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Showing posts with the label major project research

major project 2 (plans plans plans)

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"Kandinsky" Collaboration with Deepart (J.Hewitt 2018) Best way to get started on something is just to start. so I sat down with the DeepArt IO and doodled exhaustively, using a combination of the basic silhouettes devised with C. Peacey and some vintage pattern blocks to reference the "rules" and history of cutting. I feel there are varying levels of "success" in these. They may or maynot fulfil prerequisites for computational creativity. I think they are certainly aesthetically pleasing rather than simply novel, but how far the algorithm itself is part of the aesthetic evaluation process I need to investigate further. Many are absolutely stunning images, and were I a fine artist who had painted them or had I written the Deepart Program myself  they would easily be worthy of submission as my finished pieces. However, I am a pattern cutter and I didn't write the program, it is simply a design starting point for my 3D pattern creation exercise. ...

Major Project 1 (getting started again)

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"Vintage block" Collaboration with Deepart (J.Hewitt 2018) It has been very difficult to get back to thinking about the major project after the excitement of the group project and the epic construction task in the pattern processes module. Although everything is interconnected, and many sections of the research and development of the other modules will impact on this final piece, I fear I rather suffered from cognitive overload and found getting intensly involved in several projects at once (to say nothing of working and selling my house) very draining. I really don't want to end up just creating a fashion collection based on Deepart AI drawings... the literary research I am doing on neural systems and machine learning is just so fascinating, I want to do justice to the big concepts involved. I accept this is probably just my own personal desire to do something new and meaningful, but as I am reading more of Margaret Bodens work and becoming aware of H creativity...

Robot Day (week 29)

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Sketchy Robots picture of Alice (2018) As it was national Science week, I took a young friend to enjoy Robot Day at the Quad in Derby. There were many interesting innovations and projects in development being demonstrated as well as a variety of lectures on Robotics, AI and related themes. I was particularly pleased to meet "Sketchy" the drawing robot who drew a likeness using an android phone picture taken at the time to create and then execute a line drawing. Whilst not as sophisticated as Aaron , the pictures created were definitely unique and recognisable as sketchy's work. Also of particular interest was an R&D company investigating nano skin. During the Netrologix lecture, the possibilities of a new type of skin, capable of immense data capture via nanotechnology was demonstrated. The company was initially formed as part of a student project investigating an alternative drug/needle method of administrating medicines, and is now engaged in exciting R...

Brains!

New exciting Visual AI development....

Cambridge Uni Wearable Tech Research

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Retrieved from wallpaper.com     Futuristic Cities Today I participated in an inaugral workshop organised by the Alan Turing Institute (also the national center for AI research) as part of researcher Helen Olivers PHD at Cambridge University. Based around wearable technologies, creative narratives and the relationship between people, their emotional well being and technology, the workshop was fun and thought provoking. It was also really interesting to see another researchers approach to gathering Data in an area that is, like my own, also crossing the artistic and technological boundaries. Storytelling formed a major part of this workshop alongside some physical prototyping with paper, glue and glitter! I have signed up to participate in the longer research process which may take up to 2 years, with a few workshops a year and some interviews. I hope that it may lead to a deeper understanding of this area as well as forming important academic contacts in my are...

Term 2

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After a busy holiday attempting (very slowly) to teach myself Python Code, it's back to research and development in the first week of term at Huddersfield.... first off I came across an interesting development in the use of CAN networks to develop art which "does not fit the known artistic styles"  as opposed to pieces previously developed by GAN networks to imitate known artists and styles! The report says" “The results [of our study] show that human subjects could not distinguish art generated by the proposed system from art generated by contemporary artists and shown in top art fairs.” This is obviously an interesting development for modern art and creativity, and continues to reinforce the question of What is Creativity? if a unique human like artwork is generated, does the provenance/influences/backstory actually matter? these findings appear to be in direct contrast to this article which claims that arts degrees may have more value in the "new worl...

