Skulina Hlif Kjartansdottir

Week 15: Application and Implications

This week we will focus on our final project idea and how we can apply our knowledge from our assignments. These are the issues:

what will it do?
who's done what beforehand?
what materials and components will be required?
where will they come from?
how much will it cost?
what parts and systems will be made?
what processes will be used?
what tasks need to be completed?
what questions need to be answered?
what is the schedule?
how will it be evaluated?

Week 15: Assignment

This week we are creating an overview of what is needed to develop our project ideas and make a plan for all the activities needed for completion. This includes an overview of what has been done sofar, what materials and components are needed and where they will come from. Also a plan for costing is needed. The overview gives information of processes and tasks and attempts to schedule the activities.

I am intrigued by light and the effects it has on all living beings, as well as aesthetically in our environment. I have grown plants all my life and like watching the changes that light and the light source trigger. The underlying principles is that light is a positive force that stimulates reaction, growth and creativity.

In my project I want to make sculptures that would allow me to explore UV-reactive materials and experiment with electronics, such as light sensors, speakers and sound. I am interested in creating a prototype, with the possibility of making multiples at a later stage in limited editions, that can either vary slightly in design or be united in a single operational artwork.

The plan for the final project is to make 2-3 sculptures that can operate in tandum. The body of the sculptures is to be created in Rhino, for the production of moulds, that will be used to cast the sculptural forms from materials (rubbers or resins) that contain photochromic pigments, which are UV-reactive. The design can refer to natural forms, but I do not entend to mimic nature as these creations are man-made, but they can have natural references.

The light sensitive materials will produce a changable visual effect in keeping with the intensity of the UV-light. The sculptures will include electronics, a board that contains a photoresistor for input and speakers for output, as well as a power source (battery). The ideal situation later on would be that the sculptures could be self-sufficient with respect to energy, with a solar cell, but I have not figured out yet if this is possible. The sculptures should contain electronics to run a programme that responds in keeping with the light reading of the photoresistor. The different sculptures could be programmed to play different tones, that alternate at random, or to play specific melodies or parts of melodies or tones within a melody.

What has been done

I have done some visual research with respect to natural forms and growth. I did do some research on multiples at the early start for the purpose of the project proposal. I have done some visual research with respect to natural forms and growth.

I have during my earlier electronics assignments developed my programming activities for the input, output boards and networking as a build-up for the final project, using the readings from the photoresistor to work on variations in the output and to create networking for the boards to talk to each other.

What needs to be done

Some materials we have a provision for in the lab, such as materials for making boards. The materials and components that are required are the following:

Material for mould making - wax and rubber (workshop)
Photochromic pigments (researching retailers/suppliers) - resulting in chosing the Ignite 9-pack of liquid fluorescent colourants)
Plastics (Smooth-Cast 325) and/or
Clear or translucent uruthane rubber (Clear Flex 50), that lend themselves well to pigmentation.
I found a company in the UK (Bentley Advanced Materials) that is able to provide these materials. The total cost of the pigments and rubber/plastics are £141.17.

I will make 2 more circuit boards in line with my output boards, containing a photoresistor ($0.51) and a speaker ($5,95), as well as other parts that my output board contained.

I will order materials and work on the design of my casing for the elecronics in week 16. In week 17 boards and miling of moulds should be completed. In week 18 tests for casting should be made, as well as further developing of the code. There are some questions relating to coding and output that still remain unfinished, but hopefully I will be able to pull it all together before week 19, when a working prototype should be available. The evaluation should be depending on the criteria recently made available and the 2015 Evaluation Checklist.

Plans for next Week

To follow up on the programming and do some more light readings.

Notes

My Notes from this week.