https://markericson.com markericson Tue, 03 Sep 2024 15:34:24 +0000 https://markericson.com en https://markericson.com/Home Tue, 03 Sep 2024 15:34:10 +0000 markericson https://markericson.com/Home mark ericson about U https://markericson.com/About Tue, 03 Sep 2024 15:34:10 +0000 markericson https://markericson.com/About about I am a computational designer and educator. This site contains a selection of work that encapsulates my research and teaching in robotic design, drawing and tool making. Much of my research is centered in translating historic techniques of design and fabrication into contemporary digital technologies. I have researched 17th century stone cutting and translated the techniques into a python program that generated a series of animated drawings. This work was later published in a book entitled Animating Guarini. I have worked with students to translate the design of classical columns, centrally planned churches into tool paths for robotically milled and 3D printed objects. In all cases, the focus is on the research and development of case specific tools that aid in the production of novel and imaginative design solutions. I hold a Master's of Architecture from SCI_Arc. &nbsp; ericson.mark.c@gmail.com &nbsp; &nbsp; ︎&nbsp;︎ site index publications homeabout https://markericson.com/site-index Tue, 03 Sep 2024 15:34:18 +0000 markericson https://markericson.com/site-index site index robots &nbsp;Orders, Second Year Undergraduate Studio, Woodbury University &nbsp;Single Line Drawings, Robotic Design Lab,&nbsp; Woodbury University &nbsp;Surfaces of Revolution, Robotic Design Lab,&nbsp; Woodbury University &nbsp; tool making Architecture, Lossy,&nbsp; Capstone Studio,&nbsp; Woodbury University Architecture, Plugins for Architecture,&nbsp; Capstone Studio,&nbsp; Woodbury University drawing Animating GuariniDrawing with Cones in Two Dimensions &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; site index publications homeabout https://markericson.com/Orders Tue, 03 Sep 2024 15:34:18 +0000 markericson https://markericson.com/Orders <img width="720" height="426" width_o="720" height_o="426" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/85e5c712817619b60ea50725ee79a17aff812341a194f2fce42de45c90012463/tiled_mobile_robot-high.gif" data-mid="217415786" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/720/i/85e5c712817619b60ea50725ee79a17aff812341a194f2fce42de45c90012463/tiled_mobile_robot-high.gif" /> <img width="1920" height="1080" width_o="1920" height_o="1080" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/5bf1f42c7ab5be62814faf41b1652b514b63187fe08979c3a2c70bccdd0e75e9/models_together.png" data-mid="217415783" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/5bf1f42c7ab5be62814faf41b1652b514b63187fe08979c3a2c70bccdd0e75e9/models_together.png" /> <img width="5692" height="3200" width_o="5692" height_o="3200" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/afe02d296134f4013ffeb26737ac3cce6d0629f2c8a67da4d1ca73c5266cfea6/tool_paths.png" data-mid="217415782" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/afe02d296134f4013ffeb26737ac3cce6d0629f2c8a67da4d1ca73c5266cfea6/tool_paths.png" /> <img width="1536" height="2048" width_o="1536" height_o="2048" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/3a7a10404e9eda3e6d30309ac3c3ddbc51709dcc412f30c9ab8bbb7d3b3abf8d/IMG_3223.png" data-mid="217415784" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/3a7a10404e9eda3e6d30309ac3c3ddbc51709dcc412f30c9ab8bbb7d3b3abf8d/IMG_3223.png" /> Architecture,&nbsp; Orders In this second year undergraduate studio, sudents studied columns and their ordering systems as a means of developing a set of shared tools and collaborative methods across the studio. The studio began with a detailed precedent analysis of the column and moved onto the reimagining of its rules and systems to produce new Orders of columns and eventually building proposals derived from this initial research. All work from the studio was completed in Grasshopper for Rhino 7. Students used this software to develop digital models, produce drawings and tool paths for our Kuka PRC robot. Each student produced a set of 120 tool paths using Grasshopper and KUKA PRC. These tool paths were then used to mill an object from semi-dry blocks of porcelain with a 1/2 inch end mill. The limited number of tool paths and the size of the cutting bit enabled each of the 54 students in the class to robotically mill an object in under 15 minutes , ensuring access to the entire study. At the core of the studio was an idea of making advanced computational tools available to students early in their educations. The hope is that this early introduction will allow them to imaginatively work with new tools and technologies throughout their five year educations. