https://adam-stephenson.co.uk Adam Stephenson Tue, 29 Oct 2024 19:10:24 +0000 https://adam-stephenson.co.uk en https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/Home Mon, 24 Jul 2023 16:52:52 +0000 Adam Stephenson https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/Home window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-WJBJ464TN9'); Adam Stephenson | Creative Technologist | Developer | Game Designer Creative tech Unity Three.js AR/VR About I’m a Creative Technologist and Games Developer with a focus on interactive works, mainly using game engines to create unique forms of interaction. My work centres around providing custom solutions to unique problems using tech, such as a way to creatively display accessibility content in a live performance or provide a new way for users to physically interact with a piece. I work both digitally and physically, from coding and designing interaction systems to gallery installations and performance capture sessions. My aim is to work alongside creative businesses to design, plan and execute a concept using a novel approach to technology. I am based in Manchester, UK - open for collaboration across the UK and beyond. Don’t hesitate to contact me by email at adam@adam-stephenson.co.uk or on instagram at&nbsp;@adams.creativetech. Projects 2024 ---&nbsp; 2024 --- 2024 --- 2024 --- 2024 --- 2024 --- 2024 --- 2024 --- 2024 --- 2024 --- 2024 --- 2024 --- 2024 --- 2024 --- 2024 --- 2024 --- 2024 --- 2024 --- 2024 --- 2024 --- 2024 --- <img width="1024" height="1024" width_o="1024" height_o="1024" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2199513d70d2be77827cffd7d6ad11ee9932a509fd8ba271ebfafbb25260c40a/hand.png" data-mid="233160938" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2199513d70d2be77827cffd7d6ad11ee9932a509fd8ba271ebfafbb25260c40a/hand.png" /> Choosing Children VR jan - dec 2024unity, vr, accessibility A VR adaptation of Choosing Children, an interactive play written and directed by Ben Fredericks Collaborations. <img width="4080" height="3072" width_o="4080" height_o="3072" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/4e246733bcaf1b3a3135f3ffe0bfe479d41b4f280989c968e76b95acdaa0db4f/PXL_20240513_102838326.jpg" data-mid="220579828" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/4e246733bcaf1b3a3135f3ffe0bfe479d41b4f280989c968e76b95acdaa0db4f/PXL_20240513_102838326.jpg" /> Lightwerk nov 2023 - may 2024unity, body tracking, exhibition Interactive exhibition at Phoenix Cinema and Arts Center as part of the Bring the Paint graffiti festival in Leicester, UK. 2023 ---&nbsp; 2023 --- 2023 --- 2023 --- 2023 --- 2023 --- 2023 --- 2023 --- 2023 --- 2023 --- 2023 --- 2023 --- 2023 --- 2023 --- 2023 --- 2023 --- 2023 --- <img width="1202" height="902" width_o="1202" height_o="902" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/c7c3ddd830ced1cd275955f92932f8b7b50031716f9f65c70f609f1200489ecf/sample2-cropped.png" data-mid="198332616" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/c7c3ddd830ced1cd275955f92932f8b7b50031716f9f65c70f609f1200489ecf/sample2-cropped.png" /> Phoenix Media Wall Sample july - oct 2023javascript, three.js, installation Sample project and documentation for use by artists commissioned by Phoenix Leicester to create work for their interactive media wall. <img width="3072" height="3122" width_o="3072" height_o="3122" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/469b7e0d50e3c31a5d269dacdc1b6ba1cd05bd0acfe776bc4f957df5185fd64c/phone-mid-show-no-faces-cropped.jpg" data-mid="198344679" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/469b7e0d50e3c31a5d269dacdc1b6ba1cd05bd0acfe776bc4f957df5185fd64c/phone-mid-show-no-faces-cropped.jpg" /> Choosing Children Access july - nov 2023unity, accessibility, mobile, networking App to allow for real-time customisable access materials and user interaction for an immersive theatre show produced by Ben Fredericks collaborations. <img width="935" height="934" width_o="935" height_o="934" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/031225ac9b7be06105c8116016ea2e0e13d96a7d57cdc3d852fbd8f60f9716ba/artefact-cropped.png" data-mid="186238082" border="0" data-scale="100" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/935/i/031225ac9b7be06105c8116016ea2e0e13d96a7d57cdc3d852fbd8f60f9716ba/artefact-cropped.png" /> Jess+ Artefactjune - july 2023three.js, html, data representation An interactive representation of