OUT OF HAND / HANDS ON

Out of Hand: Materializing the Postdigital  at the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) is the first in-depth museum survey dedicated to exploring the impact of computer-assisted methods of production on contemporary art, architecture, and design. Shapeways is partnering with MAD for the exhibition and will host 'OUT OF HAND/HANDS ON,' an educational and interactive space on the Museum's second floor where visitors will be able to experience 3D design and printing firsthand.

Opening in conjunction with the exhibition curated by Ron Labaco on October 16th and running through April 2014, visitors will have the opportunity to explore the 3D printing process and the digital modeling process.  Several interactive 3D applications will be on display including work by LIFT Architects, Nervous System, Rhino 3D, and Uformia.  

Visitors will also have the opportunity to be 3D scanned with help from Occiptal Labs and 3D printed into mini figurines by an in-house high resolution Formlabs 3D printer or in any of the 30+ materials currently available on Shapeways. 

NEW WEBSITE LAUNCH

Over the last few months, we've been working hard on a complete overhaul of the LIFT architects website. From re-working the setup of the blog to new branding elements like logos and icons; the hope is that the site is more user friendly and illustrative of the type of work and research that we do. Finally, it's ready for public viewing.  Let us know what you think. 

NEW FIREFLY WEBSITE, EXAMPLES, & PRIMER

Jason K. Johnson and I are very excited to unveil the new home for all things Firefly!  Come find out the latest features, tutorials, photos, videos and much more at http://www.fireflyexperiments.com.  We are encouraged by the growing community of Firefly users and this website will be the destination for those individuals looking to bridge the gap between Grasshopper (a free plug-in for Rhino), the Arduino micro-controller, the internet, and beyond.  Come take a look and let us know what you think!

In addition to the public launch of our new website, we have also released a new Firefly Toolbar (version 1.003) and an updated Firefly Primer.  We have fixed a few minor bugs and added a few new features that were requested by you - the users.  A delay feature has been added to both Fader (one way and two way) components and the Data Log component has been completely re-written to enable greater flexibility.  Users can now simulate "Live Looping" techniques by using the Wrap feature on the Data Log component which also allows for direct data streaming to a file path of your choosing (.txt, .csv, or .dat).  Additionally, we have built a new Playback component which will return individual lines from a text file at a given frame rate(s).  The ability to control multiple frame rates will allow you to create some really amazing effects.

If that wasn't enough, there is a new Firefly Primer (a 37 page manual) which provides an in-depth look at each individual component and walks you through the entire process of using this powerful new tool-set (from installation to final output). It also includes some basic tutorials, links and references to get you up and running quickly.

Come join the Firefly community and find out what everyone is talking about.  Visit http://www.fireflyexperiments.com.  If you have suggestions or if you just have a question, feel free to email us at info@fireflyexperiments.com.