Materials:
For Steps 1 and 2
1 * 42STH33-0404AC stepper motor
1 * L293D ic chip
1 * power jack
1 * 12 VDC power supply
1 * Arduino kit and its contents
For Step 3
2 * Laser-cut short arms
2 * Laser-cut long arms
1* Laser-cut motor holder
2 * 3D printed motor coupling
5 * Paper Fasteners
1 * Pen that fits the laser-cut mechanisms
Paper
Drawing Machine:
In this recitation I had to construct a circuit that could control an arm of a drawing machine. This recitation was a lot tougher than previous ones, since there were a lot of wiring and components that were more difficult to grasp than past recitations. I first had to wire the audio and the breadboard to the stepper motor to see if the motor worked by itself and I had wired it correctly. This was a bit difficult to do since there were many wires that went in to the h-bridge and following the picture was a bit tough. After wiring the breadboard I added a pentameter and modified the code with “map(value)” so that the pentameter was more responsive and in tune with the stepper motor. I then proceeded to add the arms and pen to the motor and used my partners motor as well to make a drawing machine that was controlled by the pentameter.
Question 1:
I would love to build wearable machines that can enhance our life, are simple, and can look and feel good. I’ve always been interested on something you could maybe wear on your forearm as a sleeve of some sorts that could be extremely easy to use and control things in your daily life.
Question 2:
The art instillation I thought was very interesting was Yoshinobu Nakino and Team Shadow’s, “INVISIBLE – The Shadow Chaser”. It reminded me a lot of a Nintendo video game I used to play when I was younger called “Luigi’s Mansion” which had the similar premise of sucking up ghosts that you couldn’t see with a vacuum. I’m guessing the actuators were used in the vibrations of the vacuums used in the vacuums of the game. Even though the actuator is a very small part of the whole instillation, it is a very integral part since it offers the most direct connection with the user, since you feel a stronger vibration the closer you are to a “goblin”. I thought this was a great example of how to integrate small mechanics, such as an actuator, into a bigger project to make it work better.