Things Aren’t Always What They Seem…

Yesterday when we were working as a group on our project we learned this very important lesson, that things aren’t always what they seem… We were trying to download an .img file onto an SD card so that the Raspberry Pi would behave properly and perform the tasks that we have chosen for it to carry out. Little did we know that an .img file is not always a picture file. This .img file we could not even open to view on our computer. Through our experience with this .img file we learned that things are not always what they seem…

Progress Made On Our Project

Our project has come a long way since Day 1 of our project. At first we did not know really what direction we were take our project in. Then after meeting with our overseer, he helped us by giving us some direction so that we would be able to shape our project into the best it could possibly be with a clear theory to back it up. Since we have figured out our direction and theory for our project, all we had to do now was figure out the correct code in order to program the Arduino so that we can proceed in building our DIY security camera kit. Another obstacle that we have come up against is how we as a group are going to approach presenting this project to our overseer and esteemed colleagues. We are trying to figure out how to present this project in a way that would be interesting without boring and overloading our audience with too many technical details. Figuring out how to approach this presentation is a process, much like the process we had to go through in figuring out how to back up our project with a clear theory. We have every confidence that our group will come together and find a solution to remedy our current problem. For now we are working ever so diligently to finish building our DIY Security Camera Kit and are making sure that we understand our project thoroughly every step of the way so that we would be able to even explain our project to a child.

Experiment Part 1

We are working towards revealing the existing system of surveillance. We want to examine the boundaries that surveillance can have on an individual. Our project idea is to intervene and/or reveal the fact that surveillance is a set of connected things, the technology, the watcher, and the one who is watched. We want to further examine what the suggestion and demonstration of being watched has on both individuals.

The goal of this project is to demonstrate to the general public that while they might not be able to control, they can build items to surveil the people that are surveilling them.  In order to do this, we will build a device that theoretically will measure if a person would change their habits if they knew they were being monitored and recorded.

In order to build this device, we need to build a DIY recording kit. This kit and ultimately the final device will be run primarily with a Raspberry Pi Rev. B with an Arduino controlling the LED and any physical addons that a person might want to add to customize the device.  A web camera will capture the image, and send that signal to the Raspberry Pi.  The Raspberry Pi can then save the video or output to the a website.  The LED light will come on and serve as user confirmation when the Raspberry Pi is actively recording.

Here is the list of materials that we will be needing for this project:

• Raspberry Pi
• microUSB power (microusb male to USB male, USB power supply)
• HDMI cable
• (Monitor) – hdmi to vga cable
• Arduino
• webcam
• USB cable (2.0 to hub, Arduino)
• SD card (OS)
• housing
• wires
• LED
• shoebox

Here’s Our Idea

Our group’s idea for the final project is to hack a camera. Our goal is to have the camera take a picture through use of Twitter. We would position the camera in a public location (i.e. tourist attraction) and the user would be able to tweet from a cell phone to have their photo taken. For user confirmation, we will have warning lights on the camera that would act as a countdown (3, 2, 1, say cheese!). There would be a printing device attached to the machine that would allow it to print automatically for the users.

With this idea, we are tapping into the idea and meaning of intellectual property. According to Wikipedia:
Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind for which exclusive rights are recognized in law.[1] Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs.
Photography can be considered an artistic work by the photographer, or person taking the picture. By making this device we are letting the user have complete control of the photograph that they take. Imagine a photographer at a tourist attraction such as Disney World. They have complete control of the photo that they take and how they distribute it to the user. By doing this, we eliminate the middleman. It would give the intellectual authority back to the user and allow them to control how the device is used. We are turning a device (the camera) that only professionals use, into a device that can be used by anyone. Our hack would lower the barrier from photographer to photography.

Planned contributions:
Jim – website, help AJ with arduino coding/software
Pam – website, research
AJ – arduino specialist, coding, software
Jason – coding, arduinos
Christa – research
Tiffany – group contact and informant (Professor and to one another), research