Embedded Files
Narrative:
Narrative:
"The Looking Glass" Is an interactive object whose goal centers around questioning and interrogating one's knowledge of themself. The main function that drives this object involves two participants reading questions off a screen and answering either "Yes" or "No". The two players will mutally have to decide when they are ready and press the sole "Submit" button. These answers will then cause a light shift in the main box which emits a glow. Yes triggers a shift towards an Amber color, whilst No triggers a shift towards a deep Blue color.
the main box is black with an opaque, white, acrylic lens set atop. Within this box, to LED strips emit light and change color depending on the yes or no answers of the participants. Each LED strip is controlled by an individual participant, but that is not disclosed. The diffusion lens on top blurs the hard diodes of the strip and allows for an even wash of color.
Behind think is the electrics compartment, a blue box that holds the electronic components of the object(Arduino, Breadboard, etc). The buttons mentioned above(Including two respective exit buttons that shut off the object, and a restart button to reset the object) are also attached to this box. On top sits My computer, which displays the questions each person sees.
PROCESS
PROCESS
Building the Breadboard
Building the Breadboard
Building the breadboard was honetly the quickest part of my process. My hardware was relatively stable until one great chaotic moment near the end in which late nights + tinkering with a breadboard broke my object the night before crits(was not fun)
This was for sure the part I was most afraid of given my lack of experience with Arduino but the ride was honestly very smooth(up until that one night).
Laser Cutting and its Pitfalls
Laser Cutting and its Pitfalls
So I usually laser cut in tech spark, but ran into quote a few issues at IdeaTe.
First, the open fabrication hours tended to clash with my schedule and because I was only liscensed to work in TechSpark, I could only laser cut then.
This led to having to delay cuts to certain days and speed running small test cuts(Like you can see in the image next to me).
The Laser cutters also broke for a hot minute, which threw a wrench into all of our processes. It definitely wasn't ideal but I can say I am far more versed with laser cutting and far more familar with Corel Draw than I was before.
Bonus, Spraypainting
Bonus, Spraypainting
So I got handed the wrong acrylic after my laser cutting lengths. A couple hours of later, IdeaTe would run out of Black Acrylic(Oh No!).
As a result, Shanting and I ended up having to spray paint some of our pieces behind the library. It add this smokey look to the box but definetly killed some time I could have used towards assembly and button work.
Assembly, Debugging, and Abandoning Effects
Assembly, Debugging, and Abandoning Effects
So this took awhile, and somehow I have the least photos of this part of the process. Granted, I was VERY stressed so documentation was kind of escaping me.
I initially desired to build a "bump" effect, which is a standard lighting effect in most consoles. However, this proved tricky with some nasty float value offsets. I ended up having to scrap all of my hard work on it because of limited time.
In addition to this, I rand into massive LED strip errors when building my buttons, which derailed my process two days before crits. As such, things like my initial button placements and hand covers fell by the wayside. Eventually with loads of help I got the buttons to work but ended up loosing out on many of my initial plans.
The biggest issue through this part was time. I started my production assignment in the School of Drama as this Project kicked off and ultimately it became a question of what could be my priority at the time? If this wasn't the case, the last minute jog to the finish line I experienced here likliy would have been signifigantly better.
Final Product
Final Product
I'm proud of her!! She's a bit rough, but aren't most things you adore?
With the final project, I made some last minute changes such as button and computer placement which were not ideal but my only options.
The choice I am proud of though was my last minute color change. I really started to hate the red tone shift and decided to trash it and plug in values for Amber. It took me maybe 2 minutes but completely changed the feel of the object. It looked quite less "Siren" like, and far more calming, which was my main goal in the end.
IMG_9789.MOVVideo Demo
Video Demo
Here is my Video!
REFLECTION
REFLECTION
This process was quite mixed for me. I learned quite a bit and found that skillsets I previously had(2D drafting, laser cutting experience, and basic CS knowledge) really saved me in this process. The best this about this process, really, was how I applied this knowledge to learn even more, I really enjoy the hands on process of art and vastly prefer it to lecturing, so that would have to be my favorite part.
The most difficult part, I would have to say, was time constraint. Unfortunately, there was quite a bit of heft to my schedule the first half of this semester and it gave me limited time to dedicate to this assignment. Additionally, constraints with open fabrication with the laser cutting delayed me further as the weekends were completely out for me to work on assembly.
Page updated
Report abuse