Making Toys

Updates from May, 2009 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

• 

  Yury Gitman 6:25 pm on May 15, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Nick Hardeman — Computation Projects 

  Project 1 – Nove Bit

  

  Nove Bit is an interactive 3 x 3 matrix that allows users to record
  sequences of light and save them as 9 bit memories. Nove Bit addresses
  human to computer interaction by allowing the user to physically input
  the memory as 9 bits, as opposed to the traditional 8 bit computer
  memory. Nove Bit also touches on the notion of a personal memory by
  recording a users’ thoughts in time and replaying them as a pattern of
  lights. The visual memories are stored as 9 bits, represented by a
  corresponding button. Compared to 8 bits, 9 bits also allows for a
  visually even distribution of the memory as a square. The “Nove”, which
  means nine in Italian, also references the Arduino Duemilnove, one of
  the two micro-controllers that control the unit.

  http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4556694&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1

  Nove Bit from Nick Hardeman on Vimeo.

  Featured on: Hackaday.com, someone also contacted me about making a Nove Bit Mini, and I said of course: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sOiAxwfLYM

  //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

  
  

  Project 2 – Squaremin

   

  “Squaremin ” name thanks to Collin Cunningham from his post at blog.makezine.com, this project is also featured on engadget.com.
  This battery powered electronic musical instrument is a descendant of
  the theremin and can be played without contact from the musician. This
  small instrument contains two infared (IR) sensors that measure
  proximity. One sensor controls the note, while the other controls the
  octave that is played through the speaker in the front. The tone is
  reflected by one of seven colors that illuminates the center area and
  highlights a small indicator located on the top panel.

  http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4669897&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=ff9933&fullscreen=1

  Squaremin – Narrated from Nick Hardeman on Vimeo.

  Featured on: Engagdet.com and blog.makezine.com, as well as, 48 other blogs. A full list can be seen here: http://nickhardeman.com/blog/?p=171

  //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

  
  

  Project 3 – Morning Monster

   

  The Morning Monster is a plush electronic alarm clock. He has all of the normal alarm functions, set time, set alarm, snooze, etc. However, what makes him a monster is his ability to shine the sun on your face when the alarm goes off by opening the blinds. The blinds are also manually controlled my moving his left arm up and down and he will never over-crank them!

  http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4539867&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=ff9933&fullscreen=1

  Morning Monster from Nick Hardeman on Vimeo.

  Featured on: I wrote to Rob Faludi because I used his open source code as a starting point and he wrote a post on his blog! This was also on make and arduinoshow.

  ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

  
   

  Reply Cancel reply

  Required fields are marked *

  Name *

  Email *

  Website

  

  Notify me of follow-up comments via email.

• 

  Yury Gitman 4:26 pm on May 15, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Final Submissions 

  MakerFaire
  Ars Electronica
  Piksel
   
• 

  Yury Gitman 6:59 am on May 1, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Morning Monster — AHHHH!! 

  Summary: The Morning Monster is a plush electronic alarm clock. He has all of the normal alarm functions, set time, set alarm, snooze, etc. However, what makes him a monster is his ability to shine the sun on your face when the alarm goes off by opening the blinds, unfortunately in the video, it is night time and pitch black outside. The blinds are also manually controlled my moving his left arm (our right) up and down. Don’t worry, he knows where the blinds are, so if you hold his arm in one direction, he will never over-crank the blinds. GRR–.

  http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4539867&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=ff9933&fullscreen=1

  Morning Monster from Nick Hardeman on Vimeo.

  Breakdown: The clock hour and minute are set by pressing his top teeth, while the alarm hour and minute are set by pressing his bottom teeth. The alarm is activated by pressing his nose (I have to sew a white X on). There is functionality for the snooze and it works by giving the sleepy head 15 more minutes of bliss, but I have not added the capacitance touch to activate it yet, its wired inside and the code is functional.

  He controls the blinds with a flex sensor in his left arm (your right). Moving it up or down opens and closes the blinds. He keeps track of the blinds so that they will not be over-cranked and so he knows how far to rotate to open them. So no matter where you open the blinds manually, by moving his arm, when the alarm goes off, he will open them to the correct position.

  He talks with the blinds via wireless communication through an RF transmitter and receiver with a protocol that I wrote. He has an antenna inside him and the range is good, even through the material. There is a receiver in the little black box in the window, with a blue antenna that translates the signal and activates the blinds.

  The monster and the blinds are powered by plugging into the wall, that is what those little white wires in front of the blinds are in the video.

