Showing posts with label Marisa Petrick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marisa Petrick. Show all posts

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Final Proj. Process



In doing this project for my final, it made me think a lot about breath, speech, and communication and the connection that people have when they talk together. It was really interesting seeing the different reactions that people had to viewing the lamp light up when they talked to each other/the group/the lamp itself and seeing how whenever someone spoke for an extended period of time, everyone would laugh about the lamp lighting up. I think there's something here for me to continue thinking about and exploring in future projects. The overall code and construction was simple enough but I think there's a much deeper meaning behind the LEDs and sound sensors; conversation and connection and light are all areas that I want to continue to explore. I really like the idea of being filled with breath/speech, expelling it, and consequently lighting up an object or something that you wouldn't expect to light up. People in the crit brought up having these sound-sensitive lamps at restaurants or in places where others could see how much or how loudly a table was talking and I think that's something to also consider beyond this project; what does it mean to *see* and not *hear* what people are saying? And how would this affect the actual conversationalists? Will they be more likely to try to maintain conversation to see the lamp lighting up in these new settings? Or would they be distracted by the lamps of other tables turning on and off and talk less?

Some things to consider for the future/what was discussed in crit:
-nice aesthetic to open up conversation
-make the sound sensors into salt/pepper shakers!!
-better construction of lamp/diff. LED lights
      orange/yellow instead of red
-magical element
      kind of like fireflies
-change code to make it more personal; separate conversations, not reactionary to the whole group
-personalized colored lamps
      what would this mean on a more personal level?

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Final Process.5

Everything seems to be running smoothly. The sound sensors have been soldered and connected to the arduino, the led lights are all up and emitting light. I went to walmart and bought some fake flowers because I was thinking that it might make people want to converse more easily but I don't think I'm going to use them; they're really in your face. I don't know, I'll bring them with me as I'm setting up and I'll decide if I need them or not. The overall lamp looks a little eh but I'm not going to sweat it because I literally did it in one night. I wish we had had more time for this project. This class was cool and I learned a lot and I wish that I could have shown that better. Oh well. Anyways, here's what I've got:


I'm also planning on using one of the tables in the room outside the crit space and putting it in the crit room so that there can be a fair amount of darkness and only the lamp will illuminate the two conversationalists.

Here's the code I'm using:
int led1= 13;
int threshold1= 600;
int volume1;


void setup(){
   Serial.begin(9600);
   pinMode(led1, OUTPUT);

}

void loop(){
   volume1 = analogRead(A0);

   if(volume1>=threshold1){
      digitalWrite(led1,HIGH);
   }

   else{
      digitalWrite(led1, LOW);
   }
}

Final Process.4

hahahahahahaha is life a joke maybe wow I'm super stressed and don't really know what to do. It's 8:05 pm and sure enough my wave shield still isn't working. I think I might have to scratch everything and start with something new. wow. okay. well while I was working on the wave shield I was thinking this moment might happen and here it is. but I was also thinking about what I would do if I had to change my idea last moment...

I would start with what I know. I was so so so excited about working with my cool brain sounds that I didn't even think that I might not get it to work. A week isn't a lot of time to learn how to work a whole new sensor. Not even sensor. Like a whole new arduino that plays sound. But isn't as intuitive as the arduino. Whatever anyways here's what I know with sensor projects:
-any of the activities that we did in class/for homework. some of them are pretty cool so that wouldn't be too bad
-sound and LEDs. if I were to go down this path, I'd probably scratch the whole brain thing but keep the conversation element.

So based off these things, I'm going to go with another sound and LED project. I've been thinking about conversation, what it means to have a connection with another person or thing, and what it means to exchange ideas by spoken word. Also, I love that when you have a conversation with someone, you stop what you're doing to pay attention to them. You look into their eyes, sit across from them, engage them directly. It's a pretty intimate thing. And going off of these ideas, I've been thinking what it would mean if you couldn't easily have a conversation with someone, like there was always some kind of distraction. With my knowledge of sound and LED, I could make this happen, where there's some kind of lamp that's hooked up to sound sensors (one for each person) and it goes off only when they're talking. I'd have them be in a dark room and they can only see each other if they talk enough. I think it would be really interesting to see what people do. Would one person constantly be trying to emit some consistent noise? Would the two totally ignore each other and instead focus on the lamp and trying to get it to go off? Would they ignore the lamp completely and chat with each other like normal?
I realize I'm grasping at straws here but I can't do the wave shield thing because I won't be able to present anything in class tomorrow. I don't know how to get it to work and pulling at my hair until crit won't help anything. I want to present something and so I need to change my idea asap. I wish I had realized this sooner but I was hopeful and we did only start this a week ago.
However, I think my new idea could have some potential. I'm not just totally trying to make it sound awesome, I am actually really interested in conversation. All of my research about communicating with brains made me think about what it means to talk with someone for an extended period of time and what it means for them to respond back to you, not just in EEG frequencies.

