Physical Computation Mid-Term
For our midterm, I teamed up with Lucas and David to create a project that defies all conventional notions of the possible: A chic and sexy time traveling radio!
She is quite stunning if I do say so myself.
Lucas contributing.
David fine “tuning” the knobs.
For more on the process and to access videos of the process, click below. Also check out Lucas’s blog for his interpretation.
After a few meetings, David, Lucas and I cemented our idea: the time machine radio. We would access mp3 clips through the use of a brand new mp3 switch released a few weeks ago by Sparkfun, map the readings from the potentiometers to correlate to a dial as well as a galvanometer David salvaged from a flea market, et voila.
The endeavor proved a little more difficult than imagined. This is of course, a common trope here at ITP.
David, from the start, seemed interested in getting most of the code in line. Armed with that comforting bit, Lucas and I began construction on this little box. Admittedly, one of the worst parts, I think, about building is the planning stage. Measurements have to be on point, and when they are, you measure again. It’s terribly frustrating because the moment you take that block of wood or masonite to the drill press and make that hole, it’s permanent. I think we did this a few times, carefully re-tailoring our design to our mistakes.
I’d say the band saw was the trickiest tool to use. It’s such an ornery little bastard! I remember Lucas’s first time trying to cut a semi-circle out of the middle of the board for the dial’s face plate. The epileptic board seized up and down from the saw’s movement as Lucas tried to keep her at bay. It took Lucas a few tries to tame her and after that, we were golden.
A note about our construction. We used a soft pine to construct the board. For small, prototypical projects such as these, pine is a decent wood to use. It’s also insanely cheap and can be found everywhere. However, because of its density, it has to be treated with some sort of sealant so that any stain used isn’t readily absorbed into the wood. This tends to lead to uneven staining. But, pine was easy to work with. Rounding some of the corners was a breeze and sanding to an even finish could not have been easier. But, yes, the stain soaked right up and the finish probably was not as sleek as it could have been.
Apparently, my custom paint came out a little too gray. We would have been happy with it if the strokes from our cheap brush were not so apparent. Ah well, I created more work for myself. I ended up sanding the grooves away after the paint dried, and repainting it with a glossy spray. I think next time I’d gladly waste paint by drizzling it on. It had the potential to go on really thick and clean.
So here it is, in all of its final glory.
Here is David trying to work out some of the code kinks. As of today (11/16/09) he has not posted it yet, but make sure to check out his take on the experience. We had a couple components that depended exclusively on precise mapping of the sensors, our two potentiometers, so we had to get to work finding out those values- since those values would be what triggers our preprogrammed mp3’s- and coding them in.
Me blathering. Needless to say I was of no help at this time.
Running into problems.
In the end, our mp3 trigger burnt out and we could not play anything from the processor. Very sad and it seems to be the keynote of my experience here at ITP. I was comforted though, indirectly by Red Burns, when I heard her say that at ITP, failing is good. Whew!
I had a wonderful time working with my partners. Though, I am sure Lucas can second it, I or we will factor ourselves more into the coding of the object, rather than mechanics and construction.
Do stay tuned as I think David is going to turn this puppy into something not only audible, but with visual effects as well!
