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Week 11: Output + Actuators

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For the next two classes, we are venturing into the realm of OUTPUT and ACTUATORS!

Per our decision last class, we are taking a new approach rather than the traditional “I talk, You make.” Instead, I will introduce the heat-controlling circuit we will be working with then you will break out into interest groups: sound, heat + inks, and motion. You can dive deep into one or get a smattering of all three.

Here’s what you need to do before next class:
1) Look into the resources for the output you would like to learn:

+ SOUND
+ HEAT+INKS
+ MOTION

2) Bring the following materials to class in addition to your regular materials:
+ SOUND: Recording module from Radioshack, an old (working) pair of headphones, or a sound greeting card.
+ INKS: Paint brushes
Optional: Small trays for mixing/storing paint, different types of binders, inks, and paint to mix with the thermochromic
+ ALL: Paper and fabric of various weights


Below is your design brief for the next two classes. You will submit a homework assignment due 11/24 based on this brief:

Design a tool that creates, saves, deletes, or alters memories. Imagine a possible or potential future in which your tool exists and who it’s users are.

Memories define who we are. They can be impressions, bytes of data, feelings, objects, events, synapse firings. They can be individual or collective. Some of us have perfect memories, while others suffer from crippling degenerative diseases. They can be multi sensorial – based in touch, sound, motion, sight, and smell. They can grow stronger, weaker, or distorted with time.

For thousands of years, we have recorded our memories in various craft forms, using textiles, fibers, paper, wood, clay, etc as our dominant materials. With the rise of digital technologies, we now embed them in pixels and polymers, preserving them by the terabyte. For the most part, our memories are devoid of materiality. This will only increase as time goes on…

WEEK 7 ATtiny Code (UPDATED)

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HOW TO:
Download the zip file. Place in it your Arduino folder (probably in your Documents folder) and unzip it:

Week7_Code_Examples

GETTING STARTED:
Here is the VERY HELPFUL getting started tutorial for working with the ATtiny.

INCLUDED:
Code and schematics for each
Capacitive Sensing
1) CapSense_Arduino_with_LED
Use this with Arduino

2) CapSense_ATTiny
Use this with the ATtiny

3) CapSense_ATTiny_SoftwareSerial
Use this to read sensor values from ATtiny. Here is a helpful tutorial.

Human Circuit
1) HumanCircuit_with_Arduino_LED
Use this with Arduino. Can adapt to ATtiny

2) Touch_ATtiny_Mellis
Use this with ATtiny. Has been finicky for some. Here is the documentation.

Midterm Assignment (Due Nov.3)

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You have been commissioned to create a piece for an exhibition entitled [Light/Dark].

From myths of making fire to harnessing the flame with wax to electrical incandescence, the presence of light impacts our daily lives in a functional, metaphorical, and aesthetic way.

APPROACH
One possible methodology
Step 1: Imagine a possible or plausible future 400 years from now. Who will we be? What values will we hold? What everyday objects will we use? How will we communicate? How will we dress? How will we work? What is our currency? How does it make you FEEL?
Step 2: Brainstorm your light object within the context of your future.
Step 3: Write a narrative that contextualizes your light object that addresses the questions in step 2.
Step 4: Construct a prototype of your light object. Be ready to explain where it is in it’s evolution.

DELIVERABLES
> Physical prototype
> Description of your future (no less than two paragraphs, no more than two pages)
> Proof of concept video or images (show us how it works in context – not just documentation)
> Description of your piece for the exhibition (shortened version of the above description)
> Documentation on Instructables

DUE DATES
Tuesday October 27 – Concept + Prototypes
Friday October 30 – Exhibition description due
Tuesday November 3 – Final prototypes + Narrative + Exhibition
Tuesday November 10 – All documentation up (Must be in Instructables format)

RULES
1) Be critical.
2) Be playful.
3) Be human.
4) Tell stories.
5) Have fun.

More inspiration coming soon…

Week 7: ATtiny Slides

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//Updates are coming! See links to tutorials below in the meantime :o)

Code examples below and here:

HOW TO:
Download the zip file. Place in it your Arduino folder (probably in your Documents folder) and unzip it:

Week7_Code_Examples

GETTING STARTED:
Here is the VERY HELPFUL getting started tutorial for working with the ATtiny.

INCLUDED:
Code and schematics for each
Capacitive Sensing
1) CapSense_Arduino_with_LED
Use this with Arduino

2) CapSense_ATTiny
Use this with the ATtiny

3) CapSense_ATTiny_SoftwareSerial
Use this to read sensor values from ATtiny. Here is a helpful tutorial.

Human Circuit
1) HumanCircuit_with_Arduino_LED
Use this with Arduino. Can adapt to ATtiny

2) Touch_ATtiny_Mellis
Use this with ATtiny. Has been finicky for some. Here is the documentation.

Week 6 Assignment

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1) Behavior story. Pick a behavior or action (breathing, talking, etc) and create a circuit that exhibits this. Use the switch/sensor and circuit building techniques we have been discussing in class. It should not be on a breadboard. //Play with the delay() – think back to what we did in class.
2) Tell a story about your object. What is it feeling? How might you display this through code?
3) Bring your sensors from the previous week.

Week 5 Assignment

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Amazing job last night everyone!!

As I mentioned, this is one of the few weeks where you will not be making. One major goal in this exercise was to begin to think not only about the process and the craft, but also the communities and identities that exist around them. This week, let’s spend some time with theory, history, and anthropology to step back and reflect a bit:

  1. Bring your Arduino and supplies
  2. Watch “Arduino The Documentary”
  3. Read this article about Arduino v. Arduino (post a comment if you find another article around this that you’d like to share)
  4. Read this paper: (I will email it to you)
    • Buechley, L. and Perner-Wilson, H. 2012. Crafting technologies: Reimagining the processes, materials, and cultures of electronics. ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact. 19, 3, Article 21 (October 2012), 21 pages. DOI = 10.1145/2362364.2362369 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/2362364.2362369
  5. After doing all of the above, write a blog post that answers the questions below. It doesn’t have to be long, but I would like you to spend a good amount of time reflecting on these:
    • How do you identify / classify yourself? Choose as many as you would like from the following and feel free to add to it. Briefly explain why you chose them.
      • storyteller
      • maker
      • engineer
      • coder
      • designer
      • artist
      • learner
      • hacker
      • research
      • educator
      • gamer
      • craftsperson
      • [other?]
    •  What is your favorite tool and why? (I’m going to put one restriction on this – you’re not allowed to say computer:)
    • Reflect on your experience learning a new craft (both independently and from other people in class) and teaching it to other people. Some questions you could address: What did you like about the process? What was frustrating? What insight did you gain? What would you do differently next time?