Jade's Document Blog

For my animated poster, I made this words jumping randomly everywhere in different colors. And for homwork, I added some interaction elements. If I click on my mouse and move it, I can erase the words. If I feel it’s too tired to clean all of it–press DELETE and all the words on the screen disappear!

I had struggle on this: I added a delay to my “draw” because I wanted to slow down the speed of the popping words, but then the reaction time for my mouse and keyboard also got longer.

 

 

float r;
float g;
float b;
float x;
float y;
float size;

void setup(){
  size(1024,768);
  background(255);
  

  
  
  
  
}

void draw(){
  delay(90);
  r=random(50,255);
  g=random(50,255);
  b=random(50,255);
  x=random(1024);
  y=random(768);
  size=random(20,50);
  
  fill(r,g,b);
  rectMode(CENTER);
  rect(x,y,size*5,size);
  fill(0);
  textSize(size);
  textAlign(CENTER,CENTER);
  text("IMA SHOW", x,y);
  textSize(random(10,20));
  text("MAY13,18-20PM",y,x);

  
 
  if(mousePressed){
   click(mouseX,mouseY);
  }
  if(keyPressed){
    if(key==DELETE){
      background(255);
    }
  }
}


  
  

void click(float x,float y){
  fill(255);
 
  noStroke();
  ellipse(x,y,300,300);
 
 
}

 

Seismic Zone

Jade Wen and Robbin Wu 

Instructor: Andy Garcia

 

In the previous Group Project, we did a device, which appeared as a pair of hands, that can create choreography according to their mood and lead people to dance once they touch it. It is a way for people to express their feelings in the form of art and we think it is interesting. Interaction plays an important role in this project because the communication between the robot and the user is constantly happening back and forth during the process. The robot reads the emotion, outputs the dance and the user receives the instructions. We use this concept of interaction in our midterm project. We created a board game, where players can build a building with blocks. Chances are that they may encounter earthquakes, which are simulated with the Arduino mechanism, that can destroy the building. Originally, we wanted to design something for professional urban planning. But a game is more interesting, and can engage a larger audience, from kids to adults. There are lots of table top designs and games that are intuitive for city-planning, but we want to add more on interactions with simulation of earthquakes and sounds. This kind of game is engaging within family and groups of friends, and also inspiring for children in the field of architecture, urban-planning, and engineering. 

We chose an ultrasonic sensor because since we intend to let users build a skyscraper in order to win the game, we need something to detect the height of it. We want it to be a board game that is fun and easy to understand for a wide range of audience from kids to adults. So we included cards that remain the typical feature of a board game. There are four kinds of cards and each represents a different action for that round: adding another brick, triggering a small earthquake, a big earthquake, and the ultimate earthquake. Unknown to what they will expect, it becomes exciting. And also we added another feature for a way to inform and celebrate a player’s victory. When they hear the music from the buzzer, they know they have succeeded, and meanwhile, dance to it! The audio is better and more engaging than visuals such as a lightning LED.

During the code part, Robbin took charge of a big portion of it. The most difficult part that took lots of time was testing the range of the motor rotation. But all we needed to do was test it over and over again. The distance for the ultrasensor was in a similar situation as well, especially when we built the model separately, we had different numbers in the code and needed to test it several times. But Robbin was very helpful and approachable even though we could only contact each other online. In addition, when I built the model, I figured out the ultrasonic sensor was a big problem if I attached it in the cardboard box. First I made a hole on the top of the box that the sensor could fit in. But when I tested it, the buzzer made sounds even though the distance was further than the designated number in the code. I guessed it was because the ultrasound it sent bounced back when it hit the sidewall of the box, which led to the miscalculation. So I cut the box and made it a more open area so that the side of the box wouldn’t affect the soundwave.

Another adjustment was made to keep the platform stable. Because we use a servo motor to simulate the earthquake and place it under the surface where players build their skyscrapers, the surface tended to move around when it was vibrated by the motor. So I needed to add some blocks to prevent the platform from moving around. 

