Arduino experiment 2

This was my second attempt of playing around with an Arduino. This time I connected a piezo crystal to the output connections. I used this to play a melody which I programed the board to play and I used an empty coffee cup as an amplifer. Fun, Fun, Fun...

My next experiment, I would like to have three piezos connected and program the board so that each piezo would play part of a melody, so that all three would play in harmony. Again I would use empty cups as amplifiers. 

First Arduino experiment

This was my first experiment using the Arduino. I programed the board to play 5 LED'S and I changed the timing of the pule to the LED's so that I could create a pattern when they flashed. 

Dr Gabriela Avram's class

Today we discussed how to go about our research for the Thesis project. We talked about Chapter 1 of the thesis and how this is to be an outline of the project. The reason for choosing the topic, my own experience within the area of research. Why I understand there is a need to research in this area. So I came to this idea/decision, what other concepts am I aware of, what failed to provoke me to do this research, what inspired me and the evolution of my ideas. 

Chapter two looks at the research in my area, things that relate to my project. To make the research personal to my work, I need to pass it through my filter to make it personal. When writing the literature review/chapter 2, I need to show the reader that I understand the writer and why their research is important to my development. Can I criticize their work, see what needs developed (critical analysis). Who else has done research in my field of work. I will look at their techniques and their methodologies. I will argue if they are appropoiate or not, or if they could be related to my project. E.g. I would like to use the same method as ...... This guy has used this and it was very effective because.... and I would like to use the same approach...etc. Mind maps might also be useful, document all the links. Who is the user group? 

Is my topic worth while, does it duplicate other works, is this new research in this field. Can I add to the field of research, state my area and build on it. e.g. The interactive table, were did it come from etc. Making sense of what I have read in articles and relate this back to my work and how it could benefit from such methodologies and design approach. e.g. This idea can be  traced back to .... but also discussed in this paper is that .... 

If your paraphrasing you still need to quote the source. Another important point, a Bibliography is not needed, but a list of reference is needed. Using Mendeley to help research is a god tool, also Citulike or Delicious; also good for publishing is Scribd. A good referencing system to use is Harvard and a good resource for articles is ACMdigital library. 

Arduino Fun Time

Today in Mikaels class we started to learn about the Arduino board. Lots of fun and I'm looking forward to implementing this technology into my Interactive Bin Project. So the fun begins. Today's class was mostly electronics, fundamental basics, however over the next few weeks we plan to build a theremin using a light dependent diode in conjunction with the Ardunio board. So what does the board look like....

So how am I going to implement this into my work. Well I have yet to figure out the final detail of the electronic side of things however an new thing popped up in class was the Piezo crystal. This is a fantastic material. Sensitive to light, temperature and pressure. Whaoo... what a material and produces a voltage. In relation to the pressure pads that I was thinking about, the piezo crystal could possible be used as an alternative. 

Out of the Behavior comes the Object

This is an interactive bin for stuffing garbage in Cairo 

Week 3 Semester 2

This video is part of a series that I am posting as a blog about my weekly experience of doing a masters in Interactive Media and Design at the University of Limerick.

Rubbish!

After college I met a friend for hot chocolate in Scholars bar beside the Spar shop at the University. Yes, this is indeed the area were I will be designing for. When we left Scholars, what do you think I seen at the picnic tables.... Mountains of RUBBISH (I wish I took a photo to prove this to you all). It really is disgusting and frustrating, yet this fuels my design motivation because I want to solve this problem. Furthermore, I know for fact (because I was told by the caretaker) that this area is swept down and cleaned last thing before they finish work. So it's clearly the students problem for their dirty habits. This really frustrated me tonight, and it's not like there is no bins. In a 10 meter radius I think there is 5 or more bins, so there is no excuse for this RUBBISH behavior. I can't wait to finish my designing stage and get the prototype on site to test it, to really see can an interactive approach to using bins really make a difference! Time will tell...