can be sent to the brewers cell phone to alert of conditions that could possibly damage inventory. Basic brewery operations can be triggered via cell phone and a web interface.

TooFastForTracks ™

The Too Fast For Tracks™ is an exciting new system that allows it's user to turn any space into a racetrack for their Too Fast For Tracks Vehicle™. By placing wireless beacons around the room the user can guide their vehicle around obstacles to the finish line. Users are able to set up complicated race courses with tricky maneuvers or they can challenge friend to race .

» Visit the project | » Recent sightings

GO!!!

This modern interpretation of an ancient game allows players to compete through a network connection. In the game of Go, the board plays an important ritualistic aspect that is notably missing in the online versions. The Networked Go Board addresses this issue by providing a hand crafted physical board for online players. As in the original game the board's form and materials play an important role. This redesigned go board strikes a balance between the modern and traditional using hand shaped hardwoods and glass encased electronics.

PacManhattan

PacManhattan is a large-scale urban game that utilizes the New York City grid to recreate the 1980's video game sensation Pac-Man. This analog version of Pac-man was developed to explore what happens when games are removed from their "little world" of tabletops, televisions and computers and placed in the larger "real world" of street corners, and cities. Using cell-phones, Wi-Fi, and custom software designed by the Pac-Manhattan team, players were tracked from a central location and their progress was broadcast to thousands of internet viewers around the world.

» Visit the project

Monkey TV

Inspired by the Fisher-Price PXL-2000, Monkey TV allows children to create edit and broadcast their own television shows. Utilizing digital camera technology and flash memory and video on demand servers, Users create short news and entertainment pieces that relate to their own lives. The content can then be uploaded to the Monkey TV server where it can be broadcast for friends and family to see. Weekly scheduled shows will encourage children to send in stories relating to topics off the week. Monkey TV takes the neighborhood talent show to a global level.

Fred's House

A system of aquarium sensors that allow a tank owner to “Log in” to their pet’s habitat. Water quality, temperature, flow and ambient light are all continuously measured and reported via a network connection. The fish can be remotely fed and minor adjustments can be made to the water quality via SMS messaging. A Series of sensors allow the tanks inhabitants to "talk" to the owner via a java chat server.

Palindrome

An experimental video documentary that creates a unique viewing experience each time the DVD is loaded. Through software manipulation of the DVD player’s memory registers, Palindrome attempts to alter the emotional context of the original piece and allows the viewer an opportunity to take part in the story. Inspired by Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar and The Mixquiahuala Letters by Ana Castillo, Palindrome explores the notion of the story between the edits.

LOG

A new interface for musical expression designed to map a series of physical gestures to musical notes. The log utilizes pressure sensitive wooden pads and a rotary encoder to a custom designed synthesizer. The performer presses on the wooden pads to generate a single note. By rotating the main control handle, the performer can adjust pitch while additional notes can be added by applying pressure to the control handle. One of the unique aspects of the Log’s sound is its ability to lock in one note while bending several others creating a dense fluid sound.

Timeline

A web-based interface for sharing personal stories. Through this unique context based structure, timeline organizes personal artifacts to show us how our lives are intertwined. Personal mementos are uploaded to Timeline’s central server where they are organized by keywords, date, and location. Users can then view their mementos through a graphical interface that maps special moments in their lives to those of our friends and family thus helping to illuminate how our lives impact others, and others impact ours.

Bottles

Designed to help monitor and control a large rapidly changing inventory, Bottles is a custom solution that dynamically generates menus based on current in-house stock. Inventory data is collected easily utilizing a hand held Bluetooth enabled bar code scanner and a wifi network. As the data is collected, menus and sales data are generated on the fly and can be posted to a businesses web site or printed as a pre formatted menu.

DiRC (digital running companion)

A mobile system designed to allow competition between amateur athletes. Location and time are logged in a portable GPS device as a user runs a route of choice. The data is uploaded to a web housed database where it can be made public in the form of a challenge to other runners. The portable device will also allow for real time progress updates by comparing personal past and current performance milestones.

Chris [at] sticksandbugs [dot] com