Howdy! I'm Meredith (my family calls me 'MJ'), and I'm a creative technologist. I'm passionate about researching and developing innovative information and communication technologies for developing regions. I love brainstorming solutions to problems, finding ways around roadblocks, being organized, and working in teams.
I currently spend my days working as a Resident Researcher at the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at New York University, where I get to help students, continue to learn, and tinker. My nights are filled with pursuing my own technology endeavors (learning and loving Ruby/Rails/Sinatra right now!), running, playing volleyball, and trying my hand at urban gardening.
I received my B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of California, Berkeley, where I focused on computer science, environmental science, and business, and in 2010 I received my master's degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program.
SIMbaLink
SIMbaLink is a social-venture startup that uses cell networks to remotely monitor the health of solar panel systems in rural households in areas without access to the electrical grid. The project is currently focused on Sub-Saharan Africa. SIMbaLink began as a class project for Solar Design for the Developing World at ITP in Fall 2009 by Sara Huong, Ariel Nevarez, Nahana Schelling, and myself.
SIMbaLink has two products: a hardware module and a client website. The hardware module integrates with a solar panel system, and our specially designed circuit takes health readings on a pre-determined, yet changeable, time table. When a certain amount of data has been gathered, a text message is sent from our hardware module over the cell network and received by our SMS Gateway. This information regarding the health of the systems is then viewable anywhere with an Internet connection via our client website.
We have deployed test prototypes in Brooklyn (on my roof), Abu Dhabi (on the NYU-Abu Dhabi campus), and rural Ethiopia and are currently redesigning aspects of our system architecture based on what we have learned from deploying in the field.
If you are interested in learning more about SIMbaLink, you can checkout our website: http://www.SIMbaLink.com and/or our blog: http://blog.SIMbaLink.com.
TxtRate
TxtRate is an SMS-based platform that allows users in developing countries who need information on micro-finance loans to access data about the best micro-finance options based on their desired loan amount, location, or the type of loan they seek.
A user submits an SMS to the TxtRate platform with either a loan amount or the type of loan they are interested in. Based on the user's cellphone number, TxtRate is able to identify the individual's location, calculate the best local APRs for their query, and return the top five micro-finance lending options for the user's needs. If the user wants more information about that particular lending institution, they can send an SMS to TxtRate with the name of the institution, and TxtRate will send them the contact information. Through this interaction, TxtRate informs people about the best micro-finance loans, regardless of their physical location, Internet access, or socioeconomic status. TxtRate expands the reach of transparency in the micro-finance industry by making users aware of the best loan options available to them.
Our country micro-finance institution data and market rates came from the information available on www.MFTransparency.org. The TxtRate prototype was built with TextMarks, PHP, and MySQL. TxtRate was built with Liesje Hodgson for Mashups: Remixing the Web at ITP in Fall 2009.
A Fish This Big
I once caught a fish and it was THIS BIG ...
A Fish This Big is a play on the classic story of telling someone about how big the fish you caught was. As you move your hands in front of the camera, a fish appears between your hands, increasing or decreasing in size depending on the distance between your hands. The images of fish can easily be substituted with something else and is great fun for parties or themed gatherings.
A Fish This Big uses computer vision to track a selected color that signifies where the images should be inserted. Based on the distance between the two tracked color locations, the fish image is determined and then inserted in the proper location.
A Fish This Big was built and designed in collaboration with Angela Chen, Winslow Porter, and Matt Richard for the Computational Cameras class at ITP. A Fish This Big was exhibited during the 2009 ITP Spring Show. Built with Processing. You can view photos of attendants of the ITP Spring Show and their fish on our Flickr page.
Play'Round
Play'Round is an interactive music installation. It allows anyone to experiment and play with mixing different sounds and tracks without having to use traditional DJ-ing equipment. A person can use her fingers to turn on each individual track by touching the track. The track lights up and plays the sound or music clip associated with it. The record can also be changed when a user touches the center of the record, bringing new colors and tracks with it.
