Recitation 1:Electronics & Soldering

My first recitation is inspired by the morse code which was frequently used in the 19th century.I also consider this recitation as an interesting way to show my respect to the great invention.The main idea is to build circuits and use the DIY Paddle button to control the lights and the “beep”sound.

First of all,we cut two pieces of wire and removed the insulation at both ends of the wires.Next,we used a copper tape to stick it on one side of the cardboard.Then we sticked the wires to the cardboard and used a heat gun to melt the iron wire and soldered the yellow wire with the copper tape.In this way,the DIY Paddle button is done!

The second step was to build a basic circuit with a 5 volt power supply,a buzzer,a breadboard, a Push-Button Switch and many wires.However ,my teammate and I were so unlucky that we happened to use a broken breadboard.Hence,even though we had built the right circuit,the buzzer didn’t make a sound.Later,we asked the Learning Assistant for help and it took her a while to test each component.At last,we found the problem and quickly solved it .After changing the breadboard,the circuit worked well and the buzzer made a sound as we pushed the button.Task 1 was finished!

For the third step,we connected a LED-light and a resistance in series and then put them in the original circuit to create a multiple circuit. We just tried once and it worked.Hence,we hurried to the next task.

To do the fourth step,we connected a Variable Resistor, a LED-light and a resistance in series and then put them in the circuit designed in the third step to create another multiple circuit. However, we made a mistake that we connected the positive wire to the negative terminal while the negative wire was on the positive side. After testing a few times and we fixed the problem. Only one step left!

For the final step, we substituted the DIY Paddle button for the Push-Button Switch and used the wires to connect it with the circuit. We finally made it! 

Additional Questions:

1.To help limit the current that passes through the LED1 so it doesn’t get damaged.

2.

3.Nearly all the components in the circuit includes interactivity,because they all have to “listen,think and speak”,namely,”input,process and output”.For example ,the light receives the signal of electric,let the electric wave pass through it and then shines as a way to output.

4.For example,Zach Lieberman wrote a software which could follow the movements the moving car and then output the letters.It seemed that the car worked as a paintbrush and ground was like a huge drawing paper. In this way,physical computing can be used to create Interactive Art.

Though we faced many difficulties at first,we still managed to overcome the obstacles.What I learned from the recitation 1 is that we should never give up and don’t be afraid to make mistakes,sometimes it is the mistake that enables us to know our shortcomings and leads us to a better future.

My own definition of “interaction”

The word”interaction” has gone viral during the recent years.However,it seems that there is no clear definition of interaction.After viewing many artistic works and checking information which is related to interaction,I have a new understanding of interaction.From my perspective,interaction means acting with each other ,whether it is the acting between people,computers or between people and computers. More importantly,this is a two-way acting,which means both sides have to respond to the other’s reactions.Here,I will give two examples to illustrate my definition further.
(1)(2)
This is a device which uses wires to connect a helium-filled sphere with 15 drums.As the people play the drum,the sounds are converted into light waves and then reach the sphere.When the sphere receive the signal of light waves,it will show flexible points on the screen.Of greater interest is that the intensity of points depends on the speed and intensity of the people’s drumming.During the process,it’s not hard to find that not only the sphere but also people act–for the former,it’s about receiving the signal and changing it into variable images;for the latter,it’s about playing drums and watching the changes of image.As the action goes back and forth,the two sides’ respondings match my definiton of interaction,which is”acting with each other”.

(3)(4)

Here is another example.This is an optical illusion maneuvering device,which is inspired by the Penrose ladder.The artist want to create a visual illusion to make people feel calm and relaxed.The only movement of the device is to spin in one direction when feeling someone is around.A question came to my mind when I was appreciating this work: can we use the word”interaction” to describe it? Although the work is attached with a light sensing sensor to feel if someone is nearby,but it doesn’t make any changes when passerby try to go around to observe it.Therefore,”reaction” seems better to describe this situation and there’s a huge difference between interaction and reaction,namely,two-way and one-way.In this case,the reaction of the device is to feel someone coming and start spinning.After that,it won’t change anymore until the people leave, just like a stubborn person who refuses to receive any other information or feedback from other people.Hence,it doesn’t aligh with my definition of “interaction”,especially the word”two-way”.

In addition,there are other common cases like people having conversation with each other or computers running their programs and exchanging information.As long as it’s a two-way acting,I will consider the act as interaction.

Above all,that’s my own definition of interaction.Through further communication,I believe that we can have a better or deeper understanding of interaction.

(1)(2)Peter Erskine’s CROMOS_ Solar Spectrum Rainbow Art,Peter Erskine    Mana   https://www.manamana.net/video/detail?id=70417#!zh

(3)(4)涡——视错觉机动装置,郑洱汗  Mana  https://www.manamana.net/video/detail?id=1644769#!zh

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