Final Project

Here is the presentation for my final project;

I intend on updating it again, but this is what I could get done in a back alley of La Paz with one battery to burn .

Link

Laser Cut Paper Iris

An attempt was made at cutting out a mechanical iris on the laser cutter. It did not work so well and was later abandoned without making it motorized.

A separate mechanical device, a power window motor was modified through sheet metal work and welding. This was used to hang a tree upon and thereby spin it. This is seen in action in a short clip of the Robotic Branch Video below during Rossum’s recent Uncanny Valley robotic art show at the Brewhouse.

Robotic Branch

A kinetic hat rack was conceived in conjunction with research into a mood reading/recording hat. Several servos, a geared motor, and a Querk microprocessor contort a branch in various degrees. Mental strain of everyday existence is suggested by the vagaries of deformation.

Birth of the Technofridge

There’s been a bit of a drastic change to my project since its first inception…

SpiderCrab

It’s kind of a stretch to call it furniture, but maybe you get it put in your home anyway. This was another project from DUX that I was talking bout today, which was done by a group in the UK. There is a lot of high level dance theory behind it which went over my head, but it’s basically these robotic legs that react to your movement. They had this in the exhibit hall and they let anyone try it. It entertaining to watch people get whacked by it while we ate.

SpiderCrab is concerned with design development for a robotic agent, using models and theories of performance. The focus is on ways that designers and performers work together as an interdisciplinary team. It will build and experiment with two prototypes for an originally-conceived robotic agent. The eventual 6-limbed, 2-metre high SpiderCrab robot will be a multi-sensorial mediation between architectural environment and dancing partner. A key objective will be for the human agent interacting with SpiderCrab to experience performative merging. A key novelty at this phase will be to integrate state of the art techniques for visual object detection and tracking into the body of the SpiderCrab. The robot will have pseudo-human characteristics including precoil and recoil in gesture, learning, aesthetic choice, redundant movement, mood and physical temperament. Two developmental processes will be realised: (1) a virtual realisation of SpiderCrab, (2) a concrete realisation of one prototype limb. Both realisations will be confined to the visual sensorium, although this will be processed in terms of both gestalt and proxemic data. While SpiderCrab will be fully realised beyond the present prototyping project, the robot itself will constitute an objectile, setting continued evolutionary challenges to software design, robot engineering, performance specialists and human agents.

more info on their website.

Bruce Shapiro

interesting applications of lots of steppers and a lot more.

Bruce Shapiro Video

Linear actuators

I want to create a chair that will sit and look normal, but will detect when someone sits on it. When if feels that someone has sat on it, it will wait a few seconds for the person to get comfortable. Then it will throw the person of the chair by falling over with the person. Then the chair will pick its self up, possibly through the use of a cam system.

The linear actuators will act as the legs.

Origami!

International Origami superstar Robert J Lang is giving a lecture today at 4:30 in McConomy.

“From Flapping Birds to Space Telescopes: The Modern Science of Origami”

http://www.phys.cmu.edu/research/seminars/weekly.html

edit:   Sorry, hadn’t noticed jenn had posted this already! my bad!

Arduino software v010 available

This is running just fine on my MacBook, it would be great if a Windows user could give it a try.

Lilypad Arduino now at sparkfun

If you’re interested in doing textiles, the Lilypad Arduino is worth looking at.