In conclusion, we aimed to create a simple but interesting board game for people from all ages that is inspiring for urban-planning and house building. In terms of interaction, it fits my understanding resulting from the last group project. The earthquake is triggered by the reading of the buttons and the motor takes actions that knocks down the building. Even though it reacts to the building but not directly to the player, there is conversation, input and output during the process. In the game, players build up the bricks with chances to encounter an earthquake if they flip a card that instructs them to push a button to trigger an earthquake. They aim to get to the fourth floor as fast as possible. It can be very entertaining thanks to the unknown situation in the next round, and as well be inspiring and challenging since they need to balance the time between building a steady tower or moving into the next round. If we had more time, we can upgrade the bricks into, instead of only cubes, but different shapes. So it requires more strategies to the game and is more challenging in an urban-planning and architecture aspect, which fits even more to the goal of our project. That is, it is not only an entertaining game, but a learning experience for children and family to build up collaboration and city planning ability. 

This project was the first one I did that integrated prototyping models and coding. Different to what we did in the previous Group Project, there were more technical issues that we encountered outside of our expectation. Feasibility is something that we need to take into consideration during the planning process, and research as well. Also, it takes time to build and create something. We need patience to ideate and test it again and again to reach our expectations. And with some creativity, everything can be fun and meaningful.

We tried the tilt switch for the first time. And we used the serial plotter to observe some charateristics of it.

If tilting the switch nearly 90 degree, it goes from ON to OFF.

If tapping on the switch, the wave flickers.
 
The result of tilting fingers and tilting forearm is similar.

If I hold the wires and not the switch and tilt it, the signals become more unstable. There are lots of transitions in between tilts.

If I shake it with holding hands holding the wires, it misses lots of signals. If I grab it by the top and shake it, the waves are more accurate.

 

 

Workout STARTS

We debounced the swtich first, so the unintended transitions didn’t be affected the counts.

Biceps curls

When I finished the first version of the code, I found that the system counted on every switch of actions(e.g., 1 on up and 2 on down). But I wanted it to be counting on each up-down which means a full curl. Then Andy helped me with modifying the code. I added “if (reading == HIGH)” in the code, so it only counted when the tilted switch was on.

const int SENSOR_PIN = 6;
int tiltVal;
int prevTiltVal;
int curls = 0;
unsigned long lastDebounceTime = 0;  // the last time the output pin was toggled
unsigned long debounceDelay = 50; // the debounce time; increase if the output flickers


void setup() {
  pinMode(SENSOR_PIN, INPUT);    // Set sensor pin as an INPUT pin
  Serial.begin(9600);
   
  }

void loop() {
  int reading = digitalRead(SENSOR_PIN);
  // if the tilt sensor value changed, print the new value
  if (reading != prevTiltVal) {
    lastDebounceTime = millis();
    //Serial.println(tiltVal);
  }
  if ( (reading != tiltVal) && (millis() - lastDebounceTime) > debounceDelay) {
    // whatever the reading is at, it's been there for longer than the debounce
    // delay, so take it as the actual current state:
    tiltVal = reading;
   

    if (reading == HIGH) {
      curls = curls + 1;
      Serial.println(curls);
     
    }
  }
  
  if (curls == 8) {
    Serial.println("Yay, you've done a set of curls");
    curls = 0;
  }
  
  
  prevTiltVal = reading;
   //for Serial Plotter use
  //Serial.println(tiltVal);
  //delay(1);
}

Jumping jacks

The previous code correctly counted for jumping jacks. But if I speeded up, it didn’t counted accurately. We can see in the Serial Plotter that when the tilt switch is on, the wave is not stable. So I tried to decrease the number of the delaydebounce time, and the counts was able to keep up with the faster movement. However, it sometimes included extra counts. And if I increased the debounce lockout time, it missed counts. The best debounce time was 70.

