This course will work with Tongji University (Shanghai) to do projects with the Parsons Optitrack MoCap facility (see http://optitrack.com/), as well as Perception Neuron (an alternative motion tracking technology: see https://neuronmocap.com/) to choreograph, control, and add visuals and sound to dance performances in NY and Shanghai. Each performance will be controlled by teams at the other location. Based upon the infamous "Fly on the Wall” Collab Studio between Parsons DT and Tongji that exploded on the world scene Fall 2013, participants will learn the basics of motion capture technology and experiment wildly with it over several short projects. A final longer project will lead to performances involving actual dancers at The New School and the Shanghai Theatre Academy. Specific focus will be placed on collaborating with teams from Tongji, and producing work that does not "live in one place". A final dance performance is slated to take place during the Parsons China Trip (May 2019) in Shanghai. No prior experience is necessary: students should have interest in performance, global collaboration, motion capture, programming, and dance. Travel is not required but highly recommended. This will be an intense, demanding studio and no laziness will be accepted.

In the Occupy Earth collaborative studio, we will create works of “mixed reality,” constructing new forms of virtual and physical hybrids to explore polarized discussion of the ecologies, climates, and environments we now face as an earth-bound species in the 21st century. We use the term “mixed reality” to link emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality to the physical and sensory realities that pervade our cultural and political lives. The first half of the course will pair design exercises investigating alternate sensory perception, spatial narrative, and mutable environments with technical instruction combining projection mapping (MadMapper), 3D scanning and augmented interaction (Kinect), and prototyping virtual spaces in Unity. The final project will involve designing layered mixed reality spaces to convey how disruption or intervention to the surrounding environment can impact a character, species, and culture. The course will be conducted in collaboration with students at the Media Lab at University of Aalto in Helsinki. It will involve a final public presentation of work either in NYC or Helsinki, and the possibility of travel.

This fall 2018 collab will explore the emerging space of AI and AGI deployed on blockchain systems, and will develop projects through design research, concept, proof of concept, code, and visualization. The course will start with a 3-4 week intensive to establish what is generally at stake in AI development across disciplines. Projects will then be designed in a ‘collab studio’ context, and prototype what the applications, interfaces, functions, clients, and economies can be in the near term [5-7 years] as blockchain based AI ecosystems and economies emerge. We have a remarkable opportunity as our outside sponsors/partners are OpenCog and SingularityNET. We will have a hands on workshop we will host with the sponsors partway through the semester, led by Ben Goertzel and his associates. This workshop will conclude with a one day conference bringing luminaries in AI, AGI, and blockchain systems together. The collaboration builds on a longer term set of projects and events developed by Ed Keller and Ben Goertzel, hosted by CTM & The New School, including the 2016 Future of Mind symposium [https://futureofmind.wordpress.com/ ]; the 2016 Human Level AI conferences which Goertzel and the AGI Society organized [http://agi-conf.org/hlai2016/ ]; and the 2011 Transhumanism Meets Design conference, co-chaired by Keller and Natasha Vita More.

In this Collab Studio, The New School students will collaborate in cross-disciplinary team of public health students from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai to assist Little Sisters of the Assumption Family Health Services (LSA). We will research, prototype, design, and document projects for pilot testing that address the needs of LSA and its constituents. For this Communitology studio, our community partner is Little Sisters of the Assumption Family Health Services (littlesistersfamily.org). LSA serves a largely Mexican immigrant population in East Harlem, confronting issues including poverty, health, housing, food security, education and legal rights. We will focus on the needs of children and families served by LSA; specific problems will be informed by needs assessments. How can we help LSA and their families succeed? Our approach includes variety of tools and techniques drawn from systems thinking, public health models and evidence-based practices, co-design practices, and iterative design processes. Solutions will lead to measurable outcomes. Change the world, starting with East Harlem. The ongoing Communitology Project is a collaboration between Parson’s PETLab and the Public Health program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The project poses a single question: How can we design for health? We define Communitology as the local application of public health knowledge to untangle the knot of community health, wealth and achievement disparities, from cause to consequence, with broad engagement of stakeholders and evaluation of efficacy.

We’ve all heard about machine learning, but as artists and designers what can we actually do with it? This course will help students identify and experiment with real-world applications (in their personal practice and otherwise) of machine learning techniques. The first half of the semester will be spent learning about Python and experimenting with machine learning toolkits such as Tensorflow, Keras, Torch, and Theano to learn the basics, and identify possible applications of machine learning to creative practice. During the second half of the course groups will work to create more in-depth projects using data or media we borrow from available public or corporate sources (CCTV cameras, YouTube, Google Search, CCTV (Telivision-- China). This will be a very hands-on course-- no prior experience is necessary with machine learning, but participants should understand that there is a high learning curve to much of the material and the workload will be substantial. Some scripting or coding will be required— this is a great course for someone who wants to learn Python. What is the payback? You will gain skills in one of the hottest domains around, and you will become rich and famous.