Play'Round uses computer vision to track the point closest to the center of the record for up to five hands. Play'Round is a collaboration with Asli Sevinc for the Spatial Media class at ITP in Spring 2009. Play'Round was built with OpenFrameworks and was shown during the 2009 ITP Spring Show.
bHead
bHead is a rock-paper-scissors-like iPhone game, but much more violent, as a broadsword, light-saber, and shotgun are used. bHead uses the Bump Technologies iPhone platform to recognize when two players' iPhones are bumped together, signaling a 'strike' and resulting in either a tie, or a winner and a loser, who unfortunately is bHeaded. bHead is a fully functional iPhone application, but it is not available in the App Store (by choice). bHead was designed and programmed with Bryan Lence for the Little Computers class at ITP in Spring 2010.
Thomas the Barrel
I grew up riding horses in Texas. No, not to school, but in the show ring. I always wanted a horse of my own... so I built one. Meet Thomas. He's a fully functional horse that can be loved, taken care of, and ridden.
Thomas chews apples, carrots (his favorite), grass, hay, and, of course, loves fresh NYC tap water and sweet feed. If you're lucky he might give an extra whinny for you, but he usually saves those just for me. You can even hear him gallop when you ride him!
Thomas the Barrel is built from an old wine barrel (red wine). Inside the wine barrel is a 'galloping sound' contraption that I designed using two coconuts cut in half. When you rock back and forth on Thomas, the four halves of the coconuts clink together and produce a galloping (or a slow trot) sound. Thomas' carrots, apples, grass, hay, water, and feed have RFID tags hidden in them. When you approach his head to give him a snack, you can hear him eating the item that you gave him. There is an RFID reader hidden near his head.
Motivation for creating Thomas comes from my love of horses and wanting one of my own. Thomas the Barrel retired in May 2010. Thomas began as a project in my Physical Computing class at ITP in Fall 2008, and he was finished in the Project Development Studio class in Fall 2009. Thomas is the name of the first horse I loved. Thomas the Barrel was shown in the 2009 ITP Winter Show. Technologies used include Processing, Arduino, RFID tags, and an RFID reader.
Chat Roulette 1988
Chat Roulette 1988 is a phone-based platform that allows you to chat with different people anytime, anywhere. Waiting for the bus? Want to talk to someone? Dial ###.###.#### and connect with someone instantly. Bored of the person you are chatting with? Press # to be connected to another person.
Inspired by the popular video site Chat Roulette, we produced what we envisioned to be the '80s equivalent, using only the phone and the # key. While Chat Roulette 1988 was live, we recorded the conversations between users and posted them on our website for anyone to listen to.
Built with Asterisk. Chat Roulette 1988 was designed in conjunction with Elie Zananiri in the Redial: Interactive Telephony class at ITP in Spring 2010. Chat Roulette 1988 was shown in the ITP Spring Show 2010.
Not Pickle Ball, Ball
Not Pickle Ball, Ball is a sport.
For 6 to 10 players.
Objective: Pass the ball down the field and get it into your own end zone to score.
Rules: Passing the Play Ball: Pass by throwing the ball. Do not move while you are holding the ball. Do not use any part of your body except the hands. The ball is not allowed to bounce; if it does, it changes possession.
Turnovers: Try to steal the ball in midair, or tag the player with the ball after a five second countdown from an arm's length away. The defender is responsible for counting down.
Scoring: In order for a point to be scored, the ball must pass between the legs of any member of the scoring team while they are in the end zone. A person may score by themselves as long as they catch the ball while out of the end zone and then take the necessary steps to get it through their legs in the end zone. A player in the end zone may use any part of his body, except his hands, to help get the ball through his legs. One point for each member of the scoring team to have the ball pass through his legs in the end zone.
Substitutions: Sub as needed.
Not Pickle Ball, Ball was designed in the Big Games class at ITP in Spring 2010 with Greg Borenstein, Sara Huong, Mike Knuepfel, and Alex Vessels.
Video Mosaic
Video Mosaic uses numerous images to represent the pixels in a live video input feed. Each pixel in the live video is replaced with an image that corresponds with the color of the pixel that it is replacing. Video Mosaic was a project in my Introduction to Computational Media class at ITP in Fall 2008 and was built with Processing. Video Mosaic was on display during the 2008 ITP Winter Show.