the data collected from recording sessions of Jess+, a musicking robot interacting in real-time with a musician ensemble through drawing digital score. <img width="1103" height="890" width_o="1103" height_o="890" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/55f4a1d5ef8164f72db7ba7e74e2b098513a5b47679a25c7f06e0cad311f1767/ben-in-game-cropped.png" data-mid="186238163" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/55f4a1d5ef8164f72db7ba7e74e2b098513a5b47679a25c7f06e0cad311f1767/ben-in-game-cropped.png" /> Object Memory Accessmarch - may 2023unity, photogrammetry, accessibility Online virtual reconstruction of the Object Memory exhibition at Phoenix Cinema and Arts Centre. <img width="4080" height="3072" width_o="4080" height_o="3072" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/51c3f8bfe7ebf2883d5960a20a1499af1e14fc1b944c76c069091ec0951cce96/Ar-headset-view.jpg" data-mid="186161868" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/51c3f8bfe7ebf2883d5960a20a1499af1e14fc1b944c76c069091ec0951cce96/Ar-headset-view.jpg" /> AR Headset R&amp;Dfeb - march 2023unity, AR, R&amp;D, accessibility R&amp;D project to reverse-engineer software for an undocumented passthrough AR headset. <img width="1919" height="936" width_o="1919" height_o="936" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/e21c00f44e48ce44314a14601e37ac58d5c760d09c1c6de8d376d8acd36cb2ef/live-coding-blobs.png" data-mid="185947459" border="0" data-scale="100" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/e21c00f44e48ce44314a14601e37ac58d5c760d09c1c6de8d376d8acd36cb2ef/live-coding-blobs.png" /> Runtime: Live Coding&nbsp; jan - feb 2023live coding, exhibition, music Live coding workshop culminating in an exhibition at LCB Depot, Leicester. 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ 2022 ~~~ <img width="4080" height="3072" width_o="4080" height_o="3072" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1fcc96c9f28d24a447a9c2460efacf9727708ed2e8b77297dedf55e959e2fecd/kandinsky.jpg" data-mid="186161970" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1fcc96c9f28d24a447a9c2460efacf9727708ed2e8b77297dedf55e959e2fecd/kandinsky.jpg" /> Jess+ jan - june 2023python, robotics, music A real time collaborative Musicking robot interacting with a musical ensemble through drawing. <img width="3072" height="3305" width_o="3072" height_o="3305" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2952fe658cd7261efa7521f54224769825b57be539c6c19187b39e7392414c21/p-m-cropped.png" data-mid="186238241" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2952fe658cd7261efa7521f54224769825b57be539c6c19187b39e7392414c21/p-m-cropped.png" /> Place and Memory jan - april 2023three.js, physical computing, exhibition, installation An exhibition at Phoenix Cinema and Arts centre, Leicester for which I created an interactive installation and assisted with development and installation of other works. <img width="959" height="893" width_o="959" height_o="893" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/9109f4ff234b17c50c48025733656da509ee4e550df71567dc87ceeabe3695ed/Digidance-avatar-cropped.PNG" data-mid="186162458" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/959/i/9109f4ff234b17c50c48025733656da509ee4e550df71567dc87ceeabe3695ed/Digidance-avatar-cropped.PNG" /> Digidance july - august 2022unity, machine learning, body tracking Interactive body tracking app to encourage movement in children. Created in collaboration with a summer kids group in Coventry, UK. <img width="1309" height="898" width_o="1309" height_o="898" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d7719a21c513a3a546f426c9f597dc4ecc8a35eab2a1099281902dc61a4e6834/Nautilus-cropped.png" data-mid="186238329" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d7719a21c513a3a546f426c9f597dc4ecc8a35eab2a1099281902dc61a4e6834/Nautilus-cropped.png" /> Nautilus feb - april 2022unity, music An algorithmically generated bass flute composition and a complementary 3D environment that listens and reacts to a live performer, delivering a narrative inspired by that of a nautilus mollusc traversing the deep sea floor. 