Category: F2023 – Mang

For the week 9 assignment I have used a switch that turns a digital LED on and a photoresistor as an analog sensor for the other LED. The photoresistor is powered by a 5V jumper wire and a GRN jumper wire.

Greatest Hits (and Misses)
The reading went over how different materials were used in different projects. I think there is 2 ways of approaching a project: come up with the idea first and look at available technologies or methods, or look at available technologies or methods and think about what you can do with it.

I wouldn’t say any of them is superior than the other. However, I do want to say that it does mean knowing what’s available will be helpful in terms of thinking outside the box, doing remix, and creating your project.  In this sense, it was interesting to see how different technologies were used. Some were crazier than others, but regardless, they still make it to my reference list.

Making Interactive Art
I think the reading very well points out how certain performers or artists tend to directly guide the audience to think a specific way or come to a specific conclusion. I think it’s easier to fall into this pitfall as an interactive media creator, as there’s a limitation to different types or cases of interactions we can think of as creators, which will make us limit the conclusion and the emotions we create with our project.

I think this can both work against you or work in your favour. It is true we, as creators, should try not to have a set conclusion and just ‘educate’ our audience of it. However, at the same time, interactive media holds the power to guide people to experience certain things and, in return, think a certain thing. I think this is a strength not many forms of media has. For instance, a painting may go through so many interpretations of different individuals. While I agree the charm lies within this characteristic, it is also very true that the painter may fail in delivering the message with the correct context and depth.

Concept)

When I thought about what I could do with 2 LEDs, I again thought about the colours. Looking at buttons and red and blue LED lights, I thought of an old-style game that used to be played on primary school sports day: “Blue Flag, Red Flag.”

How you play the game:
There’s one referee who gives orders like…
– Hold up red flag
– Don’t hold up red flag and hold up blue flag
– etc..
It makes much more sense and has more thrill in Korean grammar.. The grammatical order of English kind of giving everything away.

Anyways, I wanted to create a game control for this game.

Materials I Used:
– Arduino Uno
– 2 LEDs (red & blue)
– 4  resistors (330 ohm)
– 2 push button switches
– breadboard
– jumper wires

Video: (just realized the top part is a little cut off, but the subtitles on top of the video or examples of the orders)

Code:

const int redButton = 3;
const int blueButton = A1;
const int redLight = 6;
const int blueLight = 5;

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  pinMode(redLight, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(blueLight, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(redButton, INPUT);
}

void loop() {

  int redState;
  int blueState;

  redState = digitalRead(redButton);
  blueState = analogRead(blueButton);

  //Serial.print("restate: ");
  //Serial.println(redState);
  //Serial.print("bluestate: ");
  //Serial.println(blueState);
  if (redState != 0)
  {
    Serial.println("red high");
    digitalWrite(redLight, HIGH);
    delay(100);
    digitalWrite(redLight, LOW);
  }
  if (blueState > 500)
  {
    Serial.println("blue high");
    digitalWrite(blueLight, HIGH);
   delay(100);
    digitalWrite(blueLight, LOW);
  }
}

The code is very simple as it’s just recognizing the buttons and turning on the LED lights. It is notable that the push of the buttons are recognized differently (analog and digital input) and therefore the if statement is a little different.

Concept 

I tried to create an interactive traffic signal by integrating a push button and a potentiometer connected to two LEDs. Upon pressing the digital input push button, the red light illuminates, while the potentiometer, serving as the analog input, enables control over the brightness of the yellow light. This dual-input system represents a significant challenge, as initially, I could only manage them separately. 

Reflection: 

Coding proved to be an inspiring task, particularly in merging both analog and digital components seamlessly. Despite the initial difficulty, this project served as a valuable learning experience, providing insights into the intricacies of combining different inputs and coding for a cohesive interactive system. As I look ahead, the incorporation of the third color, red, looms as the next exciting phase, promising further growth and mastery of interactive design.

Materials used: 

1. Arduino board 
2. Potentiometer 
3. 2 LEDs (red and yellow)
4. Resistors 
5. Tactile push-button switch
6. Breadboard 
7.  jumper wires

Video Links

Concept

For this assignment, I used the ultrasonic sensor to make something like a parking sensor. If the distance is above a certain threshold, the LED displays green. If the distance is below the threshold, it gradually turns red along the distance of 20 centimeters. After that, the LED turns completely red. There are two switches used as input for digital data. One is this system’s overall switch, which shuts the entire system when open. Once it’s closed, a blue LED lights up indicating the system is functioning. The other button when pressed, records the current distance the sensor gets and stores this data as the new threshold.

