Author: hd1073

Recitation

This week we dug deeper into Arduino so the recitation is all about hands-on Arduino builds. In class, we are given our own Arduino kits and we had to build three circuit boards. Since I didn’t bring my converter and couldn’t plug in the computer, we had to use my partner’s computer for file uploading. 

The first circuit is called fade. We made several silly mistakes such as forgetting to plug the cable into the computer, not noticing the difference between LED light wire lengths, et cetera. 

The second circuit is called toneMelody. It was surprisingly easier than the first circuit, but the volume is very low with a noisy atmosphere. 

The last circuit is called Speed Game. Looking at the demonstration graph, I saw many wires intertwined which looked a bit intimidating. Therefore, we missed out some cables several times. At first, we used the small buttons, then changed them into larger ones for a larger area of contact. Finally, it worked well as such. 

In conclusion, Arduino can be fun and effective, but details should be paid due attention to. A miss is as good as a mile. 

Questions

Question 1: After reading Introduction to Physical Computing, I define interaction as a combination of accelerated conscious thinking. In the reading, the author mentions that we see the computer as the computing process, a tool of storage and processing, and it’s similar to human thinking. Meanwhile, the computer sees us as merely an eye and a finger. When the human provides the consciousness that the computer doesn’t possess, the computer provides faster thinking speed, that’s what I define as interaction.

Question 2: We used the 10K resistor with the push button because, with high resistance, the electric current would be very low, protecting the user’s safety.

Question 3: If I had 100,000 LEDs of any brightness and color at my disposal, I would put the LEDs in a large glass board to display different colors according to the user’s mood and display text reminding the user’s daily schedule and I would put it on the floor. Below is my drawing. 

Recitation

In this week’s recitation, we had to solder and build circuits on a breadboard. Before building the circuits, we first had a soldering workshop to solder long wires to an arcade button. First, my partner Hangkai and I had to cut out the surface of electric wires to reveal the inner core with special gear-shaped scissors, during which we encountered a problem. We often cut off the whole wire, but luckily an assistant told us the trick — put the wire at a U-shaped gap and only the wire surface gets cut off. Then we clipped the cut wire. When soldering, first heat up the soldering tool, then add iron wire to where the button and the electric wire connected and wait for melted iron to cool down. In this process, I accidentally heated the plastic part of the button and it gave off putrid smells. I also noticed the importance of safety when handling these tools. 

Now that soldering is accomplished, next we move on to building the circuits. At first, my partner and I tried to build the circuit without a breadboard, but the wires were too intertwined. Fortunately, a helpful IMA fellow helped us understand how to use the breadboard. However, sometimes the iron wires were bent too much and we had to get new ones. Another problem was the tremendous difference between a unit on the graph and in real life. Finally, circuit 1 was built, as well as the two others. In the video below you can hear the clicking sounds of the doorbell. Unfortunately, we ran out of time and only completed the first circuit. 

Questions

Question 1: After reading The Art of Interactive Design, I concluded that interactivity in the circuits we built was the human and non-human communication. When pressing the button, the doorbell rang, which was a form of response to human’s work in building the machine (suppose it was one). 

Question 2: After watching Zach Lieberman’s video, I concluded that interaction design and physical computing could be used to create interactive art in this way: Art is immobile, but physical computing can make it mobile and interact with humans. For example, he mentioned the project “drawn” where drawings could move with human gestures.