CCTP 506 Website Projects

Ever since Henry Ford debuted his assembly-line produced Model T car in 1908, the automobile has been a part of American society and culture– but we often take for granted the technology within the car that gets us from point A to point B. We chose to look at the 1940s Oldsmobile not only because its Hydra-Matic was the first automatic transmission to be popularized, but also because it is much easier to understand than today’s newer models that utilize computerized components. Although it is rare to encounter the Oldsmobile’s automatic transmission today, GM’s design laid the foundation for future innovations like electric cars, microcars, and driverless cars.

It’s the age of smartphones. These portable and versatile devices offer seemingly endless features, including digital cameras, notepads, and audio recorders, which have effectively consolidated the journalistic profession into a single tool. However, even though journalists can now store mobilized versions of their entire media arsenal in their pockets or palms, many still opt to use digital audio recording devices such as the Sony ICD-UX560 for professional-grade sound quality. What separates these singular audio capture devices from multi-faceted smartphones for journalists in this age of high-speed digital news production? Team HOYAudio will attempt to unpack the “blackbox” of digital audio recording

Google Transit is a transportation planner service embedded in Google Map that obtains latest data from travel agency to combine with the power of Google Maps. It gathers transportation information such as stops, routes, schedules, and fare to make trip planning quick and easy. For travel agencies and individuals around the world, it is a cost-efficient solution targeted at transit novices and seasoned travelers alike.

Headphones are not just a source of audio equipment, they are the tool that afforded us both a private and mobile listening experience. Our research goal was to discover the ways in which headphones contributed to the privatization of music, and how these factors contributed to changes in behaviors and communities. In shifting the act of listening to music from public to private, music and social culture changed as well. Headphones changed behavior in public spaces offices, gyms, and libraries. In these spaces, headphones act as a shield, providing control over one’s environment and mood. In addition, the way music is produced, branded, and consumed were disrupted by this technology.

The invention of the high pressure sodium bulb represented a breakthrough in energy efficient and high-intensity lighting technology. This technology attracted a variety of end-users who had different needs to consider when making lighting decisions. Soon after their invention, HPS bulbs were installed in street lights nationwide as their high lumen output provided greater nighttime visibility for drivers. For many years, the HPS bulb dominated the industrial market, but other bulbs have been developed that are more energy efficient. Since then, the HPS bulb has risen in popularity with indoor growers; these horticulturalists value the red spectrum light produced by the chemical reactions in HPS bulbs, as it is ideal for a plant’s flowering stage.

Coffee has a long and storied history and we seek to explain in what ways instant coffee fits into the current narrative. Not only does instant coffee have a long history dating back to 1771, but it also has a complex production process and an interesting effect on society. Where regular coffee production ends, instant coffee production begins. The effects of instant coffee on society are far reaching from housewives to the military. On this website you will find an outline of the production process, a historical timeline of instant coffee, and the socio-technical elements of instant coffee.

Telepresence or “remote presence” machines were originally developed to remotely repair space vehicles in orbit during the 1980s. Soon after, this concept migrated to the context of healthcare. In 2014, InTouch Health and iRobot partnered to produce one of the most sophisticated telepresence robots in medicine to date, the RP-Vita. We aim to uncover the complexities telepresence robots bring to clinical interactions and critically review how those complexities influence patient-provider communication. Additionally, this project aims to analyze the greater socio-technical implications of RP-Vita for communication in healthcare, and how robotic telepresence may both enhance and possibly impair the exchange of information between patients and providers of clinical care.

With the ability to make a hot cup of coffee in under a minute, the Keurig coffee machine brings a level of convenience to our daily lives and coffee consumption. We explore how a Keurig has benefitted the lives of coffee aficionados and contributed to the “need for speed” mentality– whether that be arriving at places faster, finishing tasks rapidly, or getting coffee more quickly. We examine how this technology has impacted society and the environment, as well as how it has fixed the “I need coffee now” problem. All you must do is select a coffee pod, insert it into the machine, and with the press of a button the sweet caffeinated elixir is yours in a matter of seconds with the Keurig brewing system!

The popularization of modern day birth control was a turning point for women’s liberation. This technology gave women the ability to treat a variety of medical conditions and reduce the risk of pregnancy. By being able to decide if and when to have children, women gained autonomy over their bodies, and the freedom to work and live without the risk of getting pregnant. Today, there are various safe and effective methods of contraception, but much of the information is confusing, biased, or otherwise inaccessible. This website aims to educate and empower those who are interested in exploring a long-term hormonal birth control method.

The projection keyboard is, in essence, an electronic device that projects keyboard layout onto a flat surface, which users can type on and input data into computer with. It does what a common physical keyboard can do, but is much smaller. For decades, scientists have been working on giving computers three-dimensional interfaces for human beings to interact with them more naturally. This wish is illuminated through the lens of a lot of science fiction films, like The Minority Report. We’ve been anticipating that projected interfaces might change people’s ways of interacting with technology significantly, and this projection keyboard, though far from perfect, might be a step in that direction.

When you think of automated vacuums, what is the first name that probably pops into your mind? Roomba. With its catchy name, and the ability to do work that you would otherwise dread doing, it’s easy to see how over 20 million Roombas have been sold worldwide. The Roomba comes with a self-charging station, mapping capabilities, numerous types of suction and brushes to optimize cleaning, and now, an app that allows you to control your Roomba from anywhere. This self-cleaning vacuum doesn’t seem to be going anywhere–besides under your tables–soon.

In recent years, the goal of much innovation in solar energy production has been to improve upon traditional solar panels. While new technologies offer enhancements in appearance and functionality, many are still designed for stationary installation. smartflower marks a drastic departure from traditional solar panel design. A plug-and-play piece of energy-generating equipment, smartflower is essentially an attractive lawn sculpture that can also power a home, a small business, a park, or an outdoor event. smartflower’s bi-axial tracking mechanism enables its panels to catch more rays by maintaining alignment with the sun from sunrise to sunset.

This website is about the telegraph, and more specifically the Morse key, which is the device used to send a message using Morse code. The telegraph was the first communication technology that used electric current, and it worked by transmitting electrical signals over a wire laid between stations to send a message. Like the internet that we use today, the telegraph made the world feel smaller and connected.

YouTube is a video sharing platform that is gradually replacing the significance of television in our daily lives. When you become a regular on YouTube, it starts to suggests videos it thinks you would like to watch. At times the suggestions are relevant, but sometimes not. How exactly does YouTube make tailored suggestions from the millions of available videos on their platform? What is the magic behind the curtain that secretly manipulates your user page? Team Vector is here to tackle the mystery!