ideas for burning man 1999
... rough notes

• early picture of the kiosk, in the lab, electrical system mostly done

• The Kiosk idea grew into a potential Viridian project:

Cassandra writes: "A message to let people know what I have been working on for Burning Man as a Viridian art project. Thanks to the generosity of Intel (yes, Intel) we are trying to build a kiosk. Intel has already bought me a flatscreen. We are looking at designing a kiosk to house the touchscreen and the laptop. We hope to have the kiosk running continually off solar energy, with a past, present, and future (loosely) realtime 3-d simulation of the Utah desert, in which we will be for a week. Hopefully we will have a 3-d version of the cuddly Viridian Mascot "Big Mike" in all scenes, plus some scary scenes of green Sport Utility Vehicles. People will be able to fly around the scene with touch, an interface which is already working with the Virtual Hawaii project whose code we will probably use. NO MENTION OF INTEL IS REQUIRED. More announcements later."
(((Viridians who plan to attend Burning Man and want to "dominate the playa" are strongly urged to contact Cassandra directly.)))

• A Kiosk
  • i could build a standalone kiosk and park it either out on the playa, or by a camp
  • the kiosk has a computer and monitor in it, with some protective shell to protect against dust, weather, drunk bicyclists, etc.
  • the monitor would have a touchscreen so that people could walk up and start interacting without having to learn an interface
    • this is also good because it means no exposed mouse or keyboard
  • the screen would display an interesting, interactive 3D world
  • when you touch the screen, the object under your finger reacts
    • it could speak, or change shape, or run away, etc.
  • when nobody touches the kiosk for a while, it goes into "attract" mode: bright flashing colors, saying "touch me" in a seductive voice
  • any sort of content:
    • random trippy interactive landscapes
    • education about the black rock desert itself - geology, ecology etc.
    • 3D objects that can be set on fire, virtually
    • etc.
  • novelty: no one has ever brought something like this before (have they?)
  • problem: power supply, may have to be right next to a camp to connect to a generator
  • a variation suggested by Giles:
    • "I think it'd be cool to bring some kind of electronics rig which connected motion detectors to an oscilloscope hooked up to a wall of televisions, so the way people moved in front of the TVs caused their image to change."
  • from Cassandra:
    • "Could you add a part to your kiosk where people could respond to what the experienced in the world? Maybe at different points...e.g. you get to a certain lookout and can read what people were thinking at that moment there then move to beach and read stories there, so on."
  • from Roger Nelson:
    • A laptop actually represents your functionality set for the desert:
      Long battery life/ low power consumption (dual scan longer that active matrix)
      (I'm worried that a conventional monitor & CPU will require too much power)
      A car battery + converter might run a low power laptop a long time
      Built in pointing device, Relatively well sealed from dust, Getting very cost effective
      Downside: Easy to steal
  • might coordinate construction with Frederick's 1999 bman plans
  • anything is cooler with Electro-Luminescent wire
  • 05.23 did a survey of laptops with 3d acceleration:
    • [large survey snipped - totally obsolete nowadays, there are affordable laptops with great 3D]
  • ended up using a desktop unit

Rough storyline:

• 25,000 BC Lake Lahontan, lillypads, some kind of semi-believable aquatic plants
  butterflies, hopping Big Mikes
  maybe some slimy islands
  purplish sky
• 1999 blue sky, posted big mike signs, the Man
  tents (dome tent, triangle tent, etc. possibilities)
  DGOVs come out of nowhere, run over everything
  lots of dust
• 2150 big yellow sky, thick haze, big reddish sun
  futuristic buildings to hide from brutal environment
  lots of garbage
  gas masks hanging outside doors

Terrain Content:

See Nevada at the VTP site.

Looking for a affordable, easy-to-use flat-panel touchscreen

Yahoo list a large number of touchscreen companies.
Turnkey solutions are available but they're pretty expensive.

• a lot of people carry old 10.4" units, such as:
  • Carroll "Touch in a Box" is a 640x400 flatpanel touchscreen, 211*158 mm (10.4") w/case for $1895
• TouchStore.com carried:
  • 15" Profile FPD Touch Monitor - TouchTek5 - Resistive  : $1,632
    • 1024 x 768/60 Hz
    • Active Matrix (TFT)
    • Power Consumption: <17W, normal operation, Normal Mode: 21 Watt max
    • 15-pin D-sub (analog VGA input only)
  • 12" monitor is cheaper ($1,166) and surprisingly, brighter
  • 15" IBM monitor is bright, but over $2,000
• EZscreen
  • EZ15LCD-MON-NG 15" Sceptre Model#BT15+ LCD monitor with EZ151LCD-NG Touchscreen Installed
    • 124x768/75 Hz, 200 cd/m2, $1,495
• Touchscreens.com (Mass Multimedia, Inc.)
  • Flat Panel Touchscreens : LCDSA151 : 15.1-inch TFT LCD Monitor w/ 5-Wire Resistive Touch Screen, $1,609
• EloTouch
  • TrimLine Panel Mount LCD Touchmonitor, 15", 56 to 85 Hz, 200 cd/m², 40W, 514773-000, price?
  • TrimLine Kiosk LCD Touchmonitor, same specs, 985341-000, price?
  • todo: call sales at 1-800-356-8682
  • is there a price difference between their "AccuTouch" resistive and "IntelliTouch" surface-wave?
• Cyber-Cite : sells premade kiosks as well as components

Acquired: the 15" EZScreen mentioned above.  The brightness and contrast.are a bit disappointing, but that may be partly due to the touchscreen (85% transmission claimed).  We'll definitely want to run it at night only.

Power:

• Monitor: 2.5 A @ 12 V (~30-40 W) - easy access on back to DC input wires
• PC:
  • the E&S card alone may draw nearly 30 W
  • rest of the PC: probably at least 100 W
• total: around 180 W
• if we run it for 8 hours, 1440 W-hours, which is 1.44 kWh (around 120 AH at 12V)
• that much capacity in a lead-acid battery costs around $250

Nu-tech energy systems guy says:

• 3.2 modules - 4 modules 75W modules 46" x 21" $440, 60W 43" x 20" $395 (Solarex or BP)
• charge controller w/status indicator: $53
• batteries:G24, 74 AH, 2 in parallel, $105 ea.
• inverter: 400W for $360, 250W for ~$200, 200W for $105
• total around $1400

Plan pictures:

The Innovation Shop (15 V panels)
BatterySAVER PRO 15W - 15 Watt charger - $150
PRO-KIT 30W - 30 Watt charger kit with 3 amp regulator - $330
PRO-KIT 45W - 45 Watt charger kit with 3 amp regulator. - $480

Same prices from techamerica.com

Small, portable chargers like the Suncatcher Professional / Suncatcher Expedition, less than 25W each, not cost effective.

Good prices, large range http://www.mrsolar.com/

Cost (for standard 15-18V output panels) is between $5 and $6/watt, so 200 W should cost around $1000

Whole kits from around $1300 from Go Solar Company

Useful Solar links..

"How to make a solar power generator" (very simple, pictures, not complete)
http://www.solarwebb.com/BUSAPPS.HTM

Nu-tech Energy Systems
Jack Hagler
256 Hillsdale Ave.
San Jose
(408) 267-3637

Coca-Cola

• i'd like to give the world a Coke
• follow the original recipe for Coca-Cola - ie. containing both coca and kola
• brew up a large batch of beverage and give it away to thirsty Black Rock citizens
• problem: how does one find "F.E. Coco" [sic]?
• novelty: "it's a century old, but new again"