Computation09

Ultrasonic Sensor, Calibration/Smoothing

click here to get the presentation

Controlling the fading speed & frequency of an LED via an IR Sensor

Homework - March 31st

:: Code ::

Infrared sensor controlling blink speed and fading of LEDs

Here's a link to the code

it happened

MapDuino Test #1 from j saavedra on Vimeo.

IR sensor

The IR sensor fades the LED's in and out and changes the frequency sent to the speaker.

Source code

Myriam - IR sensor

I used the IR sensor to control 2 Leds. The first one fades in from 0 to 150 and the other one from 150 to 255.

A switch turns the arduino on and off.

You can view the code here.

IR sensor from maryam aboukhater on Vimeo.

:::IR sensor controls PWM of an LED:::

The closer an objects is to the IR sensor the higher the values coming from the IR. These values are mapped to 0-255 values of the PWM of the LED.

:::LED controled by IR sensor::: from cecilia elguero on Vimeo.

tricolor LED blink and fade controlled by potentiometer

BLUE/GREEN blink interval speed + RED fade in/out are controlled by one potentiometer.

when the pot is closer to a value of 0, the blinking is very fast, and there is no red to be seen or mixed in. as the pot val increases, the blink slows down, and you see red getting mixed in, until the blink is at it's slowest, and nearly disappears because all you see is red.

code is HERE

••• joe saavedra + katherine lee •••

Using a POT to control 2 LED’s and a speaker

The POT fades the blue LED in and out, increases/decreases the blinking speed of the green LED and changes the speed and frequency of the sound on the speaker.

Source

Potentiometer controlling blink interval and fade of LEDs

here's a link to the code

Potentiometer Homework – March 27th

This project board controls the fading speed and frequency of the green LED (PWM 11) and the blinking speed of the blue LED (pin 13) though the potentiometer.

:: CODE ::


My video:
http://vimeo.com/3881207

LEDs with IR Sensor

Here's my LEDs with an IR sensor plugged in, showing both the proximity and the reading using 8 LEDs in a line as well as a fading PWM LED.


IR Sensor with LEDs from Steve Varga on Vimeo. Download IrLEDs

::two pots control PWM of one LED and the pulse rate of the other:::

One potentiometer controls the speed of blinking of the red LED which connected to a digital out in the Arduino. The other potentiometer controls the PWM of the white LED.

::: IR sensor:::

 

:::Click here to see lecture on IR Sensors:::

:::Code demonstrated during lecture:::

1. Mapping: dividing

2. Mapping: using the map function and Calibration

3. Smoothing: simple

4. Smoothing: RGB blending

:::Great link for information on IR Sensors:::

Breadboarding an Arduino • Luminosphere on Etsy.com

Posted my original prototype on Etsy.  here's the link:

Luminosphere for Sale - WAY OVERPRICED

I think we all should put our stuff on Etsy!

__________________________________________________________________

I also wanted to share this link:

Maybe ITP was the place for me?

If you weren't aware, the brain of the Arduino is just an ATMega168 microcontroller which is sitting in a cradle in the middle of the board. You can pretty easily pop that guy out, and replace it with another identical chip.  Now, the chip DOES have a "bootloader" on it, a small program that allows it to communicate so seamlessly with the Arduino environment. 

Here is why this is so exciting- SparkFun sells the ATMega168 WITH the arduino bootloader already burned, for just $4.95  .... i hope you can see how awesome this is, I am going to be able to bring my $42 Luminosphere down to just $12 with that guy!  You do, however need a 16MHz external crystal (clock) and 2 capacitors, a resistor, as well as a 7805 voltage regulator... so maybe more like $15. But still extremely worth it.  Hope someone finds that useful.  I just ordered a few ATMegas and crystals, if anyone wants to try this out. 