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ 2021 ~~~ 2021 ~~ <img width="1294" height="805" width_o="1294" height_o="805" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/baadc7a01d70c8887cc5b7e3811eb02f187fac617ae20e1b5b72805451e2437a/RiSE-postcodes.PNG" data-mid="185948387" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/baadc7a01d70c8887cc5b7e3811eb02f187fac617ae20e1b5b72805451e2437a/RiSE-postcodes.PNG" /> RiSE - RSPA oct - dec 2021javascript, three.js, html, python A web-based tool to creatively visualise student attendance data to find patterns and determining the cause of attendance issue <img width="500" height="499" width_o="500" height_o="499" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/8253e14f246fc06da21ca2dbaac990fc08a113a279c3b66d64d02b04e288a67a/gujarati-video-screenshot-cropped.PNG" data-mid="198352683" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/500/i/8253e14f246fc06da21ca2dbaac990fc08a113a279c3b66d64d02b04e288a67a/gujarati-video-screenshot-cropped.PNG" /> Gujarati AR jan - june 2021unity, AR, mobile dev Heritage AR app for displaying 3D scanned cultural artefacts in AR, as well as a paper published in an IEEE conference. <img width="1200" height="800" width_o="1200" height_o="800" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2f35817f04b2b3de772ec86802a34dc1512d25a1b9815e5b40b76a3d2d0aa112/masters-collage.png" data-mid="198471145" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2f35817f04b2b3de772ec86802a34dc1512d25a1b9815e5b40b76a3d2d0aa112/masters-collage.png" /><img width="1200" height="800" width_o="1200" height_o="800" data-src="//freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/28eb37eddc58a128fd7019293ca9abb8baae8f6f6e4c71123ea3c32ccc5bffbc/masters-collage.png" data-mid="198471093" border="0" style="width: 265.704px; height: 177.136px; display: none;"> Creative Technologies MSc Projects sep 2020 - sep 2021 unity, C++, shaders, 3d modelling, animation My projects from my Masters studies at De Montfort University, Leicester. The start of my journey as a Creative Technologist! 2020 ~~~ 2020 ~~~ 2020 ~~~ 2020 ~~~ 2020 ~~~ 2020 ~~~ 2020 ~~~ 2020 ~~~ 2020 ~~~ 2020 ~~~ 2020 ~~~ 2020 ~~~ 2020 ~~~ 2020 ~~~ 2020 ~~~ 2020 ~~~ 2020 ~~~ 2020 ~~~ 2020 ~~~&nbsp;<img width="2000" height="2000" width_o="2000" height_o="2000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/42fe24b04fa4cfe1e570ec375aed2a3a873e98c83953d2b8a52844e476066342/old-projects-collage.png" data-mid="198427500" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/42fe24b04fa4cfe1e570ec375aed2a3a873e98c83953d2b8a52844e476066342/old-projects-collage.png" /> Games Programming BSc Projects sep 2017 - july 2020 unity, C++, shaders, 3d modelling, animation Some of my old projects from my undergrad Games Programming course at De Montfort University, Leicester and a few game jams. Adam Stephenson 2023, adam@adam-stephenson.co.uk, have fun ︎ | ︎ | ︎ https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/Lightwerk Tue, 29 Oct 2024 19:10:24 +0000 Adam Stephenson https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/Lightwerk Adam Stephenson | Creative Technologist | Developer | Game Designer |&nbsp; Unity Body Tracking Installation Lightwerknov 2023 - may 2024 An exhibition at Phoenix Cinema and Arts Center as part of the Bring the Paint graffiti festival in Leicester, UK.About As part of Bring the Paint 2024, a city-wide festival in Leicester that celebrates the graffiti culture of the city, I was asked to contribute to the exhibition held at Phoenix Cinema and Arts Centre. The other half of the exhibition was print-based so we wanted something digital and playful to contrast. I was provided a collection of scans and images of graffiti in the city from the past few decades to act as inspiration and material. I decided to create two interactive pieces, a retro styled infinite runner platform game and a large-scale body tracking application that allows the visitor to paint with their bodies. LinksBring the Paint:&nbsp;https://www.bringthepaint.co.uk/ Tag n Dash: https://adamstephensun.itch.io/tag-n-dash (link may not be active) https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/Phoenix-Media-Wall-Sample Fri, 01 Dec 2023 12:57:31 +0000 Adam Stephenson https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/Phoenix-Media-Wall-Sample Adam Stephenson | Creative Technologist | Developer | Game Designer |&nbsp; JavaScript Three.js Installation Phoenix Media Wall Samplejuly - oct 2023 Sample project and documentation for use by artists commissioned by Phoenix Leicester to create work for their interactive media wall. About As part of it’s large refurbishment opened in 2023, Phoenix Cinema and Arts Centre had a new interactive media wall