English: Image taken with a Nikon D3300 35mm. Scientist-Artist John Adrian Siegel, leader of the MRISAR R&D team, is seen designing the circuitry for a hand crafted interactive scientific art prototype for public use that relates to STEAM, titled the Photonic Spectrum. This device is in essence a musical instrument that is played without touching it. It utilizes a series of photo resistors to control a sound synthesizer. The sound synthesizer consists of two oscillators which work in unison by resonating at specific intervals dependent on the signals from the sensors. Acrylic inside of the base mounted aluminum columns house the sensors that react to the presence of a user’s hands. Depending on the position of the hands, this interactive art piece can produce sounds ranging from high frequency down to a low rumbling bass. It demonstrates sound synthesis, sensors and light control. To play it, slowly bring your hand down over the bottom cylinders. When you get close to them, they will trigger lights in the upper cylinders and sounds. Each cylinder triggers a different sound tone and light spectrum, or when triggered in combination produces much deeper tones and light variations. This device combines a rich complement of harmonics and sound effects that are accented with numerous LED lights in the top columns that relate approximations of amplitude and frequency. This device also is relevant in that it uses art in combination with science to enrich scientific understandings. It is interesting to note that electronic art combines elements that in times prior to the electrical age would have been considered alchemy or magic. Crystalline elements, chemical layers, elements of timing duration, conductivity, photons, sound and photovoltaics play a part in this creative venue which can also extend into electromechanical and kinetic elements.

     Devices like this are for public use in museum environments and help educate millions of people worldwide. Science in combination with art relates to a better understanding of engineering and technology. Some of the scientific disciplines used in the design of the technological, interactive art prototypes are Electronics, Energy Conversion, Photovoltaics, Photonics Electrochemical science, Optoelectronics, Oscillator theory, Amplification and Sound Generation principles. Many of the technologies that the team invents are used in both their museum exhibits and their humanitarian prototypes (like Rehabilitation Robotics for victims of paralysis) that have been presented before and/or published by leading organizations.
  This device was designed by MRISAR’s R&D team and fabricated at MRISAR, a family owned business in North Dakota. Everything from MRISAR is designed and prototyped by two generations of 4 family members, the youngest two Autumn and Aurora Siegel (who began their apprenticeship in robotics, science and art as preschoolers), along with their parents John Adrian Siegel and Victoria Lee Croasdell-Siegel. Each member is a Scientist, Inventor, Engineer, Artist and Machinist. This allows them to encompass technological and artistic elements into anything they create, as well as to custom design and machine any needed components that do not previously exist. The team goals are humanitarian and educational uses for science, art and technology. The devices created by them are unique in the fact that they are handcrafted, not mass produced. This allows the team to create across a wide range of technologies, applications and elements of science and art. The public use exhibits they create for museums and science centers around the world relate to STEM and STEAM. This two generation team has even invented robotic systems for NASA.
  Through creating handcrafted elements of engineering based on sensory elements and abstract reasoning such devices explore engineered creative aspects that humanity can use for real world applications in science and industry. They also serve as valuable elements of education. Key elements during the invention phase are observations of design standards such as derating electrical, electronic and mechanical elements. More images of the creation process of this and other MRISAR robotic devices can be seen at mrisar.org.

The work of MRISAR’s R&D team has drawn world interest for the public-use educational robotic, medical and interactive technology art exhibit prototypes that they create and also for their humanitarian R&D that aims to improve the quality of life. Their work has been presented before and/or published and awarded by: the United Nations, NASA-Emhart, Stanford, Cambridge, ICORR Robotics conferences, ROMAN Robotics conferences, IEEE, Discover Awards, International Federation of Robotics, etc. The “International Federation of Robotics” annual publication on Service Robotics regularly lists MRISAR Institute of Science, Art & Robotics in at least ten categories of robotics. The publication covers major contributors in the field of robotics and within that coverage focuses on the diversity of robotics, worldwide uses for robotics, economic factors and projections. Most are industrial providers, but the publication also includes NASA and other renowned research elements that reach well beyond industrial applications. In the 2011 publication MRISAR was featured in an entire chapter. The publication picks one per year for special focus in a chapter and covers a multitude of ventures in the rest of the document.