Monday, November 30, 2015

Chapter 9: Extra Credit






Process Work FINALE


  • in class today, Charlie helped us understand the H-Bridge's capabilities a little better as well as its limitations
    • it can provide bidirectional drive currents to 1 A of power and each of the DC motors show they exude ~.14-.18 A
    • potentially 4 motors could be hooked up to one H-Bridge

  • now we just need to incorporate the IR PROXIMITY SENSOR... based on my own difficulties with the motion sensor, as well as with Charlie's advice, we have decided to use those in lieu of the motion sensors





Mini Project Fritizing


11/30 - Semester Project Process post #6 - Jen Herrera

At this point in time, I'm into the making of my project.
The plush's body is a work-in-progress; the body pattern is drafted and the head pattern will be finished soon.

More important than the physical is the electrical; I have all the pieces I need now. My usb power supply arrived today:
It's pretty large, so I need to make sure that I leave room for it in the final design. I'm looking forward to the fact that my project will be self-contained though! For the matrix, I just need to solder up a protoshield with its various connections so that it will be a plug-and-play sort of function. I have the protoshield in my mailbox and found a tutorial on soldering it for the matrix:
https://learn.adafruit.com/32x16-32x32-rgb-led-matrix/connecting-using-a-proto-shield

For my concept, the content of the matrix when the plush is touched is the most important thing. Last mini-crit, it was suggested that I look into animal communication research and I thought that maybe I would find some imagery to use in there. After researching, I found that the most interesting part of the articles were sections that said 'The cat was very concerned with the owner's emotions, researcher said.' In the end, we can observe interspecies communications all day long, but we are still making conclusions about them as humans, and are never able to fully understand how another animal is interpreting the situation.

Using this idea, I decided I'm going to simplify things and use the mechanics of the matrix to my advantage. It draws shapes very much like processing does, so it will be easy for me to draw various compositions of line and shape. Like abstract painting, it will be up to the viewer to try and interpret the shapes; or otherwise not try to interpret them. These composed reactions will be randomized in the order they show up, how long they last, and whether or not they blink. The 'emotions' of the 'animal' will remain a mystery, even if the viewer thinks that they have figured it out. 

ANNIE KLOPP | Final Project (Process Work)

CONCEPT:  In America, we like to personify our pets. We have a strange relationship with them. In many ways, we are in control of our pets: we can dress them in costumes for Halloween, we can paint their nails pink (I know people who actually do this), name them embarrassing names that we wouldn't name our children, and even spray paint or dye their hair (people actually do this too).  It is quite a strange relationship we have with them, and I would like to comment on this dynamic.  When we personify our pets and place expectations on them, what happens?  Is it for our benefit in feeling superior and powerful over another life force?  To be funny?  To boost our image in the form of an animal that represents us?  These are the questions I would like to raise with my final project.

After discussing the ethical (Animal Rights issues with the University of Florida in testing animals) and practical issues involved with the pulse sensor with Charlie Cummings.  I will now instead be using the SEN-09836 Sparkfun Triple Axis Accelerometer (also called: ADXL345).


I will first be using the following fritzing diagram to set up my accelerometer:

I am using the Bildr tutorial linked on the Sparkfun website.  The fritzing diagram for this tutorial is shown above.  I was getting a couple error messages before I realized that I needed to download and include both of these libraries:  

#include <Adafruit_Sensor.h>
#include <Adafruit_ADXL345_U.h>

Here, with the Bildr code and tutorial found at http://bildr.org/2011/03/adxl345-arduino/ I have a working accelerometer that prints to the Serial Monitor, the coordinates of the accelerometer.  Below is a screenshot from the Serial Monitor with the accelerometer simply sitting on my desk. These numbers will range from -150~ to +150~ according to this code.  Though, I have been working with others that range to around -250 and +250.

I was able to get the accelerometer working properly as you can see from above.
Here is a video showing you this working.



I realized that my wave shield problems were due to the fact that I had not soldered properly.  I bought a new wave shield kit online and reconstructed the wave shield. 

I asked Erica to help me with formatting my SD card. The wave shield was still not working.  Fortunately Charlie and Erica figured out that the weskit I downloaded the WaveHC library from put the files in separate folders that prevented the libraries from properly working. I was finally able to have a working wave shield for my project.  I used a text to speech website to upload a female robotic narrator saying "I would like a treat now" which would play when my dog is sitting.

