Mobile Processing 2012 → 2012

Mobile Processing is a yearly conference hosted by the UIC Innovation Center in support of Chicago's creative and development communities

Mobile Processing brings together internationally recognized innovators from the open source software community, students, educators, and scholars from areas such as Art and Design, Computer Science, and Information Sciences. The 3rd edition of the conference features a series of lectures, workshops, and presentations, free and open to the public (workshops require prior registration).

Conference contact: 2012@mobileProcessing.org Daniel Sauter Organizer, Mobile Processing Associate Professor, New Media Arts

Presentations (free and open to the public):

Hannah Higgins: The Ghosts in the Machine: The Secret Lives of Experimental Artists in the Mainframe Era (Nov. 2, 10:30-11:30am)

What do IBM, Bell Labs, the Jet Propulsion Lab and National Security have in common with dust, dead chickens, the Czech avant-garde and Vietnam protest? This talk will present the secret lives of experimental, performance and protest artists on the mainframe computers of the 1960s. Through a series of seemingly unlikely friendships, an international constellation of engineers and artists collaborated in the emergence of the digital arts.

Jer Thorp: Near/Far (Nov. 2, 12-1pm)

In this session, Jer will share a variety of new work that explores the concept and experience of location. He'll show projects that engage with local, personal data, as well as visualizations of systems of astronomical size. He'll discuss the importance of engaging with the character of data sets, and will share a variety of strategies and techniques for working with locational data. Along the way, he'll share all kinds of tips and techniques, and probably tell a fair number of bad jokes.

Daniel Sauter: Mobile Interfaces in Public Places (Nov. 3, 10:30-11:30am)

This talk will present a series of creative projects dealing with the intersection of mobile devices and systems embedded into built architecture. With a look behind the scenes, the talk addresses how such systems can be made using open source hardware and software.

Casey Reas: Processing 2 (Nov. 3, 12-1pm)

Who, what, when, where, why. Let's talk about Processing 2. I'll present a brief history of the project, but will focus on the ideas and implementation of the Processing 2 software and where it might be headed in the future.

Andres Colubri: Rise of the Shaders: From Pixar's RenderMan to GLSL on your phone (Nov. 4, 12-1pm)

Programming of interactive graphics on desktop and mobile platforms is increasingly dependent on OpenGL and shaders to create complex real-time effects. Graphic Processing Units (GPUs) are becoming faster and available on a wide range of devices: from smartphones, tablets and single-board computers (e.g.: Raspberry Pi), to laptops and desktop computers. WebGL is also making possible to run GLSL shaders in web apps written with Javascript. Processing 2.0, which recently reached the beta stage, includes new OpenGL renderers that are entirely shader-based, and introduces a simple API to load and use shaders inside Processing sketches.

Lauren McCarthy: Mobile Self Experience (Nov. 3, 2-3pm)

What is the potential for mobile applications to allow us to augment or alter our experience of self and reality? A recent focus on self-quantification has introduced many apps that facilitate the collection and visualization of data from daily experience not normally made conscious. Taking it a step further are systems that begin to shift our patterns and decisions by giving control to algorithms, networked participants, or serendipitous interactions in spaces created or supported by mobile apps. Enhancing ourselves or becoming slaves to our devices? Can embracing an ambiguous in between create the possibility of a greater depth of experience.\

Workshops (free, limited seats require prior registration):

Please attend the Introduction to Processing Workshop on Thursday 6pm if you do not yet have Processing 2 for Android configured to create apps for your Android device.

Casey Reas: Teaching Programming in the Arts (Nov. 2, 4-6pm)

With Processing 2, we're opening new ways that Processing can be used within visual arts education and we've developed new approaches to teaching young creators how to program. This workshop will introduce areas of new potential within teaching Processing and will summarize shifts in thinking that have resolved through Processing 2.

Jer Thorp: Visualizing on Mobile Devices (Nov. 3:30-5:30pm)

In this workshop, we'll look at how Processing on Android can be used to visualize data - both accessed from APIs and collected locally on the device. We'll work through a few examples, and discuss strategies for building visualization projects on small screens. Participants should arrive with an Android device, and should have Processing for Android working.

Daniel Sauter and Jesus Duran: Build Sensor-based Android Apps With Processing (Nov. 3, 5:30-7:30pm)

In this workshop, we�ll create a series of projects using motion and position sensors, the touch screen panel, geolocation and compass, front and back cameras, WiFi networking, databases, NFC tags, and 3D scenes on the Android.

Daniel Sauter and Jesus Duran: Connecting Android and Arduino Devices (Nov. 4, 10:30am-12pm)

This workshop introduces peer-to-peer networking via Bluetooth and WiFi Direct using Processing for Android and the Ketai Library, with the objective to connect the Android device directly to the Arduino Microcontroller.

Andres Colubri: Workshop title: Writing GLSL shaders on mobile devices (Nov. 4, 2-4pm)

The workshop will consist in a series of hands-on, shader-coding exercises using Processing 2.0 on Android devices (although most of the concepts will apply with minor modifications to the Java mode as well). These exercises will take the workshop participants through the basics of shader writing in OpenGL ES 2.0: programmable pipeline, vertex/fragment stages, geometric transformations, lighting, and texture sampling. The goal is to provide a practical understanding of these concepts, so that the participants would be able to further explore them in their own projects and experiments. It is highly recommended that people bring either a smartphone or tablet device to the workshop, which should be running Android 2.3.3 or newer.

JD Pirtle: Introduction to Processing Workshop (Nov. 1, 6-8pm)

This workshop is intended to present those new to Processing with an overview and tutorial on the basics of getting started with programming in the Processing environment, as well as to provide the attendees of the 2012 Mobile Processing conference with the opportunity to install both Processing and the Android SDK necessary for participation in the remainder of the conference. Topics include an overview of the Processing IDE (integrated development environment), drawing basic shapes, working with color, working with text, and basic interactivity, strategies for programming in Processing�s Android mode, working with touch vs. mouse gestures, and using the Android emulator. Participants will be instructed on the necessary steps to create and load a simple, interactive application onto an Android device.

Site Visit

Visit the CAVE 2 at EVL Sign up for a rare opportunity to visit CAVE 2 at UIC's Electronic Visualization Laboratory. Limited space available.