 

Timing the workout

const int SENSOR_PIN = 6;
int tiltVal;
int prevTiltVal;
int curls = 0;
int duration = 0;
unsigned long lastDebounceTime = 0;  // the last time the output pin was toggled
unsigned long debounceDelay = 50; // the debounce time; increase if the output flickers


void setup() {
  pinMode(SENSOR_PIN, INPUT);    // Set sensor pin as an INPUT pin
  Serial.begin(9600);
  delay(1000);
  Serial.print("Start your workout");

}

void loop() {
  int reading = digitalRead(SENSOR_PIN);
  duration = millis();
  // if the tilt sensor value changed, print the new value
  if (reading != prevTiltVal) {
    lastDebounceTime = millis();
    


    //Serial.println(tiltVal);
  }
  if ( (reading != tiltVal) && (millis() - lastDebounceTime) > debounceDelay) {
    // whatever the reading is at, it's been there for longer than the debounce
    // delay, so take it as the actual current state:
    tiltVal = reading;
    if (duration <= 20000) {
      if (reading == HIGH) {
        curls = curls + 1;
        Serial.println(curls);

      }

    } else {
      Serial.println("STOP,time is up");
      curls = 0;



    }

    //if (curls == 8) {
    //Serial.println("Yay, you've done a set of curls");
    //curls = 0;
  }


  prevTiltVal = reading;
  //for Serial Plotter use
  //Serial.println(tiltVal);
  //delay(1);
}

We made a simple drawing machine.

Step 1

First we connected a steppor motor and a H-bridge to the Arduino. The connections seemed complicated but it was actually clear which cables go to which pins.

Step 2

Then we added a potentiometer to the circuits to control the motor. The mapping in the code was hard. I understand what mapping means and how it works, but it’s hard to remember how to write the code. The code: value=map(value, from low, from high, to low, to high)

Step 3

We used lasor-cut arms to hold the paper and connect attached them to the motors(one arm to one motor). It was difficult to draw what we wanted though, since it needs cooperation between two arms.

 

Question 1

I always wish there was a showering machine. People can simply step in the machine and automatically be cleaned, like automatic car washes. It needs “arms” and “hands” that can move around, tranmitting program information into movements like an

acurator. According to the hieght and the size of the user, there will be a fixed formula controlling where they move. The fluffy hands can produce soap foam when press itself slightly against user’s body, and moves around the skin to clean. And water comes out from the hands with shower head to rinse off the soap.

Question 2

Kobito:Virtual Brownies made by Auki Takafumi et al. is a design that connects the physical world and virtual world. A person holds a tea caddy while seeing through the computer screen, there are small virtual characters standing next to the tea caddy. If the tea caddy was moved, it could touch the characters and on the other hand, when the characters pushed the tea caddy, it would also move in the physical space. Although the trick has been revealed that they used magnetic acutators, I still wonder how it corresponds to the digital creatures. I guess the magnet attached to the tea caddy is measured in x-y spacial position and is connected to the computer. In other words, the computer knows the spatial relationship between the virtual characters and the position of the magnetic, so they can decide their reaction if thier positions coincide with each other. It is similar to our circuits as both of them include device that convert the signals into the instructions of motions: our motors are contolled by the potentiometers and rotate, while the position-activated program tells the magnet to move.

 

 

Reference: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MH0D7mTve4KQVn9FJ0KqXWa2TgGuJkPR/view

 

1.

Dance is one form of art, but usually requires skills and talent. We hope people can express their emotions through art or just simply perform art without limitations. The invention of our group is the device that creats a choreography based on the emotion of the person who touches it, and can lead the person dancing. 

To come up with the idea, we first met as a group and then introduced our own inventions we created at the RESEARCH phase. And all of us found the one from Robbin was very interesting, which was some robots dancing along with the Naxi music band the main character watched with the woman in The Fish of Lijiang. We made an advanced version of his proposal:

The invention is mainly a pair of artificial hands. When a person places his/her hands on that pair of hands, the projector automatically turns on and the image of its body appears. Meanwhile, it detects the physiological and mental conditions of the person that recognize his/her emotion. It then creates a choreography with moves reflecting the emotion. Holding the hands, people can dance along with the robot without learning it in advance or memorizing the choreography. 

