Instructor: Marcele
This is a write up for Interaction Lab SP18 Recitation on Serial Communication on Apr 19, 2019.
Piano
Tracer
Schematics
Source Code
Please see Github.
Thoughts on interactivity
Tracer
Let’s talk about the usability. The vertical knob was hard to control. My brains couldn’t control both knobs at the same time. This makes me appreciate the invention of mouse, track pads, and touch screen.
It is also beneficial to reflect on the limitation of human control. Understanding what humans are good at is at the core of interface design.
Piano
This piano is hard to play. Especially when there is a long travel, it is hard to nail the next note. Overshooting and undershooting is frequent. This reminds me of a GUI design equation:
Ease = button size / travel distance
Real pianos don’t have this problem, because of haptic feedback. We know where our fingers are. We also feel the keys of the piano. Our hands are trained to interact with the physical world. A mouse is not quite there.
This is also one of the problems our final project needs to solve.