3-D Printing
3-D printing is an innovative technology that has been progressively gaining interest among many different populations throughout the last couple of years; scientists, engineers, and designers have found multiple applications for 3-D printing. It has also been argued that 3-D printing has irreplacable learning capabilities for students. This technology can be used to print out replications of artifacts and models based upon the lessons they are learning. This provids student with a more tangible and physical understanding of their study.
Beyond the aspect of being able to simply view the end product of 3-D printing, programs like CAD, or a free web-based version called TinkerCAD, students are able to create their own 3-D design. Students can choose from a variety of shapes, figures, and movable components such as gears and sockets. These programs are simple to learn while providing a large variety of options for the user. Once the design has been completed it can be downloaded and printed from the 3-D printer.
Beyond the aspect of being able to simply view the end product of 3-D printing, programs like CAD, or a free web-based version called TinkerCAD, students are able to create their own 3-D design. Students can choose from a variety of shapes, figures, and movable components such as gears and sockets. These programs are simple to learn while providing a large variety of options for the user. Once the design has been completed it can be downloaded and printed from the 3-D printer.
The concept for my design was a wheel chair for felines, or other pets. Currently, pets who are disabled or have limited use of their limbs have to wait until they are fully grown to gain a wheelchair because they are expensive and are only purchased at one time. If we are given the ability to 3-D print a wheel chair for our pets we can adjust the measurements according to the pets current size and shape and print them out periodically as they grow. Additionally, if an accident were to occur that would cause the wheel chair to break at any time it would be simple to print the already saved file of our pets current wheel chair design. 3-D printing is also typically much cheaper than industrially built products, such as a wheel chair. It would bring the price for these products lower, while raising the accessability to them.
Little Bits Project
Little bits are small pieces of hardware that fit together with the help of magnets. Each 'bit' has a specific function. There are many different types of little bits, with an ever expanding hardware library.
Since little bits are so easy to use, with many practical applications, there are many diverse groups of people who use technology, from kids to engineers. |
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After playing with the little bits for a short time I already understood how to use the technology. The learning here happens very fast, it is easy to grasp the concept on how you are meant to use the little bits. As I was connecting all the gadgets together, I came up with a project idea. I came up with a classroom management tool: the student-ometer.
For this project I used 5 little bits parts. The first one was mandatory: the power source. For my source I decided to use the battery-powered little bit piece. the second piece is a small knob piece. As the knob turns, it controls the piece that follows, which happens to be the strip of LED lights. These lights range from green, to orange, and red. The third little bit is a sound-sensor. The sensor can be adjusted using a small screw driver to the user's liking. I adjusted it so that the sensor would not be triggered by simple talking, and only by loud noises. In the video I have included in this post you may notice that it goes off when I knock on the box. While the noise is not necessarily loud to us, it does trigger the sensor because the noise is occurring right next to it, rather than at a reasonable distance, and because it is amplified in the box. The sensor is not triggered by average conversational volumes.
Considering I labeled each part for it's intended use, if you already opened the images, you may understand my intent for them. As I turn the knob, I can adjust the lights which measure warning levels for students that may be misbehaving. Once it gets to the final red light, there will likely have to be some reprimandation. Since there is also a volume sensor, this may help me manage student's volume level in the classroom. This function occurs independently from the lights.
Little Bits also has an expansive online community that shares work with one another.
I have shared my project with the little bits community, you can view my contribution with the link provided: http://littlebits.cc/projects/student-o-meter
For this project I used 5 little bits parts. The first one was mandatory: the power source. For my source I decided to use the battery-powered little bit piece. the second piece is a small knob piece. As the knob turns, it controls the piece that follows, which happens to be the strip of LED lights. These lights range from green, to orange, and red. The third little bit is a sound-sensor. The sensor can be adjusted using a small screw driver to the user's liking. I adjusted it so that the sensor would not be triggered by simple talking, and only by loud noises. In the video I have included in this post you may notice that it goes off when I knock on the box. While the noise is not necessarily loud to us, it does trigger the sensor because the noise is occurring right next to it, rather than at a reasonable distance, and because it is amplified in the box. The sensor is not triggered by average conversational volumes.
