GRND Lab
Global Research & Networked Devices
GROUND LAB
A RESEARCH, FABRICATION AND PROTOTYPING COMPANY
Ground
An object that makes an electrical connection
with the earth.
Laboratory
A place equipped for experimental study in a science or for testing and analysis.
A research, specialty fabrication & prototyping company focused on sustainable technological solutions.
+
=
About
GRND Lab is a complete consulting, design and fabrication resource. Located in Brooklyn, New York, GRND Lab consists of a collaborative studio/shop specializing in prototyping, hardware and software development, interaction design and specialty fabrication. Known for networking embedded devices with real time online visualization, GRND Lab is focused on creating innovative sustainable solutions for environmental, social and humanitarian challenges.
GRND Lab maintains a small but highly skilled workforce in order to be flexible to the demands of a variety of design challenges. This enables GRND Lab to address diverse problems sets and take concepts from start to finish, no matter how big or small the job or what the field of work. This flexibility creates a strong working relationship and constant dialogue with the clients, tailoring GRND Lab's developmental process to research groups/organizations, non profits, creative start-ups and cross discipline endeavors.
The four principals are all graduates of the Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU and have strong backgrounds in both technology and the arts. The team also has a combined fabrication experience of over 20 years from metal working/ machining to mold-making and mechanical design. In the 1500 sq ft of space GRND Lab offers a fully equipped wood-working, welding, plastics & fabrication shop, an electronics and circuit building lab, mac and pc stations for programming and visualization, large format printers and scanners, a hammock and a plant. Please see the services page for more detail.
As part of GRND Lab's pledge to sustainability, all business cards are printed on tree-free paper, made from sterilized and naturally processed elephant poop, which helps protect elephants in Sri Lanka. Most of the lab's electronic equipment runs on solar power thanks to a system of photovoltaic panels on the roof and all servers and email services are entirely wind powered.
You can see what we at GRND Lab are working on at the moment, by visiting our blog and by visiting our work page for a list of past and current projects. If you have any questions or would like to request a quote please feel free to contact us!
Services
Most clients start with an idea, an issue or problem that they need help solving or bringing to life. With a history
of research and fabrication involving projects spanning a broad range of fields, from medical devices for UNICEF, to a solar energy data logger for SMIT, to smart collars for conservancies like the Living with Lionsproject in Kenya, a full range of solutions and experience has been gathered to assist your organization in the development and prototyping process.
The practice of transforming concepts into actual physical applications can be a complex process involving research, cost analysis, prototyping, fabrication and testing; below are the services offered that will help you
and your company bring an unique idea into reality.
Concept
Architecture
Fabrication
Testing
Product
Tools & Technologies
Software
flash as3
assembly
pic basic
c
c++
embedded c
java
arduino ide
wiring
php
processing
css
javascript
html, xhtml
xml, xslt
asterix
vision tracking
motion capture
max/msp jitter
vvvv
open frameworks
Hardware
embedded microcontroller
pic
atmel avr
bx-24
teleo
miditron
funnel
wiring board
sensors
proximity
envrionmental
biometric
capacitive
id
imaging
process control
solar
lcd
motor
pneumatic
hydrolic
lighting
robotics
lego mindstorms
wood
metal
steel & aluminum - tig, mig, arc, oxy
plastics
cnc
machining
mold making, casting
finishing
Networks
serial
usb
ttl
bluetooth
i2c
zigbee 802.15.4
irda
gps
gsm
gprs
mesh
wifi
Work
Patient Data Entry
Device
Remote Solar in
Kenya
InDoor System
Kenyan Tree House
Tsunameter Buoy
System
Sola-System
Mobile Datalogging
Solar GPS
The 40,000 Trees
Project
Personal Range
Finder
Cat Feeder
Wearable Controller
Luscious Electric
Delight
Tom-Tombino
Will O' the Wisps
Homeostasis
A Tree for Anable
Basin
Playing the Building
Carbon Arc Lamp
Open GL
Watch What You Are
Video Manipulation
Team
Justin Downs
Benedetta Piantella
Raphael Zollinger
Benedetta Piantella was born and raised in Parma, Italy. She received a B.F.A. from Tufts University and SMFA Boston, while taking courses at Harvard, Berklee College of Music, MIT and Mass Art. In Boston she worked as teacher at SMFA and for the MIT LIST Visual Arts Center, assisting in the preparation of the American Pavilion of the Venice Biennale. In 2008 she obtained a Master's from the ITP program at NYU, while teaching lego robotics. She has worked for Tinker.it! in Milan, and Smart Design in NY, where she produced prototypes for high end clients. [more]
Raphael Zollinger received his BFA from Pratt Institute and his Masters degree from ITP, NYU. He has been doing prototyping and fabrication in New York for the past 10 years. His focus is in sustainable energy, data logging and real time data visualization. He has produced circuits to monitor environmental and solar data for SMIT as well as inDOOR energy harvesting. He has taught at Pratt and SVA for 3 years in foundation 3D.