These are the chosen text to speech .wav files:

This is "I would like a treat now" playing on the wave shield which is titled "4.treat.wav" This will play when Piper is in a sitting position, with a high (appx 90) y axis coordinate.

The other ones will play when the coordinates for jumping, standing and leaning, and spinning around are activated.  I felt that these were very specific positions and wouldn't be triggered unless intentionally. 


I downloaded several of these files with text to speech phrases from a website that will be the phrases my dog will "speak" upon certain activities. I had to convert them from mp3 to wav files which was very easy.  I will need to name these .wav files with less than 8 characters since I may run into problems if I do not, as explained on several forums. I tested just one of the phrases with the wave shield, and once I got it working well, I soldered the speaker into the wave shield. I have also wrapped electrical tape around the wires so ensure their stability over the next week or so, so that it does not break easily.



I am now working with the issue of perhaps needing to use an Arduino Mega due to the fact that the wave shield uses some of the pins that the accelerometer does. This is something I will need to research and investigate to fix.

Charlie directed me to this website that had the set up for the pins on the accelerometer.  He said I could figure out how to work around the wave shield and accelerometer using the same pins if I referred to this.



Suddenly, two days ago, my wave shield was no longer working and I couldn't figure out why.  I asked Charlie if I had soldered too much and if that was what was preventing it from working and he said yes. So, I desoldered the speaker some, cut off the wires, desoldering them from the wave shield and reattaching new wires. I also soldered in a battery for power so that the wave shield could be transported around, worn on my dog.  


I have been trying again and again with no errors in the actual code, which seems to be working perfectly, but the wave shield is no longer playing.  I tried two different speakers, so I don't think it is an issue with the speakers or code for that matter. I can hear the spinning volume switch click on and off, so I know that it should be playing and active.  I also checked the SD card to make sure that the file names were named properly and transferred into the code with the same names, also being sure that they were actually .wav files and not .mp3.  I have no idea why this is happening. 

The next step to getting a final working prototype are to write the code in which the accelerometer coordinates (triple axis so x, y, and z) can determine which clips play from the wave shield's SD card. However, I am going to have a hard time writing this code and testing it if I do not have a working wave shield that happens to not be playing anything at all at the moment. 

This would be the ideal baseline position with the X axis, Y axis, and Z axis all being very low numbers.  Although, I am not particularly paying attention to the X axis (left-right) for this project except for spinning around.

This is my dog's "standing and leaning" position where the wave shield will play "hello it's nice to meet you."  This is a very specific coordinate that she does anytime she meets someone new. (See below):

"Hello, it's nice to meet you"

"Hello, it's nice to meet you"

"I'm so happy"
When my dog jumps, she jumps straight upward, so the defining coordinates I would anticipate would be a high y and z coordinate (close to 100 each).

This project was certainly feasible.  However, with the last minute change to an accelerometer, as well as taking so many other classes, I was unfortunately unable to unify the accelerometer, working code, and wave shield into a working project.  

Here are some images of my dog's vest:
I had to sew on the small piece of plastic I made from a scrap piece.
 I also spray painted the vest (I retouched this, but this is the photo I have).
I drilled small holes in the sides to sew into the vest.  With several shake tests I performed at home, the sewing and command strip-attached materials stood on the vest fine, with the exception of the arduino. So to add extra adhesive to the arduino, I fed the needle through the inside between the wave shield and the arduino through to the other side, so that it was sown on additionally and separately.  After this I did not have any issues with any components falling off. 
 The acrylic served as a platform for the arduino, wave shield, speaker, battery and breadboard. Charlie mentioned that if I were to revisit this project, it might be easier to use a micro-arduino since my dog is quite a small dog (18 lbs).  Ernie added that it would have been nice to have added a casing or shield to the top of it, rather than leaving it exposed, so that the device could be weather-proof.
I remember you mentioning that it would be nice to have the handheld waveshield, or for the speaker to display in the hand, however, I felt that one self-contained unit was a better option to push my concept toward putting "personalities" onto our dogs, physically, and representing them to the world in our own image.


Final Project Process Work: George Banks

Right now I'm am making sure the controller and push button are correctly wired before I Solder them. I want to make sure I know what I'm doing and read the directions right. This is a picture of the push button nd controllers attached to the arduino.

I was also able to dissect the rica cable to see what I have to do. I think I know what Im suppose to do but I will make sure I have charlie's help before destroying something and mot being able to redo it. I dissected the left audio cable because I know I wouldn't be using it. I will need the video cable.


