process work

So last night, we ran into a big problem with our project. It worked how we wanted it to Sunday night, but while doing some little last minuet touch ups to the installation and a final run through test, the code would not up load to the boards. It's really bizarre. We even tried uploading the basic Blink code and it would not work. It kept giving us this same error code:

I googled this error code and everything I found suggested reseting the bootloader and reseting the driver. I tried following tutorials on how to do this, but it is pretty far out of our knowledge and skill base.

We changed every variable we could thing of. We changed usb cables, uploaded from different computers, used a PC instead of our macs, used fresh new arduino boards, and used different codes with the new boards. But I think we have determined it is our code. We figured this out by taking Ivette's arduino board and uploading the simple Blink code to it, and then trying to upload our code and we got this same error code. We have no idea how our code could have gotten corrupted with in the past 24 hours since this is the same code we have been using for weeks. We have looked over our code and retyped it into a fresh sketch window and tried uploading it and it still produces this error. Right now we are trying to update the arduino program, type up the code in a new sketch window, and upload it to a fresh board. We shall see if this works.

UPDATE:  It worked. We had to update the Arduino program on our laptops to the latest version which was just added on the 15th. (What a coincidence.) So we updated it on both of our laptops, and had to retype the code into a new window and resave it and THEN we could upload it to the arduino board. And we also had to use brand new fresh boards. I think the boards that had our old code without the update were corrupted by the code somehow.

Here is a video explaining our project a little more with both sensors and all motors working.

Process work

Did not work :(  even when plugging the 9 volt to it. We even checked it with a multi meter and it was giving 4 volts which we concluded should be enough for each motor. This circuit only has two motors soldered to it in to save ourselves a little stress and time. The circuit is soldered to hold 12 motors in total

But we took it to a different outlet to see if that was the issue. But I burnt my finger on the board instead.

Process Work 12/12

I came into the studio early today to look at the circuit again. I connected a multimeter to it and the motors worked perfectly with the sensor just like they did the first time, but only when the multimeter was connected. I tried to get a video of it working but then it stopped just like it stopped working with our laptops. I changed the Hbridge out as well and it still wouldnt power. You can hear the motors try to turn but they dont actually power up. I know its taking too much power and I do not know of any other power source we can use. We may have to drop it down to only four motors if they are really drawing that much power.

Process work Final

Last week we got our frame built. Here are pictures of the process going from my house to the studio.

corgi for scale

 motors being positioned and installed

 one of our biggest problems right now is power supply, so we decided to go with only 12 motors to make configuring the power easier.

 installed in hallway. The peg board will be placed on top of the opened frame when all of the motors and tubes are installed.

 nice and sturdy :D

process work final project 12/11

We are trying to figure out power supply right now. We had our motors working perfectly but then it shut down my laptop multiple times and now we cannot get them to run from any power source.

For 5v power supply, motors consuming .16 amps, so if we have 12 motors consuming .16 amps each, then we are going to need 2 amps minimum to power the motors.
For 9v it would be 4 amps consumed total.
For 12v it would be 5 amps consumed total.

Process Work: Final project george banks

It worked! I was able to get the game to work on the projector. Then my push button wasn't working so it stayed at the main menu, (the push button starts the game) then charlie came over and pushed it once and it started working. So I got the game, but when he left and I started over I couldn't get the push button to work. he has some kin dog magic tough.

I continued to read the code and I managed to change the code so that all i had to do was turn the potentiometer and it worked! So i was able to enjoy the game! Next I nee to actually changed the game.

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

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.

Final Project 2 Process

Here are the supplies we have for our final project. Peg board, DC motors, and plastic tubing.

We have two different sizes of tubes.

The thicker tube with be placed in the black spaces of the board to fill space and give volume to the piece. The smaller tubing will be placed on the DC motor like so.

Every hole will have a DC motor placed through it like this. the wiring and Arduino boards can rest on top of the peg board. We will get a tiny prototype built soon.

Final Project prototype process

The materials we have so far to experiment with are a few plastic tubes which I bought from Skycraft. They are very lightweight so we think they will be perfect for the movement we want in our installation and they fit perfectly over the tips of our DC motors. I called Skycraft and asked about shipping and they directed me to their online ordering system, so when the time comes, we can order more of these.  Home Depot does not have the same size tubing. The ones that are in stock there are much thicker and heavier. I assume Lowes would have the same.

I have found a schematic online that shows how to connect a DC motor to a motion detector sensor. As soon as those arrive Tatyana and I can start to work with those.

