Week 16 : Applications & Implications

☛ Assignment

☐ 1. Propose a final project masterpiece

▸ What will it do ?

The drawing robots I am making are playful-tools to exercice breathe control, by using it to control these machines. It consists in a controller with a propeller as an input, when the user blows on it, it sends a signal to the microcontroller. This signal indicates the power of the blow on the propeller, it will be used to control the drawing machines according to this input. There is also a joystick that will be use to indicate the directions when drawing, and a button which will be use to lift-up the pen on the drawing devices.
There is two drawing device, a drawing car, composed of two geared DC motors and a servo motor. The second one is a 2 axis drawing machine, a sketcher, composed of 2 stepper motors and a servo motor or dc motor to lift up the pen.

▸ Who's done what beforehand ?

This final project aim to be an improvement for my final project for my master's degree in Global Design. These first prototypes were made with the help of Théo Bourdon, a Computer Science student who made the electronics and programming parts of the first iterations, while I did the designs and fabrication using the laser cutter mostly. Why an improvement of this project : First, my master was more about graphic design than product design, so I feel that this project is uncomplete. For now, these prototypes are only working by linking the controller to a computer, it is not practical to use. Second, this year is my discovery of electronics, this project uses several processes more or less simple, and it is a good starting point for me.

Speech therapists use straw based games, or very light objects such as paper or feathers to hide illustrations, and the kid has to blow on it to be able to discover it.

"Les Pissenlits" is an artistic installation made by Michel Bret and Edmond Couchot, which was exhibited at the Grand Palais in Paris, for the "Artistes and Robots" exhibition. This Augmented Reality interactive setup use the blow as an input on a microphone to modify the state of dandelions on giant screens that are surrounding the public. It allows to visualze the blow and its strengh.

The original research I conducted was how tho materialize the shape of the voice ( so a person in a speech therapy could be able to see how she can control, modulate her voice, as a feedback) and it resulted with test for a generative typography, but I don't have the skills for that yet. The project following is from Sonia Laugier and François Brument, drom the studio In-Flexions in Paris. It takes the voice as an input and gives it a form to vases that are 3D printed. It is really inspiring as it gives a shape to the voice, and products a physical object from something that has no materiality.

Tubull'air is a project made by Charline Noly, Jennifer Tytgat, and myself, the whole installation is a controller to play to Mario. Each user has the responsibility of one direction. To activate a direction, the user has to blow in a tube, this tube leads to a glass of water, with alumium tape inside above the water. When the user blows, it makes bubbles and the water makes contact with the aluminium. The aluminium is linked to a direction on the Makey-Makey boards, to do this installation without having to program anything.

My final project is an interface for blowing, which will allow to control 3 different machines that are pretty common : a drawing-car, a labyrinth, and a 2-axis drawing-machine.

▸ What will you design ?

1. PCB board for the Blow controller
2. PCB board for the Drawing Car
3. PCB board for the Sketcher
4. PCB board for the Labyrinth
5. Bodies and parts for the machines

▸ What materials and components will be used ? Where will they come from ? How much will they cost ?

Here are the components and materials used for each mahcines :

Blow Controller BOM

Drawing Car BOM

Sketcher BOM

Labyrinth BOM

▸ What parts and systems will be made ?

So far, every parts that are not components will be made. Excepts for the grippy-wheels that I find really cool, and as I am not sure I will have time for everything, this part is taken from an older project and was bought.

▸ What processes will be used ?

• Electronics Design
• 3D printing
• Laser-cutting
• Bluetooth Communication
• Input device
• Output device

▸ What questions need to be answered ?

Regarding the Blow-controller, there is some improvements that could make it more useful but that I won't be able to implement right now. Such as : An application which with exercise to challenge the blow or exercising it, like several mini-games, or a drawing-application. The Blow-controller could also be linked to an application which could record the exercise frequency. Plus, something to calibrate the motor's sensitivity to the user's blowing strenght.

The Drawing-car could be improved with another lifting system for the pen, and with a system that could change pens, to modify the drawing color.

The labyrinth "main holder" has to be solidified, also the wires could be integrated in the frames.

The sketcher is pretty sketchy right now, first question : will it work ?

▸ How will it be evaluated ?

I think this project has to be evaluated through at least two main criterias. This project is a second iteration, but two-years ago I had absolutely not an idea of what it involved, a friend made all the electronics parts with Arduino boards. The prototypes are very cool but limited, as they can only work when the controller is plugged to a computer.
If it moves the right way, I tend to think that it is a good personal evaluation, because hey, I had no idea of how to make it a few months ago.

A second evaluation, which is more important, will be testing with several users and speech therapists to evaluate and improve these prototypes.

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