Justin Downs was born and raised in the city of Detroit Mich and has lived in New York since 1997. He graduated The School of Visual Arts in 2002 with a BFA, attended classes at CUNY City Tech and received his Masters degree from the ITP program at NYU (2008). He is a builder/ fabricator of ideas and objects and has worked in a variety of fields from prototype fabrication, conservation technologies, machining, electronics, art/ interactive design to the mechanizing of bicycles and construction. [more]
Collaborators
Board of Advisers
Contact
We are located at 340 Morgan Avenue (between Maspeth and Metropolitan Ave.) on the 2nd Floor in Brooklyn, NY, 11211.
To reach us, you can take the L train to Graham Ave.
Patient Data Entry Device
This is a prototype for a patient entry device for health clinics in Malawi and Uganda, realized in partnership with UNICEF. It allows the user to input child's vital information such as name, weight, height, middle-upper arm circumference and child's health complications in order to receive a prompt preliminary diagnosis of the child's general heath and malnutrition level. The device uses auditory prompts as well as written prompts to guide the health care worker through the diagnosis questionnaire and guides him/her through both the registration process for a new patient and the check up on a previously registered patient.
Principal / Client:
Benedetta Piantella for UNICEF, with Raphael Zollinger and Justin Downs.
Materials / Software
Microcontroller, LCD screen, MP3 player, SD card, speakers, Qwerty, rechargeable batteries, GPRS module and more.
Remote Solar in Kenya
This is a solar system developed and installed in southern Kenya to provide power for the new Living with Lions research camp.
Justin Downs for the Living with Lions Conservancy.
Displayed at:
Southern Kenya in the Maasai land.
Materials / Software:
Solar panels, battery bank, solar charger, inverter, aluminum framing system, wood.
This is a Tree House developed and installed in southern Kenya to provide living quarters for the new Living With Lions research camp.
Bluegum, rough cut timber, nails, chain, jua-kali, pvc, tires.
The inDOOR Energy Harvester is a low cost, low profile mechanism that converts rotational kinetic energy from opening and closing a door to usable electricity.
It contains a circuit to store this electricity, measure what is produced and dynamically graph and monitor its progress on a website. The stored electricity can then be used for any of the buildings off grid needs, such as emergency sign-age, cameras or lighting.
If we start looking at doors as a source to generate and put back a small slice of the energy we consume everyday, then eventually the rest of our actions and environment becomes possible too.
Principal:
Raphael Zollinger.
Steel, electronic parts, MySql, Php, Javascript, Flash.
The Sola-System amplifies audio signals into large sound without the need of grid based electricity. The heart of the system is based around a photovoltaic cell which is directly linked to an audio amplifier. The system uses no batteries or storage devices for the power and there is nothing to recharge or replace. It does employ a series of capacitors to smooth and average the available solar energy minimizing the effects of clouds or people momentarily passing in front of the cell. It accomodates multiple audio inputs.
Justin Downs. Created in collaboration with Nick Hasty.
Habana outpost.
Solar panel, usb cable, custom electronics, wood, aluminum, AM/FM radio.
A mobile and web based datalogger that visualizes and controls the research and testing of three different indoor energy harvesting methods: piezo, magnetic and a generator. Via phone or the web, the user is able to drain a battery or capacitor, when full, or restart the system.