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; about https://markericson.com/Single-Line-Drawings Tue, 03 Sep 2024 15:34:20 +0000 markericson https://markericson.com/Single-Line-Drawings <img width="1536" height="2048" width_o="1536" height_o="2048" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/2761b670de2599f9fe4c26e8bc03067155249e95e5917472f11f77e69e8ba174/IMG_1999.jpeg" data-mid="217415822" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/2761b670de2599f9fe4c26e8bc03067155249e95e5917472f11f77e69e8ba174/IMG_1999.jpeg" /> <img width="2048" height="1536" width_o="2048" height_o="1536" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/f59055bb74c0ca24141f618075d9b4fc3d7c6b91c57aa9e4cd6f9929d863bc0d/IMG_4001.jpeg" data-mid="217415826" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/f59055bb74c0ca24141f618075d9b4fc3d7c6b91c57aa9e4cd6f9929d863bc0d/IMG_4001.jpeg" /> <img width="3024" height="3024" width_o="3024" height_o="3024" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/1137db7159b8ad4825cf08add8172a24d6c61a1f4abc03a795a7feaeef8adfde/17.jpg" data-mid="217415825" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/1137db7159b8ad4825cf08add8172a24d6c61a1f4abc03a795a7feaeef8adfde/17.jpg" /> Architecture and Media Arts,&nbsp; Single Line Drawings&nbsp; Perhaps one of the most “magical” aspect of robotic fabrication is movement. Robotic arms move along limited spherical paths defined by their joints. The path of the tool at the end of the robot corresponds (at moments) to the shape of the object being fabricated. In contrast, the other joints of the robot move and respond to accommodate the motion of the tool, moving in sometimes surprising and unexpected ways. Some of these motions seem almost human. Consider the (human) motion of swinging a hammer. The person swinging the hammer focuses on the point of impact, the head of a nail. However, a whole series of joints respond to this motion: shoulder, fingers, elbow, and wrist. Similarly, as designers, we focus on the object to be fabricated by the robot, and perhaps less on the sets of movements that define the motion. In this class we shifted our focus from designing objects to designing paths of motion. In lieu of developing boundary representations and using standard software tools to cut them into to toolpaths, this seminar generated the&nbsp; the tool paths themselves. We&nbsp; “drew” objects in three-dimensions from a list of points generated from the equation of the unit sphere.&nbsp; This list of points was then translated in list of lines that became a continuous tool path for the robot.&nbsp; This path was then printed as the three-dimensional drawing/object from poly-lactic acid.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; about https://markericson.com/Surfaces-of-Revolution Tue, 03 Sep 2024 15:34:21 +0000 markericson https://markericson.com/Surfaces-of-Revolution Architecture,&nbsp; Surfaces of Revolution&nbsp; A common workflow for digital fabrication, and one most students of architecture are familiar with, involves developing a three-dimensional model in CAD software and then post-processing it for laser cutting, milling or three-dimensional printing.&nbsp; In this model the focus of the workflow is on the design of the object and the processes of fabrication are the means to an end.&nbsp; Another version of this process, is to design the work-flow in such a way that the techniques and strategies of fabrication are part of the design process and not a post processing solution.&nbsp; There is precedent for this in the history of architecture.&nbsp; The design of buildings in stone required complex orthographic projections often referred to as stereotomic projections. In some rare cases, architects worked directly with these drawing techniques in the design process. This directly linked the resolution of abstract geometries in stone to the design process. In this course students developed visual endabled themto design objects in relation to motion of our six axis Kuka robotic arm.&nbsp; Each group of students designed a column composed of four distinct student tool paths.&nbsp; Every tool path was designed as polyline without the intermediary step of surface modeling.&nbsp; The process foregrounded the methods of fabrication in the design process. