Lab:
Recitation 4 incorporated relatively complex components, particularly when considering those used in recitations 1 through 3. The circuits used for this recitation were also significantly higher in voltage than in previous recitations that may “damage your computer”, which made me a bit nervous at first, but everything about the circuits and powering went smoothly. The biggest problem I encountered in creating the contraption was effectively organizing/managing the wires in the circuit. It took me at least two attempts to correctly wiring the circuit without having to start over. Otherwise, I was surprised by how straightforward the Arduino code itself was for a seemingly complex piece of equipment.
Documentation:
I would be interested in building machines designed to twist and turn in a certain way to remove garbage from bodies of water. I have seen this sort of project before, and have always been fascinated by how the physics of the water and trash differ enough to allow a machine to separate the two. In an article about actuators, Creative Mechanisms.com gives definitions of different types of actuators. The types of actuator they list being (1) Pneumatic Actuators, (2) Electric Actuators, and (3) Hydraulic Actuators. While a complex implementation of some of the more intricate variations would likely be more advanced than what we’ve been discussing, it is interesting to notice the variability of actuators, and how important choosing the right one could be in a high-stakes scenario. For the purpose of a water filtration system, I think a rotary actuator to power some sort of gear mechanism would work well to produce a motion almost to “twist” the trash out of the water similarly to a cement mixer.
In ART + Science NOW, Stephen Wilson (Kinetics chapter), it was particularly interesting for me to see a description and photo of the Time’s Up, Gravitron, 2005 project, which challenges the user to maintain a level of balance in accordance to a changing gravitational terrain displayed on a projection below them. This project is extremely cool because the base concept expertly uses actuators to respond to a human’s physical movement whilst engaging with the installation. Although I am not entirely familiar with the specific actuator, one could only surmise it would have to be fairly strong to produce a reciprocal physical response to a human’s swaying from side to side. It looks a bit like a trampoline, so it may have to do with tension and/or stretching(?)