Final Process.3

Working with the waveshield.

I'm having a lot of trouble with this, not going to lie. I'm looking at all of these websites:

http://playground.arduino.cc/SmartWAV/SmartWAV
http://www.vizictechnologies.com/#!smartwav/c118s
http://media.wix.com/ugd/f7ab2a_bf8896899d6aef299da0b67bf0a2787d.pdf
http://www.instructables.com/id/Augmented-Hyper-Reality-Glove/step5/Arduino-Meet-Wave-Shield/
http://forums.adafruit.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=27821
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OHE_LbmXDbp0VO8CaHbwalDecRNSR1N0VDuKLfmcOak/edit?hl=en_US&pli=1
https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-wave-shield-audio-shield-for-arduino/wavehc-library
http://www.circuitdiagram.org/sound-to-light-led-project.html

and I've downloaded all of the appropriate libraries that I need but the basic code that just lets me know if the wave shield is working okay isn't working at all. I don't know if the libraries aren't up-to-date or what but I'm a little concerned. I've looked at both Matt's and Claire's projects/codes and even though it doesn't seem like anyone has connected a sound sensor to a wave shield, I think I can work with what they have and tweak it to fit my needs. This is what I have so far:

#include
#include
#include
#include "WaveUtil.h"
#include "WaveHC.h"


SdReader card;    // This object holds the information for the card
FatVolume vol;    // This holds the information for the partition on the card
FatReader root;   // This holds the information for the filesystem on the card
FatReader f;      // This holds the information for the file we're play

WaveHC wave;      // This is the only wave (audio) object, since we will only play one at a time

//*************THINGS DECLARED*************************

int soundSensorPin = 0;     // the FSR and 10K pulldown are connected to analogue port0
int soundSensor;     // the analog reading from the FSR resistor divider

int threshold1= 700;
int threshold2= 800;
int threshold3= 900;

int volume1;
int volume2;
int volume3;

//**********************************************************

// this handy function will return the number of bytes currently free in RAM, great for debugging!
int freeRam(void)
{
  extern int  __bss_end;
  extern int  *__brkval;
  int free_memory;
  if((int)__brkval == 0) {
    free_memory = ((int)&free_memory) - ((int)&__bss_end);
  }
  else {
    free_memory = ((int)&free_memory) - ((int)__brkval);
  }
  return free_memory;
}

void sdErrorCheck(void)
{
  if (!card.errorCode()) return;
  putstring("\n\rSD I/O error: ");
  Serial.print(card.errorCode(), HEX);
  putstring(", ");
  Serial.println(card.errorData(), HEX);
  while(1);
}

  // set up serial port
  void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);           // set up Serial library at 9600 bps
  Serial.println("Wave test!");

  putstring("Free RAM: ");       // This can help with debugging, running out of RAM is bad
  Serial.println(freeRam());      // if this is under 150 bytes it may spell trouble!

  // Set the output pins for the DAC control. This pins are defined in the library
  pinMode(2, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(3, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(4, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(5, OUTPUT);

  // pin13 LED
  pinMode(13, OUTPUT);

  if (!card.init()) {         //play with 8 MHz spi (default faster!)
    putstring_nl("Card init. failed!");  // Something went wrong, lets print out why
    sdErrorCheck();
    while(1);                            // then 'halt' - do nothing!
  }

  // enable optimize read - some cards may timeout. Disable if you're having problems
  card.partialBlockRead(true);

// Now we will look for a FAT partition!
  uint8_t part;
  for (part = 0; part < 5; part++) {     // we have up to 5 slots to look in
    if (vol.init(card, part))
      break;                             // we found one, lets bail
  }
  if (part == 5) {                       // if we ended up not finding one  :(
    putstring_nl("No valid FAT partition!");
    sdErrorCheck();      // Something went wrong, lets print out why
    while(1);                            // then 'halt' - do nothing!
  }

  // Lets tell the user about what we found
  putstring("Using partition ");
  Serial.print(part, DEC);
  putstring(", type is FAT");
  Serial.println(vol.fatType(),DEC);     // FAT16 or FAT32?

