Post by Kristal Rose on Dec 3, 2008 3:28:26 GMT -5
Here's the post which launched this thread:
Here are some good wiki's on the subject of mechanical computing. Apparently the ancient greeks had astronomical clock computers.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MONIAC_Computer
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billiard-ball_computer
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytical_Engine
I've always wanted to make pin-ball machines. They are already so electro-mechanical, and predated electricity even, so they wouldn't be much of an art novelty except that I treat them with sculptorly concern, and use exotic steam-bent woods and such.
They would take a year each to make and probably $4000 in materials, and another $6k for machining tools to make valves and such. I'd have to charge about $30k each, so I'd pretty much need a sponsor and/or galleries. (as with most any worthwhile sculpture these days.)
An actual computer though, driven by gears, levers, and ball bearings, capable of competing in slow motion with the sorts of MCUs found in iPhones and such, would have value as conceptual art.
There was an ice-cream parlor chain who's main attraction was player pianos. A player piano would cost a fortune these days too. One man band versions existed which played all sorts of organs, drums, xylophones, tubas, and such. It was a tribute to the 20's that they were able to build such things, or the victorian homes where every aspect of brick, wood, iron, or glass was total art craftsmanship. Few can afford any such workmanship today.
I was actually hoping to start such a business from my theremin proceeds, starting with wind-up harmonica playing robots.
Unlike with iPhone or Wii theremins, there's some job security because it's about months of craftsmanship labor, not about distribution of programming. A handful of people could compete with you without killing your market. (Knowing my luck though, 600 people could get the idea to build steam-punk pinball machines before me).
If a $30k pinball machine were built to last four years of 10/hr day use, it would have to earn 14ยข/minute. Huh, actually that sounds like no problem at all. Heck, if I had all sorts of 3D roller coaster stuff, and the right (rich) locations, I could probably pull in $2/minute and make $105k/yr minus the space rent. As always though, it comes down to lack of funding.
I still plan things like steam based electronic synthesizer equivalents. Maybe I should get into that business instead. Create one musical sculpture per year for someone rich rather than trying to make something cheap for everyone. It goes against my socialist bones, but the mass produced scene seems covered already without me.
Now that I think of it, microcontrollers only have 10-40 assembly commands, all which could be easily recreated in gears. Memory could be in the forms of tiny metal balls on conveyors, or spring tension. Communication cables would of course be pneumatic or cable actuated.
Theres no way they could work fast enough to process audio or animation though, though they could still control slower graphics displays or music instruments. Oh wait, I could even do audio by clutching diaphragm vibrators, or combos of microtonal harmonica reeds and xylophone chimes.
What do you think? Should I get in the windup/steam mechanical microprocessor business and make $40,000 toys immune to EM pulses? Heck, I could even build pinball video games with robotic dioramas. The screen elements could be done with optic fiber bundles going to mechanical shutter arrays.
I could probably work out designs on paper, then get paid hourly on commission by a sponsor like Bill Gates or Ted Turner to build the things. I could probably get one in each major mdern art museum, each sponsored by such persons hoping to out do each other with the steam-punk madness they've sponsored.
Now that I think of it, microcontrollers only have 10-40 assembly commands, all which could be easily recreated in gears. Memory could be in the forms of tiny metal balls on conveyors, or spring tension. Communication cables would of course be pneumatic or cable actuated.
Theres no way they could work fast enough to process audio or animation though, though they could still control slower graphics displays or music instruments. Oh wait, I could even do audio by clutching diaphragm vibrators, or combos of microtonal harmonica reeds and xylophone chimes.
What do you think? Should I get in the windup/steam mechanical microprocessor business and make $40,000 toys immune to EM pulses? Heck, I could even build pinball video games with robotic dioramas. The screen elements could be done with optic fiber bundles going to mechanical shutter arrays.
I could probably work out designs on paper, then get paid hourly on commission by a sponsor like Bill Gates or Ted Turner to build the things. I could probably get one in each major mdern art museum, each sponsored by such persons hoping to out do each other with the steam-punk madness they've sponsored.
Here are some good wiki's on the subject of mechanical computing. Apparently the ancient greeks had astronomical clock computers.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MONIAC_Computer
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billiard-ball_computer
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analytical_Engine
I've always wanted to make pin-ball machines. They are already so electro-mechanical, and predated electricity even, so they wouldn't be much of an art novelty except that I treat them with sculptorly concern, and use exotic steam-bent woods and such.
They would take a year each to make and probably $4000 in materials, and another $6k for machining tools to make valves and such. I'd have to charge about $30k each, so I'd pretty much need a sponsor and/or galleries. (as with most any worthwhile sculpture these days.)
An actual computer though, driven by gears, levers, and ball bearings, capable of competing in slow motion with the sorts of MCUs found in iPhones and such, would have value as conceptual art.
There was an ice-cream parlor chain who's main attraction was player pianos. A player piano would cost a fortune these days too. One man band versions existed which played all sorts of organs, drums, xylophones, tubas, and such. It was a tribute to the 20's that they were able to build such things, or the victorian homes where every aspect of brick, wood, iron, or glass was total art craftsmanship. Few can afford any such workmanship today.
I was actually hoping to start such a business from my theremin proceeds, starting with wind-up harmonica playing robots.
Unlike with iPhone or Wii theremins, there's some job security because it's about months of craftsmanship labor, not about distribution of programming. A handful of people could compete with you without killing your market. (Knowing my luck though, 600 people could get the idea to build steam-punk pinball machines before me).
If a $30k pinball machine were built to last four years of 10/hr day use, it would have to earn 14ยข/minute. Huh, actually that sounds like no problem at all. Heck, if I had all sorts of 3D roller coaster stuff, and the right (rich) locations, I could probably pull in $2/minute and make $105k/yr minus the space rent. As always though, it comes down to lack of funding.