installed in the café area. It consists of a 4k display with both a regular webcam and a Zed 2 body tracking camera. To prepare for a series of commissions for the wall related to future exhibitions, I was tasked with creating a basic sample project and documentation that the artists could use to create their works without advanced technical knowledge. I created a blank template project, as well as a simple Three.js project using physics and webcam input. The sample project contains a grid of physics-enabled cubes with the webcam texture divided across them in a box. The camera orbits around the cubes, revealing the full webcam texture on the inside of the cube (behind where the camera starts). The cubes are knocked down and reset when the camera is in a certain position, creating a seamless loop. For the first exhibition launched with a corresponding media wall artwork, the artist decided to use a custom Unity template. This was an unintended use case for the wall but I worked together with the artist and the suppliers of the hardware to figure out a solution to display the work. There was also a Unity WebGL template created by Anthony Woodward of Twin Planets, link below. Links Live webapp: media-wall-webcam-sample.vercel.app Github repository: github.com/adamstephensun/media-wall-webcam-sample Twin Planets: twinplanets.co.uk https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/Choosing-Children-Access Thu, 30 Nov 2023 18:36:47 +0000 Adam Stephenson https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/Choosing-Children-Access Adam Stephenson | Creative Technologist | Developer | Game Designer |&nbsp; Unity Networking Mobile dev Accessibility Choosing Children Accessjuly - nov 2023 App to allow for real-time customisable access materials and user interaction for an immersive theatre show produced by Ben Fredericks collaborations. AboutChoosing Children Access is a unique approach to delivering accessibility content and allowing for visitor interaction during a live interactive theatre performance. The mobile app that I created was just one part of a larger interconnected system of systems. The stage setup included 24 light orbs which, along with the regular stage lighting, were controlled by a central lighting desk. The set also featured a dynamic video projection running from Unreal Engine into Madmapper, with the lighting desk sending network triggers to play certain video clips. There was also of course the actors which had to work in time with all of this technology during the live show. This was all brought together by a great multi-disciplinary team led by writer and director Ben Fredericks. Following on from a useful (but ultimately unsuccessful) sprint of R&amp;D with a questionable AR headset, we decided to use a mobile phone to display access content and allow for user interaction in the show. This allowed us to communicate to and from the lighting desk using the OSC networking protocol. The lighting desk told the phones when to trigger content based on the current scene. Each performance was limited to 20 visitors, each with their own phone. The phones were mounted on an adjustable stand in front of the visitor and all start with everything disabled, allowing the user to enable certain elements as they saw fit. The options included were subtitles, British sign language interpretation, audio description, and camera passthrough. There are also ten instances in the show were the characters ask the audience questions and they are prompted to answer on their devices. These were simple yes/no question and depending on the answer given, one of the orbs on stage linked to that particular device would light up and change colour. There is also a prompt at the beginning of the show for the user to “wake up” their orb, turning on their orb to allow them to see which is theirs. There is also a results page that displays at the end of the show and shows what percentage of people gave each answer. Links Ben Fredericks Collaborations: benfredericks.co.uk/choosing-children Github repository: github.com/adamstephensun/CC_Access https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/Jess-Artefact Thu, 27 Jul 2023 12:34:17 +0000 Adam Stephenson https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/Jess-Artefact Adam Stephenson | Creative Technologist | Developer | Game Designer |&nbsp; JavaScript Three.js HTML Data representation Jess+ Artefactjune - july 