  // Try to open the root directory
  if (!root.openRoot(vol)) {
    putstring_nl("Can't open root dir!"); // Something went wrong,
    while(1);                             // then 'halt' - do nothing!
  }

  // Whew! We got past the tough parts.
  putstring_nl("Ready!");
}

//**********************************************************

void loop(void) {
  soundSensor = analogRead(soundSensorPin);

  Serial.print("Analog reading = ");
  Serial.print(soundSensor);     // the raw analog reading

  // We'll have a few threshholds, qualitatively determined
  if (soundSensor int threshold< 100)
  {
    Serial.println(" - No pressure"); }

  else if (soundSensor < 50)
  {
    Serial.println(" - Light touch"), playcomplete("1fan.wav"); }

  else if (soundSensor < 100)
  {
    Serial.println(" - Light squeeze"), playcomplete("2cards.wav"); }

  else if (soundSensor < 200)
  {
    Serial.println(" - Medium squeeze"), playcomplete("3paper.wav"); }

  else
  {
    Serial.println(" - Big squeeze"), playcomplete("4pillow.wav"); }


  delay(1000);
}

// Plays a full file from beginning to end with no pause.
void playcomplete(char *name) {
  // call our helper to find and play this name
  playfile(name);
  while (wave.isplaying) {
  // do nothing while its playing
  }
  // now its done playing
}

void playfile(char *name) {
  // see if the wave object is currently doing something
  if (wave.isplaying) {// already playing something, so stop it!
    wave.stop(); // stop it
  }
  // look in the root directory and open the file
  if (!f.open(root, name)) {
    putstring("Couldn't open file "); Serial.print(name); return;
  }
  // OK read the file and turn it into a wave object
  if (!wave.create(f)) {
    putstring_nl("Not a valid WAV"); return;
  }

  // ok time to play! start playback
  wave.play();
}


It certainly needs some more work but I can't even test it because I can't seem to get the wave shield to respond, even though all of the .wav files are perfectly on there. I don't really know what to do. It's the day before this project is due but I'm going to give it a couple more tries. At 8pm tonight if I still can't get it to work then I might have to figure something else out L O L .............

Final Process.2

I've established what I want to do: use a wave shield with certain "brain processing" noises on it. It will look like the brain will be hooked up to some headphones and the sound sensor will be clearly shown so that you can speak into it. I've made the noises already and they are an assortment of sounds that I could imagine being the frequencies that the brain gives off. I've mapped out the 6 main "stages" of brain processing (Delta, Theta, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Mu) and based off the frequencies that they give off, I chose those as the inspiration for the noises I created. Here are the noises and the order that they will be depending on the sound threshold (lower threshold is connected to lower frequency; higher is connected to higher).

(so I actually can't upload my .wav files to the blog but the noises are from
1. scratching and smoothing over a pillow
2. shuffling a deck of cards
3. crinkling up some paper
4. crushing an aluminum can
5. a fan turning on
6. nails on a chalkboard
I'm really mad I can't upload the sounds because you really can't tell that any of these are the noises that are on the waveshield. A lot of them are very beautiful and all are very interesting to listen to. Some of them kind of remind me of whale songs, especially the fan noise. The others remind me of like some kind of small robot chattering away when you give it a command and it needs time to process it. The first and second sound pieces are also very soothing to listen to, as they would be going off for small noises, murmuring speech. The fan and chalkboard sounds are much more difficult to listen to, as they would be connected to higher sound thresholds like people yelling. 


Talking with Katerie, though, brought up some important things to consider:
-having a conversation with a brain; that's not super normal. people have conversations with others, not a random brain. why would you want to talk to a brain? it would be interesting, you could learn a lot about it, instead of having to rely on surgery
-it needs to be clear that you're having a conversation with the brain; think about things that invite conversation and think about display. What invites conversation, pleasant atmosphere, homey setting, comfortable. Have brain sitting across the table from viewer. table cloth on table. something kitchen-y? headphones need to be over the head and comfortable. preferably small general space around the viewer so that if you want to murmur into the speaker you can without feeling overwhelmed by the other people around you.
-people eat brains, remember. why is this brain something you can have a conversation with? also remember presentation, you don't want that to come across.
-as far as actual brain goes, looks kind of DIY. do i want that or not? benefits could be less strenuous on viewer/not as intimidating. consequences would be not as "valid." the viewer would clearly know they weren't talking to an actual real brain.

Manga pg. 36-80

1. (it's kind of hard to tell but my hair was sticking up!)

2. The speed of an electron is different from the speed of electrical motion in that the direction of flow of electrical current for electrical motion goes in one specific direction at any time while electrons can go in any direction.

3. Resistance affects how much current or energy can flow from a certain point. An example would be the resistors that are in TVs.

4. AC is alternating current, where the flow of electricity can change direction, while DC is direct current and can only go one way. An example of AC would be a toaster. An example of DC would be a TV remote.

