Bruce Drummond
05/18/2009
05/16/2009
Final Projects - Bruce Drummond
Tweetlite
Tweetlite is a 4" white, plexiglass, visualization cube that reads messages from a Twitter feed and displays them in Morse code.
Each message is displayed in a different color and makes for a great mood light. It has USB and power connectivity and comes with a program that is used to enter Twitter credentials to enable the data feed visualization. It needs to be connected to a computer with an Internet connection, via USB. The patterns and colors can be customized. Needless to say, it can be of great use to someone who can read, interpret or even want to learn Morse code.
Diver
Diver is an instrument inspired by Analog Sequencers and Theremins. This project was conceived in the computation studio class at Parsons The New School for Design.
It allows the creation of a four-note looped melody which can be manipulated in real-time with knobs that can assign upto 5 octaves for each note. Each knob lights up to indicate it’s position in the loop.
The top of Diver houses a sensor which can be used to control the tempo of the loop in real-time. Use Diver in live performances or at home to produce awesome loops, melodies and special effects.
Jnx
Jnx is an augmented, tactile interface for stress relief, in the form of a plush doll. The core idea of Jnx is based around the concept of squeezing something, much like stress busters, which is emulated by squeezing the dolls throat.
The look and feel of Jnx is inspired by sack puppets and voodoo dolls to add a mystical aura to the interaction. The interface emulates a voodoo doll like behavior by allowing the user to strangle it or twist it arms and legs. The doll responds to the users actions in the form of audio playback.
Seen on:
Boing Boing Gadgets
GeekSugar
Makezine
Digital Drops
Portfolio.com
futurenews.at
SquareCows
Studio Lounge
Sugar Mob
thecolor
ArduinoShow
ArduinoShow
GeekNews
05/05/2009
04/24/2009
Jnx prototypes
Look and feel
Materials:
Implementation
4 Flex sensors, a force sensor and an RGB LED. The LED changes color depending on how much pressure is applied to the force sensor or how much the flex sensors are bent - I still need to work this out in the code. Currently, the mp3's are triggered from the computer using Processing but eventually they will be triggered from the SD card on the Wave Shield.
04/21/2009
Stress doll prototypes
Role
Look and Feel
Implementation
Testing the force and flex sensors to trigger sounds on the computer through processing.
04/17/2009
Tweetlite and Diver Seen on the internet
Used original content
Uses content from Boing Boing
Link via Boing Boing Gadgets. Uses original content.
Uses the content I sent.
Uses the content I sent.
Uses original content.
Copy/pasted content from my blog.
References Boing Boing with an original line.
Feed from Boing Boing.
Feed from Boing Boing.
Feed from Boing Boing.
04/14/2009
Rough plush concepts
Jousting Centaur
The jousting centaur is built to engage in a joust competition with an opponent. Two pairs of wheels allow him to move forward/backward, turn left/right, which can be controlled with a gamepad. Striking the opponent in the chest earns the centaur points, logs for which are maintained online. He is equipped with a sensor to avoid bumping into obstacles.
Personal cyborg
Personal cyborg is a personable stress relieving device. Print or stick a picture of someone that really gets under your skin, on the encasement. When you're stressed out yell at it! The louder you scream it's eyes start glowing different colors and it starts shaking. It eventually starts crying blood and the eyes explode.
Lemur ninja
The lemur ninja alarm clock does harakiri if you use the snooze function to often. It squirts blood all over the place so you'd better wake up when the alarm goes off.
04/12/2009
Toy autopsy
04/09/2009
04/07/2009
04/03/2009
03/30/2009
03/27/2009
03/23/2009
03/13/2009
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
03/10/2009
Twitlite
Roles
Twitlite is a cube that can be used in 2 ways:
1. A morse code messaging tool:
Users can use Twitlite to interpret their twitter feeds in morse code.
2. Mood light:
Users can place Twitlite in the living room, or any
other room, and let their twitter feed, or any other feed, augment the
ambience of the room.
Look and Feel
Twitlite is a white 4x4x4 cube with soft light emitted from the inside. The Arduino and tri color LED are mounted on the inside. Twitlite can be connected to the computer for internet usage and reprogramming using a USB, or to a power source using and adaptor.