Studen Lectures- updated

_4_____Ira, Paola, _______________________3/24/09_
Analog I/O
Potentiometers. Faders-From Sparkfun.
Analog Input, Calibration, Fading, Smoothing
POT Control of LED's

Homework for class:
Make a project board that controls the fading speed and frequency of LED's via POT's.
Order Speakers (discuss in class).
Work in Class

Read Code Chapter:
18,19,20

_5_____Kristen, Cecila, Joe ________________3/27/09_
IR Sensors,
Calibration, Smoothing,  Control LED and Speaker via IR Sensor, Serial Print.

Homework for class:
Make a project board that controls the fading speed and frequency of and LED via IR sensor.
Print out value to Serial Print. Switch Control ON/OFF.

Read Code Chapter:
15

Von Neumann Podcast:

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/278

Gordon Moore:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxLnbVjKXmQ

_6____Paola, Ira, Nick___________________3/31/09_
Speakers
Control Speaker via IR sensor, Play Melody, Serial Read, Button Control of Device. 

Thermin Movie

_6.5___Katherine, Myriam ________________3/31/09_
Ultra-Sound Sensors Calibration, Smoothing

Homework for class:
Make a project board that controls speaker output via and POT and via UltraSonic.  Serial Read out on both of these values. Make a 3 different Melodies or sound effects.  Activate them each with a button press in class. 

Homework: Make a "Thermin-style instrument" with IR or Ultra-sonic control.

Thermin-Style instrument  4/3/09

Homework for class:
Make a project board that controls speaker output via and Ultra-Sound Sensor.  Serial Read sensor values. Make 3 more different Melodies or sound effects.  Activate them each with a button press in class.

Thermin-Style instrument  4/7/09

Make an enclosure, name, photo and video of your instrument and present it in class.

Homework:

Submit your projects to Blogs
Buy plush Interactive Toy

Plush Toy 4/10/09

Toy Dissections in class. Bring seem ripper, small screw-drivers, small scissors, and camera. 

Homework:
Blog your toy on site.

Create concepts for you toy idea.

_7____Kathrine, Nick, Bruce_______________4/14/09_
Alcohol Sensors
Hardware, Inputting Values, Inputting Values, Control Lights

In class:

Present concept. Introduction to Sewing.

_8____Steve, Joe__________________4/17/09_
Capacitance Sensing Library Via Arduino
Code, Reading Values, Controlling LED's and Speakers.

Cornelius Hoot Undergoes Further User Testing

I sent Cornelius out to play and got some excellent feedback. I think the general consensus is that he is a good comfort object; he is cute, has good weight, and he invites play. However, he still needs a bit more personality. He needs to do more, he needs to have convey clear use for his buttons/switches. Apparently, hipster moms would be all over this (?), but I do have a few requests for final manufacture of Cornelius, if that time ever comes.

The Spine of Scapula / User Testing

The Spine of Scapula from Ira Goldberg on Vimeo.

User Testing: Tweetlite

I tested the Tweetlite on 2 potential users. They both thought the product was marketable, would appeal to the Twitter community and gave me some great feedback.

Speak to Me//Breathe User Testing

Here is a short video of two interviews with my roomates after I set up my project in our apartment for a couple days and they checked it out. Overall I think they thought it was interesting but would like to see it as more of a decorative object when not in use. I agree with this after living with it myself, and would like to investigate making it a bit thinner and making the shell a lot more high fidelity (molded rubber or 3D printing??). I also tweaked the animation sequencing a bit, still not happy with it completely but I think its getting there!



Speak to Me//Breathe User testing from Steve Varga on Vimeo.

Integrated Prototype

I have updated the programming and buttons on this prototype. Thanks to our class feedback and The Laws of Simplicity by John Maeda, I decided to make the programming of sequences easier and with less steps. Now someone can walk up and push a button to start programming a sequence, wait 2 seconds to input that sequence and wait another 4 seconds to save the entire sequence. The prototype saves the last two sequences, with a pause in between sequences.

I also worked on the buttons to make them easier to press. The metal washers were not working consistently, so I made yet another trip to the hardware store and found some black rubber washers. These are good because they provide support all around the bottom of the button and contract a little bit to give a "push" feel to the button. I also backed up the pcb board with some wood pieces to support the board so that it does not break.

