Design, Interaction, Environment

Reflective report

2011-05-20T23:45:00.000-07:00

This is one of the most exciting units in the course of Master of digital design. It was a real eye opener and has brought me into an area that I can only dreamt of before.

Design, interaction and Environment is all about interactive design and physical computing. I become familiar with the fundamental idea of the topic from the background readings. It was a very rich reading experience and covers most important basics about interactive design and physical computing. The most basic forms and design patterns and processes for physical computing were introduced and explained well. The reading prepared me well for the workshops.

Into the workshops, we were introduced to the Arduino - it is a open source single-board micro-controller kit. Together with the various sensors, LEDs and other supporting electronics as well as it programmable nature, it provides almost limitless possibilities. Arduino's programming interface is based on processing and has a very similar program structure and syntax. All of these made it surprisingly easy to learn to use Arduino. The production of first working Arduino example was almost effortless. Since Arduino kit is a very popular open source micro-controller kit, there are plenty documentations and tutorials available on the Internet. Throughout the course, they have been very useful references and also provide a lot of inspirations for our project. We have learnt basics about electronics, wiring and connection of different electronic components. We have also learnt about using program to control the behavior of hardware to achieve different effects. First workshop was mainly about get to know about Arduino and lay the foundation stones for the final project. The final project is a big collaborative project which I think is the way to go and far better than having each person to do individual projects. By having a collaborative project, it provides potential for a large scale interactive installation rather than small scale individual projects. I think we had a very successful final project this year. The project idea was great and got very well developed during the second workshop. Everyone did a great job implementing the designs. Although we haven't seen the final result yet, I believe it will really be a very impressive work. I really like the way the second workshop is organised. It encouraged everyone to work together, share knowledge and experience with various things and learn from each other. And the outcome of this was really great. This form should really be kept. I also really like the exhibition opportunity for our final project. It gives a everyone a strong motivation to work hard. This has certainly been reflected in our project.

I am really excited and look forward to the exhibition in July.

The only suggestion I have is that time always seems so limited. Time is running out quickly in two workshops. If possible, we could have a pre-intensive workshop that introduces the basics of the Arduinos and electronics. That way we could jump into the project right from the first workshop and have more time to explore some different ideas and designs and also have more time to polish the final design a bit more.

Intensive 2 Day 3

2011-04-30T05:59:00.000-07:00

Final day for the second intensive of D.I.E. After two days of designing, planning and experiment with ideas, we turned most of them to reality today. The project is not completed yet but very close. We assembled the housing for the floor pad as designed. Holes drilled for the sensors and LEDs to fit. To improve the interactivity of the final design, we have also added an audio component into the design. Now the system will also emit a sound as a response to movement over the floor pads.

We will gather again on 15th July to finish the final assembly of the design and our final work will be on exhibition at Belconnen Arts Centre on 22 July. Can't wait to see.

Intensive 2 Day 2

2011-04-28T03:44:00.001-07:00

We have made some good progress today. We have got some pressure sensors for our floor pad. Here is how it looks with the packaging. I guess because it is a very sensitive piece of electronic part - the packaging is almost air tight. We spend quite a bit of time just to open the hard plastic cover.

Here is how it looks like when unpacked.

We further modified the code so that the LED lights will be off when the light sensor is cover. We also wired the pressure sensor in. so that the LED lights will blink when there is pressure detected. We have also added some transition effects. LEDs will now fade out instead of just turn off. It will be back on after a short while instead of instantly.

The finished prototype system!

The other group is also making exciting progress. They have designed the floor pads and cut them into shape using the laser cut machine. We have also got the glass that will be used as cover! Can't wait to see everything get put together tomorrow!

Intensive 2 Day 1

2011-04-27T05:56:00.000-07:00

Another fruitful day today. As the first day of the second workshop, we determined what we are going to do for the rest of the workshop. And that is - we are going to implement the idea I proposed! With a bit improvement and modification of course. We inspected the foyer of building 9 in the morning. It is probably the best looking building on campus after the renovation last year.

Some artificial grass seats

Sliding doors
After a bit discussion and thinking. We reduced the number of grids to 9 as opposed to 25 in my previous proposal. But instead of using a single Arduino board that controls that whole floor pad - we are going to use 9! One Arduino board for each grid. Sensors will be used to facilitate communication between each one of them which I think is a really interesting idea. We drew some draft circuit diagrams. See below:

We then separated into two group. One responsible for designing the case that will holds all the Arudino boards, sensors and LEDs. The other group, e.g. my group, will be building the prototype system and write the code that control the system.

Here is our work in progress - looks not bad - but really have some issue with the electronic parts. Didn't work initially but I finally got something working after a bit thinking when I am back home. Really look forward to Day 2!