  A piezo speaker makes an alarm clock sound when it goes off, but somehow there is no sound in the video, so you can’t hear me either.

  The black box that controls the blinds houses a 12V stepper motor, driven by a h-bridge motor driver, a wireless receiver and of course, a MAPDUINO. I breadboarded all of this project for time and sanity sake. The stepper motor sits in a cradle created by two i-hooks so that it can move accordingly and can adjust to many angles when installing this puppy.

  One Page Sheet

  http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649
   
• 

  Yury Gitman 2:18 pm on April 28, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Morning Monster Showing Some Skin 

  I got to sewing this weekend and now the Morning Monster's skin is complete.

  

  In addition, I also created a skeleton for him. The front of the device is hard and flat, but the sides and back have room for stuffing, so they should be softer, to a point.

  

  I decided to go with a full Arduino for the skeleton because I think that wireless may take a while and I will need to be able to leave in the programmer, for efficiency. So I have to add the sensors in his arms and get the shades open next.
   
• 

  Yury Gitman 2:35 pm on April 24, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Alarm Clock Test with LCD Screen 

  For this test, I have the LCD screen hooked up and all of the numbers are created out of custom characters so that they can span two rows. The little guy on the right denotes whether the alarm clock is on, and I need a way to show when you are setting the alarm clock and when you are setting the time clock.

  http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4315200&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=ff9933&fullscreen=1
  Alarm Clock with LCD Screen Test from Nick Hardeman on Vimeo.
   
• 

  Yury Gitman 2:29 pm on April 21, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Morning Monster Prototypes 

  Implementation:

  http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4262965&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=ff9933&fullscreen=1
  Alarm Clock Test from Nick Hardeman on Vimeo.

  Role:

  Morning Monster is an electric alarm clock that helps you wake up with the most powerful energy source, the sun. He opens your blinds 20 minutes prior to your alarm setting. And if that is not enough, an annoying buzzer will go off. Of course this little monster has all of the standard features, snooze, set time, set alarm time, clock, etc. This little guy is optimal for people who wake up when the sun is out or coming up and who have a window(s) for sunlight to flow into their room.

  Look and Feel:

  I believe that some off-white canvas for the body and teeth would look nice. For the lips, I will use the red cloth that we received in class and black cotton cloth for the inside of the mouth. I purchased a cube like Tweetlite for support of the innards. I also purchased an lcd screen from sparkfun with a black background and white lettering.

  

  
   
• 

  Yury Gitman 3:35 pm on April 17, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Linkbacks to Squaremin 

  

  Original Content: Nick sent word of his digitally squarewave take on the legendary theremin instrument – hmmm, a Squaremin perhaps?

  ……

  The highly portable fold-up case design is hot! Check the source code + related media on Nick’s blog.

  Unfortunately there was no picture of my theremin posted?

  Links:
  Original:
  http://diyhow2.com/?p=156
  Original post on different links:
  http://daily.ocular-witness.com/?p=2064
  http://clickworldnews.com/2009/04/17/touchless-digital-synth-takes-after-theremin/
  http://www.developages.com/touchless-digital-synth-takes-after-theremin/61982
   
• 

  Yury Gitman 3:21 pm on April 17, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  What unexpected things happened when you created your design files? 

  When I started designing my puffin robot I realized that there is no innovation or real purpose to a little bird running around on the top of a table. So, I thought of something that I would be useful for me. I live in a basement apartment, with one window that gets light. So, when it is time to wake up, it could be 3 am or 3 pm and the light in the room would be the same. So, I figured it would be nice to have the sun shine in from the window and light up the room. This is where my new concept evolved from. I would like to make an alarm clock that opens the blinds so that you can wake up easier. I could not figure out how to incorporate a clock into the contraption on the blinds. And then I thought of having a plush alarm clock that you could hit in the head to snooze and hold its head to turn it off. The plush toy would be the controller for the blinds and would send out the signal to open and close them. Moving his arms up and down would allow the user to open and close the blinds manually. He would display the time through his teeth.
   
• 

  Yury Gitman 1:59 pm on April 17, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Morning Monster 

  

  This little guy acts as an alarm clock. The time is displayed through his teeth. When the alarm goes off, he vibrates and an annoying buzzer sounds. This guy also controls your blinds, so like 20 mins before it goes off, it starts opening your blinds and after 20 mins, your blinds are fully open and the buzzer sounds. You can manually open and close the blinds by moving his left arm up and down. There is a capacitance snooze button that is the top of his head and to turn off the alarm, you must hold his head for like 3 seconds.
   