Alternative to Skycraft Scavenger Hunt

Alternative to Skycraft Scavenger Hunt                    20 points
Please go on the internet and find the following products. Please provide me with a URL Have fun shopping!


1. Please locate 4 different kinds of LEDs. Look up the voltage and amp specs for each. 2 points
--LED - Basic Red 5mm
1.8-2.2VDC forward drop
Max current: 20mA
Suggested using current: 16-18mA
Luminous Intensity: 150-200mcd
--LED – Ultraviolet
T1 ¾ 5mm clear lens
395-400nm
100-180mcd
3-3.6V forward drop
--Circular LED Bargraphs - Red
16 Red LEDs
Max Forward Voltage: 2.4V
Dominant Wavelength: 624nm
Continuous Forward Current: 25mA
--LED - Basic Yellow 3mm
2.0-2.4VDC forward drop
Max current: 20mA
Suggested using current: 16-18mA
Luminous Intensity: 40-100mcd
--Diffused LED - Green 10mm
520-525nm Green
3.0-3.4VDC Forward Voltage
20mA Forward Current
40 degree viewing angle
150-180 MCD output


2. Find two devices that contain solar panels and tell me what they are. 1 point
--Solar Cell Huge - 5.2W
High quality, high output, full enclosed solar cell with barrel plug termination. This is a custom cell produced for SparkFun - not a small toy surplus item! This unit is rated for 8V open voltage and 650mA short circuit. The link other link shows how this Solar Cell was used to create an iPhone charger.
--Miniature Solar Cell - BPW34
The BPW34 is a tiny, general purpose PiN photodiode. This photodiode has a ton of uses, one of which is to use it is a mini solar cell to power your project. It’s powerful and cute!


3. Find a breadboard. .5 point


4. Go to Makers Shed or American Scientific and find 5 devices that contain sensors and tell me what they do. 2.5 for devices and .5 what they do 3 for total of 3 points
--Bare Conductive Touch Board
The Touch Board by Bare Conductive gives you the power to interact with the world around you by turning almost any conductive material or surface into a sensor. Touch Board is a tool to make your projects interactive, responsive, smart or just fun. It’s designed as an easy-to-use platform for a huge range of projects. Touch and it will play sound!
--Round Force Sensing Resistor (2 Pack)
Force Sensing Resistors, or FSRs, are robust polymer thick film (PTF) devices that exhibit a decrease in resistance with increase in force applied to the surface of the sensor. This force sensitivity is optimized for use in human touch control of electronic devices such as automotive electronics, medical systems, and in industrial and robotics applications.
--Pulse Sensor AMPED for Arduino
Pulse Sensor AMPED for Arduino makes pulse measurement very simple. Pulse measurement can be a very useful thing. Doctors have employed the use of pulse measurement for hundreds of years to determine stress, relaxation, physical fitness levels, medical conditions, and more. This information is easy to gather using tactile measurement; you can determine your pulse rate by touching your arteries in your wrist or neck.
--PIR Sensor
The PIR Sensor detects motion up to 20 feet away by using a Fresnel lens and infrared-sensitive element to detect changing patterns of passive infrared emitted by objects in its vicinity. Inexpensive and easy to use, it's ideal for alarm systems, motion-activated lighting, holiday props, and robotics applications.
--Grove - Moisture Sensor for Plants
The Grove - Moisture Sensor can be used to detect the moisture of soil or judge if there is water around the sensor. Let your plants reach out for human help! Just insert into the soil and see if your plant needs water. I think Ivette needs this.


5. Find 6 different kinds of cables and give me specs of each size in gauge. Also look up what each kind. 3 point total
--JL Audio XD-RPW2-50 2 AWG 50 ft (15.2 m) Spool of Translucent Red Power Wire
--NVX XW4BL5 5 ft. of Metallic Powder Blue EnvyFlex True Spec 4-Gauge Power/Ground Wire Cable
--NVX XW8GR5 5 ft. of Metallic Gray True Spec 8-Gauge EnvyFlex Power/Ground Wire Cable
-- Xscorpion FS10.100PB 100 Ft of 10 Gauge Expert Link Ultra Flat Speaker Cable
-- Kicker QW12150-1 1 ft. of OFC 12 Gauge Q-Series Speaker Wire (Sold by the Foot)
-- NVX XWS1625 25 ft. of True Spec 16 Gauge EnvyFlex Speaker Cable/Wire (100% Oxygen-Free Copper)


6. Locate a really cool electronics kit that measures something. What does it do?  .5 points
--SparkFun Car Diagnostics Kit Retail:
This board allows you to interface with your car’s OBD-II bus. A wealth of information can be obtained by tapping into the OBD bus, including the status of the malfunction indicator light (MIL), diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), inspection and maintenance (I/M) information, freeze frames, VIN, hundreds of real-time parameters, and more.