In our performance, we included a cardboard projector and a cardboard helmet for the robot. When the projector is turned on, the robot took off the helmet representing her appearance.

We also used masks with mouth drawn on it to represent the emotion of the users. The first user was sad and they danced in a sad mood 🙁 while the other was happy because her friend gave her a gift and they danced happily together 🙂 . And because we perform without talking, we had a little cardboard instrument that played the beats for the dance.

We evenly distrubuted our work. Since most of the scenes were between two actors, we discussed the story and the dance in small groups two by two seprately. As a first sad character myself, I discussed with Vivian about the trigger that made me sad; and with Tracy, the robot, we created the choreography that showed the sadness. Our group members had participated in the cardboard workshop where they made some of the items, and the rest we did as a whole group. We also rehearsed for several times.

Our performance in class:

One thing I like about our invention is that it is very interesting–imagine yourself being able to dance in a way you never think you are capable of. And it allows people to express their feeling, which is one thing that is vital for people dealing with stress and depression. 

It’s interactive because it aligns to how we define interaction. It is a conversation between two subjects and it reacts to each other. The robot doesn’t activate itself until the user touches it and the user can also receive input, which is the guidance of dance.

However, there are also limitations in our invention. When we came up with the idea, we didn’t specify how the emotions are detected, meaning, what kind of things are sensed and are taken in to account. Neither did we specify how people are controlled by the robot with just the connection between hands. 

2.

The group which presented a subjective clock and a objective clock was really impressive. Their story setting was a student taking GPS in school. There was a helmet on the student’s head that can detect his braiwave. And there were two clock, one objective which was the time running in the real world and one subjective–what the student experience personally. When the student feel bored his subjective time slows down. This was in relation to the concept of The Fish of Lijiang where the time can be distorted and felt differently person from person. But from my perspective, instead of relating to the fictional concept The Fish of Lijiang presents, they were talking about the experience we are going through everyday, since sometimes we feel like time are passing slow when we feel bored and fast when we wish time stops at the moment forever.

The performance was very interesting. They assigned the two clocks with characteristics that made them communicate with each other to better convey their ideas to the audience. It reminds me of the cartoon movie Inside Out, in which the emotions and every mental activities are living under a real life setting with a system to run the community. 

But I doubt they met the criteria of making it interactive. There was only a one-direction process, which was the device detecting the student’s brain. The brain outputs information, the device processes and the clocks input. But the student didn’t receive any feedback to further react to the other subject. One thing they can think about is that after the two clocks appear, the student also receives the information, and is able to manage or play with it.

We first tried to put only the sensor, which was the ultrasonic ranger. It can detect distance. And then we added output– a buzzer. Initially, we intend to make buzzer sounds louder as the distance get smaller, but were told that this buzzer can only make the same volunme. So we then changed our goal which is that the buzzer makes sound when the distance is longer than 20. The coding was the hardest part. Even though we can copy and paste the code from the website and examples from the Arduino, we need to figure out ways to combine them correctly. Additionally, there is something we want to improve on. The reaction duration of buzzer switching on and off is quite longer. I’d like to make it more sensitive if I have time.

Question 1

We had a buzzer as an output and an ultrasonic ranger as an input in the circuit. The buzzer starts to make sound after the sensor detects the distance is farther than 20cm. This kind of assmbly can be used by a group of hikers. For example, if they are venturing in a dangerous landscape, they can have this kind of technology attaching to their bodies. If one person is separate from his/her parnters in a certain distance, the alarm goes on and reminds them that there is one member falling behind the team.

Question 2

The one who reads the code is the computer. It only reacts to the right instructions and the right combination of instructions. So a programmer needs to be careful when coding, following the rules of coding like following the recipe if want to have a perfect meal.