• 

  Yury Gitman 12:21 am on April 14, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Plush Toy Proposals 

  

  
  
   
• 

  Yury Gitman 10:52 pm on April 12, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Annoying Chicken Toy Deconstruct 

  I have no idea why anyone would buy this for their kid.

  Check out the pics.
  
  http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=70717

  And some video of only his leg.
  http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4125471&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=ff9933&fullscreen=1
  Annoying Chicken Toy Innards from Nick Hardeman on Vimeo.
   
• 

  Yury Gitman 1:20 pm on April 9, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Links for Tech Stuff 

  Blogarinos

  http://www.switched.com/

  http://www.ubergizmo.com/

  http://www.smashingmagazine.com/

  Events, Conferences, etc.

  http://www.techfair.org/

  http://limericktechfair.blogspot.com/

  http://en.oreilly.com/et2009/public/content/home
   
• 

  Yury Gitman 11:22 pm on April 6, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Theremin Style Instrument 

  This battery powered electronic musical instrument is a descendant of the theremin and can be played without contact from the musician. This small instrument contains two infared (IR) sensors that measure proximity. One sensor controls the pitch, while the other controls the tone that is played through the speaker in the front. The tone is reflected by one of seven colors that illuminates the center area and highlights a small indicator located on the top panel.

  

  http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=4036745&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=ff9933&fullscreen=1
  Theremin Style Instrument from Nick Hardeman on Vimeo.
   
• 

  Yury Gitman 1:37 am on April 4, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Serial.print 

  If your sound does not sound tight and clean. Try taking out the Serial functions. This includes the Serial.begin and Serial.print functions. The serial slows down the chip, so use it to get the readings out of your sensors and then turn off Serial when you want to test your sound. Hopefully this saves someone a headache, as it took me a few glasses of wine to figure out.
   
• 

  Yury Gitman 3:12 am on April 3, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Theremin IR Sensor Try 

  So. I have started the code for the theremin and it seems to be coming out ok. I am controlling the note that is being played via distance. But, the data is non-linear. poop. Ohwevs, when I hook up another sensor, my readings are all over the place. That one is to control volume, so basically it does not work. in the video, it only has the one sensor controlling the tones.

  Here is a prototype of the look and feel. To be constructed out of wood.

  

  http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3984243&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=ff9933&fullscreen=1
  Sound Control with IR Sensor and a dweens from Nick Hardeman on Vimeo.

  Surveillance Solutions is discussing. Toggle Comments

   
  • 

    Surveillance Solutions 6:21 am on March 22, 2010 Permalink | Reply

    I’ve being researching about IR Devices and reading your blog, I found your post very helpful . I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading.

• 

  Yury Gitman 5:36 pm on April 2, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Sonic Range Fail 

  I can not get anything close to accurate out of the sonic range finder using the analog read pin. Does anyone have any tips. This is the values that I got with nothing over it, besides the ceiling, and it is extremely noisy when it should be accurate. The values range from 79 – 21 and everything in between.
  On the other hand, the IR sensor is pretty accurate.

  

  Nick Hardeman, bruce, klee, and 1 other are discussing. Toggle Comments

   
  • 

    joe 8:23 pm on April 2, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    + 1

  • 

    klee 8:41 pm on April 2, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    also maybe put a resistor going from the AN pin on the sonic range finder and the analog pin on your arduino board. that helped ours.

  • 

    bruce 11:11 pm on April 2, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    i have the same issue + the resistor doesn’t help. same problem with the IR sensor.

  • 

    Nick Hardeman 2:57 am on April 3, 2009 Permalink | Reply

    I can not hook up two IR Sensors at the same time, capacitors only mess it up. What the deely?

• 

  Yury Gitman 1:19 am on March 21, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Integrated Prototype 

  I have updated the programming and buttons on this prototype. Thanks to our class feedback and The Laws of Simplicity by John Maeda, I decided to make the programming of sequences easier and with less steps. Now someone can walk up and push a button to start programming a sequence, wait 2 seconds to input that sequence and wait another 4 seconds to save the entire sequence. The prototype saves the last two sequences, with a pause in between sequences.

  I also worked on the buttons to make them easier to press. The metal washers were not working consistently, so I made yet another trip to the hardware store and found some black rubber washers. These are good because they provide support all around the bottom of the button and contract a little bit to give a "push" feel to the button. I also backed up the pcb board with some wood pieces to support the board so that it does not break.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Check it out in action. The quality is crap cuz I am using a little web cam that has auto focus, so thats why it is annoyingly zooming in and out.

