Making Toys

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theliztaylor 6:29 pm on March 27, 2012 Permalink | Reply

Final Project Concepts-Liz Taylor
My concepts are all fairly similar, I basically know that I want to work with a group of small objects that are networked together and communicating.

Idea 1: Small animal shaped objects/lamps or small geodescic objects/lamps that communicate to each other. Each object has it’s own individual color when it is the only object in a zone. The closer they are to each other, the more they try to assume the same color. I’m not sure what would determine the hierarchy of what final color they assume, unless it is that they’re always trying to mix between the colors. (aka a red object and a blue object would always turn purple)
Loose precedent: Suwappu: http://www.dentsulondon.com/blog/2011/04/05/introducing-suwappu/

Idea 2: Little objects made out of cardboard that have small motors/wheels that they can move around with. They communicate and are always trying to find each other. Once they find each other, they stop moving.
Precedents: Tween Bots: http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2011/talktome/objects/146369/
Cardboard Radio: http://www.betterlivingthroughdesign.com/accessories/cardboard-radio.html

Idea 3: Small sound objects (with some light) that serve as speakers that can communicate. They’re running on max, and work together to build off each other’s sounds. Possibly made out of clay or ceramics?
Precedents:
Ohm: http://noisedesign.blogspot.com/2008/07/ohm-lo-fi-cardboard-sampler.html
Cardboard Radio: http://www.betterlivingthroughdesign.com/accessories/cardboard-radio.html Ceramic Speakers: http://fab.com/inspiration/ceramic-speakers-2

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KB 2:20 pm on March 26, 2012 Permalink | Reply

Final Concepts

This first idea would be another monster in the love is a monster series. It would be called I love my career. It would ideally be a desk toy for those who are in a cubicle office setting. The two toys would communicate wirelessly with a garage door opener technology. These toys would be used during those times when you strongly dislike your job. You would then be able to communicate with other employees you empathize with a similar situation.

This second idea is would be for children. I have a 5 year old brother and my favorite thing to do with him in the spring time is the easter egg hunt. When he was a toddler he enjoyed the easter egg hunts but had a difficult time detecting the oversized eggs even when they were hidden in obvious places. This toy would hide a light in an oversized easter egg and would light up with a switch allowing the child to locate the egg easily.

This third idea would be for reading. When I read print books that are not on my tablet I have a difficult time finding a balance with the lighting. If I turn on the room light its too bright and if I use a snap on light the l.e.d. is not diffused and it hurts my eyes. This idea would use lights in a pillow to allow a person to be able to comfortably read in the bed.

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Joe Volpe 9:33 pm on March 25, 2012 Permalink | Reply

Mid Term update
So the wiring is up and working. The code needs some work as I’m having a bit of trouble getting the lights to start pulsing upon reaching various levels of heart rate. Also, as of now I have built the prototype around an Arduino NANO but as soon as my LilyPad arrives I will be using that and embedding it into the wristband along with slimmer LEDS

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KB 2:44 pm on March 25, 2012 Permalink | Reply

Date Monsters
Theses are the Date Monsters from my Love is a Monster Series. These toys are supposed to highlight the awkward qualities of a first date. The concept behind the toys is that the couple would wear the bow tie and hair bow on a first date. Threw the use of a pulse sensor the couple would be able to see if their heartbeats sync to determine if they should go on a second date. This is more of a conceptual design/geek chic.

http://vimeo.com/39140624 http://vimeo.com/39140651

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KB 2:24 pm on March 25, 2012 Permalink | Reply

I only have EYE for you
Here is a photo and video of a monster from a series I called Love is a monster. I created this to express a playful take on the awkward and qualities about love.

http://vimeo.com/39140582?utm_source=internal&utm_medium=email&utm_content=cliptranscoded&utm_campaign=adminclip

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adamsabh 1:45 am on March 25, 2012 Permalink | Reply

Midterm 2nd Iteration
Here is a video of my second iteration of the midterm.

I have made the project tangible and have completed one of the stages.

I am having trouble getting the colors to adjust between the different pulse readings. So when some one goes from relaxed to energetic music the colors aren’t as smooth of a transition as I was hoping for. Hopefully I can polish this out by Monday.

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adamsabh 2:28 pm on March 24, 2012 Permalink | Reply

Midterm Sketches
So for my midterm project I want to construct a light system that will react to the people that are within a confined space. Instead of having to set mood lighting or buy different types of bulbs for certain types of parties, events or even just daily use you can buy my one product and be covered for any occasion.