Considering I labeled each part for it's intended use, if you already opened the images, you may understand my intent for them. As I turn the knob, I can adjust the lights which measure warning levels for students that may be misbehaving. Once it gets to the final red light, there will likely have to be some reprimandation. Since there is also a volume sensor, this may help me manage student's volume level in the classroom. This function occurs independently from the lights.
Little Bits also has an expansive online community that shares work with one another.
I have shared my project with the little bits community, you can view my contribution with the link provided: http://littlebits.cc/projects/student-o-meter
Erasure Art
Erasure art has been around long before the modern technology that we have. Before there were options like photoshop, gimp, or pixlr, artists would draw in pencil and earse areas either for aesthetic or conceptual purposes. Another popluar form of erasure art is to remove words in books or other samples of printed media and use black marker or white out to block out certain areas from the visibilty of viewers. Technology allows us to augment traditional ways of creating art, and comteporize these ideas. As mentioned, to create a similar effect as traditional erasure art forms, artists are now beginning to use platforms like photoshop or an equivelent program to removes parts of an image that they no longer need or want available to view within the image.
Glitch Art
Glitch art has an interesting conception, as well as creation process. Of course artists could use photoshop to edit an image to make it appear as though it has been 'glitched'. However, there are otherways to create glitch art that stays more true to its name and concept. The process to create glitch art while avoiding photoshop is to change the code that is used to write the image, which the computer reads to make it appear on your screen. As mentioned, when you save or download an image it has a code that is made up of words, letters, and symbols that may appear random to us, but is a language to our computer that tells it what shapes and colors is used within the image. If we open the image of our choice by using a text document, rather than an image viewer, then it gives us the capability to alter the image. When altering the image the results are almost random. While we can choose how much the image is altered, most of us will not know in what way the image is becoming altered until we save it and open it up in a image viewer rather than the text document. Some may choose to hide messages within the code of the image, creating their concept and meaning, and some may choose to only alter the image slightly or completely abstract it from its original form.
Above are my examples of glitch art. I had chosen multiple images from nature and altered them using the technique which I described. You may notice that the image is now unrecognizable, as it has been changed so much. I belive that technology is a very important part of our contemporary world, however there is also an importance in conserving the natural earth as well. Unfortunately, there is a lot of damages that has been done to nature that has been done at the hand of some poor engineering design or sciences. It is important for us to criticise these faults, and push technoogy in a direction that will be most useful in healing the planet, because its current state is unrecognizable to how it was seen in the past.
Video Game Controller
This is the controller which I made to complitment my video game. The game is titled The Heart and the Mind, in which the main character is the heart and is lost, and must find its friend the mind. Considering this, I made my controller a replica of the heart which is in the game. To do this I used the makey-makey which I also used in my instrument project.
There are two buttons on the side which each of my index fingers are touching. If you are familiar with the makey-makey, then should be understood that there is a grouding wire to complete the current. These buttons create that action. The 4 grouped buttons on the left side are the arrows which cause movement of our main character, The Heart, in one of the four directions: up, down, left, and right. The final button located on the right side of our controller is the space button. If you press the play button in the middle of the video located above, it will show you how the game can be played using this controller.
There are two buttons on the side which each of my index fingers are touching. If you are familiar with the makey-makey, then should be understood that there is a grouding wire to complete the current. These buttons create that action. The 4 grouped buttons on the left side are the arrows which cause movement of our main character, The Heart, in one of the four directions: up, down, left, and right. The final button located on the right side of our controller is the space button. If you press the play button in the middle of the video located above, it will show you how the game can be played using this controller.
8-Bit Video Game
This is my 8-bit video game. The video game was created on scratch, which is a free web-based program. It can be used to create many different works, but the most popular use for this website is video games. The scratch program encourages what they call 'tinkering', a term used to describe the process of learning how to manipulate the program to create the results desired by the user. The tinkering process involves probelm solving as the user makes adjustments and remodification to the puzzle-like pieces that have simplified the coding process for ultimate beginners. Anyone has the ability to create in Scratch, while the learning levels of these projects can range from simple and easy to difficult and introcate creations, depending on the level of understanding on the project and time alotted.