  Download my One Sheet.

  http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=3786028&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=ff9933&fullscreen=1
  Passage of Time Final Integrated Prototype from Nick Hardeman on Vimeo.
   
• 

  Yury Gitman 2:20 pm on March 10, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Prototype Layouts 

  The following diagram displays all of the correct dimensions and layout for the final prototype.

  

  This is a potential placement and the desired look for the final prototype, white buttons and dark wood, trying to class it up.

   
  So far I have begun adding the assets that will be concealed by the wood. I have also completed code for detecting button presses and for lighting the leds with pwm. The next step is to combine the code and have it working in conjunction.

  
   
• 

  Yury Gitman 12:09 pm on March 6, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  User Testing Prototypes 

  For this user testing I questioned 8 MFADT students. I showed them two ideas about displaying the passage of time. I then explained each prototype and its functionality. I described the context of each prototype and asked which one they would prefer.

  
  

  PROTOTYPE 1 – Table Center Piece
  Basically, I explained this prototype similar to a center piece for a table top and placing items on the outer pods would alter the light animation that played throughout the smaller pods. For the most part, people liked the idea that this prototype of a function and was "useful." They further explained that this was because the user could place items, in which most people said could be glasses, on the outer pods and the center piece could be a holder of some sort, like a buffet tray.

  However, one person imagined the prototype to be of a very large scale in which stepping on the different pods could activate the sequences.

  Another person also described the prototype in this large scale format and talked of a large playground toy for kids, in which each outer pod could serve as a place for a child. The children could sit on these pads and spin around the larger center circle.

  People also enjoyed the social aspects of this prototype in which people could use it as a tray for food at a table, or a center piece at a restaurant. One person mentioned giving this prototype a clock functionality when nothing was on any of the pods.

  
  

  PROTOTYPE 2 – Memory Animation
  I then proceeded to explain my second prototype verbally and utilized my sketches to further explain my concepts. I asked for feedback on this prototype and most liked the idea of memorable patterns that could be programmed by the user and would play back sequentially.

  Some suggested that the animation change or cease after a certain period of time to help keep it unique. Almost everyone asked if it was possible to use more buttons.

  One person spoke of creating hidden sequences in which the user must press the correct sequence of buttons to reveal the patterns. Another talked of it like an animation tool. Someone suggested that pulsing the lights shows the "passing" of time better, as opposed to on/off, which would be more like a "change of state." They also referred to it as capturing time, in the sense that it showed what you were doing at some point in time, and referenced a memory in an abstract way.

  Preference - Center Piece – 5, Memory – 3
  I then asked which prototype was more interesting to them and which they were drawn to. Five people said the first "center piece" prototype, while the other 3 were more interested in the second "animation" prototype. Everyone who enjoyed the center piece prototype liked the physical, practical and social aspects. They felt that the animation piece was something to do by yourself and they would not sit there and play with it. The people who chose the animation prototype were drawn to the fact that you could program the piece and that it would capture this moment in time.

  I then showed them my previous prototype to show them the kind of diffusion I had in mind for either of the two prototypes. Everyone enjoyed the diffused light, especially the white. However, several people disliked the red light because it gave off the "warning" or "stop" vibe and thought it may be too strong.

  Layout Preference
  Regardless of which prototype they chose, I showed them the following layouts and asked them which design they liked the most. This was just a test to see which shapes and patterns the user was drawn to, for application to either prototype.

  

  I had each person pick one from each row that appealed to them the most, and their favorite of the three that they picked. The results were staggered, as two people chose 2c, and the other six people chose 1b, 1a, 3d, 3a, 1c, and 1d.
   
• 

  Yury Gitman 12:06 pm on March 6, 2009 Permalink | Reply  

  Target User Descriptions 

  Student – Anna is a 18 year old undergraduate student at Ohio State University. She lives in the dorms and pursues objects that are small, compact and interesting to add some character to her room. She reads blogs normally, so she is aware of the latest trends. She has a HD lcd tv and she is looking for something to place on the wall directly above it. She does not have much room, but she wants something interesting that her friends can play with when they come over.

  Tech Geek – Rob is a 37 year old technology guru, he enjoys the
  latest gadgets and technology. He prefers a usb or laser pen, as
  opposed to a standard writing tool. He enjoys explaining his latest
  tech purchases to his friends and his knowledge of how to use the
  product. Upon a recent purchase he explores the product and tries to
  understand how it works, reading the manual and doing research online.
  While the product is still new he promotes the product to friends and
  family, but quickly loses his interest as the novelty wears off. Rob
  would use the programmable prototype by coding his own messages and
  having his friends decode them when they come over.