Below is a sketch of what it will look like. The Computer is set up to the Arduino and a set of headphones so the user can feel as if they are connected to the machine and enhance their experience (for now). I will later power the light separately with a 9v but for now it will be powered by the computer.

The Arduino sits beneath the light and it will be programmed to take the pulse of the user and interpret that into an appropriate light display. So for instance the user has had a rough day, comes home, put on Radioheads “Nude” and sips a glass of wine their pulse will go from a rapid rate to a very subdued and relaxed state. In which case my lights will react with an ambient mesh of blues, purples, and dull yellow tones. This will help the user relax as well as light their room according their mood without them having to get up and find an appropriate light bulb or brightness level.

Here are the 3 songs that I will use the help achieve the most effective results.

Relaxed pulse rate: Radiohead – “Nude”

Active pulse rate: Avicii – “Levels”

Highly Active pulse rate: Every Time I Die – “Cities and Years”

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Yury Gitman 8:35 pm on March 23, 2012 Permalink | Reply

Nebulophone, Arduino Music System
Impressive sound!

Nebulophone.

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Joe Volpe 2:20 pm on March 23, 2012 Permalink | Reply

Midterm Journal Entry 2: pulse sensor Runner’s band

The look at feel for my project is practical and simple. I want to embed the pulse sensor and an array of lights and possibly a speaker into a cotton wrist band. The lights that are aligned linearly with in the band will gradually light up appropriately as the users heart rate increase or decreases. The battery will also be embedded with an pocket that can be easily accessed when changing it. I also would like to add a light sensor as an on and off/reset switch.

-What surprised you?-

The wiring is fairly simple so I quickly wired up one LED at the start and attempted to slip my newly purchased arduino NANO into my wristband. The pins on the NANO make it extremely difficult to cleanly place inside the band and also make it uncomfortable to wear. Also, the led itself is rather large.

So I have decided to use a lily pad and possibly some smaller flatter LEDs if I can find them. I think I’ll also steal a small speaker from a pair of headphones.

I hope to have a usable and integrated prototype by Monday.

Any suggestion from any of you would be awesome.

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aisencc 5:38 am on March 23, 2012 Permalink | Reply

TSG phase 2
I have cleaned up my code and redesigned the pcb to a smaller more compact circuit. Tomorrow Joel Murphy will walk me through the pcb etching machine to print the board out. I am very happy about how it turned out. You can see an image here:

I have picked out the new fabric:

In order to finish Theater Safety Glasses 2 I will attend Rhino workshop on Saturday to print the part that encases the battery circuit and servos, and assemble the pieces tighter. Creating a circuit for it has been spending and I hope that creating a 3d file will be as rewarding and useful.

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Amira Pettus 3:44 am on March 23, 2012 Permalink | Reply

Amira and Ramiro’s Midterm Journal 2 Entry

pictures above in order: 1. physical prototype 2. Code( next phase ) 3. Cards ( look and feel )to indicate patterns players should attempt to mimic using their BMP

In 4-8 sentences, Describe what how you will work on your prototypes between now in next class. What is left to do? What surprised you?

Between now and next class Ramiro and I will

1.) Implement and refine final physical protoype. —We will make 2 controllers so that there is the option to play against another person as well as yourself.

2.) Transfer our paper version patterns to actual cardstock — we will make a complete deck of patterns for our players to compete.

3.) Refine our code

Our materials to house our final version/hardware has been ordered and we await its arrival. We will be using a wooden casing to house our Arduino because of the look and feel it provides.( Also our metal version is conductive and interferes with the hardware.

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normandiaz 1:46 am on March 23, 2012 Permalink | Reply

Norman Diaz’s Midterm Journal Entry 2 (Ambient Lamp)

As a reminder my project will be an ambient lamp, lighted up by an RGB LED and controlled by the pulse sensor.

For the look and feel prototype I’ve been working on the design of the lamp. I was inspired by the arteries of the heart and came up with and abstract shape that represents them.
After having a final design of my lamp, I started the 3d modeling which will help me have some renders to represent how my design would look in my next prototype and then be 3d printed.

For my Implementation prototype, I decided to use only one RGB LED to change the colors of the lamp, and currently working on it.