2023 An interactive representation of the data collected from recording sessions of Jess+, a musicking robot interacting in real-time with a musician ensemble through drawing digital score. About This project is an offshoot of the larger project Jess+, a collaborative abstract music score drawing robot. Nearing the end of development, I suggested that we record the data from the sessions with the robot and represent them in 3D and this was the result. We captured the xyz position of the robot arm head as well as the outputs of the AI factory and which AI stream was in control of the robot that frame. We also recorded the microphone input during the performance. I initially started development in Unity, but quickly moved to Three.js as it was more suited to the simplicity of the project. I represented each position in the file as a sphere, changing the colour and scale of the sphere to match the current master AI stream and its value. Links Live project - jess-artefact.vercel.app The Digital Score - digiscore.github.io Github repo - github.com/DigiScore/artefact https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/Object-Memory-Access Thu, 27 Jul 2023 12:43:26 +0000 Adam Stephenson https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/Object-Memory-Access Adam Stephenson | Creative Technologist | Developer | Game Designer |&nbsp; Unity Photogrammetry Accessibility Object Memory Accessmarch - may 2023 Online virtual reconstruction of the Object Memory exhibition at Phoenix Cinema and Arts Centre About Object Memory was the first exhibition after the opening of Phoenix’s extensive refurbishment in January 2023. It consisted of 5 separate pieces, all by local Leicestershire-based artists. I was tasked with capturing and recreating the exhibition in virtual space, using photogrammetry and 3D scanning. The other goals of the project were to use it as a form of digital archive, as well as a way to present access materials for each work. Just before the exhibition was to be taken down, I scanned the entire space using the iPhone 12 Pro Lidar scanner and the Polycam app. I also scanned each individual piece of work using photogrammetry, again using Polycam. I used Unity to overlay the higher detailed photo scans on top of the larger, less detailed 3D scan to replicate the space, adding in immersive elements such as video players and dynamic lighting. I also added access materials, such as audio descriptions recorded by the Arts Manager, Irina Tsokova, and sign language interpretation videos. These were all integrated into the system and would play automatically as the user navigates through the space. To make it as accessible as possible, I simplified the navigation to 6 points to travel between, as well as an optional walkthrough mode that requires no user input and simply plays through all the content, moving between exhibits automatically. Links Live project - adamstephensun.itch.io/om-access https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/AR-Headset-R-D Thu, 27 Jul 2023 12:29:30 +0000 Adam Stephenson https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/AR-Headset-R-D Adam Stephenson | Creative Technologist | Developer | Game Designer |&nbsp; Unity&nbsp; &nbsp; AR R&amp;D Accessibility AR Headset R&amp;D feb - march 2023 R&amp;D project to reverse-engineer software for an undocumented passthrough AR headset. About During my work with artist and writer Ben Fredericks, we were looking for unique ways to integrate access materials into a live performance with user interaction. One of the avenues we considered was passthrough AR. There are some passthrough headsets on the market, such as the Magic Leap or Microsoft Hololens but these are way out of budget for giving one to each of 20+ audience members. Instead we found a cheap AR passthrough headset using a mobile phone on eBay. It came with no brand name, documentation, or any kind of example app, meaning we would be reverse engineering it from scratch. The first step was to create a distortion map that mapped to the distortion of the headset lenses. I then moved on to develop a Unity app that would use the phones accelerometer and gyroscope to place 2D and 3D elements in 3D space. After developing the stereoscopic rendering with lens distortion, I moved on to placing UI elements, such as subtitles and sign language videos, and 3D elements in the scene, tracking the changes in position and rotation