Check it out in action. The quality is crap cuz I am using a little web cam that has auto focus, so thats why it is annoyingly zooming in and out.

Download my One Sheet.

Passage of Time Final Integrated Prototype from Nick Hardeman on Vimeo.

more info:

http://www.paolaguimerans.com/
http://www.talesofcontemporarysomnambulism.com/

Cornelius Hoot: owl night light

Speak to Me/Breathe

Here is my final prototype for my LED Time Based project. I totally reworked my project after a lot of user testing, and built everything from the ground up. I spent a lot of time doing the woodwork/templates, and the code as well.

Speak to Me/Breathe is a project that shows communication over time by displaying my incoming email messages in Braille format on a large LED driven interface. The project is both an exploration of Braille as a visual 6-bit binary form of communication vs its normal tactile form, as well as a commentary on information security and encryption. Now that everything in the world is connected through the internet, is any of our data completely secure? By displaying my emails in an encrypted form, they are readily available for anyone to read if they put in the effort to learn and use visual braille. For the most part my information is secure because this is entirely too much work for a lot of people, but those who are determined enough will ultimately be able to read my mail despite the encryption.

Speak to Me/Breathe: Part 1 from Steve Varga on Vimeo.
Speak to Me/Breathe: Part 2 from Steve Varga on Vimeo.

   

Sea Light – Final Prototype

Final prototype

For the final prototype I spray painted the inside of the cube to diffuse it some more and make it look more finished. I drilled holes in the back of the cube for the USB and power supply. The Arduino and LED are mounted on the inside. There are 3 programs/modes for the cube - 1 that fades the colors in and out with PWM, depending on the twitter feed and Morse code interpreted, 2 that does the same as 1 but without any PWM, 3 that is just a random pattern for use as a mood light.

Sales Sheets

Sales sheet - Long version
Sales sheet - Short version

Source

Myriam - Final Prototype "Things will never be the same again"

THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN,The beginning of a new era.

A frozen time when technology is taking over.

Things will never be the same again from maryam aboukhater on Vimeo.

For the final, I slightly changed my code. I tried different things such as playing the Leds one after the other but it disturbed more the eye than enhanced the "flame" effect. I figured it was too animated for a design in a home, but I would be more accurate if the piece was an big installation in a gallery space.

So I kept them shivering altogether, but I made the movement more subtle. As well, I added a "wind effect": in a random range of 100, every time the number 28 is played, the Leds goes off and back on one after the other as if a sudden wind blew on them.

Here is the new code.

Here  is my reference sheet. I didn't put a price on it because it will be changing depending of the size of the new design.

Luminosphere • v0.5 • FINAL

my final code is HERE.  It uses a randomSeed in the setup, so that every time the arduino starts up, it has a new base to start it's "random" numbers from. This randomSeed is actually taking a reading from an analog pin, which is not connected to anything.  By doing this, I am getting a truly random number that is determined by the environment of the arduino more than anything else. Subsequently I use the random(); function in several places, including both to determine the order of the LEDs (going up and down), as well as their fade-on and fade-off durations.

My product sheet PDF can be found HERE.  But here's an image of the paper, so you don't have to download anything, unless you want to.

:::Introducing a narrative :::

:::Look and Feel:::

 I have continue to experiment with the ability of paper, specifically velum, to diffuse light and create a sense of depth through the manipulation of shadow. A parallel process has been experimenting with  the different shapes the piece could take. A while ago,  I came across an amazing book, for any body who builds with paper, titled "Paper Forms". This book has introduced me to a variety to techniques that allows you to create more structurally complex forms with paper. This prototype integrates one of this techniques and also an element of story telling. In this iteration we can see the appearance of one character. The character is also made out of paper and it is one of the 4 that will be present in the next iteration of this prototype. This characters ideally offer the user an open narrative and a sense of discovery as the light is turned on.

:::lights off:::

">:::lights on:::

:::The light piece as a light fixture hanging from the ceiling :::

Prototypes-Final