#Blog 7 Recitation 4: Drawing Machines

Documentation:

Today we worked with higher voltages, so in order to protect our computers, we have to use USB protection, which is something that as plugged between the computer and Arduino.

Step 1: Build the circuit

I built the circuit according to the instruction on Arduino docs. I used the code from Arduino>File>Examples>Stepper>stepper_oneRevolution to test it, but the motor didn’t move. After I checked the circuit, I found that I didn’t connect the first line of the IC to the positive pole. After I connect that, it worked.

 

Step 2: Control rotation with a potentiometer

This was a confusing part for me because even though I know how to write the map() code, I didn’t know where to insert it and what other matching code I have to write. So, I turned to LA for help and asked her what each additional code means.

This is the final code I used.

#include <Stepper.h>

// change this to the number of steps on your motor
#define STEPS 200

// create an instance of the stepper class, specifying
// the number of steps of the motor and the pins it's
// attached to
Stepper stepper(STEPS, 8, 9, 10, 11);

// the previous reading from the analog input
int previous = 0;

void setup() {
  // set the speed of the motor to 30 RPMs
  stepper.setSpeed(30);
  Serial.begin(9600);
  
}

void loop() {
  // get the sensor value
  int val = analogRead(0);
  int motorSpeed = map(val,0,1023,0,200);
  Serial.println(motorSpeed);
  stepper.setSpeed(motorSpeed);
  stepper.step(20);
}

Step 3: Build a Drawing Machine!

This was pretty simple to build. The question I met in this part is that the pen cannot touch the paper, so, we had to place some books underneath the paper to raise it. Another thing is that it was very hard for us to control the direction of the machine. It seems that the pen was just circling in a same route.

 

 Questions:

Question 1: What kind of machines would you be interested in building? Add a reflection about the use of actuators, the digital manipulation of art, and the creative process to your blog post.

At first, the concept of the “kind” of machines was vague to me, so I asked Prof. Godoy for some inspiration. After I scan through a few art projects, the idea became clearer and clearer to me.

I want to build machines that are, first of all, beautiful. I think beauty is something that can move people’s heart without the need to provide any meaning. For example, in Casey Curran’s Kinetic Sculpture project, the machines are beautiful and delicate enough to drag people into a dream-like scenario. Not all art projects need to critically reflect reality. That would deprive a lot of pure fun of art. And for me, beauty also indicates the creator’s genuine and effort. I think it’s an insult to the audience if an artist just skews some random stuff together and call it art.

After I did the exercise in recitation, I think that the use of actuator has two kind of usage in art and the creative process. One is that it can increase level of entertainment or interaction when people are invited to control the art project. For example, in our exercise, we didn’t use the pen to draw directly, instead, we control the stepper motor to draw. This kind of distance creates more chaos, thinking, and adjustment by the user.

The other is that it can upgrade the creation with motion. When we see a still installation art, even though it’s 3D, often the times, people still use a 2D mindset to appreciate it. Whereas id we add motion to it with machines, it forces people to really pay attention to its 3D character and give it a live-like appearance.

 

 

Question 2: Choose an art installation mentioned in the reading ART + Science NOW, Stephen Wilson (Kinetics chapter). Post your thoughts about it and make a comparison with the work you did during this recitation. How do you think that the artist selected those specific actuators for his project?

The Blanket Project by Nicholas Stedman “offers a robotic blanket that has the intelligence to move through a space in search of people. Crawling over to them, it uses its array of tactile sensors to gently envelop them and respond to their movements” (Kinetics & Robotics p.109). I really love the intention of this project to create a sense of care, attention and warmth for the audience. The blanket provides comfort and physical stimulation to people as if they feel the people’s need of companion.

This project focuses on tactile sensation, while the work we did during recitation focusing on visual presentation. Also, in this project, the blanket takes the initiative to interact automatically, while our work requires our control over the machine.

This autonomous robotic blanket contains thirty-one motorized joints which allow it to assume any shapes (Kinetics & Robotics p.124). I think the artist choose these very flexible actuators because he wants to optimized movement to track people and create a soft and tender touching experience for people.

March 12, 2022, Jinqiao, Younian Liu