Implementation
A python program is used to parse the twitter feed. You can change the credentials to use your own twitter feed. The python program parses and sends serial data to the Arduino program which interprets the received binary data, translates that into characters and processes it in the form of morse code. The color of Twitlite changes for each dot or dash with appropriate pauses between dots, dashes and letters.
03/06/2009
User testing and scenarios
Users
Lawrence is a 23 year old gamer/game tester and hacker who lives in a basement apartment. Most of his time is spent in this dimly lit space play testing first person shooter games. He's also part of a guild on EverQuest and the guild has a specific time when they perform raids. Lawrence uses the artifact to tell him what time of day it is on the outside and also sets reminders for when he needs to join the EQ server. He loves waking up to the light in the morning and the soft glow helps him sleep at night.
Elise is a 18 old student engaged in tons of social activity. She throws house parties ever so often and always has friends over lounging about. She uses her mood light to augment/enhance these social situations, she especially loves to have it be a disco light at parties.
Clayton is a 27 year old who owns a bar in Willamsburg. He has numerous mood lights installed all over the bar to create an nice ambient atmosphere. He likes that the lights can help change the mood from lounge to p-a-r-t-y lights to just plain old ambient lighting.
User Testing/ Interviews
Number of users: 9
Age group: 23-30
Gender: Male and Female
9 users were presented with the role, look and feel and implementation for all 3 concepts. They were asked for feedback in all 3 areas and asked open ended questions about what they think about the product. The 2nd concept (coaster) was the most popular of the 3. Here's a chart that shows the users preferences.
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03/03/2009
Se7en Prototypes
I thought about the roles, look & feel and implementation models for 3 different concepts, which are described below:
1. Ambient Light
a. Role
An ambient light that changes color to indicate the time of day and can be programmed to setup reminders.
Scenario: Lawrence is a 24 year old gamer/game tester and hacker who lives in a basement apartment. Most of his time is spent in this dimly lit space play testing first person shooter games. He's also part of a guild on EverQuest and the guild has a specific time when they perform raids.
Lawrence rarely keeps a track of time and would like to have a device that informs him about the time of day, in case he needs to make a quick round for groceries, etc., without the need to look at the time every so often. He also needs a way to remind him when he needs to login to the Everquest server on time, which doesn't involved setting alarms on his iPhone which he can't hear while playing a game with headphones on.
Application: Ambient light is the tool for Lawrence! He can easily tell the time of day by the color of 'ambient light'. He can also program 'ambient light' to setup reminders for when he needs to log on to EverQuest or other activities. He can do all of this without being distracted from playing his game.
b. Look & Feel
Ambient light is dome shaped about 4 inches in diameter and about 6 inches tall. The bottom is ribbed with a black rubber finish. It has an on/off button, a USB connection and a power outlet. The dome is shiny black metallic finish and is made of plexi glass, with 3 rows of stylized 'holes' from which diffused light shines through. There are 3 columns of these holes evenly spaced across the dome.
The color of the light changes over the course of the day - green for morning, orange for afternoon, blue for evening and a dimmer blue for night.
c. Implementation
The bottom houses the Arduino which provides the USB and power connections. It also includes a small on/off pushbutton switch. From the bottom to top there is a skeleton with 6 LED's attached - 1 on either side assembled in 3 rows. The green LED's are at the top, followed by the green and the blue. The unit comes with many different programs that can be used to play different patterns by connecting it to your computer and writing to the Arduino. It also comes with a interface which can be used for configuring reminders by hooking it up to a computer.
2. Coaster
a. Role
A coaster that can be use to place your drink on.
Scenario: Clayton is a 27 year old guy who owns a bar in Willamsburg. He has expensive wooden tables which are getting destroyed because people don't use coasters to put their drinks on the table. This is probably owed to the fact that no one can find the coasters in a dimly lit environment or they're not motivated enough to use them.
Application: Coaster is the product of choice for Clayton. They are enticing enough for people to use them and visible because they have an ambient glow.
b. Look & Feel
Coaster is a round and coaster sized, about 6 inches in diameter and about an inch tall. The bottom is a ribbed plexiglass while the top is flat plexiglass on which people can place their drinks. A soft glow emanates from the plexiglass which is red when 'coaster' is in use and green when not in use. These can be placed upon the tables or installed within the tables.
c. Implementation
The bottom of 'coaster' houses an Arduino, a tri-color LED and a battery pack within a second encasement. The side sports a tiny rocker switch to turn 'coaster' on/off. The top of the LED peeps out of the top of the encasement so it can light up the entire thing.