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; about https://markericson.com/Lossy Tue, 03 Sep 2024 15:34:23 +0000 markericson https://markericson.com/Lossy Architecture,&nbsp; Lossy&nbsp; This page documents the work of a capstone sequence in the 5th year of a BArch program in which the ambiguity of authorship was foregrounded. Students were asked to design two forms of software. The final outcomes of the work were defined by the interaction between a user and the student-designed software, removing the individual students from direct production of the final products. The first software problem dealt with the design of a plugin for Rhinoceros 3D™.&nbsp; Students designed and built software applications that engaged topics such as artificial intelligence , color theory and orthographic projection. The second software problem dealt with the design of a web based extended reality application that allowed users to interact with the digital objects generated with the first software package . The student’s work was centered in the design of the interaction between the software and the user. The work that was displayed at the final review was not their own, but rather the product of other individual’s (students, friends, and family) interaction with their software.&nbsp; Authorship remained ambiguous even at the final review, positioning the design of technology as an integral component to the design of architecture and questioning Architecture’s long-standing myth of sole authorship. . &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; about https://markericson.com/Plugins-for-Architecture Tue, 03 Sep 2024 15:34:24 +0000 markericson https://markericson.com/Plugins-for-Architecture <img width="2782" height="1391" width_o="2782" height_o="1391" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/81dfb96493b03fe28e01adf94be0ff91a7d075b9fbaafbd8ea69702bc3d10cea/Pages-from-MAUNG_Images_s.jpg" data-mid="217415890" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/81dfb96493b03fe28e01adf94be0ff91a7d075b9fbaafbd8ea69702bc3d10cea/Pages-from-MAUNG_Images_s.jpg" /> <img width="1728" height="1728" width_o="1728" height_o="1728" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/fe9cc8b29c2a1233cb2d579d13b99072cf55bf9fb570ed61e0af1dccbffc109b/ConvertingDrawing.png" data-mid="217415888" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/fe9cc8b29c2a1233cb2d579d13b99072cf55bf9fb570ed61e0af1dccbffc109b/ConvertingDrawing.png" /> Plugins for Architecture,&nbsp; Thesis, Undergraduate Capstone Studio &nbsp; In this capstone sequence in a BArch program, 5th year students were introduced to programming as a creative process.&nbsp; Each student developed a thesis statement while learning to program in the high-level (easy to understand) programming language of Python inside of Rhinoceros 3D. These thesis statements were then used to design an installable plug-in for Rhinoceros that embodied the ideas present in their thesis .&nbsp; The class asked students to work in strict technical framework (programming) while having the freedom to pursue their individual interests in architecture. Students designed plug-ins that ranged in topics from geometry for Virtual Reality to software designed to foster community engagement (Image 3). During the spring semester, in tandem with the development of their plug-ins, students also developed extended reality experience for the web (WebXR) using the open-source html based environment A-FRAME .&nbsp; In both the design of the plug-in and the WebXR experience, students developed user-interfaces that considered their work from the point of view of the user.&nbsp; This ranged from framing questions for command prompts to designing interactions that worked in both mobile and desktop applications . The question of authorship shifted from the individual to the collective as students designed primarily for interaction and less for the production of specific architectural objects. The WebXR experiences and plug-ins combined to produce an environment of innumerable outcomes, structured by a dialogue between designer and user.&nbsp; It was not a studio of drawings, images, and models.