Custom electronics, processing, MySql, Flashlite.
Tsunameter Buoy System
This buoy, anchored in the East River, broadcasts its presence live through music and evening light shows and is inspired by the research I have conducted on contemporary DART tsunameter systems, employed by NOAA in order to detect and assess tsunamis and their inundation patterns. The glowing buoyant platform contains a circuit that computes the incoming values to interpret currents and transmits the data to a nearby computer, connected to speakers. It can be used to log and graph data and issue alarms when safety thresholds are breached.
Benedetta Piantella. In collaboration withGadi Sassoon.
DUMBO Arts Center, NY and Venti Correnti in Milan, Italy.
Floating buoy, solar cell, LEDs, microcontroller, Xbee radio, accelerometer, wireless speakers. C, Max Msp Jitter.
This solar powered GPS unit was conceived and is being developed to fill the needs of the Lion Guardian organization in Kenya.This organization uses a combination of social and electronic technologies to track and care for the lion populations of southern Kenya. The GPS unit would specifically be used by the Lion Guardians (trained scouts from the surrounding villages) to record the walking routes used in monitoring the bush and lion prides. The gathered GPS data is later crossed referenced with their recorded observations, producing data visualizations, which represent change in the lions environment.
Justn Downs for the Lion Guardians.
ITP show (2008)
Solar panels, trimble gps, Atmel chip, fabric, plastics.
40,000 Trees Project
The 40.000 Trees Project is a reforestation intervention in one of the countries worst devastated by the tsunami, Sri Lanka. It involves the planting of 40,000 trees along the coasts as a sign of remembrance for the 40,000 lives lost during the natural disaster. Inviting the local community to paretecipate will constitute temporary job positions and an occasion to pay homage to the families that took such great care of tourists during the catastrophe. Donors will be able to monitor the process step by step through email updates and through the Blog that will document the entire mission. Later, thanks to Google Earth, they will be able to check out th exact location of the trees they have donated. Please visit the 40,000 Trees Website.
Benedetta Piantella.
Seeds, care, website, Google Earth, donations.
Personal Range Finder
The Personal Range Finder is an assistive device that translates physical space into a tactile input on your arm. The goal of this project was to make an affordable mobile machine that is rugged, runs off a common power supply (9volt battery) and easy to use. The range finder utilizes sonar to create a map of the surrounding physical space. This map is then translated to a scaled pressure gradient which is applied to your forearm. In this way you are able to see the surrounding 8 feet of space allowing for informed movement without the use of your eyes.
Justin Downs.
ITP Winter show (2006).
Atmel chip, stepper motor, aluminum, hardware.
This wearable device allows the wearer to control his/her environment in real time thanks to movement and gesture recognition applications.
New York, ITP Winter Show (2008).
Wool and fabric, accelerometer, bluetooth module, Zigbee radio, microcontroller, Software Max Msp Jitter.
Automatic Cat Feeder
A programmable cat feeding system that can distinguish between different cats based upon their weight. The owner places the food into a bowl and sets the time at which it will open to allow the cat to feed. The lid then closes, sealing the freshness of the food. A mat in front of the feeder registers the cat's weight and opens the lid to feed, therefore not allowing a dominant cat to eat all the food. One device may control multiple feeding schedules and bowls of food.
Plastic, electronic parts, bowl.
The current sociological technologies put new demands onto the individual, creating a multi-formed self that interacts not only with others direct social needs but also with the ghosted need of technology. The HOMEostais is a method to open up a communication between the individual and technologies. The HOMEostasis system is based on the transferring of personal biometric data into the surrounding environment via a personalized graphing control application. This transferring links the system with the individual, allowing to maintain many technological devices and processes with one action.
New York, ITP Show (2007).
PC, Xbee RF, Atmel micro controller, IR sensor, X-10 system hardware.
This interactive object was designed and created specifically for the Design+ Expo in Rome, Italy, to give this hystorical design element a voice. Roman sewer grates get clogged with leaves during the fall season, flooding the narrow streets of Rome. They are landmarks, and this project was intended to give them a new purpose so that people would pay them the attention and the upkeep they deserve. A few sewer grates would in fact be tagged with tool free phone numbers, re- introducing them as tools to navigate such a vast and exciting city. A menu will greet the caller and instruct him/her on how to use the automated service, which provides information such as how to get to the closest attractions, taxi stands or subway stops, restaurants and nearby bars recommended by true Roman residents!
