Exercise:
We used an H-bridge to run a stepper motor. Because the components needed for this recitation could end up damaging my computer, I chose to check out a Mac from the ER. Due to time constraints we were only able to complete steps 1 and 2. For step 1, we assembled a circuit that allowed the stepper motor to turn on its own. For step 2, we had the rotation of the stepper motor depend on the value obtained from a potentiometer.
Questions:
Question 1:
I am interested in building machines that could help people who are undergoing physical therapy and/or need prosthetics. A stepper or servo motor could be used in a prosthetic arm or leg to regulate the movement of the limb’s elbow, knee or ankle, as their rotation can be limited to become similar to a real joint. Although a prosthetic arm or leg will serve a more practical purpose rather than an artistic one, the actuators involved (a stepper or servo motor) can be used to create art, their rotation could be used to regulate a light show, for instance, or they could be used to move a device that paints on a surface based on readings from a camera, which would be similar to an interactive mirror.
Question 2:
I chose ‘Centripetal Sound Machines’ by Matt Heckert. I think it’s really interesting how Heckert wanted to create the sensation of being inside a mechanism, but I don’t think he was able to achieve it, as the audience was always looking at the installation from the outside instead of looking at it from the inside. He chooses the correct actuator for his project to work, as the motors he chose are able to move the rings up and down and raise and lower a bar that strikes the rings to play the sound. I think Heckert chose the actuators he used bearing in mind the purpose they would serve. For the bars that struck the rings he probably chose a servo because he could regulate the angle at which the rotation stopped and the bar was raised. For the system that lifted and lowered the rings he probably chose a conventional motor, as it would let the ring’s system function like a pulley that continuously raises and lowers the ring.