&nbsp; It was a studio of text, interactions, experiences and users. To exlore student vr experiences please select one of the folowing&nbsp; links: Roberto Lomeli Minn Maung (navigate with WASD keys) &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; about https://markericson.com/Animating-Guarini Tue, 03 Sep 2024 15:34:12 +0000 markericson https://markericson.com/Animating-Guarini <img width="1280" height="800" width_o="1280" height_o="800" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/bcca714806778217d0ef56b230bf05c22e76c52782100d31802f239d01fdba62/Cone_Cylinder_Set_up_006_web.jpg" data-mid="217415695" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/bcca714806778217d0ef56b230bf05c22e76c52782100d31802f239d01fdba62/Cone_Cylinder_Set_up_006_web.jpg" /> <img width="1280" height="800" width_o="1280" height_o="800" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/64f03e2dc50a0094640dad10b971a0785df72526201e50cf0e901b7706589ce7/47_Oriented_Ellipse_tori_web.jpg" data-mid="217415694" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/64f03e2dc50a0094640dad10b971a0785df72526201e50cf0e901b7706589ce7/47_Oriented_Ellipse_tori_web.jpg" /> <img width="3000" height="3000" width_o="3000" height_o="3000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/62aeccc2885ce4df40f1c4ba2b6940863e1319021b51ed1ed37f84161f75037d/01_Cylindrical_Cone_Radial_Unroll_Color_005.pyde_CP_270_Int_1.0_Stp_2tot.jpg" data-mid="217415690" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/62aeccc2885ce4df40f1c4ba2b6940863e1319021b51ed1ed37f84161f75037d/01_Cylindrical_Cone_Radial_Unroll_Color_005.pyde_CP_270_Int_1.0_Stp_2tot.jpg" /> <img width="3000" height="3000" width_o="3000" height_o="3000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/d50cd168b68d82a8fd9e11b8b78fa60d75730fbcefd4021695028637bc00c71b/40_Oriented_Ellipse_tori_021.pyde_CP_270_Int_1.0_Stp_2_ort.jpg" data-mid="217415692" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/d50cd168b68d82a8fd9e11b8b78fa60d75730fbcefd4021695028637bc00c71b/40_Oriented_Ellipse_tori_021.pyde_CP_270_Int_1.0_Stp_2_ort.jpg" /> <img width="3000" height="3000" width_o="3000" height_o="3000" data-src="https://freight.cargo.site/t/original/i/44168fe52b9e1dca41008b6fb8a94ea95c2fe09c9b45db0a8d33527d78ec8c5d/42_Oriented_Ellipse_tori_026.pyde_CP_270_Int_1.0_Stp_2.jpg" data-mid="217415687" border="0" src="https://freight.cargo.site/w/1000/i/44168fe52b9e1dca41008b6fb8a94ea95c2fe09c9b45db0a8d33527d78ec8c5d/42_Oriented_Ellipse_tori_026.pyde_CP_270_Int_1.0_Stp_2.jpg" /> Animating Guarini The animations&nbsp; and images contained here are translations and extensions of the drawing instructions provided by the Italian architect and mathematician, Guarino Guarini, in his posthumous treatise Architettura Civile(1735).&nbsp; The instructions have been translated into the programming language of Python to generate animations in the open source software Processing. The animations use a single color expressed in values of red, green, and blue, which are scaled across different lines within the drawing until they approach the value corresponding to white.&nbsp; Line weight corresponds to the conventions of descriptive geometry, in which object lines are thicker and construction lines are thinner. All lines are solid. All animation titles begin with, “The Two-Dimensional Orthographic Projection of a Semicircle,” and end with a description of the operation on each page: “Onto an Interrupted Epicycle of….” All titles are descriptions, and all animations are two-dimensional orthographic projections. The work from this research was published in Animating Guarini: An Orthographic Project by Applied Researcha and Design in July of 2020. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; about https://markericson.com/Drawing-With-Cones-in-Two-Dimensions Tue, 03 Sep 2024 15:34:13 +0000 markericson https://markericson.com/Drawing-With-Cones-in-Two-Dimensions Drawing with Cones in Two Dimensions &nbsp; A circle is a mathematical abstraction, and it cannot be materialized.&nbsp; This is a simple but also disconcerting statement. We have been exposed to drawing circles from the earliest moments of our education.&nbsp; As a term it is embedded in our language used to describe a variety of images, objects, and spaces.&nbsp; It is one of the most ordinary geometries. Nonetheless, we can neither draw nor build a circle.&nbsp; We can describe it as,Henri Poincare points out, by ratio of its radius and its circumference. We can also make a rough material approximation, a “round thing”, with a compass, a string, or a computer and a numerically controlled cutting device.&nbsp; In the construction of these “round things” the circle’s role is that of an instrument. The circle’s abstract geometric properties are used to define this new material thing that although it is round, is not a circle.&nbsp; In this instance the circle is an instrument, used to define new forms through its geometric properties.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; about