This week was dedicated to getting the project finished. I spent some time with Micheal helping with some of the connections. The most important part was making sure that all the connections worked, and that we would have some form of input. I also took care of the diffuser. We originally were going to paint a green line, on a black background, but the black paint didn't look right. So we ended up painting the acrylic panels green, and placing them in front of the rig.
Micheals House - Stripping Wires
one half completed
The main control board.
Here is the finished project. Personally im very happy with the outcome. It probably didnt finish the way we originally anticipated - however thats often the case, and i think its effective all the time. There were issues getting the coding to work fully, but this is understandable given the short timeframe, and rather steep learning curve.
Thoughts This week we really focused on achieving our concept. The concept for our interaction piece was to create an 'interactive wall'. We were looking at the idea of 'presence' being an input. What we wanted to do was create an installation that would almost be humanised. We wanted to piece to react to a user in a way which almost personifies the installation, and try and create an emotive connection between the design and the users.
We also wanted to provoke joy, happiness, curiousity and possibly even empathy. By walking further away from the installation, its heart rate is going to react by slowing down, or maybe going slower. Almost begging the user to come back "please i will die if you dont stay next to me!"
Our outputs are visual ( led lights ) which will react based on the input. The lights will be able to change intensity, cycle speed and maybe colour depending on the interaction with the user. There is also a audible output, which will sync with the lights. These multiple outputs will give the user a wide range of stimuli which should add to the overall experience.
This installation could be scaled up and put into almost any public space. It could be a gauge that there are too many people ( or not enough ) in a certain area.. This could be interesting in an airport, hospitality space to name a few. It could also pick up sound, so could have interesting applications in a bar or club, sporting venue to name a few. Once we came up with our concept, we needed to implement it. The first thing was creating the light panel. Myself and micheal got a few refreshments, the keys to a mechanical workshop and worked late into the night soldering led lights together. Overall there were 96 lights, each earthed by the time we left at 2am.
We then met up in the J block workshop to contuinue putting together the cicuit. Some initial coding by micheal meant we were able to get a quick test done, which showed signs that the concept was going to work. There still needs to be some work done with coding, but for the time being it was enough of a boost for us to beleive that we might be able to do this thing! In regards to research, i have made contact with a school, and an aged care facility in order to see whether we are going to be able to conduct some form of research. Reflection I learnt a lot this week, mainly technical skills. My soldering technique has definitely improved also! This week, i also made contact with a High School, who said that we would be able to conduct some research there. We are still looking at some form of non-questionnaire style research. I do see also how this could be important for me as a Designer. Everything which is designed essentially breaks down into input, and output. This sort of assignment helps us to design in a way that facilitates an interaction - not design one.
During this week, i have started thinking a lot more about the objects around me as i am interacting with them. I have found myself trying to define how it is i am interacting with an object, what sort of sensory feedback i am receiving - and how i value that process. This week has also helped me break down interactions around me to really simple ideas. Such as a traffic light, which essentially is the input of a timer ( or the presence of a vehicle ) which then gives a simple light output.
Workshop Activity
This week we brought in objects from home that we wanted to destroy. Our group had a microphone, an early childs learning centre, a toaster and a night light. Once we destroyed these objects, we were left with some interesting pieces which we tried to intergrate into a simple interactive experiement.
The kids learning centre yielded the most interesting components; A small Speaker & a simple yet very cool keypad.
The microphone didnt have to many useful components. We did however salvage a dial from the toaster, and a UV Sensor from the Night Light. With these components, we decided to try and put together 2 projects. 1) Using arduino, have the dial as an input, to produce sound via the speaker. 2) Keep the speaker, but intergrate a UV sensor, which will trigger the speaker. We were successful ( see video above ).
Thoughts on Research Aspect of Assignment
Another area we need to look into is the research part of the assignment. Our objective is to study, observe and better understand our 'extreme' user groups. It could be said that access to news, and information is a universal right. Therefore it is important that these groups are considered. We want to find out about the rituals, routines, thinking patterns and behavior of these groups. We are looking at young children ( which could be said are one of the most important groups, as they are our future users ) the elderly, and less pyhsically & mentally abled people.
My first thought was a sort of interview process. But after considering this, i am concerned that i won't be able to get real, deep and interesting information using this technique. Our participants may feel like they are being 'tested' and try and give the right answers.
i am developing 2 processes. One is an informal 'game'. Whereby i will engage 4 or 5 users in a more comfortable, and familiar setting. We will give them placecards with news stories, and ask that they place them into groups, which make sense to them. Once they have done this; we will ask them to name each group.
What i hope to achieve with this process is to mind map our extreme user groups. This will be interesting to see how they process and catoregise information. After this process, we also want to gain an insight into how they access news and media. One idea might be to ask them to pick a placecard which has a story they are familiar with, and that they heard recently. Ask them to give there idea on what the story is about ( and maybe there opinions to get them relaxed and talking )
After this, find out where, how and when they were exposed to this news. Hopefully this will help flesh out there typical sources of news. It is also beneficial because a story that they know about, means that when they were exposed to it, that the information has obviously 'set in'. So this is the angle i want to take for research, but for now we are focusing back onto the project at hand. More exciting times to come!