Project proposal for workshop 2

2011-04-22T02:42:00.000-07:00

I propose that we build a interactive floor pad for the collaborative project in workshop 2. The floor pad could be square or rectangular with either 5 by 5 square grids or 10 by 5 or even larger scale. The size of the square grid is to be determined by the team. Each one of these grids will be equipped with one or multiple LED lights and a sensor to detect whether this grid has been stepped on or not. The choice of sensor is to be determined, it could be a pressure sensor - senses the amount of pressure applied on the sensor, or a proximity sensor - senses when there is something in proximity. The floor pad could be very similar to this - but on a larger scale as a floor pad so that people can interact with it by stepping on it. All LEDs and senesors will then be connected to a/or multiple Arduino boards.

Hardware setup might be relatively easy. The magic come with software. Various effects can be programmed. For example, LED lights could be turned on when a grid is being step on. Surrounding LEDs could be turned on in an order to create different effects. We can also try to implement the classic Lights Out game on the floor pad created to enable a real interactive play. Possibilities for interactive effect is unlimited.

Here is how the system may get setup. There are basically going to be a lot square grids. Each one of them has a LED light and a sensor to sense motion. All of them will be connect to the Arduino control board.

Below is one possible interactive effect. When a grid has been stepped on, the LED of that grid will light up.
After half second, the LED of the previous grid will be off and the surrounding grids will be turned on.
After another half second or so, the effect is spread out further creating a wave effect.

Interactivity Design

2011-04-15T08:39:00.000-07:00

Scott Snibbe’s Boundary functions is so far the most inspiring and compelling example of creative work that I can found. I have spent quite a lot of time searching, but couldn't find anything better. A brief description of this work has been provided in this blog I previously wrote.

What’s special about the boundary function is that it integrated so well with the participants, both externally and internally. Through a set of very responsive camera, projector and controller, it generates almost instant response to participant’s movement thus creating a spontaneous interactive effect - integrates externally. The visualised boundary lines projected by the system vaguely match along with the imaginary boundary lines that exist in people’s mind - integrate the system internally.

This has given me some hints as to how do design a interactive system. The interactivity needs to be intuitive. A well designed intuitive interaction greatly improves viewer experiences. The interaction works better if closely related to some of the human senses, e.g. touch, hearing, sight.

In the next project, I wish to be able to explore more about intuitive interactivity design. Explore various way of interacting with the three basic human senses, touch, hearing and sight. Find out which sensors can be used to do what and how can we combine different sensors to enhance the interactivity.

Intensive 1 - Day 3

2011-04-02T08:31:00.000-07:00

Today is all about more experiments and more excitements. We started by summarise the works in previous days. Here is the circuit diagram for my Day 2 experiment. It's already starting to get complicated!

We then headed JayCar for some more fancy gadgets. On our shopping list, we are supposed to get a power pack so that our Arduino won't need to be plugged to a computer to run. To do this, we had to get a adapter for the 9V battery as well as a plug for the Arduino board. We can then make the power pack our own by putting them together.
Here is the completed power pack.
Soldering...
This is mine!
I also bought some fancy new LEDs and tried to play around with the 3 color LED.

We also did a upgraded version of FireFly.

Here is the video of the upgraded FireFly

Intensive 1 - Day 2

2011-03-31T02:35:00.000-07:00

It's another interesting and challenge day. After yesterday's familiarity with the Arduino, we are taken the work up to another level. Today is all about more sensors and much more complicated interactions. We were first introduced to various new sensors and components.

This is called Potenttiometer. By pressing down different part of the strip, we can get variable resistance.
This is the buzzer - we are going to use it to make music!
A simple button.
Photocell, it sensors environment light.
Variable resistor - resistance can be changed by turn the dial on the top of it.
Thermistor - the temperature sensor
RGB LED - a LED capable of displaying at least three colors. it is also possible to get mixed color by sending mixed signal to it.
Our first experiment of the day is to build a upgraded version of LED blinking with the light sensor. We programed it so that when the light sensor senses light, the LED will be turn off otherwise, the LED remains on.
Then it's one of the highlight of the day. We put our LEDs and sensors together and made the FireFlies. We put one LED very close to another's light sensor and do the same for all of us and made a circle with it. We turned the light of in the classroom and here comes the magic, The LEDs blink like fireflies.
We then learned how to tidy up things a bit by using wires of specific color for specific purpose. For example, black for connection to Ground, Red for power and etc.

We also played around with the buzzer and the variable resistor. The buzzer is capable of producing different type of sound and key is to feed it with different frequency. In this process, we used "map" and "constrain" function to limit the analog out values within appropriate range.
Finally I tried to put every thing together and built a buzzer with LED controlled by light sensor and the variable resistor. It buzzes with the light sensor and changes its tone with the variable resistor.

Intensive 1 - Day 1

2011-03-30T05:11:00.000-07:00

What a fruitful day! Today for the first time ever I played with the Arduino and built my first ever electronic circuit. We started the day by an brief introduction and discussion about the Interactive design/physical computing and the readings we have done earlier. We were then officially introduced to the the Arduino platform. Photos of the main board below:

Then here is the breadboard for connecting all the electronics e.g. LED, sensor, resistor, wire and etc.
Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform that is designed to be used by non-electronics experts such as artists, designers. It features a few main components. The main board or the I/O board is the center of the Arduino, it's fitted with a programmable micro-controller as well as various input/output pins for communicating with external devices. The breadboard is the platform for the creative stuff. It is where all sensors are plugged to complete a electronic circuit.