The concept behind my video game began just by figuring out how I would create a role playing game (RPG). RPGs allow the user to roam freely in a(n) area(s), often collecting or discovering new things along as they reach to the end of the game. In my game it begins by giving a short backstory and directions. The main character then appears in a house, and is allowed to explore the area or leave it and continue their search for The Mind.
The concept behind my video game began just by figuring out how I would create a role playing game (RPG). RPGs allow the user to roam freely in a(n) area(s), often collecting or discovering new things along as they reach to the end of the game. In my game it begins by giving a short backstory and directions. The main character then appears in a house, and is allowed to explore the area or leave it and continue their search for The Mind.
8-Bit animated GIF
Here I made a GIF, which is a simple picture animation, of my cat Sandor (he's a grey tabby, and only has one eye). This was made by drawing the image on Adobe Photoshop. How the program works is in what the program calls "layers". Each layer is each separate part of the animation, saved as different images. Once I completed each step of the animation, which took a total of about 6 images, I uploaded the images to GIFmaker.me, and uploaded the image files. This online application then takes the normal image files, such as JPEG images, and stitches them together to make an animated GIF.
8-Bit Soundtrack
Makey-Makey Instrument
Here is a video of my finished makey-makey instrument. The sounds used here are audio samples I have found, not the ones that I had created in my previous post. However, the sounds are easily changeable, and each "key" of my instrument could theoretically be set to any sound. There are 10 total keys on my makey-makey instrument.
The keys of my instrument are made out of foil strips, measured and cut equally. The strips are backed with a thick tape to so that the thin foil is more durable. Each key is glued onto plexiglass, with tabs of foil going down into the box, beyond the glass. There is a type of shelf or back that serves two purposes: to hide all of the wires, and to hold the lights. The wires are fed through holes in the side of the cardboard shelf, and are connected to the tin foil tabs that reach beyond the glass.
These are pictures of a top-view of my instrument in the light, as well as what the underside looks like, where all of the wires lead to.
Creating and Recording sound effects for video games and other applications
Below is a playlist which has several sound effects that were created for the purpose of becoming sound effects in a video game. For the most part, the were created by using bfxr.net, where you can create different types of sounds according to their appropriated wave type. The differentiation of the wave types typically determine what the audio will sound like. Triangle and pulse wave types are much different from that of a noise wave file. Below I have all of the audio files titled according to their appropriate wave type. The meow was a recording, and not a audio sample created from Bfxr.
After pressing each audio file, the one that follows will play immediately after unless you press pause. If you wish to see all files, hover over them and scroll. This will cause the box to enlarge for easier viewing.
After pressing each audio file, the one that follows will play immediately after unless you press pause. If you wish to see all files, hover over them and scroll. This will cause the box to enlarge for easier viewing.
As mentioned above, different wave types create different types of sounds. Here are what the waves look like, and how they correspond with the noise that they make:
Triangle waves are most commonly used for bass lines in music.
The pitch of triangle waves can be altered to create percussion sound effects, such as drums.
The pitch of triangle waves can be altered to create percussion sound effects, such as drums.
Pulse waves typically create the beeping noises for sound effects or songs.
Pulse waves are very popular and are what create most of the melodies in music tracks.
Pulse waves are very popular and are what create most of the melodies in music tracks.
Noise waves are interesting because they do not have a common wave shape, and vary from sample to sample. These types of auio sound similar to static or white noise, and are commonly used for percussion sounds
Automata Project
Below you can see the processes of how I began constructing my cardboard cat-in-a-box automata:
The first step in creating my automata was sketch out my idea. Following this, I created a maquette, otherwise known as a preliminary model. My maquette can be seen in the first image. I created the cat and the box just so I could figure out how the flaps would work. You may notice that this concept changed slightly by the end of the project. Once I had the box and the cat figured out, I moved on to the mechanics. The mechanics of an automata are called cams. These are the round bits of cardboard. The cams turn and create movement. Once the mechanics were completed, I finished the automata by painting and decorating the outside.
Watch the automata in action below!
If you wish to learn more about how to create automatas, view the document below. It gives detailed examples and explanations on how to use different mechanics and functions that are commonly used in automatas. The file scrolls, and can also be enlarged using the tab at the bottom right of the box.