Design

For my final project, I wanted to make a large soft sculpture that responded to touch input. I wanted it to be abstract but vaguely creature-like. Ideally, the sculpture would toe the line between being comforting and slightly unsettling.

Inspiration

Materials

• 10 yards muslin fabric

• Thread

• Conductive thread

• Vibromotor

• N-channel MOSFET

• CPX

• Connecting wires

• Brads

Expected Interaction

The sculpture will respond to touch input. When an external component on one of the sculpture's arms is touched, the vibromotor inside the sculpture will vibrate (ideally in a pulsing rhythm). If possible, I will have a circuit in each of the arms so that touching any arm will initiate the vibrating response.

Coding

My code can be accessed here: https://makecode.com/_YioasAaYMC4W 

Writing the code was fairly simple. I used the Down and Up ButtonEvents with touch input for pin A2. These work so that whenever pin A2 is being touched (or rather, when conductive elements attached to pin A2 are touched), pin A1 is on, and when it isn't being touched pin A1 is off. Pin A1 connects to the MOSFET which is needed to power the vibromotor, so when that pin isn't on the vibromotor doesn't vibrate. All other necessary connections for the MOSFET and vibromotor are listed at the top of the code.

Vibromotor and CPX Initial Testing

1. I started by following the vibromotor tutorial. I found that the vibromotor did vibrate but it did so continuously, not responding to the code. After some experimentation we found that there are two types of vibromotors. The one pictured on the left is what I was using originally and does not work; the one on the right is the correct version. When I switched out the vibromotor, the connections worked with the given code.

2. After getting one vibromotor working, I attempted to connect two to the same CPX. Both vibrated, but less intensely, so I decided to use one CPX per vibromotor.

3. Here I tested using the conductive thread, as well as an external battery. The thread worked (when I touched the thread, the vibromotor triggered) but was very delicate.

Sewing and Stuffing

Soldering

After writing the code and testing the materials, I made this diagram to plan how I would incorporate touch input from the soft sculpture to the CPX inside.

I had soldered briefly earlier this semester, but asked for help to refresh my memory. I soldered one CPX-vibromotor-MOSFET circuit with help and completed the other one on my own. In addition to the elements in the diagram above, I used shrink tubing to keep the delicate vibromotor wires together and a small breadboard to more easily connect wires to the MOSFET.

Putting it All Together

Putting the circuit inside the arms and connecting it to external conductive thread was very difficult. It took a lot of patience. This was my general process:

1. Wrap the wires in tape to bundle them together with the vibromotor and conductive thread at the oppositte end to the CPX and breadboard. This is so the CPX and breadboard don't get squished when the arm is touched.

2. While the CPX is on and connected to the computer, feed the conductive thread (threaded through a sewing needle) through the arm. The CPX must be connected to the computer because it recalibrates the capacitive touch for the connected conductive elements when the code is downloaded, so the thread must be cut and sewn before downloading the code.

3. Stitch the conductive thread through the end of the arm. I made it look like a fingernail to add to the vaguely creature/human vibe I was going for.

4. Download the code to the CPX.

5. Carefully disconnect the computer and plug in an external battery.

6. Carefully fill the arm with stuffing.

7. Probably repeat again because something got messed up while stuffing.

Arm Assembly

Final product

Here's the final sculpture around campus:

Interaction

reflection

Project Reflection

Throughout the pitch and development of this project, I had conflicting experiences with my overall mental attitude. Especially as I was developing my idea, I felt nervous to pitch a project that wasn't necessarily a comprehensible "product" in that it didn't solve a clearly definable problem. I felt my sense of belongingness and ability to effectively receive feedback challenged during the pitch. I struggled to communicate my intent and ideas, which led me to question my project and if it would make sense for the course. 

Though I had doubts about how the project would be communicated, I felt confident about my idea and had a strong sense of self-efficacy when thinking about how I would complete the project. I have wanted to make a huge soft sculpture like this one since my freshman year of college, so I was super excited to finally have the space to do that and used my motivation to fuel my efforts. This mindset helped me to self-regulate and ease some of my doubts. It also helped me to approach my communication of the project playfully and not focus on whether or not others thought it made a good "product." As my project developed (especially when I started sewing), I felt others begin to understand my idea better, which also helped to bolster my sense of belongingness and general mindset. 

Throughout my experience as a student, I've generally approached projects with a high sense of self-efficacy, confident in my ability to get things done. That mindset has been challenged in various college settings where I've struggled with assignments and experienced a related lack of motivation to complete them. Maybe because of my passion for this project, I had a really high sense of self-efficacy in terms of its physical creation. There were many things that could have gone wrong (making patterns that didn't fit together, soldering the wrong connections, etc.) but I approached development with a strong sense of confidence. It felt great to approach the project with that mindset and then see my idea to fruition. It was a good reminder to be confident in my abilities. I am working on applying a growth mindset and sense of self-efficacy to my job search and post grad plans as well, which I've definitely struggled with in the past. It is a good personal reminder that I can apply the confidence I felt when approaching this project to tasks outside of my schooling. 

Video Reflection

What will you take away from this class?

I am leaving this class more confident in my technical design and creation abilities (sewing, soldering, woodworking, etc.), but more importantly, I have a bolstered sense of confidence in my ability to learn and be successful at new or daunting skills. Asking for help is not a setback, but a rewarding part of the process of overcoming inevitable challenges.