from the phones sensors. As the phone is mounted in front of and facing away from the face and at an angle, it makes the translation needed more complicated and unreliable. Ultimately it wasn’t capable of tracking movement throughout space, only rotation. After many issues and roadblocks during development we eventually decided that this headset wasn’t suited to the application. It simply wasn’t comfortable enough, visually and physically, to wear for a 90 minute show. Despite not using the device in the end, this was still a unique and interesting project for me and it was very rewarding to work things out from scratch, not being able to resort to forum posts and documentation. Links Ben Fredericks Collaborations - benfredericks.co.uk/choosing-children https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/Runtime-Live-Coding Mon, 24 Jul 2023 17:26:53 +0000 Adam Stephenson https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/Runtime-Live-Coding Adam Stephenson | Creative Technologist | Developer | Game Designer |&nbsp; Live coding Exhibition Music Runtime: Live Coding jan 2023 Live coding workshop culminating in an exhibition at LCB Depot, Leicester About Part of LCB Depot’s Digital Season January 2023, Runtime was a 2-day workshop on Live Coding culminating in a 1 week exhibition. The workshop was organised by Sean Carroll as part of his PHD research and led by Antonio Roberts, well known name in the live coding Algorave community. Live coding is the practise of creating music and visuals at a live performance using code. For music, we used TidalCycles and for visuals, we used Hydra. Both of these are developed by prominent members of the live coding community and are fully open source and customisable. The first day of the workshop was focused on visuals and the second day was focused on music. By the end of the second day, each member of the workshop had edited together a short live coded piece which was then displayed in the primary gallery at LCB Depot, Leicester. I have provided the raw audio here but watch on youtube (links below) to see the visuals and audio as I program them in real time. Listen here: LinksTrack 1 (blobs) -&nbsp;youtube.com/watch?v=imfLZKgs1Ds Track 2 (glass) - youtube.com/watch?v=mwAqIBPFfM0 LCB Depot - lcbdepot.co.uk Antonio Roberts - hellocatfood.com TidalCycles - tidalcycles.org Hydra - hydra.ojack.xyz https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/Jess Fri, 01 Dec 2023 15:54:20 +0000 Adam Stephenson https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/Jess Adam Stephenson | Creative Technologist | Developer | Game Designer |&nbsp; Python Robotics Music Jess+jan - june 2023 A real time collaborative Musicking robot interacting with a musical ensemble through drawing. Part of the wider ERC research project ‘The Digital Score’ based at the University of Nottingham Mixed Reality Lab. About My second case study as part of the Digital Score project, Jess+ was my first time working with robotics and my first time working with Python outside of small practice exercises. I find it extremely rewarding and enjoyable, yet also quite daunting, to dive into a project with little experience, working and learning simultaneously. I was supported by a great but small team at the Mixed Reality Lab in the University of Nottingham, UK. Craig Vear, project lead, and Johann Benerradi, AI and machine learning specialist, were great to work with and led to a very open, collaborative environment where we could each make suggestions outside of our area of expertise. The project included three major components; the AI factory, the individual robot behaviours, and the decision making module or ‘brain’. The AI factory trained on past recordings of improvisational Jazz sessions, which processed live microphone and physiological data from the musicians. This was Johann’s realm. My main task in the project was programming the individual robot behaviours, such as drawing shapes and letters, both on and off the page. This involved me interfacing directly with the robot APIs in Python, creating paths for the robot to follow which would then be triggered by the brain in response to certain outputs from the AI factory. I started by implementing basic primitive shapes and as I gained a better understanding of the API, I moved to more complex compound shapes such as letters and numbers. I also implemented a basic memory into the code so the