Choosing clothes - fashion trends and algorithms

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More algorithm excitement here... looking at trends and rules and fashion forecasting after a very interesting lecture by PTC/Flex PLM Not sure yet where it all slots into the pattern cutting angle, but arrangements are being made to demonstrate Optitex cutting/grading system for us at last, which is terrific.... links of the day - stitch fix, a personal AI stylist

The rise of creativity

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Interesting browse on Ngram - the concept of being creative has definitely escalated in modern times... unsuprisingly machines are on the rise too....

The research power of facebook!

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Facebook groups.... logical place to look for collaborators really, but it's easy to forget the logical social media step because it seems too "easy" too "superficial".... however, after drawing a blank in academic institutions I felt I was running out of options... but within a day of joining and posting in "AI and ML" excited potential collaborators round the world are messaging with ideas of how to get new exciting creative  designs out of an AI! we shall see where this leads... but I am tentatively optomistic! Next mission is to create some data sets.... might have a look at Watson to see if there is anything ready made we can play with....

Fashion robots are here!

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Today I've discovered a whole host of creative AI doing all sorts of exciting things....and a history of Robots in computational creativity that I had no idea existed. starting way back in 1970 with Aaron the painting Robot ... an AI designed by Harold Cohen  which used real paint and canvas to work on, to Sony's new "Flow" project - musical based algorithyms which attempt to understand and implement "creative style"  and subsequent webcomic Max Order which personifies and describes the journey of the algorithm to be free from "copying" and become an artist in its own right.. complete with interruptions from the programmers. On the Fashion front I've found project MUZE  - 2016, Googles not entirely successful attempt to create a fashion design AI, most creations in the gallery looking like unpleasant coloured jellyfish ensembles or 1980's shoulder padded playsuits... lets see if a mazon fares better .... potentially... they are ev...

The Anthropocene (etc)

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Machine Learning design Process Interesting case studies today, looking at using Anthropocene and wicked problems as a kicking off point for artistic practise. Also learned to do close reading on reading texts and check through citing properly, Inspired to really get going with a rough outline of where I'm heading thoughts wise, put everything down under sub headings and start thinking it through... I have lots of ideas, which I know are connected, but I need to think about how, and why. So far, Can an AI be creative? has led to, how has technology assisted creativity? on to what is creative pattern cutting anyway? on to aren't we just following rules like a computer program does? Termite mound and Gaudi Cathedral  Watched Dan Dennets RI lecture "if our brains are computers who writes the software" - excellent - his termite/Gaudi references sparked thoughts about bottom up and top down design, maybe T op Down design, (referencing Gaudi)  is closer to ...

Prof McCluskey and AI training

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Ociacia, V. (2016) Artificial Intelligence Went to the computer science dept at Hud for a brief conversation with Lee McCluskey about AI. Basically (very basically) there seems to be 2 ways to "train" an AI. Firstly, Data Driven - you give it vast quantities of Data (music scores, pictures,text etc) and it then extrapolates the next sequence of probable "thing" based on the information you've given it (a little like the IQ tests we did at school) - these are beginning to be available as in-browser softwear chat apps etc - I can probably find one to give pictures to... but it's not really "creative". Data Mining..... Second is theory driven you give it "the rules" around an idea or artefact, parameters distilled into logistical mathematical equations behind each decision. It then measures its result according to the rules in an ongoing iterative process until an acceptable result is reached. Neural networks.....

Questions and thoughts 3

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Begemott (2007) The Exchange of flowers Even if an AI can create a new piece of clothing could it be called "fashion"? Art and fashion are an outward expression of inner emotional experience and turmoil. Fashion relies on a cultural structure to give it credibility. fashion as a system... If fashion is a collaborative process then the AI becomes another collaborator not the sole architect.
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I have discovered my area of interest has a name! Computational Creativity. It's still a pretty new area obviously. but there have been a couple of conferences and there are some good papers on it that I shall now wade through! Mainly people seem to be interested in Music and Creative Writing with a couple of forrays into Sculpture... This IBM piece is particularly interesting and has potential for inspiring some structural pattern cutting... It was co-created by an AI IBM's "Watson"... Iv'e also contact several researchers and professors in this area hoping we may be able to talk about their work...