Video Example:

Artists often provide detailed interpretations and instructions alongside their interactive pieces, potentially limiting participants’ freedom to interpret and engage. The author suggests that interactive art should be seen as a conversation starter, where the created environment or instrument is a catalyst for participants to take meaningful actions and derive their own understanding of the artist’s expression. This approach emphasizes the interactive nature of the art form and encourages a more open-ended and dynamic engagement between the artist, the work, and the audience. This also helps the artist to interact with the audience and get new perspectives and ideas which he/she could contribute to their new artworks. Giving the audience their space and freedom would actually change their perspective towards the artwork. Also the listening part mentioned by the author which is the next crucial step in creating interactive art. It involves actively listening to participants. Artists are encouraged to observe and interpret how individuals engage with the designed elements, noting emotional responses, comprehension levels, and overall reactions. The variety of responses, including excitement, indifference, or sharing newfound knowledge, is seen as part of an ongoing conversation between the artist and the audience.  More than perfecting an interactive artwork, the performance phase is more important and significant because it involves the real-time, unpredictable responses of participants. During the performance phase, the artist witnesses how individuals interpret and engage with the interactive elements. This phase is a live, evolving dialogue between the artist’s creation and the audience’s reactions. It allows for a deeper understanding of the diverse ways people interact with and derive meaning from the artwork.

I believe that both of these readings highlight two important facets of physical computing.

Physical Computing’s Greatest Hits (and Misses) is an informative piece that aims to categorize (and explain) some of the most notable genres of physical computing projects. In the preamble to the piece, in which the author states that despite certain themes recurring, it doesn’t mean that the projects that use those ideas are unoriginal. In fact, they go on to assert that these forms of interaction allow for a lot of innovation and creativity. In my opinion, this is incredibly important, as it reminds us of a key principle in physical computing: the sensory input need not aim to be unique, but what we do with that input should.

Making Interactive Art: Set the Stage, Then Shut Up and Listen highlights a second key component of physical computing. Physical computing is inherently an interactive paradigm and necessitates a user-computer interaction. It might be tempting to provide clear instructions or an elaborate backstory to the project, but part of the beauty of interactive artworks is the limitless ways one can play around with them. Letting the user explore the project itself is the only way to truly realized the potential of a physical computing project.

I wanted to highlight the juxtaposition of “Making Interactive Art: Set the Stage, Then Shut Up and Listen” and “Physical Computing’s Greatest Hits (and misses)” as it offers a comprehensive view of the delicate balance required in the realm of interactive art and physical computing. The former reading emphasizes the importance of creating a space for open interpretation, urging artists to resist the urge to over-explain their creations. I think this really resonates with the idea that true interactive art is a living conversation, where the audience actively contributes to the experience. On the other hand, the latter, showcasing recurring themes in physical computing projects, reinforces the notion that repetition doesn’t equate to stagnation but rather serves as a canvas for individual interpretation and innovation. Themes like theremin-like instruments or video mirrors may be recurrent, but each iteration offers a unique perspective, inviting creators to infuse their individuality into well-trodden paths.

What stood out the most to me was the encouragement to embrace recurring themes not as constraints but as opportunities for creative expression. The notion that physical computing provides a playground for creativity, as expressed in response to “Physical Computing’s Greatest Hits (and misses),” aligns seamlessly with the idea of setting the stage and letting the audience take the spotlight. I think this serves a profound reminder that even within established themes, there is ample room for exploration and originality. Hence, the blend of such perspectives encourages a dynamic approach to interactive art, where established concepts serve as a foundation rather than a limitation, and the true beauty emerges from the fusion of technology, creativity, and the unique interpretations of those engaging with the art.

Concept:

So I was thinking of how I could make something creative enough to pass this assignment vibes check so I thought of photocell ( which is digital) and a Tactile push button ( which is analog ) to light up my cute little car,

You know how it is when you’re driving in the dark – you need those headlights on, and when you want to change lanes, you’ve gotta give a signal. That’s exactly what I wanted to mimic.

So, when it gets dark, my little car’s headlights kick in with the help of two LEDs, and if I want to switch lanes, I just press that button, and the LEDs start blinking to signal my lane change. Cool, right.

