Final Project Process 5/5

Post Crit Thoughts:

The FSR worked to some extent. The piezo wasn't screeching like a hellbent banshee, so I'm marginally happy about that. The LEDs worked as anticipated. I only wish I had a pedestal for each of them to be situated on opposite sides of the room like a gallery space. Also, in a perfect world, I would have done as Juan suggested and connected the proximity sensor to a plant lamp so as to "give the plant life" with the attention you give it.

Final Project Process 4/5

Link to vimeo here proving my bits are actually functional. I was fumbling between a FSR and a piezo to detect vibrations coming through the base of the plant. The issue was that the piezo was too sensitive and the FSR wasn't sensitive enough. I figured I could just pop out the resistors to give the FSR more juice to make it more receptive, but I was mistaken. I had to SQUEEZE the FSR between my fingers to elicit much of anything. The piezo was sensitive enough, but once it detected a vibration, the value it detected in the serial monitor wouldn't climb back to zero even if the stimulation stopped. So if I were to isolate a particular value, it would still scream for forever.

But my bits are hypothetically functional.. just incompetent.

Final Project Process 3/5

In class yesterday, I got my schematic down and my coding in order.
HYPOTHETICALLY, it all should work.

Final Project Process 2/5

Yesterday I went with Dominique to the FabLab to cut pieces to make pots for my plants. I cut them out of clear plexi to coat in spray paint to give them a frosted finish. The frost is to diffuse the light of LEDs to make the plant "glow" when you come near. I really need to make sure the inner layer of the pot is watertight to prevent any seepage onto the arduino or breadboard.

Final Project Process 1/5

Initial concept art for final project. Two similar plants in identical pots. One of the pots features a rangefinder that triggers LEDs to glow when a participant comes near. It also features a "theremin" of sorts to where it "boops" when touched.

Conceptually, the idea is that one plant responds to interaction as a means of showing "appreciation" that you give it attention. Given that it reacts to interaction, the participant is more inclined to touch. Will the plant benefit from the extra attention? Will the constant stimulation suffocate the plant and kill it? Why do we need to be rewarded to care about something?

Art.

Mini Project Process 5/5

Post-Critique Thoughts:

Lessons Learned:
1. Plywood is much lighter than basswood.
2. Basswood is much more expensive than plywood.
3. The two look about the same.
4. Consider friction.
5. DC motors suck the life out of 9v batteries.

Since the wheels would not turn at all while touching anything, I tried to maximize the power. By simultaneously subtracting the friction, the wheels spun with too much gusto, and the piece fell apart. The piece was conceptually sound, technically simple, physically fragile, and a monstrous headache to construct. Albeit a total disaster, it was functional for all of three seconds.

May it rest in peace.

Mini Project Process 4/5

Hollow husk of what my project is intended to be.

As the participant nears the piece, the two circle panels spin wildly. Pennies are provided for the participant to drop into the hole cut into the top of the plexiglass. Because the panels spin so quickly, it's near impossible for the penny to drop into the gilded slot.

Concept: From afar, the task appears simple: a straight shot drop from the top to the bottom. Then you add the factor of the pegs. Then you add the factor of the pegs spinning. Then you add the factor of the pegs spinning terrifyingly fast.

Although you can see the gilded destination at your fingertips, the journey is an entirely different endeavor. Plinko is a classic children's game, and inherently simple and easy. Real life isn't A to B.
A ricochets between C, D, E, F, G, gets fucked over by H, only to never reach B. As A, you are expected to reach B. Reaching B is simple. A child could reach B. If everyone else could reach B, why not you? Reaching B is the standard. What is your excuse for not reaching B? B is right there. You are not trying hard enough to reach B. Try harder to reach B.

Mini Project Process 3/5

Here is a video with me successfully getting the ultrasonic rangefinder to function. From here, I detached the piezo and instead switched it out with a DC motor. At this point, I was at a standstill.

I needed the ultrasonic rangefinder to trigger a DC motor, which needs 9v of power to spin. However, the arduino crashes when you feed more than 5v of power to it. The DC motor that requires 5v of power is too weak to move my parts. I was in the studio most of yesterday moving wires around to get something to work.

Also I nabbed the last 9v battery and it just died on me.

I'm trying.

Mini Project Process 2/5

what i did in class today.

Using a digital caliper, I measured out all the dimensions of my piece. This took the entire class.

Laser cuts.

Mini Project Process 1/5

Scheme for my second mini project. I trashed my music box idea because it's horrible and I hate it now. This is the workings of a rigged carnival game. I want to make this really gaudy sign lit with LEDs to go on top of it, but I'm no good at graphic design, so I left it out. 

It's basically this.

