Today, as per our first Physical Computing assignment, I took the walk from ITP uptown to pick up my laundry in Chelsea. Here's a log of some of the more notable sensors I saw in my environment.
The walk started as I left ITP and walked past the "wooden mirror" - that dot in the middle is a camera! Photo sensor to the max!
I walked on towards the elevator and interacted with a sensor on the elevator button. Once I got inside, the button for downstairs had already been pushed, so I didn't get two sensors in one interaction...
From there I walked into Washington Square Park, where I saw this woman tapping away on the sensors in her computer's keyboard.
Across the way, this guy was talking on his phone - the microphone is a sensor measuring the output of his voice.
Soon after I walked past some folks loading a truck with a lift. They didn't want to be in the photo, so I just snagged a picture of this sensor, which caused the lift to move up and down.
This woman was a tad more accommodating, and cracked up as I took a picture of her texting away - and more importantly, pressing the sensors of the buttons on her phone!
This guy was taking a picture of his friends on the street - talk about sensors: photo sensor, distance sensor, sensor on the camera's button - techno overload!
This postal worker had a fancy-schmancy device with a touch screen sensor, and he was kind enough to let me snap a shot of him using it.
Debateable as to whether it's "really" a sensor, but it seemed like maybe these bells could qualify as a sensor to the door's motion.
At St. Vincent's Hospital, the ER doors were equipped with motion sensors to open at a moment's notice.
Meanwhile, New York's new parking meter slash computers provided this guy with a satisfying button press.
This restaurant employee uses a touch screen sensor all day, and is damned excited about it!
Finally, I arrived to pick up my laundry and noticed this load in progress: it's using a sensor to measure water levels before it starts to spin.
This scale is a sensor for laundry weight, and how much I'm going to be fleeced for keeping clean!
The credit card machine has two sensors: one to read the magnetic stripe on the card...
...and the other to enter data via the key pad.
So I concluded my sensor walk: fresh laundry in hand, and a new and unique perspective on my daily route home.