3D pattern creation softwear and AI

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Well apparantly some machine learning is already being incorporated into 3D pattern softwear design TUKA   " The software combines sophisticated algorithms based on artificial intelligence together with manual manipulations to help the operator get the optimum utilization of materials. Users get a temporary working area to visualize and place pieces more efficiently." by company I don't think that that sort of automated shifting of panels and pieces to find the most efficient solution is necessarily what we think of when AI is mentioned... but it is interesting - particularly in the context of our concept module on zero waste...

Second thoughts for final project

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An exploration of the development of a pattern cutting process with reference to AI and machine learning  What is creativevpattern Cutting? Solving of a technical problem Through creative expression or expression of a creative thought through technical means? Can a thinking machine ever move beyond the bounds of its programming and be truly, freely creative? As cutters, can we? Nature of creativity, Inspiration Boundaries Construction Constriction Working beyond what is "possible" Shape repetition  Proportion Aesthetics What are the learned variables a cutter takes for granted?  Grainline, Fabric drape, recognisable shape, reinforced wear points, body movement and articulation, comfort, how can these be incorporated into an AI learning experience. Can you then move beyond that programming” with a creative problem solving pattern leap utilising “robotics”  - eg from many complex pattern pieces to moulded corsetry in Vic...

Awesome Japanese Designers in preparation for Zero waste cutting

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Books Read "Japan fashion now" and "the cutting edge" I'm looking at how unusual designers have formed cohesive collections while still playing with very extreme concepts..... "I am interested in the space between the body and the clothes so that the body can feel entirely at ease because each persons body shape is so different. this space creates an individual for it also gives the wearer freedom of movement for body AND SPIRIT" Issey Miyake ( note to self - Philip Pullmans Daemons from the Northern Lights trilogy - spirits? what makes an AI spirit? does an AI have a soul?) Hiroaki Ohya - Wizard of Jeanz collection - books that turn into pieces of clothing ShinChiro Arakawa - Canvasses collection - presenting clothes as art in frames yoshiki Hishinuma - developed thermo fabrics so no cutting was involved just the reshaping of cloth into extreme shapes.. (I'm sure there's a victorian corset that was moulded) Rei Kawakubo - oversiz...

First thoughts for final project

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will lead to a collection of 6 pieces and a thesis to support them. are we constricted or liberated by our "casings" our bodies? Senses such as touch, but also real world physics and lifespan restrictions Could an AI truly cut creatively even though it has no experience of a body? "co-existing safely and ethically with intelligent machines" https://www.google.co.uk/amp/ s/www.theverge.com/platform/ amp/2017/4/13/15284448/google- ai-draw-doodles-sketch-rnn https://magenta.tensorflow. org/sketch-rnn-demo https://groups.google.com/a/ tensorflow.org/forum/m/#! forum/magenta-discuss https://www.class-central.com/ mooc/6679/kadenze-creative- applications-of-deep-learning- with-tensorflow https://www.businessoffashion. com/articles/fashion-tech/is- fashion-ready-for-the-ai- revolution https://www.ai.uga.edu/sites/ default/files/theses/wang_ haosha.pdf https://www.google.co.uk/amp/ s/www.technologyreview.com/s/ 608668/amazon-has-devel...

What am I interested in? Brainstorm

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Industrial processes and softwear Artificial Intelligence and machine learning Corsetry - body sculpting through history - Symmington collection New materials and processes - lazer cutting, 3D print etc make custom mannequins in 1/2 scale via 3d print? Partnership/power balance between designer and cutter Digital modeling for zero waste pattern cutting Space, galaxies, Black holes, Voids, Things that remain behind Zero waste with lazer cutting - incorporating offcuts into decorative structures Zero waste fabric plus 3D printing is inherently zero waste Zero waste corsetry, is it possible? circular stays.... Quirk wear - pattern line for interesting office clothes Pattern grading - need to learn Arduino Digital world v Real world Augmented reality clothes Perception - how we see ourselves V how we really are Virtual world space not confined or constricted by real world physics New fabrics require new ways of pattern cutting