I learned all about relays, of which I did not know a thing  before. I actually had a very hard weekend on the very first meeting with them. 

So  they are as far as I understand a magnetic switch that closes or opens when I tell it to.  in this case it will server as my finger pushing the play button.  When the arduino “hears” something thru the microphone it will have the relays “push” the play button of my recording module. 

It was during those first trials I burned my recording module. 

This clip is really inspriring for the pComp project I am building.

nina katchadourian

http://www.ninakatchadourian.com/confusinganimals/caralarms.php

tatiana arocha

http://www.tatianaarocha.com/

natalie jeremijenko

Mad Scientist

Natalie Jeremijenko is engineering a new approach to environmentalism.

some many pics that I found interesting.

this quick but relevant trip was very good, it gave me new ideas to apply towards the zoolyphone. I saw a big whale, the african mammals, the dinosaurs, the american mammals 200 fish, 300 shells, a flying octopus, a christmas tree filled with hanging stars, masks from the inuits, a giant hanging canoe, a baobab tree with all its insects contained withint the tree in glass tiny holes. I saw how to identify gases in space based by their colors,  I saw the birds of northamerica, a giant ant and a giant mosquito.  I walked amidst 500 butterflies raised in butterfly farms in southamerica flown by plane to a mini green house inside a giant museum in a freezing new york city.  If they only knew they did not fly south for the winter but north.

I saw the Climate change exhibit, I was impressed to see the polar bear floating on trash. I learned about music, language and human communication and how animals do the same things in their own ways. 

I know I got many many ideas, to reshape my project. but my brain is still

processsing… processing… processing..

again sorry for this…..

please wait while I post more pics.

pending pics

…..
please hold on the line while we tend to your request.

a list of pics exploring why I like bottles with light and water.

these pictures were found online through different search engines.

Lab for serial communication 2, need some more work.

Here is the documentation for serial communication.
stating the basic problem we are trying to solve. I believe.
serialcommunication

Worry Friends,

here is the powerpoint for the project.
http://www.slideshare.net/secret/euyMKgQIVvYDMH

This project came out of a brief brief. I wanted to work with a servomotor, I wanted to reuse some of my older project, and I had in my head three conferences I saw on picnic network and TED.

One by Stefan Agamanolis where he talks about the Isophone, to enhance communication.

Another by Laura Trice, where he urges the TED atendees to say their needs outloud to improve their relationships and please always say Thank you. Something I have found not to be very common here in New York.

I got really excited with comics and comicc bubbles in Communications Lab after reading Scott McCloud.

And I have Red’s Class, for which I proposed a project that has kept me awake for at least two nights. and is related to this whole thing in a way.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/laura_trice_suggests_we_all_say_thank_you.html

http://www.picnicnetwork.org/person/21810/en

hope you enjoy, I just posted pictures, so to leave information to the user.

oh well, why not. This project I envision it to be on a pantry or market shelf, kind of attention deficit products, when you approach them they call you, when you leave they are sad.

If I leave the mooncake on the shelf, being a very traditional present it is also a very emotional product. hence it has feeling and is very “outspoken”.

This lab ws a bit easier, in the sense that it helped reaffirm some of the knowldege we had.

I  learned how to use a multimeter,  learned how to do plug, soldering lessons were reaffirmed. I did not quite grasp how to measure amps.

I did a short video, kind of a love o meter, showing my new found relationship with electricity, I am beginning to understand her and perhaps being friends with her.

Click To Play

Ok, my project is kind of working. I will be showing it in class, I still have one question, since I dont know why my LED wont go back to dark when it senses light.

please help.

This is the observation tour Liesje and I did on a bus from 9th street and 1st avenue towards the West Side Highway.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=40.732056,-73.990259&spn=0.007447,0.013347&z=16&msid=109328865333592036944.000457060808f93639a43

Trip from 1st Avenue to West Side Highway on a bus along 9th street.

time action location duration (aprox) number of people involved motor skills needed intent

12:25 We started 9th st and 2nd ave. We used the mterocard 9th Street 10 seconds each 1 hand/arm/ neck get on the bust to observe people

12:30 Theres a woman who asked for the bus to be lowered. 9th street 1 minute 2 (driver/passenger) legs, arms, fingers, neck, hand having the bus be more accesible

12:25-12:40 The japanese guy with iphone and ipod, antoher guy with headphones. And a woman with Iphone. 9th street 15 minutes 3 legs, arms, fingers, neck, hand multitasking while getting to ther destination

12:25-1 Sidewalk filled with cellphones, flip phones, iphones. 9th Street all conversations varied 30(each holding a different kind of celphone) legs, arms, fingers, neck, hand walking getting to their destination

12:40 A tourist with a camera 9th street 4 minutes 3 the mother, supervising father and the subject daughter legs, arms, fingers, neck, hand capturing a stoop in NYC

12:41 The tourist bus–people using cameras and interactive tourist guides. 9th street we saw at a stop sign, but assume the tour must last around an hour 15 arms, hands, fingers, neck visiting the sights in NYC

12:25-12:45 Bus is lowered when people get off 9th Street 1 2 legs, arms, fingers, neck, hand letting the old lady get down from the bus

12:25-12:40 using the yellow stripe to open the door 9th street 30secs 10 (the bus was not really crowded) hands and fingers asking the driver to stop the bus

12:25-12:40 The loudspeaker the driver usess to make announcements. 9th street 30 secs 1 hand and fingers to make announcements

