UPDATE + REFLECTION 28.2

Tis the eve of the presentation.

I'm pretty happy with how the project has panned out. I was excited with my initial idea and I'm very pleased to have brought it to life with a working prototype.

There are some things I've not succeeded in though. I haven't been able to put it directly into context onto a kerbside to test people's reaction to it - I can only presume from the verbal feedback I've received and from other examples already demonstrated by The Fun Theory (with whom this all started) that it would have fulfilled my wish. That is, to occupy pedestrians during the Red light to encourage them to wait for the Green Man before crossing.

I'm most disappointed that I was unable to perfect the animation how I wanted to (as I laid out in this older post). I ventured into the code to try and improve the two details, but I unfortunately could not figure it out. The most frustrating thing is that I know it can be done! Arduino wins this time. Also, one more element I might have added, is a countdown bar down the side or something similar, to indicate when the light would turn Green. It's a whole different instruction (in terms of coding function) so I chose not to approach it, but as far as product development goes, this would be my next step.

Having said all this though, I am pleased by my learning of the software, having been able to grasp a decent understanding from zero within these few weeks. The magnitude of its potentials are still pretty cool I'd say. And I am indeed satisfied with what I have developed with it. There may still be room for development and even actual instalment!

Now I just have to convince the class. Presentation tomorrow!

COPYRIGHT ISSUES

It appears YouTube has clocked my music usage on the movie haha. I've used two tracks which I may not own the rights for. No action has been taken yet, which means it's still perfectly accessible, but we'll see how that progresses..

DEADLINE DAY (NOT) TOMORROW

In other news, our deadline has been moved. Which obviously you know, because you moved it... It's not actually extended time per say, considering our other studies during the extra two weeks, but I reckon it'll be useful time to refine the software as well as the sketchbook and blog material. Also, I think I should do something with the pressure pads aesthetically. Ideally they would be embedded at the roadside but considering this is a proto-type this won't be necessary, though at the same time it is a little messy. I should think of a way to un-messy it somehow, what with the irregular taping and excessive wiring everywhere.

Oh and also we must make a mini movie to present our idea. I'm no pro but recently I'm liking making movies so this could be fun. (Here's a link to a selection of my attempts.) So I'll need to think of what I'll do with it and how. I guess there's still a bit to do then..

MAKING A PRESSURE PAD.. ALMOST.

If you've got eight minutes to spare...
Do watch it in full if you are going to watch it at all.

(Here's the link I refer to again: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~RAS/Docs/space/pads.html)

PLAN 06.2

So that grand plan, remember that?

The Red man graphic is ready to go, I think. Yet to check with Pete. Now (it's Monday alrady, I know!) I'm going to attempt making the pressure pad, or a mock up at least. Designing through making. Right?? All them skills from Technical Workshop studies and Methods & Processes. Yes yes.

Here's a link sent by Pete on how to make homemade pressure pads.
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~RAS/Docs/space/pads.html
Apparently these materials (plus one or two others) will suffice. Let's try it.

DELAYS

F*cking Overground had a mare this morning. Not feeling too great about it. Let's see how it affects my work performance today. Good or bad?

PROJECT UPDATE 31.1

I'm typing literally as Juliet and Pete speak. They've just added another task for us, a good one. We're making a movie! A video that we make to encapsulate the context of the product - that is, a video that shows my pedestrian crossing in use perhaps. Sounds great. And this is the context essay. Ha. I've written on my Technical Journal a couple times that video is something I wanted to do more of, so this is good. Yes.

THE TECH STUFF

Hmm. Finding it quite difficult to find out the tech stuff. Might have to ask Pete tomorrow and go from there. If I can get it sorted by the end of the day, I should be all right. I have a feeling Arduino would suffice for a working small scale version.

HUMAN SPACE INVADERS

This won't help my project move along, but it's amazing.

FUN FOR THE BETTER

"Fun can change behaviour for the better."

It's that element of enjoyment that gives us a thrill and excites us. Relating back to Designing For Creativity with Steve, without going into too much detail, Csikszentmihalyi says it is precisely this that makes us human. And basically, I agree.

It's no fun waiting for the red man to turn green, especially when we can't see any incoming cars that would provide us a hazardous obstacle in crossing the road. So I want to make that activity more fun. Yes we got that. What can I do?

Here's another video I found amusing.

BACK IN LONDON

So I just came back from China. No Facebook, no Twitter, no Google over there. And more importantly no Blogger. Shame that, I had planned to do so much work...

THE POTENTIALS OF ARDUINO

Yesterday, we were shown The Fun Theory by the Volkswagen team, a smart selection of concepts to make dull activities more fun. They all use sensors of some sort, triggered by whatever that action may be. Of course, it was great, fun and quite innovative.

What I was impressed with most though, was the capacity in which sensors could be used. Having only looked at turning a little light on and off, this series of videos showed me that actually there's a lot different ways in which these little sensors can be used, and in different contexts too. Simply put, The Fun Theory just made the project a whole lot more fun.

I'm now going to incubate with this idea.



...well, not really. It's 10am and class just started. But think about it I will.