Materials:
- 1 * Breadboard
- 1 * LM7805 Voltage Regulator
- 1 * Buzzer
- 1 * Push-Button Switch
- 1 * Arcade Button
- 1 * 220 ohm Resistor
- 1 * LED
- 1 * 100 nF (0.1uF) Capacitor
- 1 * 10K ohm Variable Resistor (Potentiometer)
- 1 * 12 volt power supply
- 1 * Barrel Jack
- 1 * Multimeter
- Several Jumper Cables (Hook-up Wires)
Relevant Components:
Capacitor: Necessary for the voltage regulator
Voltage regulator: there to ensure that the voltage that reaches the resistor(s) and LED/speaker does not exceed the amount that it needs (which would result in those components being burnt). It reduces the initial voltage (12V) down (to 5V).
Resistor: functions to reduce the voltage that will ultimately reach the LED/speaker.
Potentiometer: only in Circuit 3, serves as another resistor that can change the amount of voltage that it absorbs/that eventually reaches the LED so that the LED can reflect that amount as its brilliance.
Switch/Button: function is to close the circuit; i.e. make the LED light up, speaker make a sound.
Cables: used to connect all the components on the breadboard.
12 volt: serves as the power supply that fuels the entire circuit
We did not encounter any issues with the circuits but once, when one of the cables erroneously connected two components on the breadboard (between the voltage regulator and the speaker in Circuit 1). We corrected this by unplugging the circuit from the power source (the voltage), and connecting the cable to the correct line on the breadboard to connect the 7805 to the speaker and then plugged the circuit back into power. The circuit then functioned properly.
By definition a circuit includes interactivity. For the circuits to function correctly, all the components must interact with each other. Moreover, there is a further interaction between the human and the circuit when the person closes the circuit by clicking the switch/button, which initiates the ensuing continuous interaction between all the previously mentioned components that make the LED turn on, the speaker sound, etc.
Interaction design and computing can be used to create interactive art by allowing the spectator to become a part of the art, or make the viewer a necessary component for the art to achieve its purpose. For example, an art installation that mirrors the viewer’s actions forces the viewer to become a part of the art’s ultimate purpose: this is an interaction between viewer and art and the computational design that is behind the artwork.