As for our final project, we are still planning on making our installation piece. We want to keep the schematic simple. Essentially, it should just be a bunch of DC motors connected to a few motion sensors.  The application and construction of the installation is going to be the bigger challenge. I also don't quite understand how we can have one motion detector connect to multiple DC motors. Once we got one down, we can work on getting multiple down.

-K


We are quite pleased with where we are currently with our project. While there are still a few aesthetic decisions to discuss, and sketches to perfect, we been able to come up with a generic look of our project that gets the gist across of what we want it to look like.

What we've learned:

1. DC MOTORS are our best option
• they have the simplicity we want for our mechanics
• need to find a sketch that slows it down, and "agitates it" as seen in the servo motor 
2. We attached the tubing to the motor 
• moves great, but the DC MOTORS will have to be enforced to allow free range of motion
• tubing currently needs to be cut short, but hopefully, with the agitation applied, there length won't affect their movement
3. Kelsey and transistors don't mix
4. The LEDs will most likely be implemented into the top board of the piece, illuminating onto the tubing. 
5. We are going to need a lot more DC MOTORS and LEDs

hot gluing the tubing to the motor

learned the hard way to tape down the motor

videos on movement

-T.

Mini project 1 process

Mini project 1 process

  With this project, I wanted to morph previous projects we had done and cannibalize the code to create something that can work in unison. The two projects I am going to dissect is, Blink with the LEDs and Sweep with the servo motor.

In the video below, I took the code from the Blink project but instead of using the delay() I used milis() for the timing of the blink. I did this instead because with the delay() you cant respond to inputs or change outputs.

Instead of relying on delay() to time the blinking. I used a state machine which remembers the current state of the LED and the last time it changed. On each pass through the loop, it looks at the millis() clock to see if it is time to change the state of the LED again. This shortens the amount of code you have to apply to the arduino program and makes it easier For each LED and Servo added I added another state machine. Using separate state machines allows us to blink the two LEDs and move the motors completely independent of one another.  

LEDs and Servo motors with state machines.

For the final piece, I made a class for the flashers and the motors and for every LED that I wanted to flash, I created an instance of the Flasher class by calling the constructor.

 

This makes the code shorter and easier to read. And, since there is no duplicated code, it also compiles smaller. That leaves even more precious memory to do other things with the arduino. So every extra LED or Servo I want to add, it only requires two extra lines of code. Each LED and Motor work independently of each other.

Process work - Mini Project

Working on the exploring arduino chapter 4 exercises, I made a mistake that seemed pretty cool and like something that would work on its own.
So that it what I want to do with this mini project. Tweak the chapter four code to I can utilize servo motors and IR sensors. I feel like these are the two biggest aspects of mine and Tatyana's final semester projects so it will be useful working with them.

10/10 Semester Project process work

10/10 process work

We drew more sketches of what our final installation piece may look like, and after searching through adafruit we decided that using a PIR motion sensor would be more practical for our concept rather than an IR proximity sensor.

If only I had realized this sooner so I could work with this for my mini project. For now I will continue to use the IR sensor.

PIR Motion Detector: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/13285

Here is an example of how the PIR motion sensor can work with a motor:
http://www.instructables.com/id/Motion-Activated-Servo/step3/Code/

We want the sensor to activate the motors for a certain period of time as soon as the person is detected, so we think this PIR motion detector would be more simple and easier to work with for the results we want.  We would like the person to experience the installation moving as soon as they enter, so they feel more like they are invading and agitating the space. Like it comes alive as soon as they penetrate it.

Process Work Tyra

http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-Projects/

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-great-arduino-projects-for-beginners/

http://www.element14.com/community/groups/arduino/blog/2014/06/06/10-awesome-arduino-projects

http://makezine.com/2015/03/28/20-projects-celebrate-arduino-day/

Laser Harp
http://www.stephenhobley.com/blog/laser-harp-2009/

Sensors
https://learn.adafruit.com/pir-passive-infrared-proximity-motion-sensor/example-projects
https://github.com/mattwilliamson/arduino-sms-alarm
http://makezine.com/projects/pir-sensor-arduino-alarm/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j82kexpMPE
----Motion Sensor Camera
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkN-V2xBHrc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzpgrTMo1Cs


Adafruit waveshields


disco dancing lady

Project Brainstorm 9/14

Flowers.

I want to make virtual plants that are powered by solar electricity and the regard of sentient beings.

I would like to place them outside, or near a window, that are hooked up to solar panels and a battery. Their rate of growth would depend on both the amount of solar power that they receive and how much people talk to them. The more that people talk to them, the more they grow and the bigger they end up. If no one talks to them, they die of loneliness.

http://www.adafruit.com/search?q=solar&b=1