<![CDATA[Brian L Fisher - Field Notes (Travel Blog)]]>

What if ants had discovered electricity?
imagine what if ants had discovered the flow of electricity through different materials and found ways to use it for their own purposes? what kinds of conductive materials would they have discovered, how would they manipulate these materials to create electric circuits? what would ants use electricity for? what devices might they build? would they use these devices to study humans?

this story could be told by building tiny scale functioning electronics that could possibly have been built by ants. photos of ants seemingly pulling together materials and parts to construct such circuits could tell this story.

another way to tell this story could be to imagine the crazy other kinds of devices that ants would build. devices that would serve very ant-specific purposes. instead of building functional electronics, imagining these devices and constructing props for photos and videos. bringing back these props to use to tell this story in an exhibition could built up a whole narrative around the secret life of ants.

inspirations:
design noir >> http://we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/2006/09/design-noir-the.php
>> http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/hertzian-tales
>> http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/speculative-everything

Tools:
use microscope to build tiny circuits, macro-lense camera to photograph structures and process, pen and pencil to sketch ant-electronic-inventions and circuit diagrams....

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Do It With Ants (DIWA)
as opposed to DIY (Do It Yourself) or DIWO (Do It With Others). how could we coordinate with ants to construct functioning circuits? could they drag together material to form conductive paths between components, build three-dimensional structures that can be used as speakers, motors, sensors? define routes between parts to create circuits layouts?
this could become a nice workshop topic to involve locals and local materials and crafts to think about what kinds of things (not just electronics) could be built in collaboration with ants.

inspirations:
slime mold >> http://www.wired.com/2010/01/slime-mold-grows-network-just-like-tokyo-rail-system/
DIWO >> http://www.furtherfield.org/features/articles/diwo-do-it-others-%E2%80%93-no-ecology-without-social-ecology

Tools:
multimeter to measure if ants have successfully constructed a conductive path between two points

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Another Perspective
record the expedition from the eye of another animal, possibly a bird that could fly above and observe actions of researchers and hackers from above. use imagery and video to tell this story in real-time via twitter.

inspiration:
>> http://arch.ced.berkeley.edu/kap/

Tools:
twitter, photo, video, sound recordings, kites and pully-systems to collect images and video from above

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Natural Speakers, Local Sounds
make speaker membranes using materials found on the expedition. bring back these examples and use them to play-back field recordings made on the same day the speaker was created.

if the speaker is made form materials that will change over time (dry out, crack, break, grow....) record the speaker playing the recording over time. capture an example every day and collect these examples to be played back later through a good sound-system.

Tools: audio amplifier, field recording device

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Light Communication
use flashing led lights to communicate sensor data wirelessly to the eyes of the observer/researcher. possibly capture video of the light communication for later analysis.

Tools: LED lights, microcontroller, sensor

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Night-Life Capture
some ideas for using light at night to capture images of the jungle and it's inhabitants....

Photograms
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photogram
use photosensitive emulsion to capture light drawings made by animals at night. apply emulsion to leaves and other natural materials and store them in light-tight (dark) container for later development.
inspiration >> http://www.leighannelangwell.com/

Light-Painting
use torches, LED lights, phosphorescent materials and anything that makes light to "draw" on the jungle at night or attach lights to the surrounding sand have them move by themselves....
inspirations:
>> http://jannepaint.wix.com/jannepaint-2
>> https://www.flickr.com/photos/ibroomba/

Sun Drawing
use the sun as light-source
Cyanotype paper >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanotype
>> http://www.diyphotography.net/make-your-own-photogram-cyanotype/
>> http://www.instructables.com/id/Cyanotypes---super-easy-photo-prints-at-home./

Tools: photos sensitive emulsion, film negative, negative paper, light-tight storage container, torches, LED lights, glow-in-the-dark, pin-hole camera...

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Ant's Twitter
inspired by the rambler shoes, set up a sensor/trigger so that ants can tweet.

inspiration:
>> http://www.popkalab.com/ramblershoes.html
>> https://twitter.com/ramblershoes

Tools: twitter account, internet connection, internet enabled device, sensor, code