Five of New York City’s universities are partnering to defend and support journalism and independent news media --- one of the most critical elements of our democracy --- as they are increasingly under threat. This unique, first-of-its kind program and collaboration will bring together Cornell Tech, Columbia University, City University of New York, New York University, and The New School -- in partnership with the NYC Media Lab -- to investigate and understand the various threats to journalism and media, and attempt to address these challenges using design, engineering, and computational methods and techniques. The effort will gather graduate students with backgrounds and expertise in journalism, design, and engineering/technology from these institutions in a special course to kick off in Spring 2018. In addition to the course, a speaker series hosted at news organizations around the city will launch in October around the themes of the partnership, featuring influential figures from media and technology. Inaugural media participants that will host fall programming include The New York Times, CNN, BuzzFeed, and the HuffPost. See https://www.techmediademocracy.nyc for more information.

There is a lot of buzz about "disruptive" technology in the media. However, most of the technologies labeled disruptive are actually just the next generation of consumer devices, and do not disrupt the status quo at all. In this class, students will use digital technology and custom electronics to create devices that are actually disruptive to the social order. The projects in the class primarily center around high tech hoaxes, pranks, and hacktivism. Focusing on current tech industry trends such as Internet of Things, personalization and social engagement, students will create devices that are antithetical to consumer products. Incoming students should have prior experience with physical computing and fabrication, or possess a willingness to learn quickly and independently.

How can technology and fashion inform one another to help us better understand our world? This a class that explores the intersection of fashion, e-textile design, and computational technology. We will be creating innovative sartorial works that showcase the potential of smart apparel and reimagine the body’s relationship to fashion and technology as an interactive media. Students will learn about various physical computing and garment construction techniques used for integrating electronics and or technology into the build and substrates of clothing. From basic sewing to computerized embroidery to machine knitting, many techniques will be demonstrated. No experience with sewing or physical computing is required, but be ready to learn. The sewing machines we will use in this class are super cool!

These are unique types of studio courses, pairing teams of students with industry partners to undertake real-world projects. Descriptions for fall 2016 offerings will be posted soon.

This course will consider how publications — from the periodical, to the reader, to the exhibition catalog — can be designed for the screen. While publishing today takes place in an ever expanding range of forms and contexts, this course will be a studio-based investigation focused on the design of online publications; by the end of the course, students will have completed significant research and an independent project. Some questions we will ask: How do we give an online publication a strong identity? How do we convey authority and rigor in an ephemeral online context? How can we reproduce the best parts of the print-based reading experience (bookmarking, earmarking, etc.)? How do we use the interactive and dynamic qualities of the web to create publications that reinforce the material they encapsulate? The class will combine studio work and critique with student-led research into precedent projects and tools and techniques. Visits and presentations from guest critics will be planned as schedules permit. The course will culminate with an independent project.

This project-based course is intended to combine real-world client experience re-imagining the branding for all components of an important literary magazine: Bellevue Literary Review, a journal of humanity and human experience. Students will redesign its print edition, website look and content, and experiential components of the brand, within the NYU Langone Health brand. Students will work with editors, doctors and the work of contributing writers and artists to extend BLR's reach and communicate its purpose: to examine the human condition through the prism of health and healing. Along with the print and website, brand communication for book fairs, literary salons, readings and other gatherings will be part of the project. The course will include client interaction through research and critiques, as well as class focus on process, concepting, design execution, collaboration and presentation skills.

The National Museum of Natural History is currently in the early development phase of an upcoming exhibition, Unseen Connections, which is scheduled to open in 2021. Unseen Connections focuses on the cultural and global impacts that cellphone brought upon our lives. This exhibition offers an unprecedented opportunity to leverage 1) technology to enrich visitors experience in the Museum and 2) the relationship between NMNH and Parsons’ Design and Technology Program. While NMNH excels as storytelling in the exhibition space and offers world-class research and extensive collections, the participation by Parsons DT faculty and students will enhance the exhibition through the following: • Extensive experience with the intersection of new media and narrative in a diversity of applications and through iterative prototyping with a culture of product design and build • An invaluable “outsiders” perspective on effective exhibit development process We propose a series of 5 workshops to be hosted at the Parsons in the fall of 2017. Brad MacDonald (Parsons) will lead the participants from Parsons and the exhibit core team for Unseen Connections with the following goals in mind: • Familiarize Parsons participants with NMNH exhibition development process and the mission of the Museum at large • Brainstorm applications of new media that enhance the message and educational goals of Unseen Connections, with priority on creativity and feasibility for implementation • Rapidly prototype 5 to 10 potential media and interactive elements for the exhibition • Recommend a subset of prototypes for further development and implementation in the exhibition space by fall of 2019

The primary audience for VR today is gaming, but there are a wide variety of other industries and applications that can benefit from the use of virtual reality technologies. These include Architecture, Interior Design, Product and Industrial Design, medical and scientific Research, as well as in the design and development of transportation, museums and retail institutions. This course will explore how VR can and should be applied to these numerous industries. This course will explore the history of immersive media, pioneers of VR, current applications of VR, the relationship between AR and VR, and extensions of VR that connect it to the real world. Students will work in a variety of platforms depending on their own interests, including Blueprint, Playmaker, Grasshopper, Rhino and 3D Studio Max.