7. Find 5 different motors and describe each look up what they might be used for. Please tell me if they are DC motors, servo motors, AC/DC motors or stepper motors. 3 including descriptions
--Small Stepper Motor
These small steppers are a great way to get things moving, especially when positioning and repeatability is a concer
--Stepper Motor - 29 oz.in (200 steps/rev, Threaded Shaft)
These steppers have a threaded shaft, which allows them to be used as a linear actuator. As the motor runs, it moves along the shaft at a specific rate of 1cm per 5 full rotations. These are a good choice for linear motion where precision and repeatability are important.
--Servo - Generic (Sub-Micro Size)
Here is a simple, low-cost, high quality servo for all your mechatronic needs. This servo is very similar in size and specifications to the Hitec HS-55. This little guy is able to take in 6 volts and deliver 20.8 oz-in. of maximum torque at 0.10 sec/60°
--Servo - Generic High Torque Full Rotation (Standard Size)
A simple, high quality continuous full-rotation servo motor. This servo is able to take in 6 volts and deliver 66.7 oz-in. of maximum torque at 70 r/min.
-- Hobby Motor - Gear
The motor has a normal operating voltage range of 1.0 to 3.0VDC but can handle a max load of up to 12VDC and a no load speed of 6600±10% RPM (@1.0V DC, 110mA).


8. Find 3 types of camera or optical devices. 1.5 points


9. Find three devices that deliberately (sound production is part of their function) produce sound and tell me what they are. 1.5 points
--SparkFun SparkPunk Sound Kit
The SparkFun SparkPunk Kit is a sound generator made in the spirit of the Atari Punk Console. Rather than simply recreating the Atari Punk, the SparkPunk is a new design that springs from a similar foundation. It starts with a dual 555 timer IC, then adds a second tone source, sub-octaves and a bandpass filter. With all of the knobs and switches, a lot of tonal variations are possible. As a through-hole kit, the SparkPunk can also be easily extended and modified, expanding the palette of tones even further.
--WonderBeeps
The WonderBeeps board is a really simple way of adding wireless capabilities to your next project. Simply connect a standard electret mic, supply 3-5VDC and play the Beeps! The Beeps are transmitted at around 8Khz so they can be heard but they can be embedded within other sounds to make them almost unnoticed. Each transmission only takes about half a second. You can download the Beeps as files or install the WonderBeeps iPhone App.
--Electret Microphone
Small electret microphone. Useful in acoustic and audio applications.
--Bare Conductive Touch Board
The Touch Board by Bare Conductive gives you the power to interact with the world around you by turning almost any conductive material or surface into a sensor. Touch Board is a tool to make your projects interactive, responsive, smart or just fun. It’s designed as an easy-to-use platform for a huge range of projects. Touch and it will play sound!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVvEQUbhar8



10. Find five different kinds of potentiometers or variable resistors. What is their range of voltages? What are they used for? 3 points
--Trimpot 10K with Knob
Standard Resistance Range: 10Ω - 5MΩ
Perfect for your next LCD contrast adjuster, opamp setting, or volume level.
--Rotary Potentiometer - 10k Ohm, Linear
Total Resistance Range: B: 5KΩ ~ 1MΩ
An adjustable potentiometer can open up many interesting user interfaces. Turn the pot and the resistance changes. Hook the center pin to an ADC on a microcontroller and get a variable input from the user.
--SoftPot Membrane Potentiometer - 200mm
100Ω to 10,000Ω
Can be used as an accurate positional indicator for CNC head positioning, variable user input (volume level input for example), straight user input (multiple button areas translate to given resistance levels), and many other applications.
--SparkFun Touch Potentiometer
The variable resistor offers a completely programmable value of resistance, between the A terminal and the wiper or the B terminal and the wiper. The fixed A to B terminal resistance of 20 kW, 50 kW, or 200 kW has a nominal temperature coefficient of 35 ppm/∞C. Unlike the majority of the digital potentiometers in the market, these devices can operate up to 15 V or ±5 V provided proper supply voltages are furnished.
--Slide Pot - Motorized (10k Audio Taper)
Total resistance 10KΩ±20%
These motorized sliders are very cool. Each is essentially a standard slide pot which is belt-driven by a small motor. The slide contains two separate 10k audio taper potentiometers so that you can use one as servo-feedback in order to read the position of the slider and use the other to control whatever your target is. There is also a touch sense line which is electrically connected directly to the metal slider tab so that you can interface the slider with capacitive touch circuitry.



