Week 13

 Labs

     7

• Transistors switch currents rapidly since they do not have moving parts
• Mosfet detects the voltage at the gate pin instead of current and can be used as switches when triggered to HIGH 
• Mosfets are used for higher currents and voltages than transistors
• Benefits of a relay are that the circuits the relay is switching are completely disconnected from the relays coil
• Do not connect the grounds together because that will connect the circuits again

     Servo

• After soldering onto the barrel jack to bypass all of the circuitry setting up a servo motor to do basic movements is pretty easy
• It benefits in the ability to decide exactly how far the motor should turn and how fast
• It also is able to stack movements 
• The motor does only go 180 degrees
  
  
  
  

Project Updates

• Roach like being that will respond to human interaction
• If approach fast it will be scared and timid 
• If approach slowly it will be more trusting
• Will have a "house" that is a box that will try to get back in if scared but will fail
• Bought and picked up the double motor gearbox piece from Mark
• Researched different materials that could be used to look natural but synthetic
• Leading idea is 3d printed shell with brushed yarn tufted through to create a "fur" for the creature but still able to tell something is not right with it

Week 12

 I think I want to play with technology’s autonomy and what it can consent to and not. The idea I think I resonate the most with is the idea of having a big red button that says press but the bot tries getting you not to press it by pleading with you and physically swiping at you. I think the reason why I find this interesting is we use technology to do what ever we want it to do and the technology doesn’t have a choice but giving the bot a voice and possibly a “personality” gives it life. I think the result of pressing the button could be like a baby crying or a baby animal wailing. 

Motors are really interesting and the different mechanisms that are at play with them. 

Week 11

 I got the arduino communicating with Touchdesigner as a key pad. I used a library I found online. Numbers were displaying but not quite the numbers I had intended. After switching to the library from Adafruit that was built similarly I got similar results but it worked more consistently for the project. In Touchdesigner I connected it to work for a switch so I made all the animations and adjusted them for a switch TOP. 

    The animations I tried to make look like a color was washing over the audience. The circles I tried to tie into what part of the poem I was thinking about. At the beginning I was trying to keep them moving just horizontal and vertical and as it developed I was adding in the ones that moved in multiple ways. I connected the circles to edge TOPS and then to the LFO sine movement so that they move and rotate around. 

Feedback

    The original idea was to not use sound and the interest was that I made a musical instrument without sound but as the project developed the project transformed to he more reliant on the poem. With that sound could be utilized to make the poem fall more inline with the dreamscape feeling I was intending. I could also think about incorporating more projections and bridge the atmosphere of the surroundings into be incorporated into the art piece.   

Week 10

     Soooo I have ordered a part by Amazon and are going by Micro Center for the part. I ordered a keypad and downloaded a library to deal with the keypad. The calculator I have double checked my soldering and soldered and redone it to try to get it to work. Unfortunately I have nit been able to get it to work with the calculator as it is as the pathways are not connecting. My parents have been trying to help me and I tried using smaller gage wire for the prototype board. The keypad will be at my place by Monday and I am working on getting touchdesigner ready for the keypad.  

The keypad is a standard 4x4 keypad that will be more than enough buttons for what I need. And worst case scenario the keypad gets delayed I have a computer keyboard. It looks like the connections on the calculator were not being made.

     The calculator worked for one button for five minutes and then did not work again. After Micro Center I have a small keyboard that will work with Touch Designer in the form factor but it would not fit in the calculator size.

    Just now rereading the code and I do not think I set the pinMode so I will try that and update.

Week 9

    I finished soldering the calculator. I got all the wires to the pins. I have tinned all the wires for them to go into the perforated board. I am currently working on the housing for the arduino and coding for the key pad. I have been watching videos on how to code for the key pad and I think I got it but I will update that when I reach a problem. 

Week 8

 This week I got the arduino talking to TouchDesigner. When I press a button it reacts to the animations in the software using the past labs. My bug next step is connecting the arduino to the calculator to be able to control TouchDesigner and compose the color poem in its full state.

Week 7

    This week I finished mapping all of the buttons on the calculator and prepped the calculator to be soldered. i have also figured out which pins I need and which I do not need for the project. I also worked on touchdesigner and worked on the animations that will play. U sorted them into containers to help condense the amount of nodes there are. I got the animations to change colors when I press different buttons on the keyboard.