Plinko! But I want to rig it with gears, a proximity sensor, and a stepped motor such that the gears spin frantically whenever someone approaches. It's a statement of interfering with fate. As if the inherent randomness of the game weren't enough, it's a nihilist spin on my first project. What you deserve doesn't necessarily correlate with what you get. The middle slot, I want to coat in gold leaf, ie. the peak of the the unattainable. The others I'll coat in slime or moss or something textural to insinuate an epitome of a certain fate. Deadly sins? I could find tiny figurines or voodoo dolls to drop through the slot.. I haven't worked out the details. The chamber would be made out of plywood, and the front panel out of clear plexi. The whole thing stands at about 14" tall and 8" wide. I still need to figure out the thickness to accommodate the circuitry. Also I need to figure out how gears work?

In-Class Exercise 11.2.2016

Karen Speaks Via LCD Here.
Karen Controls the Weather Here.

In-Class Exercise 10.26.2016

Wave Shield Here.

In-Class Exercise 10.24.2016

Ultra Sonic Range Finder Here.

In-Class Exercises 10.19.2016

Shift Register Exercise Here.
Serial Shift Register Exercise Here.

Mini Project Process 5/5

Post Crit Notes:

I need to think of a more efficient way of gluing my bits together. The switch was so tiny, and I was adhering it to a 1/32" piece of balsa, the entire thing was pretty delicate. I figured hot glue would work without seeping into the circuitry. Some of my classmates used wood glue, but I'm hesitant to do the same. I liked how the hot glue only took seconds to dry. I'm scared of being frozen for minutes at a time holding such small pieces together only to drop the whole thing and start over.
Also I need to do as Eddie did and elevate the motors so that the spinning mechanisms are more flush to the pieces they move. It's just prettier that way.
Also I need to research how to use a battery to charge the arduino itself ALONG with the bits. If I disconnected the USB from the computer, only the servo would function. I'd like it to be battery operated, such that the presentation just appears cleaner and I don't have to worry about laser cutting cord holes in my art.

Mini Project Process 4/5

Link to Vimeo Footage Here.

Documented footage that my bits worked prior to crit. I was doing a lot of hushed cursing and troubleshooting in the hour before crit, and I wanted documentation that the dang thing was functional at one point in the process.

Mini Project Process 3/5

Laser Cut Scheme

Pieces of holding chamber that I cut at the FabLab. They had a selection of balsa wood available, but I needed at least a 8" wide board. They had a 1/8" thickness that rang in at about $16. Instead, I went over to JoAnn's and grabbed the straightest plank of balsa wood from there. As I was standing in the store, I pulled up a 50% off coupon. I spent $5 on a 8" x 24" x 1/32" plank of wood to create the chamber. Once I assembled it, all my measurements were correct except for my servo hole. The propeller mechanism sticks about an inch above the motor, and it looks weird being that far elevated from the base. The motor behaved the same.
Note for next time: Do like Eddie and stack the servo motor such that the propeller is more flush to the base it protrudes from.

Final Project Presentation Slide - 10.4.2016

Links:

https://vimeo.com/50739972

Mini Project Process 2/5 10.4.2016

Layout of the piece. I was playing with proximity and trying to figure out the size of the holding container. This is based on a 8.5" x 4.5" diagram with a 2" wheel (blue) and 3" wheel (yellow). The box itself would be made of lightweight balsa wood.

Diagram of individual pieces and parameters for cutting.

Mini Project Process 1/5 10.3.2016

During our process crit, I wanted to do like a music box. Opening the lid would trigger a switch, and a motor would rotate a dancing figure. The speed of the motor and dancer would ramp, and the figure of the dancer would blur into the silhouette of something more menacing, ie. a skull. This would've addressed the topic of "signal" with the idea of "mixed signals." The act of revealing the classic "everything is not what it seems" would also touch on ideas of femininity, assumptions, and dualistic alter egos. I was thinking about even playing with a tiny speaker to play distorted music alongside the movement of the character. During process crit, Juan even mentioned adding swinging features that would pull with centrifugal force to create a more dynamic movement.

However, since then, I have looked ahead and seen that our second mini project is based on movement. Considering the engineering and designing that have to go into this piece, and how well it fits into the theme of Project 2, I have decided to put it on the back burner for now.

Instead, for Project 1, I want to play with "signal" in terms of semantics. You can relay a signal, but the human interpretation of it can always be taken subjectively. The input we receive and interpret is analog, not digital. Even with a simple "yes" or "no," people still argue that they get the meanings confused. So, I want to do a Wheel of Fortune kind of deal. There would be a knob and a wheel. The former will be lined with pronouns. A potentiometer will connect to a servo, turning the knob to point to a desired pronoun. The latter will operate like a Wheel of Fortune pinwheel. Activating a switch spins the wheel, and aligns a pointer to a noun such as "everything," "nothing," "pain," "joy," "death," etc. A motor will attach to the wheel and momentarily spin at a random value and the press of a switch. This will help randomize the effect. Between the knob and the wheel is the word "deserve."

Who deserves what? On a day-to-day basis, I feel like the word holds such a subjective weight to it. There's no right or wrong, it's just a matter of who you ask. And because the word carries such a weight, it's like saying "love." The context of the phrase directly says something strong about your character, and these unspoken "signals" build your reputation as an individual.