robot could decide to return to a previously drawn shape and add to it. Initially we used the Dobot Magician Mini robot arm, a small desktop arm with a roughly 30 cm range and about 220 degree mobility. The API was poorly documented and maintained, most of the documentation not translated from the original Chinese. This led to a lot of experimentation to get simple commands working, for which I found the ChatGPT AI very useful. There was very little on the internet in the way of forum posts and documentation but ChatGPT was able to help point me in the right direction most of the time. The code it produced was by no means copy and paste-able but it certainly helped me understand how the API worked and what direction I needed to head in. Eventually we acquired two new xArm robot arms, a drastic upgrade from the Dobot with a range of 70 cm and full 360 degree mobility. It was much larger and moved and looked almost organic, adding to the feeling of it being a real, thinking, collaborative member of the ensemble. This also meant that the code base had to be made API agnostic, working with both the Dobot and xArm robots. The final part of development was the overall logic of the system that takes the output from the AI factory, evaluates it based on a number of rules, and decides what robot behaviours to trigger. This was developed by Craig Vear but in close collaboration with Johann and myself to ensure that our work was being utilised to it’s full potential in the final product. This was all developed in collaboration with a cohort of musicians from the Royal College of Music, London. We had regular test sessions with the musicians where they would provide feedback from an end-user point of view. They viewed the robot as a co-author and collaborator in the music-making process and saw it almost as a person with a distinct personality. After finishing the robot code, I used my remaining time on the project to develop a 3D data representation of the session recordings. This can be found on my project page Jess+ artefact. Links Github repo - github.com/DigiScore/jess_plus The Digital Score - digiscore.github.io/ Digiscore project page - digiscore.github.io/pages/jess+/ UoN Mixed Reality Lab - nottingham.ac.uk/research/groups/mixedrealitylab/ https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/Place-and-Memory Fri, 01 Dec 2023 13:36:12 +0000 Adam Stephenson https://adam-stephenson.co.uk/Place-and-Memory Adam Stephenson | Creative Technologist | Developer | Game Designer |&nbsp; Exhibition JavaScript Three.js &nbsp; Physical computing Place and Memoryjan - april 2023 An exhibition at Phoenix Cinema and Arts centre, Leicester for which I created an interactive installation and assisted with development and installation of other works. About Place and Memory was an exhibition at Phoenix Cinema and Arts Centre running from 7th of April to 18th June based on the history and legacy of Phoenix, taking place on it's sixtieth anniversary. I was commissioned along with another artist, Martin Cibik, and mentor Sean Clark to create a piece of work to complement the informational part of the exhibition. I was inspired to use the BBC Microbit in my work, something I had never explored in the past. I designed and created an interactive experience based on the archival material we discovered in Phoenix's archives and donated materials, namely the various iterations and designs of Phoenix's logo. The piece is interacted with using a Microbit placed on a plinth in front of the screen. This was constantly sending positional and rotational data to the three.js environment hosted on the web, which would then influence the movement and styles of the letters on screen. I also designed the interaction on one of Martin Cibik's pieces, using a Leap Motion hand-tracking camera to look around a 360 degree digital collage based on archival material. I have since created a live version of the webapp that can be controlled with traditional input or just run automatically based on random timers. This verison was shown on the Phoenix media wall for a number of months in rotation with other content. You can find the link to this version below, press the U key to enable input. LinksLive webapp: place-and-memory-desktop.vercel.app Github repo - github.com/adamstephensun/PlaceAndMemory Phoenix exhibition page - phoenix.org.uk/events/place-and-memory Martin Cibik - ciboart.co.uk Sean Clark - seanclark.org