Partner: Dominick Nardone
Circuit 1: Doorbell
To make this circuit we followed the instructions using a button, a speaker, a voltage regulator, and a capacitor. When constructing this circuit we ran into an initial problem, we had the voltage regulator going horizontal across the breadboard instead of vertically.
However, once we figured out the problem with the voltage regulator we quickly corrected the issue and our doorbell worked.
Circuit Two: Lamp
We had a much easier time with this circuit now that we had figured out the voltage regulator situation. However, for this project we included a resistor to prevent the LED from frying. Based off of the knowledge acquired on the first project this one came very easily.
(Apologies for the terrible quality of this photograph)
Circuit 3: Dimmable Lamp
This circuit was made by replacing the voltage resistor with a variable resistor allowing us to make the light more intense and also dimmer by turning the knob. (Photo not available for this part)
Circuit 4: Arcade Button Lamp
This one was simple as we just replaced the basic button for this arcade button soldered onto two wires. By removing the button for the arcade button it made it way more fun and interactive.
Questions:
Our circuits were interactive in the fact that we were communicating with it and it was communicating back to us by either working or not working. By listening to the circuit we were able to make corrections and eventually arrive at the final solution in which it would listen to us flawlessly. Through communication on both ends as stressed in the reading we created “interactivity”
By combining the concepts of interactive design and physical computing we as a species can tackle problems that used to be unsolvable. This opens up new frontiers of exploration, and also opportunistic to help people in all walks of life. One example that was demonstrated this perfectly was the play station device created by NYU students for the severely disabled adolescent which allowed him to play baseball games without physically having to do the movements necessary to do it the conventional way. There are so many doors that are opened up by the combination of both of these concepts whether it be just for fun and games or actual, meaningful societal contributions.