12:37 UPS with handheld device. 9th Street 3 min 1 hand and fingers to verify address and receiver

12:38 using a wireless handsfree 9th street 4 min 1 hands and fingers (when initially set up) to speak on the cellphone hands free

12:39 More cellphones and ipods. 9th street 10 min 10 hand and fingers walking and talking

12:38 the metro card in the bus 9th Street 10 sec 1 hand, fingers to get in the bus

12:38 people swiping metrocards into the path train 9th Street 3 seconds 1 hands pay subway fare

12:39 a concierge talking on the cellphone 9th Street unknown 2 hands communicate

12:45 PM -12:50 PM lots and lots of people walking with cellphones Hudson River Park unknown 2+ hands, fingers communicate

12:47 tourists taking pictures with cameras Hudson River Park 30 seconds 2 to 5 hands, fingers take pictures

12:48 Babystiters talking on cellphones Hudson River Park unknown 2 hands communicate

12:48 runners listening to iPods with armstraps Hudson River Park unknown 1 hands entertainment

12:49 listening to music with large headphones Hudson River Park unknown 1 hands entertainment

12:50 opening a vending machine using a remote control Hudson River Park 10 seconds 1 hands open vending machine to add new merchandise

1:15 paying cab fare using touchscreen Houston 20 seconds 1 hands pay fare in cab
1:15 Map touchscreen in Taxi Houston 20 seconds 2 hands view position on map while in a cab

1:20 The woman at the restaurant with the touchscreen Houston 30 seconds 1 hands, arms order food for customers/communicate with the kitchen

13:00 Traffic guy with a walkie talkie canal west side highway. West Side Highway 2 minutes 2+ hands,arms communicate with other traffic managers
13:00 Operating gas pump interface West Side Highway 3 minutes 1 hands/arms pay for and pump gasoline
13:00 push button at the red light West Side Highway 10 seconds 1 hands change light color
More cellphones

12:05 Celphones in the cars, people with handfree and Bluetooth handsfree. West Side Highway unknown 2 hands talk to someone or listen to voicemail

1:05 The woman at the cookbook shop with computer and wireless phone, 13h05 7th Ave S. 3 minutes 1 or 2 arms, hands, vocal chords look up information, communicate
12:50 using a camera Hudson River Park <1 minute 2 arms, hands take a picture

12:25-1:40 PM using a digital voice recorder Lower Manhattan ~2hrs 2 vocal chords, hands/arms record this assignment

1:10-1:30 using a laptop Starbucks, Hudson St. 20 minutes unknown hand/arm movmenent unknown

1:20 using an ATM chase bank at Hudson and Charlton. 2 minutes hand/arm movement withdraw or deposit $$

1:30 Man on bus listening to iPod. All along 9th St. 15 minutes 1 hand/arm movement entertainment

1:45 Woman checking messages on a blackberry using her thumbs Hudson St. 3 minutes 1 or 2 hand/arms checking messages

1:43-1:48 using cell phones Christopher St and Hudson St. various ~15 (each talking to another person, so actually ~30) hands/arms communicating with someone

1:47 Using a touch screen restaurant system 518 Hudson 30 seconds 1 hands/arms ordering food for customers

1:47 Using a touch screen in Post Office Charles and Hudson 1 minute 1 hands/arms buying postage for a package

1:48 Using an ATM Right Aid on Hudson 1 minute 1 hands/arms withdraw or deposit money

1:49 Person in Travel Agency using a phone and laptop McCarthy Square unknown 2 hands/arms looking up travel information and communication with customers

Audio Files
http://drop.io/pcompnm

Before I get dissapointed and discouraged with this project. I rather write it down. 

I want to build upon my car project.  I really like my toy car and I believe it can be worked upon. 

Using photo sensors, I want to establish the relatonship between the car and a Altoids Tin box.  The Tin box can either be “the owner” or the “car’s house” the garage.  So everytime the car passes by the tin box, a light will turn on showing “excitement” on the tins side.

I got my arduino and breadboard to look just like the pictures.

My potentiometer was woking backwards,  Juri and Adi helped me find out that my wires were wrong. We switched them and then it worked.   Now I need to unsolder. 

Now, how do I go from there. 

Questions:

What does PWM mean? Pulse Width Modulation? still what does it mean?

PWM stands for Pulse Width Modulation. The speed controller uses PWM to control the power going to the motor. The controller breaks the current going to the motor into separate pulses that occur about 13,000 times per second. The percentage of the pulse that is on power compared to the part of the pulse that is off power determines how much power the motor sees. An oversimplified example is that if 50% of the pulse is on and 50% is off, the motor sees 50% power.

Now with adi, we learned how to use flexometers. 

It worked but the change in the LED does not show  very much, it is not amazing.

map function

ask about this

 map (minvalue,maxvalue, 0, 1024);

idea one

the car goes into a box and trns off the light since it is at the motor hotel.

idea two,

an altoids box when you open it the lights go on and a shape shows. very corny. but works.

Questions I got in the book and from the Lab. And yet I have not really finished my variable resistors project.

What is linear taper? wait, do I ned to know that?
what is an audio taper?

Why would I need a capacitor for?

Why would I need a capacitor?

What is forward voltage?

I dont get transistors at all or relays?

What kind of projects would I need Stranded Wire?

What about a servo?

Clock Crystals? Do i need to know about them?

What is a standalone device?

questions around flexometers.
map function
ask about this
 map (minvalue,maxvalue, 0, 1024);