Benedetta Piantella, with Raphael Zollinger.
Rome, Italy, Roma d+ Expo.
Will O' The Wisps
Will O' the Wisps is a semi-intelligent solar powered mesh network. It consists of eight modules deployed in and around a forest in upstate New York. Each module runs and performs its function with power derived from the environment. The networked system works together to move viewers around an area in varying patterns, indefinitely. The network is set up along the lines of swarm intelligence principles, where each module is a separate entity with its own guidelines of operation.
The network also uses a shared knowledge base to represent the changing energy concentrations in the system. The energy concentration is based on the sun's movement across the sky and the patterns of individual interaction with the modules. This is communicated to the individual by changing the tone and duration of the modules "call" giving users a real-time feel of the fluctuation in the system and their effect on it.
Luscious Electric Delight
The Luscious Electric Delight is a a 28 x 40 dot L.E.D. matrix sized about 12" by 9" and made of light emitting diodes programmed to display algorithmically generated graphics. This low-power display can also functions as a clock; it does in fact display hours, minutes and seconds, along with day, month and year. The clock runs on a real-time clock chip that can retain time of day even when the clock is powered off. The clock/display broadcasts a time signal to its surroundings using a small bandwidth ZigBee Radio. This project was realized in collaboration with Leif Krinkle, Rob Faludi, and Zach Layton.
New York, ITP Winter Show 2006.
Dot LED matrices, microcontrollers, Xbee radios and SD card, C.
Playing the building is a sound installation in which the infrastructure, the physical plant of the building, is converted into a giant musical instrument. Devices are attached to the building structure to the metal beams and pillars, the heating pipes, the water pipes and are used to produce sound. The activations are of three types: wind, vibration, striking. The devices do not produce sound themselves, but they cause the building elements to vibrate, resonate and oscillate so that the building itself becomes a very large musical instrument.
Justin Downs (and collaborators) for David Byrne.
2005 fargfabriken, Stockholm, Sweden 2008 Battery Maritime Building, New York, NY (10 South Street at Whitehall Street)
Weaver organ, motors, pneumatics, solenoids, pneumatic tube, various analog electronics. Completely analog.
This is the world's largest operating carbon arc lamp (60,000 watts at full power) it was designed and fabricated originally in 2005. It has been retrofitted in 2006-7 for display in Pittsburgh.
The lamp operates by running a electrical current through two pieces of carbon rod, this creates a pocket of plasma that sustains the connection and burns away the carbon at ~6000 degrees F. In doing so a light covering the full radiant spectrum is created giving the "truest" light possible.
Justin Downs for Starn Twins.
(2005) Färgfabriken Kunsthalle Stockholm Sweden
(2008) Wood Street Galleries / at the Pipe Building
Steel, copper, carbon, motors, insulation, coolant, max/msp control system redesigned into a completely analogue system.
A Tree for Anable Basin
This was a floating aluminum tree that was fabricated for amorphic robot works by Justin and Bruce. It is a 25' aluminum structure fitted onto a 30' base. Around the base real dirt and grass was planted. For more information click here!
Justin Downs for amorphic robot works.
5th Street end at Anable Basin, Queens NY.
Aluminum, dirt, grass, pontoons.
Examples of data visualization techniques.
ITP.
Open GL, Max/MSP Jitter.
Watch What You Are, is a vision tracking system that looks for visual pattern matches between a movie or any other two dimensional source, and a real time video feed. The visual image comparison we are focusing on are between the body positions of actors and actresses in 2-demensional media (movies, tv, pictures) and the body positions of the games participants. Using this comparison a link between the 2-dimensionally represented reality of the actors and the current reality of the participants is created.
interactivos?_ Eyebeam.
Computer vision software, midi light controller, ir spots, screen. Software: open frameworks (older version used max/msp).
Video Manipulations
Examples of video manipulations techniques which can be combined with live data visualization techiniques.