Question 3

When we get used to computer, we become lazy because computer can help us do a lot of things. And it also shapes different habbit for respective generation as computer develop throughout time. For example, my grandparents and parents get used to have keyboards and mouses when facing computer, but my generation get used to screens. 

The code:

// ---------------------------------------------------------------- //
// Arduino Ultrasoninc Sensor HC-SR04
// Re-writed by Arbi Abdul Jabbaar
// Using Arduino IDE 1.8.7
// Using HC-SR04 Module
// Tested on 17 September 2019
// ---------------------------------------------------------------- //

#include "pitches.h"
#define echoPin 2 // attach pin D2 Arduino to pin Echo of HC-SR04
#define trigPin 3 //attach pin D3 Arduino to pin Trig of HC-SR04

// defines variables
long duration; // variable for the duration of sound wave travel
int distance; // variable for the distance measurement
int notes[] = {
  NOTE_A4, NOTE_B4, NOTE_C3
};

void setup() {
  pinMode(trigPin, OUTPUT); // Sets the trigPin as an OUTPUT
  pinMode(echoPin, INPUT); // Sets the echoPin as an INPUT
  Serial.begin(9600); // // Serial Communication is starting with 9600 of baudrate speed
  Serial.println("Ultrasonic Sensor HC-SR04 Test"); // print some text in Serial Monitor
  Serial.println("with Arduino UNO R3");
}
void loop() {
  // Clears the trigPin condition
  digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
  delayMicroseconds(2);
  // Sets the trigPin HIGH (ACTIVE) for 10 microseconds
  digitalWrite(trigPin, HIGH);
  delayMicroseconds(10);
  digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
  // Reads the echoPin, returns the sound wave travel time in microseconds
  duration = pulseIn(echoPin, HIGH);
  // Calculating the distance
  distance = duration * 0.034 / 2; 
  
  
  if (distance > 20){
    // play the note corresponding to this sensor:
      tone(8, notes[1], 20000);
  }
  
  // Speed of sound wave divided by 2 (go and back)
  // Displays the distance on the Serial Monitor
  Serial.print("Distance: ");
  Serial.print(distance);
  Serial.println(" cm");
}

 

We built three circuits in total. The first two is much easier than the third one. We didn’t encounter any problems until we tried to do the four-player game after finishing the three circuits. Combing the two circuits with another group, the code was much complicated. But we found patterns in the code: if there are number 1 and 2, copy and paste the code and revise 1 and 2 with 3 and 4, as they work in a similar way. In addition, we plug both the cables in to the GNDs on Arduino. We need to be extra careful when comes to a complicated circuit.

 

Circuit 1

Circuit 2

Circuit 3

 

Question 1

Instead of only letting the LED light up after one player hit ten times the button, we can connect the button to the program that create visuals on our laptop. Tom Igoe and Dan O’Sullivan mentioned in their book: “Connecting back to multimedia computers is one of the things that separates this book from books about robotics. Robotics books tend to insist on having the microcontroller stand alone. We’re
not so swift to dismiss the multimedia computer’s output capabilities when it’s useful for communicating with people or between people.” With visuals and sounds, we can make this game even more like a video game. We can create characters, set up a scenario, and design what pushing the button means in this game, for example, one brick is moved when the button is hit once; and after whoever move ten bricks first is the winner. This way, players not only face a Arduino board with a bunch of cables, but is able to actually enjoy a game with imagination of communicating with the characters.

Question 2

We use a pull-down resistor to avoid short circuits. And the recommend value of the resistors by the official Arduino doc is 10k.

 

1. The Fish of Lijiang

It is impressing that even the sky and weather is fake and controlled in the fiction. But instead of letting it be always blue and sunny, it will be cool if the weather can reflect people’s emotion. I read about a lamp that reflect weather by changing its color, and similar design can be applied to the fake weather built in the story. When the mayor feels happy, sun shines bright in the sky; when he/she is angry, storm comes. It’d be an interesting design but may cause problem if the weather controller is in a bad mood everyday for a month.