Materials I used:

1. Arduino board (e.g., Arduino Uno)
2. 2 LEDs (green)
3. 2 x 220-ohm resistors (for current limiting)
4. Tactile push-button switch
5. Photocell (Light-dependent resistor, LDR)
6. 10k-ohm resistor (for voltage divider)
7. Breadboard and jumper wires

const int led1Pin = 8;           // Define a constant integer variable for the pin of the first LED.
const int led2Pin = 9;           // Define a constant integer variable for the pin of the second LED.
const int buttonPin = 2;         // Define a constant integer variable for the pin of the tactile button.
const int photocellPin = A0;     // Define a constant integer variable for the pin of the photocell sensor.

int led1State = LOW;              // Initialize an integer variable to store the state of the first LED as LOW.
int led2State = LOW;              // Initialize an integer variable to store the state of the second LED as LOW.
int buttonState = LOW;            // Initialize an integer variable to store the state of the tactile button as LOW.
int lastButtonState = LOW;        // Initialize an integer variable to store the previous state of the button as LOW.
int lightValue = 0;               // Initialize an integer variable to store the light reading from the photocell.
int threshold = 500;              // Set a threshold value for the light reading. You can adjust this value based on your environment.

void setup() {
  pinMode(led1Pin, OUTPUT);        // Set the pin of the first LED as an OUTPUT.
  pinMode(led2Pin, OUTPUT);        // Set the pin of the second LED as an OUTPUT.
  pinMode(buttonPin, INPUT_PULLUP); // Set the pin of the tactile button as an INPUT with internal pull-up resistor.
  pinMode(photocellPin, INPUT);    // Set the pin of the photocell sensor as an INPUT.
}

void loop() {
  lightValue = analogRead(photocellPin); // Read the analog value from the photocell sensor.

  // Check the photocell value to determine whether it's dark or light.
  if (lightValue < threshold) {
    // It's dark, turn both LEDs on.
    digitalWrite(led1Pin, HIGH); // Turn on the first LED.
    digitalWrite(led2Pin, HIGH); // Turn on the second LED.
  } else {
    // It's light, turn both LEDs off.
    digitalWrite(led1Pin, LOW);  // Turn off the first LED.
    digitalWrite(led2Pin, LOW);  // Turn off the second LED.
  }

  buttonState = digitalRead(buttonPin); // Read the state of the tactile button.

  if (buttonState != lastButtonState) {
    if (buttonState == LOW) {
      // Button pressed, toggle LED states based on previous states.
      if (led1State == LOW && led2State == LOW) {
        led1State = HIGH;
      } else if (led1State == HIGH && led2State == LOW) {
        led2State = HIGH;
        led1State = LOW;
      } else {
        led2State = LOW;
      }

      digitalWrite(led1Pin, led1State); // Set the state of the first LED.
      digitalWrite(led2Pin, led2State); // Set the state of the second LED.
    }
    delay(50); // Introduce a debounce delay to prevent rapid button presses.
  }
  lastButtonState = buttonState; // Store the current button state for comparison in the next loop iteration.
}

Making Interactive Art: Set the Stage, Then Shut Up and Listen

I found this reading quite interesting. The natural instinct of wanting to help and make things easier for us sometimes makes us forget the fact that we might be oversharing or spoiling the experience. My takeaway from this reading would be the point Tigoe made about listening. Oftentimes in the excitement or nervousness of showing something to others, it’s easy to forget to actually see how they feel about it while interacting with it. When I’m showing my friends and family the weekly assignments from this class, I do expect their encouragement and feedback but I don’t think I fully listen or focus on their reactions, only because I’m so focused that the project is delivered exactly the way I want it to be. For my midterm project, I had an interactive Christmas tree designing component. I remember telling someone where exactly to place the lights because I had imagined it that way, forgetting that that’s for them to decide. I would definitely introspect more on this, shut up and listen after I’ve set the stage for people.

Physical Computing’s Greatest Hits (and misses)

I liked the idea of ‘meditation helpers’. While I know that it cannot fully capture the human state of mind and the machine may just be making educated guesses about how to do so by looking at heart and breath rates, the very intent of using physical computing for something like this to get you to a calmer and meditative state interests me. It left me thinking for a solid fifteen minutes on ways that we could actually make this work with more accuracy. This complements the purpose of the reading and the idea that even though themes may be recurring they allow a lot of room for originality. I also really appreciate having a blog for this class that lets us view and take inspiration from others’ works. Sometimes I feel like my ideas would be repetitive of the previously done ones but after this reading I fully agree that all pieces, even if they use the exact same materials, are completely different renditions and convey unique and individual thoughts.