Making Toys 5

Hello, How May I Help You?

Do you often have guests over and wonder what they're doing when you're not looking?  Perhaps, they're getting too comfortable and have stopped asking before they open your drawers in the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, etc. to get what they need? 

Hello, How May I Help You? is an adorable and friendly solution for such people like you.  Simply place the doll into a drawer of your choice, and turn on the switch before guests arrive.  If they snoop into your drawer, the doll will "greet" them with a message when it opens.

How May I Help You? (Final Form) from Fuki on Vimeo.

How May I Help You?: Current Issues

How May I Help You?: Monitoring the IR value from Fuki on Vimeo.

When the Average is <= 10, the audio plays; when it's >= 10, the audio stops.

How May I Help You?: Test 1 from Fuki on Vimeo.

 

Current Issues:

1. Static sounds coming out of  my winbond chip.
2. Audio volume is too low.
3. Toggle switch has not arrived.  Will be using the battery on/off switch for now.
4. "Averaged" value varies from drawer to drawer
5. The audio keeps looping if the drawer stays open (Maybe this is not a problem..). It would be good to add additional functions when it loops.

How May I Help You?: Code

The code is very simple.  Take a look by clicking the following link.

Timeline for Final Project: Fuki

Week of...
11/10:  Finalize concept. "How May I help you"? or the "Mini Talker" (temporary titles).
11/18:  Finalize circuit structure.   Collect all the materials needed.  Tweak the "technology" behind the final product.  (make sure that the IR sensor and the voice recorder are working together, etc.). 
Design casing  (the final "look"). 
11/25: Test mechanism without package
12/2: Finalize casing and package everything into one seamless product.
12/9: Testing/tweaking
12/16:Final Project Due

Hello, How May I Help You?

Hello, How May I help you? from Fuki on Vimeo.

IRSensor + Winbond Chip

Okay.. it was kinda working... 

The code that I modified is below:

Winbond Recorder

Winchip Recorder from Fuki on Vimeo.

Midterm Proposals (To be Updated SOOON... sorry)

At this time in the semester, I can't stop thinking about my thesis, so I'd like to make something related. 

For my thesis, I'm exploring simple games that are fun and effective for neuro-rehabilitation. I've come up with several simple games that I'm hoping to develop further, both conceptually and technically.

Each game focuses on a particular function of disability.  For the first one, I'd like to focus on proprioception (one's sense of position in space).   A person with a proprioception problems often have difficulty sensing where their arms/legs are in space.  For this reason, it's importan to exercise and train the person by making connections between distance, proximity and posiiton.  One of the games that I have been playtesting is similar to "Pin the Tail."   Using sensors can  possibly help the patient in getting closer to the "target". 

Another game that I'm looking into is called Blinded Samurai.  There are two main players, who have to find each other, as they listen to their personal guides. 

Color Mixer (Update)

Last week's assignment was "re-packaged" into the soap box.  Few steps were necessary for this to work.

The LED was cut and a wire was attached to each leg:

Holes were drilled into the lid, and the sensor was glued:

Color Mixer in Soap Box from Fuki on Vimeo.

Fuki's Secret Inspiration

Ever since I was a child, I was  fascinated with things that were small.  There's something  imaginative and fairytale-like when everyday-objects are transformed into miniatures.  Even with electrical objects like laptops, mp3 players and automobiles, the inner-child in me--and maybe in most of us?-- becomes excited with things that are reduced in size.

Unbreakable Fisher-Price Elephant

I got a simple Fisher-Price Elephant toy, which starts/stops playing a tune when the user bops its head.  As for dissecting the toy...Well, let's just say "simple" is not synonymous with "easy."  Given that it's a baby-toy, I expected it to be firmly built; but I didn't think it would be impossible to break it apart with a few hits with a hammer...

1. Original Form: What appears to be a innocent little elephant.

2. Opening the Battery Cover: There were two screws that secured the battery cover.

3. No Other Screws!  Go for the Leg!: The two screws for the battery cover were the only ones that were visible on the exterior of the toy.  I decided to snap off the front-right leg in hopes of revealing more screws. However, once it was snapped off, I was able to see only one other screw, which was the screw that secured that opposite leg. 

4. Get the Saw Out: After many attempts to snap the toy open with a hammer and a minus-screwdriver, I decided to carefully "shave" open the elephant with a saw.  However, it was taking too long, and my arms were getting tired, so I reverted back to the screwdriver and hammer...  I wasn't getting too far, so Yuri eventually helped me loosen the parts and take all the legs off.

5. Saw2: Even with all the legs off, I still couldn't see much of its interior, so I made a small cut in front of its body.  The speaker was revealed as a result. 

6. Bye Saw! Hello Giant Scissors! (I think they're called Shears?): The small opening made in step 5 helped me see the inside a little bit better, but I still couldn't access the "brain" that operated the toy.  As I began sawing again, Yuri found a better tool for me: Giant Scissors!  I was able to easily cut open the entire side of its body to finally reveal the inside.

7. Closer Look: The toy functions mainly by three parts: a button, speaker and a microchip.  The head, once it's pushes, pushes the button and triggers the microchip to play the tune out of the speaker.