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Entertainment

A Human Wind Powered Knitting Machine

Untitled Sock Project knits with air.

An installation conceived this month as part of the Mediamatic Dev Camp ‘10 in Amsterdam, proves that human wind power (when paired with technology) is enough to knit a sock. The five-day project developed by Luís Brandaõ, Fábio Costa, Sean Follmer, and Pol Pla places a piezo buzzer sensor at the receiving end of a straw that gauges the collective strength and power of the participating blowers. Up to three people at a time can challenge one another, each person’s breath powers a dedicated wool string that matches the color of their straw (magenta, cyan, or yellow). The blower with the greatest lung capacity (likely your non-smoking, athletic friends) will dominate the woven pattern of the sock.

According to the Blowing Your Sock On project log, a breathalyzer was originally chosen to dictate the color of the wool, but by day three the idea was dropped in lieu of a servo motor that uses the sensor to direct the yarn through the appropriately colored ink-soaked sponge, resulting in a collaborative multi-colored sock completely controlled by the participants. A sock whose pattern is dependent on the alcohol levels of the drunkest people in the room sounds like an interesting art-party twist on the typical drinking game (and more fun), but we still applaud the concept of turning a gallery visit into a competitive event.