The flat plexiglass piece is mounted on springs above the secondary encasement. The top of the secondary encasement has a small switch which is triggered when a drink is placed on the flat plexi piece, which goes down due to the pressure.The switch triggers the change in color of the light which slowly fades to red. The opposite happens when the glass is removed.
3. Mood light
a. Role
Mood Light is a portable mood light which can set the mood for any activity.
Scenario: Josh is a 23 old guy engaged in tons of activities. He loves to use all kinds of gadgets and gizmos to enhance social situations, especially ones that he can carry around. Josh wishes he could carry around his lava lamp to set the mood when he's hanging out at a friends place. He also wishes his lava lamp could double up as a disco light which can be used to lively up his house parties.
Application: Mood Light is the perfect toy for Josh! It allows him to set the mood of his social activity by playing different patterns for different situations. It's also small enough so he can take it with him wherever he goes.
b. Look & Feel
Mood Light is made up of two components - the top and the dock. The top and the dock can be detached which makes it more portable.
The top is diffused plexiglass about 5 inches tall, 1 inch deep and 3 inches wide. The dock is also plexiglass but painted black with a matte finish. The dock is about 2 inches tall, 1.5 inches deep and 3.5 inches wide.
The side has a power outlet and USB connection while the front is equipped with numerous tiny switches including an on/off and toggle switches for playing different patterns.
c. Implementation
The dock houses the Arduino on one side, 4 switches on the other and possibly a battery pack on the bottom. On the top there is space for the 'top' to fit in snug and male ports which connect to the LED's.
The top houses 6 LED's, 2 of each color - red, green, blue - on the bottom.
Different combination of the 3 toggle switches yeild different patterns which the user can reprogram when they get bored.
The LED's can possibly be mounted on a removable cartridge which can be swapped LED's in different arrangements and colors to yeild interesting results.
03/02/2009
02/27/2009
Passage of time v2.5 with Switches
I added switches to the fourth iteration of the passage of time. 1 rocker switch for on/off, 1 toggle switch which switches between 2 patterns, 1 momentary pushbutton switch that changes the pattern when the toggle switch is up. The switches are mounted on a separate short box with holes drilled using the dremel tool and attached to the bottom of the taller box. All the switches are hooked up to the Arduino using a breadboard.
02/24/2009
Student Lecture 3
Here is a short video of the Switch/Case circuit that was presented in class:
Switch/Case with RGB LEDs from Steve Varga on Vimeo.
And here is the code:
02/19/2009
Time pieces
Online
Passage of time iteration 3
Here's my third iteration of the passage of time. This is a much higher fidelity construction than the last version and a lot of time was spent on the outer body construction. The inside of the container is sandpapered and an additional sand papered plastic layer is added on the inside to diffuse the light. Strips of black paper are stuck on to the outside of the container to block out light in specific areas and create a slat like effect. The top and bottom of the container are painted black to avoid leaking any light. The code is also modified for a different pattern.
02/18/2009
At Toy Fair 2009
BluPLAY - A digital handheld art studio!
This is a portable electronic touch screen art studio that allows children to paint freely on a blank screen or on a coloring page. This seems like the perfect toy for children and includes music playing capabilities, although it isn't ready to be hooked up to a computer yet. BluePixo had a single prototype on display which has a PIC32 chip under the hood. Joe and me had a long conversation with the creator of this toy. He apparently started working on this product in May 2008 which seems like a short time to have a prototype and a patent. I can see this toy being really popular if the retail price would be lesser than $60 a piece.
This WiFi robot can be controlled with your computer from anywhere in the world. Besides moving about and looking cool it can take pictures, record video and be programmed to do really tiny things like changing channels on your television. The reamining Spykee range of robots are 3 smaller robots that are made for your ipod and can be controlled by Bluetooth or voice. There's a lot of ipod holding gizmos out there but none that look like a cool robot you can ask to change a song. I wouldn't mind owning one of these.
