Uncategorized – Rebecca’s Documentation Blog

BeccaBox

As an avid music listener, I was inspired to make a boombox. I really like how in the 90s, people carried boomboxes with them and played music out loud for everyone to enjoy. Music is all around us like when we shower, when we cook, when we workout, people listen to music. Even in elevators, there are elevator music. This being said, music is around us everywhere we go with anything we do. That is how I got my inspiration to make music through boombox for my midterm project. During previous research and readings, I saw how people were able to interact with the equipment and they enjoyed it. So because of that, I wanted to create something that people can interact with, that is simple, and enjoyable. This Beccabox is targeted to audiences who enjoy listening to music and aren’t afraid to bring back the boombox trend. Boombox has been something that has been around since the 90s to forever but now it is not that trendy anymore. Fashionistas are all bringing back the 90s trend and themes so bringing back the boombox would be a classic move and fun way for people to enjoy. I call it the BeccaBox because my nickname is Becca and box because, well, boombox. I want to make sure all the users get the best satisfaction with this equipment.

During my process, I wanted to make a sound box that was easy for people to use without instructions. The only thing they had to do was push the button to change music or change volume by turning the other button left and right. It is a boombox that is for everyone to easily use. I use button, wires, mp3 player + SD card, loud speaker, Arduino, and potentiometer + led light. I used these materials because it was the easiest way to input music into the code. Andy helped me with getting the materials because I didn’t know what I needed at first. They were best suited for my project because the button is for changing the music, the potentiometer is for changing the volume, the mp3 and SD card is so that I can store music in there, the loud speaker is so that people can hear the music, and the wires and Arduino is to connect the whole thing together. We were also given boxes to create our products.

Making the product was very easy. I had to cut out cardboard boxes and make them look like a boombox. I enjoyed this part and painting it so it didn’t look boring. The hardest and must crucial part of the project is the coding. If there is no coding, then the boombox is created for nothing. My friend Jaidyn helped me code the button part because I was stuck after trying to figure out how to play the mp3 with coding. She was able to get the button to work with the mp3 so whenever someone pressed the button, the music changes from the code. After that the other obstacle I had to overcome was coding the potentiometer. I was able to work the potentiometer but it didn’t connect with the loudspeaker. I asked one of the fellows and professor to help me. After trying to figure out the code for at least 20 minutes, we realized it was because of the button code that messed up the volume code. After figuring out all the codes, we had a user testing. During user testing, people enjoyed my design and product but the main feedback I got was that the button was a hassle because sometimes if you do not click it long it won’t play music. Before the final product showcase, I worked on the button and tried to set it right so that it will be easier for people to press it. I didn’t have a partner because there wasn’t anyone left to partner with but I was able to code and design my product with the help of my friends, fellow, and professors. They helped me along every step of the way so that I wouldn’t be stressed out.

The goal of my project is to create a machine , boombox, that everyone can enjoy easily. I wanted something people would find fun and everyday use. For me, interaction means interacting with anyone and anything. My product align with that because people are able to interact with the boombox by pressing the button or changing the volume. They were able to interact with other people beside them if they were listening to the music together. People will be able to talk about the music and make connections through the music playing from the boombox. The audience during the final showcase were able to interact with my product and listen to music together just like how I imagined. They laughed at the song choices but they liked it. The take away I have from this is that music does bring people together. People were smiling and laughing from my music and it brought laughter. That was exactly what I wanted.

Below is my code :

#include <Arduino.h>

#include <SoftwareSerial.h>

#include “DYPlayerArduino.h”

const int buttonPin = 2; // the number of the pushbutton pin

const int ledPin = 9;

int sensorPin = A0;

int sensorValue = 0;

int buttonState = 0;

int sensorMin = 150;

int sensorMax =1023;

int val;

int prevVal;

boolean buzzing = false;

SoftwareSerial SoftSerial(10, 11); //RX and TX from Arduino

DY::Player player(&SoftSerial); //should connect them to io0 and io1

void setup() {

pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);

// initialize the pushbutton pin as an input:

pinMode(buttonPin, INPUT);

Serial.begin(9600);

Serial.println(“Starting the Player…”);

player.begin();

player.setPlayingDevice(DY::Device::Sd); //SD card, USB storage volume is

player.setVolume(30); // 30 is 100% of Volume; with 15 you get 50% Volume

// player.setCycleMode(DY::PlayMode::Repeat); // Play all and repeat.

player.play();

// player.next();

}

void loop() {

buttonState = digitalRead(buttonPin);

sensorValue = analogRead(sensorPin);

analogWrite(ledPin,sensorValue/4);

delay(10);

int myVolume = map(sensorValue, 0, 1023, 0, 30);

player.setVolume(myVolume);

// sensorValue = map(sensorValue, sensorMin, sensorMax, 0, 255);

// sensorValue = constrain (sensorValue,0,255);

// // analogWrite(ledPin, sensorValue/4);

// Serial.println(sensorValue);

// delay(10);

// Serial.println(prevVal);

// Serial.print(” “);

// Serial.println()

// check if the pushbutton is pressed. If it is, the buttonState is HIGH:

if (prevVal == LOW && buttonState == HIGH) {

player.next();

}

// Print the number of the sound that is playing.

// Serial.print(“Playing Device: “);

// Serial.println((int16_t)player.checkPlayState()); //if you receive -1, it’s fail

// // Print the number of the sound that is playing.

// Serial.print(“Playing sound: “);

// Serial.println((int16_t)player.getPlayingSound());

// delay(500);

prevVal = buttonState;

delay(10);

}

Links to the pictures :

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rVEG4LPADm-PrMCs9aBozFQud8kaUW-A?usp=sharing

Category: Uncategorized

BeccaBox- Rebecca Sui- Professor Andy Garcia

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