2. Newton’s Sleep

A 4D projection technology like holography display that presents a realistic scene in just an empty room. It can be used in history class where students can leave the texts and the 2D images in books, and step in the lively scenes of historical events. The image projected is not only 3D(looks spatial and real), but also audience can smell, feel, hear it. And if one person touches a projected item, the item reacts. The scenes would be so impressive that students don’t need lots of efforts and time to memorize information for history class. However, since what students see is a surrounding image, what they perceive is very different. They may focus on things that are not important or get distracted. On the other hand, in the situation in the novel, there maybe debate on whether kids should immerse themselves in what’s in the past.

 

3. The Winter Market

If there is a device that can read people’s mind that not only transfer it into digital signals or data, but to turn people’s imagination into visual videos, designers can convery their ideas about protorype easily, and there is less misunderstanding. After all, designers are either challenged to be a good painter or model builder to express what they are thinking even though they have brilliant ideas in their head. And simply by saying is also hard. And artist can also skip the step to draw or recording images, saving time and money to produce a movie or audio-visual art. But the problem may appear that people’s privacy is exposed to a dangerous position that with this kind of invention, we can easily tell if someone is lying. In addition, people who are employed in film-making and art-making may lose their jobs.

We first built the button of the circuit. It was easier than building the circuit itself as long as we were very careful. Reading the circuit diagrams as well as connecting all the components on the breadboard was difficult as it took us a long time to understand how the breadboard works. Plus, we ran out of space to plug the cables onto the breadboard so we need to adjust some of them to have enough space for all the components.

Step1

Step2

Step3

 

• Breadboard: connects all the stuff and let electricity flows through
• Buzzer: makes sounds
• Resistor: reduces current so the LED doesn’t get burned
• Variable Resistor (Potentiometer): provides adjustable amount of resistance
• LED: light. See if the circuit works
• Button: switches on/off the circuit

 

Question 1

The resistor helps reduce the amount of current that passes through the LED, so the current won’t exceed the limit and damage the LED.

Question 2

 

Question 3

According to the author, “interaction is a cyclic process in which two actors alternately listen, think and speak.” The circuit we build today doesn’t feel like a strong interaction because it only listens to our order, process after the circuit connects and speak(light up the LED and make sounds). When we receive its signal, we can decide if we switch it on again or we stop. Even we speak(push the botton) again, we are not building it on top of what the circuit just spoke, it feels like another beginning of a conversation. So I would consider it a low degree of interactivity.

Question 4

The EyeWriting that Zack Lieberman and his team created is really impressing. They have used the cheap web cam together with the software that allows the sensors to track the movement of the graffiti artist’s eye. It’s a good example that through sensors and the software they designed(Physical Computing), artist can create arts in an interactive way. When the device track down what the users are drawing, it processes and displays the work. The interaction goes on an on until the art work is done.

When we say interaction, we expect two or more objects to response to each other. One output message and one receive it. After receiving it, it gives out message again, letting another receive.

https://www.manamana.net/video/detail?id=1566768#!zh This video shows an workshop about tea, where visitors can know about the procedure of making tea. And in the workshop, people can experience how tea is made with lots of interactive design. For example, touching the wall to triger light that follows the rountine of making tea. There is interaction because the light appears in response to the touch by people. And people recieve the message and can later on decide if they want keep the interaction on by touching/responsing the wall again.

Something that I would not call interaction can be this as an example: https://hellocircuits.com/2017/11/09/clock-clock-by-human-since-1982/. The clock is controlled by the program the engineered created, and it is not interacting with another object or person. It is a one-direction process since there is no reception after the clock output/response.

 

Work Cited:

Forman, Eric. “Clock Clock by Human Since 1982.” HelloCircuits, https://hellocircuits.com/2017/11/09/clock-clock-by-human-since-1982/. Accessed 16 February 2022.

SeeekLab. “科技+传统 茶文化互动体验店-七茶研究所.” Mana, https://www.manamana.net/video/detail?id=1566768#!zh. Accessed 16 February 2022.