Computer vision software, open frameworks, Max/MSP Jitter, Openg GL.
Grant Cambridge - PMP, Engineering Technologist, The Meraka Institute
Grant Cambridge is the lead engineer in the Digital Doorway project - a joint initiative between the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Meraka Institute with a vision of making a fundamental difference to computer literacy and associated skills in
Africa. The project envisages a sustainable network of Digital Doorways computer kiosks in every rural community in the country, including even the remotest areas. Through improved computer literacy, all South Africans can participate in the information society. [link to more]
Tom Igoe - Associate Arts Professor, Interactive Telecommunications Program, NYU
Tom Igoe teaches courses in physical computing and networking, exploring ways to allow digital technologies to sense and respond to a wider range of human physical expression. Coming from a background in theatre, his work has centered on physical interaction related to live performance and public space. His current research focuses on ecologically sustainable practices in technology development. He is a contributor to MAKE magazine and a collaborator on the Arduino open source microcontroller project. He hopes someday to work with monkeys, as well. [link to more]
Eric Rosenthal - Scientist in Residence, Interactive Telecommunications Program, NYU
Mr. Rosenthal is President of Creative Technology, LLC (CTech), a company specializing in new and advanced imaging technology consulting and development. Mr. Rosenthal received an Emmy award for his work as technical project manager for the audio-video systems engineering of ABC's coverage of the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. He is Scientist in Residence at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts Interactive Telecommunications Program. Mr. Rosenthal has been awarded 5 patents and has 2 patents pending. He is on the board of the National Society of Inventors.[link to more]
Clay Shirky - Faculty Professor, Interactive Telecommunications Program, NYU
Currently focusing on social software and peer-to-peer technologies, and the ways electronic networks shape the social lives of the groups that form there, and vice-versa. Clay writes extensively about the Internet, and his writings have appeared in the IEEE Computer magazine, FEED, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Harvard Business Review, and Business 2.0, among others. He also works as a consultant, and his current and former clients include Nokia, Barnes and Noble, the Markle Foundation, the BBC, and the Library of Congress.[link to more]
Stephanie Dolrenry - Carnivore Conservationist, APP
Stephanie has completed her first year of PhD studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her research focuses on lion and spotted hyena conflict in Maasai communities and the link between carnivore predation on livestock and retaliatory poisoning. Stephanie has a National Science Foundation Doctoral Fellowship and a Kaplan Fellowship. She has a Wildlife Conservation and Management degree from Missouri State University and has spent the past ten years as a field biologist in the US, the Caribbean, Hawaii and Kenya. [link to more]
Leela Hazzah - Lion Guardians Director, Carnivore Conservationist, APP
Leela obtained her MSc from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and has completed her first year of PhD studies there. Her research focuses on the motivations behind lion killing and attitudes of Maasai towards carnivores. She has a Biology degree from Denison University, is fluent in Swahili, and has worked as a GIS analyst and researcher in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Leela has been awarded a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Fellowship, a Kaplan Fellowship, a Fellowship from Wings WorldQuest and a Jordan Prize for African Studies. [link to more]
Benjamin Leduc-Mills - Programmer and Web Guru
Ben began studying design and digital media in 2003 and received a Masters Degree from NYU in Interactive Telecommunications in 2008. He currently works as a freelance designer/programmer as well as a web and systems technologist for Eyebeam Atelier in New York City, one of the leading Art and Technology galleries in the world. At the moment, he's excited about the possibilities of sustainable technology, food in the city, the future of archiving, and designing for the other 90%. [link to more]
Pravin Sathe - UX, IA, Interaction Designer
Pravin holds a Master's degree ('08) from the Interactive Telecommunications Program at New York University (NYU). A graduate of NYU's College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) he received his B.A. in 2003, double majoring in Politics and Economics. He is a former NYC Teaching Fellow having taught mathematics at Washington Irving High School from 2003 to 2005. He was most recently an Innovation Researcher at EdLab, Teachers College, Columbia University and Interaction Desinger at HUGE. [link to more]
GRND Lab, LLC 340 Morgan Avenue #2F, Brooklyn, NY 11211 us [at] grndlab.com 2009. All Rights Reserved.
