Shows at the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at NYU are never a disappointment. The latest opportunity to parouse the work coming out of this center of innovation opened yesterday, on the 4th floor of the Tisch building at 721 Broadway.

There is something for everyone, but if you are a design geek art freak or interaction designer, this is not to be missed.

Once you adjust to the cacophony of flashing lights, strange noises, and activity all around you, you'll find a wide range of projects. At least one will be something like you've never seen before, several are clever variations on clever ideas, a few represent moments of pure artistry, and many are at least partially from out of right field. The kid in you will love it. It's a little bit like going to B&H and appreciating the overhead cart system for the first time -- but much more chaotic.

A lot of great work continues to come out of the Physical Computing department. The movement toward so-called "ubiquitous computing" remains strong. The heat seems to have especially really risen behind networked passively interactive LED displays this year.

John Schimmel's Fireflies (left), are subtle, playful, and undeniably beautiful. Tangles of LEDs flicker inside of jars like the firefies you caught as a child. As you touch a jar, they can be trained to light to the rhythm of your touch. The jars are wirelessly networked, and share this rhythm with each other, creating a mesmerizing display, and serving as a means for remote abstract non-verbal communication.

Doria Fan, Jason Kaufman, and Mauricio Melo accomplish similar aims with Networked Flowers (below). However, rather than instigating communication via the simple act of touch, communication must pass through the intermediary of the internet or a cell phone. The flowers are bouquets of LEDs illuminating petals of cut acrylic. Laser cutting has caught on, and this was one of many projects that put precisely shaped acrylic to good use.

Matty Sallin's Presence Frames are networked laser etched acrylic picture frames that glow when motion is detected in the vicinity of its pair.

Teresa Almeida's Modes for Urban Moods addresses the unpleasant subject of insufficient personal space in crowded cities with sophisticated whimsy. She's designed clothing that may be inflated to provide a cushion of privacy between you and the slob getting too close to you on the subway. She has put thoughtful consideration into its functional design, but Modes seems mostly a conceptual artistic investigation into society, human nature, and technology.

Kuan Huang, Carlos Borges, Jeung-Ah Kim, and Daniel Bartolini's Music Monkey (left) is a game to be played by teams of children using wheelchairs. Overhead video cameras track the position of the players, who race to maneuver themselves onto locations designated by a game board projected onto a nearby wall.

Game design has long been an emphasis at ITP; I'm happy to see assistive technology continues be a focus as well.

Besides these, there are far too many other great projects for me to list here. There are too many even to see in person if you were to spend the full evening at the show. The strategy in attending these events is in finding the projects that talk to you the most, and concentrating your time with them. Whether you are into interactive documentary video, electronic instruments for musical performance, or installation design, ITP is where to find it tonight. Doors will be open from 5:00 to 9:00.

--Brian Maniere, 10 May 2005