5. a. 14 ohms
    b. 3.43 ohms

Thursday, December 4, 2014

documentation of crit








Some notes:
overall brain structure looked good
most liked the blue towel but not inside of it; look for grey filling instead
sensor worked well
get rid of satin-y cloth at bottom; seemed a little out of place
try to find real transparencies
scalpel not needed; distracted some people
tray looked good

final project ideas

So after the last brain project, I would like to continue doing something with sensors and the brain. I just think that learning about the brain through EEGs, brainwaves, MRI scans, ... is really cool and can be translated well through sensor technology.

Plan A was to do a video. I'd like people to talk into the speaker and be able to see a video of what their brain would be doing as it was interpreting the sounds they were making. However, there is hardly any code out there describing any kind of sensor triggering a video. I think it might be too difficult to do over a week's period.

Plan B is to do something involving brainwaves and possibly the sound(s) that the brain makes as it is interpreting sound. I really liked this idea when it was suggested in class to me. What I'm thinking about doing is having the same brain structure but without all of the medical stuff. I want it to be a more personal setting; perhaps I would have the brain (still on the tray) on a small table with a chair facing it. Then I would have over-the-head headphones (whatever the non-bud ones are called) connected from somewhere inside the brain (I still don't want people to see the arduino stuff inside of it). When viewers speak to the brain, then, I would have sounds coming through the headphones, almost like you could hear the sounds the brain was making as it was interpreting the noise. It would kind of be like you were having a conversation with this brain. I need to do more research on different frequency noises but I know I want to base the sounds off of EEG scans and other wavelength measurements of the brain. The noises will also be based off of the sound threshold that the viewer is giving off.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

ch. 3, proj. 6


Orlando trippppppp

I finallyyyyyyyyy got my photo sharing to work. Here are all the photos I took from the Orlando trip. All of the pictures are labeled on top with the number that was listed on the Skyrim sheet of things to get and on bottom by what they actually are. Everything else were cool things that I found throughout the store as I was searching for everything.



10. 1/5 diff motors
120VAC; 60RPM motor

10. 2/5 diff motors
120VAC; 1RPM motor

10. 3/5 diff motors
120VAC; 2RPM motor

10. 4/5 diff motors
120VAC; RP 4510 motor

10. 5/5 diff motors
120 VAC motor










6. 1/6 diff kinds of cable 
25'S Video Cable

6. 2/6 diff kinds of cable 
3M S Video cable

6. 3/6 diff kinds of cable
S Video Gold cable 33MM

6. 4/6 diff kinds of cable 
13'S Video Cable

1. 4 dif. types of LEDs
2V LED green 

2V LED orange

3V Red LED

12V LED yellow



8. Electronics Kit
Printed Circuit Board Etching Kit

12. 1/3 devices that produce sound
loudspeaker with rechargeable battery

12. 2/3 devices that produce sound
surround speaker system


15. 1/2 diff kinds of speakers
2" speaker

15. 2/2 diff kinds of speakers
2" 8ohm speaker

12. 3/3 devices that produce sound
air horn


7. remote control 




5. 2/5 devices that contain sensors
LED flashlight


13. Strobe light
LED strobe kit










16. 1/3 proj boxes

16. 1/3 proj boxes

16. 1/3 proj boxes






15. 1/5; 2/5 switches
assorted fan control switch (left); dimmer switch (right)

5. 1/5 devices that contain sensors
Timer; 180 seconds; 6 circuit 

15. 3/5; 4/5 switches
DPDT on-on switch (top); Push button switch (bottom)

15. 5/5 switches
on/off switch






11. 1/3 devices that contain camera/optical devices
camera strobe

11. 2/3 devices that contain camera/optical devices
Camera Starter Kit

11. 3/3 devices that contain camera/optical devices
camera cleaning kit with camera lens

2 giant capacitors 
1100 MFD 40/50 VDC
330 MFD 35 V


18. Device that counts / 4. Breadboard
Arduino!

17. 1/3 diff kinds of magnets
telescopic magnet

17. 2/3 diff kinds of magnets
pocket pick-up magnet

17. 3/3 diff kinds of magnets
magnetic pocket level with clip

19. LCD Panel 

3. contains solar panel 

14. 1/5 diff kinds of potentiometers 
1k ohms

14. 2/5 diff kinds of potentiometers 
20k ohms

14. 3/5 diff kinds of potentiometers 
25k ohms

14. 4/5 diff kinds of potentiometers 
35 ohms

14. 5/5 diff kinds of potentiometers 
500k ohms

5. 3/5 devices that contain sensors
fire alarm



3. contains solar panel
light sensitive switch






9. perf boards

5. 4/5 devices that contain sensors
5. 5/5 devices that contain sensors


6. 5/6 diff kinds of cable 
Pro Audio Cable; 15 ft

6. 6/6 diff kinds of cable 
Pro Audio Cable; 14 Gauge