11. Find three different kinds of project boxes to house an electronics project. 1.5 points


12. Find an LCD panel. .5 points
--Display Module - 7" Touchscreen LCD


13. I want to build a special holiday hat that lights up when I tilt my head side, plays music when I tilt my head backwards and shoots off my head when I tilt my head forward. Please make a list of the supplies with URLS that I will need to build this hat. (3 points)
I used this to help guide me, try using a motor to get the motor to go off your head:
Das Blinken Top Hat

-- Stepper Motor - 68 oz.in (400 steps/rev)
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10846
--Holiday Hat
--WaveShield
-- 12V Strip LEDs
http://www.amazon.com/LEDMO-SMD5630-300LEDs-Waterproof-brightness/dp/B01339F5ZO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448901428&sr=8-1&keywords=12v+white+led+ribbon
--SD Memory Card
--Arduino UNO
-- SparkFun Triple Axis Accelerometer Breakout - ADXL335
***The real trick is doing the basic math to figure out how the top hat is moving. In general we take the three vectors (X, Y, and Z) and combine them into one vector.
-- Piezo Speaker - PC Mount 12mm 2.048kHz
-- Wire Wrap Wire - Blue (30 AWG)
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/retired/8187
-- SparkFun Tool Bag Kit
https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13055
-- Soldering Iron - 30W (US, 110V)
-- Third Hand
--Holiday Music
--Eggnog


Total Points


Sunday, November 29, 2015

Three Artists

Stelarc: The Man with Three Ears

Stelarc is a performance artist. His media includes robotics, computer programming, and surgical modification. I included this video which is an overview of much of his work but I specifically enjoy the Extended Arm Split Body Performance (3:00) where the body has a mechanical manipulator. Exoskeleton performance which is a six-legged walking robot with is an impressive walking and sound machine that took 6 months to total to make. I really enjoy the way he experiments with technology and his own body. I do know see myself this involved with my work but it is some great inspiration. 


Balam Soto: take 2 Exp.Inst.Rain and Exp.Inst.Moon

"By touching the experimental instrument’s copper tape sensors at various points, participants are able to create a range of sound effects, which in turn, produce changes in the projection." These two works by Balam Soto are very similar to my initial idea. I love the interaction and visuals that happen with basic touch. I know this took lots of work.






Gábor Pribék: Clmbstrmnt

Gábor Pribék is a media designer. This is his project Clmbstrmnt. It says it's an interactive climbing wall. The description of the work is in code so I can't fully describe it. But I know that it is using Arduino. It insires me greatly because the viewer is controlling what is happening as they interact with it and it creates the beautiful work as much as they commit. I want to do something similar. Check it out below. 

http://www.gaborpribek.com/#/clmbstrmnts/

There Will Come Soft Rains


Reading this story I think of how there is a lot of time and money being put into technology to make it “smarter.” Yes, let’s keep advancing technology but let’s not make it smarter than humans. We have so many more issues happening in the world than to worry about making these “objects” too smart. It’s very scary to think of this technology becoming more powerful than us. There are many issues with human behavior that still needs to be figured out. What’s really the point of all this technology when we are gone? It’s going to definitely out live us. We need technology but I do not think it needs us. Objects will advance to a point where they will be able to keep their own maintenance. I always wonder how long I will be able to be an artist that uses technology. It constantly changes and evolves. For example, there are a lack of jobs with traditional printmakers. Or is you have one of the old school TVs it’s going to be hard to find someone to fix it. Things evolve and so do people’s jobs. Will it reach a point to where our art will make itself? Will it be able to come up with it’s own concept? Will it be able to make itself beautiful. I think yes.  I dread this moment but I think it will always miss the quality of being able to connect with a person emotionally. Below is a video that I feel is the process of what happens before the story of  “There Will Come Soft Rains.” I think the story is an accurate view of the future.



And this was in my inbox after posting this: