Upgrade after the final idea

This part is not evaluated with the final project; finally something is changed, but you can found all this informations here:

my project

Synaesthetic Skin

Synaesthetic Skin is the first part of the project that I had planned at first; TransSynesthesia was my idea to connect human senses with digital things and others living beings like bacteria, but by the time, to complete all the parts is too complicate for me, for this I decided to develop now a project that can be the first part of the original idea, and the platform to develop it.

The idea now is to send a synaesthetic input to an object that can react.

The input is human voice, telling letters of the alphabet, names and numbers;
The elaboration is to map this voice with a color and a movement, in according to the synaesthesia of the user (each person can map his own synesthesia)
The output is a color (through light) and a movement, in an object.

The “object” is a skin, made of small cells that can be opened like petals of flowers, unfolding a pattern, and each one with a small led.

Here some sketch … just to give an idea … but I´m working on the final pattern and on the system

– the skin made of “cells”; fabric, paper and resin

– the cells can be opened or closed, and each of them have a light

– the skin changes color in according with the voice, and the “petals” can be opened or closed

Data

This is my approximation for now, but I’m studing all the process and I´m sure that I’ll have to do some changes

– what will it do?

Is an object that changes color in accord with the synesthesia of different people; the input is a text or voice and the output is a color and a movement.

– who’s done what beforehand?

this is not exactly the same, but can be a good reference:

http://fab.cba.mit.edu/classes/MIT/863.10/people/jie.qi/jieweek10.html

– what materials and components will be required?

HARDWARE

the body:

paper, plastic, fabric, resin, muscle wires

PCBs:

fab isp; fab kit; microphone for input; RGB+muscle wires for output; FTDI cables; batteries;

SOFTWARE

Code PCBs

Hello.fabkit; Hello.rgb; Hello.mic; Code for the muscle wires

Libraries

STT-Processing

https://github.com/getflourish/STT

Interface codes:

Processing

– how much will it cost?

in process: I’am evaluating it because now I miss some of the components

– what parts and systems will be made?

HARDWARE

I will build all the body

I will make all the PCBs; I bought all the components to build the PCBs

SOFTWARE

Interface code

– what processes will be used?

computer added design
computer controlled cutting
electronics production
electronics design
embedded programming
molding and casting – ( and composite …?)
input and output devices
interface and application programming

– what tasks need to be completed?

define well the pattern of the cells
study how to connect the cells with each others
study how to link the SR with color and movement
study how to link the “muscle wires” with the input
define and design well a PCB with rgb and “muscle wires” together
decide the number of the cells

– what questions need to be answered?

1. Is better to put a PCB for each cell, or try to do one for all of them?
2. If I cannot use muscle wires I can I make something similar with motors without make it so heavy or noisy?

– what is the schedule?

1. Make all the elements that I need to build a cell
2. Build a cell *
3. Build two or three cells and connect them one each with others *
4. Finally ( I hope!!) Build all the “skin”

*
If is necessary, resolve the problems and change something in order to resolve the eventual errors; Try again; Test again … repeat the test all the times that is necessary.

– how will it be evaluated?

I will evaluate if all the parts are working well; maybe I will need to change some parts of the process because now I’m not sure that I will able to develop all of them; maybe I need to simplify some parts …

Files:

folder w16