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mikesusol 12:27 am on March 23, 2012 Permalink | Reply

Robot prototype
I finally received my Speakjet from Sparkfun so I spent some time carefully soldering that together so I can get my bot speaking. Not as simple as I had hoped. I’m still building and testing the components to make sure they will all fit and work inside the robot. I prototyped a few different sets of eyes based on the input of my classmates. One option is to mount the LEDs externally in plastic caps and another is to enclose the LEDs in little fabric “dumplings” to stitch inside the head. Both options create a different effect so I’ll keep testing. Ultimately, I think I’ll commit to mounting the LED heart inside the robot – it gives off a nice glow behind the printed black fabric. The pulse sensor is still giving me a little trouble so I need to work on the mounting situation in the robot arm. After that… code, code, code…and more code.

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mikesusol and Yury Gitman are discussing. Toggle Comments
- Yury Gitman 4:13 pm on March 24, 2012 Permalink | Reply
  
  Mike, if you are getting to much light “bleeding” from the eyes you can: 1) put a higher resistor on the LED so it’s more dim OR 2) make the dumpling smaller or 3) explore a way to stop light bleeding from the edges like a different dumpling material….?
  - mikesusol 4:23 pm on March 24, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    
    Thanks Yury. Hope you are feeling better. After testing about 15 different eye configurations, I finally committed to using the clear caps on the outside with a higher transistor rating to dim the LEDs a bit. Using the LED dumplings inside the head produced a cool effect but after some user testing people preffered the look of the externally mounted eyes. I’m now trying to make a similar decision about internally or externally mounting the heart LEDs. I’ll bring my prototypes to class on Monday.
christopherkoelsch 11:00 pm on March 22, 2012 Permalink | Reply

“‘Appointment With Death/aka Working Title”

Look and Feel Prototype is pretty much complete: I built my house today. Though I don’t want to spend too much type on “Look and Feel,” I want to give the house an exterior of photos/or a dark/goth wallpaper.

Circuitry is next.

I have been working on the code but have yet to get it implementing. Further work with if/else statements will have to be worked on.

1. Led to blink (at at frequency in each room noting tension), then once the attic level is hit — below happens:

Two servo motors in the attic with rotary blades/fans will be encased in the attic in a box with shards of glass. This willl give the effect of a “happening” once the blades spin in glass: i.e. windows breaking, violence occurring.

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naterudolph 5:18 pm on March 22, 2012 Permalink | Reply

Midterm Project

I choose to originally to do some sort of exercise ball that you would have to orient to various LEDs to the beat of your heart. That didn’t really seem to fit with the Pulse Sensor very well so I changed it, but kept the same components.

I’ve always been awful at anything requiring balance, so I thought I would make some that could help a beginner exercise the muscles involved in balancing. This prototype just shows the LEDs marking your angle relative to the ground. A few of the practices you can do are walking backwards and forwards while trying to keep only one LED lit, or walking backwards and forwards while trying to smoothly go through all of the LEDs. Tightrope walking also needs to have a level of relaxation, so the pulse sensor will be included once I get another board, to help you slow down and practice calmly moving through the exercise.

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adamsabh 8:22 pm on March 20, 2012 Permalink | Reply

New Speaker Troubleshoot
Here is another demo of the speaker trouble I am having.

I upgraded resistors from 10K to 330. Let me know what you think about this. I could be getting just fine readings, but am just being thrown off by the Processing visualizer.

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Yury Gitman 2:45 pm on March 20, 2012 Permalink | Reply

Ways to Go Wireless Arduino
Link for in-class reference.
http://www.sparkfun.com/search/results?term=wireless+arduino&what=products
Also
Arduino
http://asynclabs.com/store?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=29&category_id=6

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normandiaz 4:42 am on March 20, 2012 Permalink | Reply

Norman Diaz's Midterm Journal Entry 1

For my midterm project the idea is based on learning about your heart rate through the experience of visual effects created by an artifact (Lamp) mounted by several RGB LED(s).

For one of my prototypes I created the design of this lamp through 3d modeling which was a little challenging because I wanted to create a very organic shape.

This 3d model helped me out to picture the design I had on my head, and with this file I would be able to 3d print my final project using clear plastic.

Another of my prototypes was getting several LED(S) lighted up at the same time with the same color ratio.

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Yury Gitman is discussing. Toggle Comments
- Yury Gitman 2:05 pm on March 20, 2012 Permalink | Reply
  
  http://www.sparkfun.com/products/8579
  This was the MBlink part I was talking about. It is very bright. Check out the example code provided on that page.