Out first circuit of the day is a blinking LED. The pictures below documented the wiring process.

Connect to ground.
Connect to a pin on the main board
Connect the LED, long leg (positive) needs to be connect to the I/O pin
Connect the resister
Another view.
Plug in USB cable, connect to the computer and upload the blinking program. YaY!

We also learnt how to read and draw electronic circuits. The drawing above is for a Flex sensor connected to power and ground. The one below is for an LED and resistor.
I then played around the blinking LED and modified the code a bit more so that I can have more control over the on and off time of the LEDs.

After that, we tried another more complicated circuit that involve using a flex sensor. Flex sensor is basically a variable resistor that changes it's resistance when it's flexed. By using the pin in INPUT mode, we could read the changing value and then feed the value to the LED so that we can control the brightness of the LED using the flex sensor. The completed circuit is shown below.

Physical computing's design pattern

2011-03-28T07:21:00.000-07:00

Physical computing is a practice of linking the digital world with the actual physical analog world. It uses digital process and technologies, either software or hardware or both, to sense, respond, interact and imitate the real world. While physical computing, in a broad sense, covers practices across many fields and disciplines such as product design, scientific application and etc, this blog only covers and explores physical computing in the context of arts and interactive design.

Physical Computing's greatest hits (or misses) by Tom Igoe describes some of the most popular base forms/themes for physical computing and interactive design. It provides a starting point and lots of inspiration for building one's own interactive project. I have found that they all follow a similar pattern but involve different combinations of input and output devices as well as a software/program that act as the coordinator between them.

In order to interact with the physical world, input and output devices such as sensors, cameras, projectors, displays, LED lights and etc are often used in those projects. For examples, photocell in Theremin-like instruments, camera in video mirrors are all inputs. Screens, LED lights in Scooby-Doo paintings, Tilty stands and tables as outputs. Computer or in some cases micro-controller are also often used as a control center to run programs that perform the digital processing and coordinates input and output devices. Programs that controls and coordinates the whole system can be made using various software and programming languages. Libraries are often used to help interact with certain input and output devices. In most cases a physical computing will involve one of more human test object to interact with the program or the digitalised urban environment (such as the four by four floor space in Snibbe's Boundary functions).

As Igoe has mentioned in the article, although most of these forms have been used by many artists and designers, creative variations are still unlimited and yet to be explored.

The Begining

2011-03-24T21:57:00.000-07:00

This is Vanessa Wang's blog for the Course "Design, Interaction, Environment" at the University of Canberra, term 1 2011. I will be using this blog to record the progress of my learning in this course.

Interactive design has always been a very attractive field to me. One of my favourite work in this field is Scott Snibbe's Boundary functions.

Boundary function is Snibbe's first interactive work that involves use of projector and camera. It was first shown in Ars Electronica in Linz, Austria 1998. Boundary function attempted to explore the definition of personal space in the social context. Boundary function comprises of a camera and a overhead projector as input and output devices, a computer as the control unit and a four by four floor area as the main interactive area. When a participant walks onto the interactive area, his motion will be detected by the camera and passed to the controlling program for processing. The program will start to work when there are two participants on the interactive area at the same time, camera picks up both of their movement and the computer will work out the boundary line between them. The line is then projected on to the floor using the overhead projector. This process is done in real-time so that when the participants move around in the interactive area the line will get redrawn based on their latest position. As more participants enter the interactive area, new lines will be drawn between each of the participants to show the boundaries of all of their personal spaces. If two or more participants get very close to each other, such as, shaking hands, hugging, talking to each other and etc, it can be considered that they are very close in relationship thus they exist in the same space. No line will be drawn in the case in between the participants to show that they are actually in the same space. From this experiment, it can be seen that even if a participant does not move at all, his or her personal space will shrink or expand as other participants move closer or away from him or her. The meaning behind it is an interesting fact that contradicts common conception of the definition of personal space. As stated by Snibbe, "We think of personal space as something that belongs entirely to ourselves. However, Boundary Functions shows us that personal space exists only in relation to others and changes without our control."

The idea is simple but the outcome is extraordinary. This installation fully exploits the power of interactivity. Interaction allows the audience to be a part of the creative work and to feel and explore the work by their own hands and feet. It is able to greatly enhance the viewer experience and provide a very special and unique bond between the work and audiences.

I have limited experience with interactivity design before but I become very keen after I have seen many projects like Snibbe's. I am very excited about what I will be doing and learning in this course. I am very interested to know about the process of constructing such interactive installation. In what ways can we interact with the audiences and the surrounding environment and how to implement that. What are the limitation of these interaction? How does the different components (sensors, controllers, output devices) in the installation communicate with each other? and lots and lots. Hopefully these will be answered and I will be able to build my very own installation eventually.