After last week's class, where it was decided that the class would be merging the concepts from teams 2, 4 (us), and 7. We had to reevaluate our ideas about how we wanted people to interact with the structure. We broke down our design into the basic concepts that we liked, and the problems that had arisen.
What we liked:
1) An inviting play-space that encouraged people to come closer and touch
2) Smooth arches that evoked the idea of motion
3) A digital interaction that was intrinsic to the physical structure
Problems
1) Looked out of place at the installation site ("dropped in")
2) Not accessible to wheelchairs
3) Not 'artistic' enough
It was said last week that the main appeal of team two, which all groups should strive for was the sinusoidal look of the structures when viewed from the side. To whit, we have decided to nix a few of our original ideas to better suit the professor's goals.
Changes
1) Double Arches
One of the strongest aspects of our original design was the piggy-backing arches, which afforded sitting (in two orientations), climbing, and tunneling. Unfortunately when viewed from the side, the double arches did not convey the sense of smooth flow that is associated with a sinusoidal wave. We are adopting Team 7's approach of having individual arches arranged in a staggered line.
2) Sensors
We are actually still going to be using 8 pressure sensors in our new concept, but they will be used in conjunction with IR sensors.
New Concept
Our new concept still centers around the physical embodiment of a song, but this time we are approaching it in a way that will be more recognizable. We are expanding on Team 3's idea to use the structure as a beat synthesizer. There will be a set of 16 fiberglass arches, 8 large arches (5' tall) and 8 small arches (2.5' tall). Each arch will represent a percussive beat that is played in sequence.
How it works
Each arch will come equipped with a speaker to play the sound clip associated with that arch. Each arch has an Arduino controller board installed into the underside of the arch. A master Arduino controller will send out commands to the individual arches' control boards in a timed sequence; the individual boards will then check to see if the sensor on their arch is being triggered. If the sensor on that arch is being triggered, the board will produce the percussive sound associated with that arch out of the speaker located on that arch. In this manner, if all of the arches are being triggered, a percussive beat will play in time down the line of arches, creating a rhythm.
The interaction
So assuage some of the concerns from our last iteration, we have added a new method of interaction. In the larger arches, we will be placing two sets of IR sensors on the inside of the arches. These will be positioned such that the beams travel horizontally through the arch. One IR sensor will be positioned roughly a foot of the ground; this sensor is connected to the percussive beat. When the master controller sends out a check signal to the larger arches, the controller board will check to see if the lower IR beam is being disrupted, if so, it will play a percussive sound. The upper IR beam is dedicated to an entirely separate sound, a melodious sound. Whenever the user interrupts the top IR beam, the melodious tone will play out of a second speaker in the arch. This allows users to create their own distinctive melodies, and also allows people in wheelchairs to interact with the structure. In the smaller arches, there will still be a pressure sensor, so that when people sit on the arch, it produces a beat at that arch in time with the percussion.
There would also be a light display on the underside of the arches to give a visual sense of the rhythm. Each module would be painted a different color, and there would be sixteen rows of LEDs of corresponding colors. Whenever a beat is triggered, the corresponding LEDs on all sets of arches would light up, giving an overview of the rhythm through a visual medium.
Design
Sensors
1) The IR sensors would obviously be built into the fiberglass on the sides of the arch.
2) The pressure sensors would be built into the top of the smaller arch, in the form of a smaller, imbedded strip on a spring that spans the width of the arch.
Lights
1) In the larger arches, there would be sixteen rows of 4 LEDs spanning the underside of the arch. Each row corresponding to one of the arches in the sequence.
2) In the smaller arches, 8 rows of LEDs (2 each) would span the underside of the arch, with the LEDS near the edges
Solar Panels
1) We are going to be using organic solar panels, because of their low cost and flexibility, which would allow them to be installed on a curved surface.
2) The solar panels will be installed on the tops of all the arches
Controller Boards
1) The Arduino control boards will be installed on the underside of the arches
Wiring
1) The wiring will be run on the underside of the arches, with outlets to connect the arches together at the bottom edges of the arches.
Alternatives
We also came up with the idea of using natural sunlight as a method of triggering sounds. The design is based around using reflective surfaces to bounce natural sunlight into different light sensors and trigger a sound to play (once) when the light reaches a certain threshold. In this way, walking around the structures would generate a song from the different modules. The sun itself would also act as performer, as the light patterns would change throughout the day, triggering different tones to play, behaving much like an auditory clock. We would also use the reflections of the sun to paint different patterns of light onto the ground.
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