CONTEXT AND SIGNIFICANCE
According to our previous group project research, we had an idea to design a dancing machine which can help people learn how to dance. The device includes continuous interactive action, you can get an output (the movement of the device) every time you input (see the movement of others). And it has a meaningful aim that is to make people more comfortable and confident to learn dancing. Inspired by it, I want my midterm project meaningful and can solve some real problems. Thanks to my partner Tya, she came up with an idea that we both agree with, which I will explain later. During the past few weeks, I have seen many interactive projects and analyze some of them:
Ethical Things – The mundane, the insignificant and the ‘smart’ (things) https://www.creativeapplications.net/objects/ethical-things-the-mundane-the-insignificant-and-the-smart-things/
the Blanket Project by Nicholas Stedman from ART + Science NOW, Stephen Wilson (Kinetics chapter)
They both solve some real problem and by analyzing them, I found their idea align with my definition of interaction before —— a cyclic process that requires at least two objects (both animate and inanimate are accepted) individually has its input-analyze-output. Simply, each part included in the process need to be able to react when receiving different types of signal, no matter the relationship is easy or complex. Based on this, I also want to add that the whole process should be meaningful instead of some interesting but meaningless movement. About our midterm project, we made a device which aims to help people focus on their food and friends instead of staring at their cell phone. The device will serve your food only when you place your cell phone in the appointed place. If you use your phone while eating, it will take away your food as a punishment. The idea is not new. During the user testing session, someone told us that in a restaurant from their hometown, the customers can get a discount if they give their phones to the waiter. Compared with it, our project is more interactive since it includes immediate feedback every time you take away your phone from the appointed place or pit it back. The interesting interactive process also appeals to people to put away their phones. Our project is intended for those people who can not help checking their phones when eating and willing to make changes to enjoy the time without cell phones.
CONCEPTION AND DESIGN:
Since the main task of our project is to encourage people to put their phones at the appointed place while eating, the most important thing we should consider is how to make it clear about where to put the phones. To figure this out, we choose to use laser cutting to create the shape of the phone to remind people what to do. However, due to the size of the Arduino breadboard, we can not make the device thinner to stimulate the plate so it confuses the user what to expect. We hope that using advanced technology it can be made more like a plate so people know what to expect. We first use cardboard to build the whole project but after several tests, we find it hard for it to take the weight of the cell phone, so we change into the wooden board. Also, since we use the FSR sensor to sense the pressure, we have to make sure all the force the phone gives the board could be accurately put on the sensor. To do that, we first considered rubber but later I found sponge more stable and effective. We stick a piece of sponge between the sensor and the board and it works! We also decided to use DC motors to make the wheels and H-bridge to change the direction the wheels rotate.
FABRICATION AND PRODUCTION:
During the process making the process, we met countless difficulties, I will just mention some really hard ones. In the beginning, we tried to use the tip122 and diode to build the circuit with DC motor. We thought it should be easy since we have covered it in class. But when four motors connected, it had troubles. Only one of four worked. After many times checks, I found that I plugged the diode in the wrong way so it stops the current. I was so excited it worked! But soon after that, we notice that it is hard to change the direction it rotates, we need to use the H-bridge. So we start from the beginning. We referred to the use of the H-bridge in the class note and successfully make four motors work. As for the FSR sensor, we googled the circuit and connect it to the Arduino board.
As for the code, I was confused about how to let the motor rotate when the sensor senses the pressure and rotate in the opposite direction when the pressure is zero. I tried to write a few times but fail. Luckily, my partner knows a lot about coding and she helped me to have a better understanding of the code and we control it successfully. Here is the code:
int outValue = 0;
void setup() {
// put your setup code here, to run once:
pinMode(8, OUTPUT);
pinMode(9, OUTPUT);
pinMode(10, OUTPUT);
pinMode(11, OUTPUT);
pinMode(2, OUTPUT);
pinMode(3, OUTPUT);
pinMode(4, OUTPUT);
pinMode(5, OUTPUT);
Serial.begin(9600);
}
void loop() {
// put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
int phone = analogRead(A0);
Serial.println(phone);
if (outValue < 20 and phone > 60)
{
outValue += 1;
digitalWrite(8, HIGH);
digitalWrite(9, HIGH);
digitalWrite(10, HIGH);
digitalWrite(11, HIGH);
delay(20);
digitalWrite(8, LOW);
digitalWrite(9, LOW);
digitalWrite(10, LOW);
digitalWrite(11, LOW);
}
if (outValue > 0 and phone < 60)
{
outValue -= 1;
digitalWrite(2, HIGH);
digitalWrite(3, HIGH);
digitalWrite(4, HIGH);
digitalWrite(5, HIGH);
delay(50);
digitalWrite(2, LOW);
digitalWrite(3, LOW);
digitalWrite(4, LOW);
digitalWrite(5, LOW);
}
}
During the user testing session, people all knew they should put their phone on the appointed place, but most of them were confused about the meaning of doing it. So to make our aim more clear, we put some candies in the “plate”(actually it looks like a car) to indicate the food and is much more better.
The first version:
The final version:
CONCLUSIONS
Our goal of the project is to encourage people to put away their phones while eating and focus on their food and friends to better enjoy their lives. From my perspective, our project aligns with my definition of interaction since the input is to put down the phone or take away while the output is the movement of the “plate”. However, through the observation of the audience interact with our project ultimately, we found that they understood the goal of the project but put their hands instead of their phones to “cheat” to get the candy. So if we have more time, we will figure out a way to allow the sensor to only recognize the phone. Also, we need to make it more appealing to people so they are willing to put their phone at the appointed place. During all the failures, I learned to be more patient and do not be afraid to ask for help and try again. I am also encouraged by our success for it gives me the confidence to learn new things.