Category: Spring 2024 – Aaron (Section 001)

HAILSTORM HAIVOC CONTINUED

Concept for the project

For my final project, I am building on my midterm project, which involves a game where players dodge falling hail. Initially, I had envisioned this game with a car maneuvering to avoid the hail, but the concept became too complex. Through trial and error, I simplified the gameplay to where players now use the mouse click to move the car away from the hail. This feature unexpectedly also allows control over another sprite, adding a unique twist to the gameplay. Taking this project to the next level, I plan to integrate an arcade button to start and re-start the game and a toy car that players can manipulate/move to control the game car on the screen through a sensor. Differing from the midterm which was consistently playing, my game has an end after a couple seconds of playing where the player would have won and arrived home safely from the storm, and this would enhance the interactive experience and depth of the game.

Description of what your Arduino program will do with each input and output and what it will send to and/or receive from P5:

1. Inputs:
   • HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor: This sensor will measure the distance of an object from it. It uses two pins, TRIG and ECHO, to send out ultrasonic waves and measure the time it takes for the echo to return.
   • Arcade Button: The button will act as a simple digital input, where pressing the button changes its state from LOW to HIGH.
2. Outputs:
   • Serial Data to P5: The Arduino program will continuously send two pieces of data to the P5 sketch via the serial port:
     • Distance measured by the ultrasonic sensor, translated into a value that indicates the position of the car on the screen, hopefully when the toy car is moved left (close to the sensor it will move the car on screen left) and vise versa.
     • The state of the arcade button to control game states (start and restart).

Description of what P5 program will do and what it will send to and/or receive from Arduino:

As of my game, I don’t think P5 is going to send anything to Arduino other than:  Serial Data from Arduino: The P5 sketch receives the distance and button state as a serialized string. Game Controls: Based on the received data, the P5 sketch adjusts the position of the car on the screen and manages the game state (starting and restarting).

Safe Russian Roulette

Introduction

After having done a bit more research and some more ideation I am now sure of what I am going to create exactly. Of course there may be some changes down the road but the project should be at least 90% like what I’m going to outline here.

Inspiration

I originally had this idea before the midterm and it was going to be my midterm project but instead I changed it to the Mexican Standoff game. But, what I really wanted to do for both of these projects is make a game or anything that was interactive but that allowed for at least two people to enjoy the experience together.

I had been inspired by the indie game Buckshot Roulette as well. It’s a game where the player plays against a strange looking dealer who has lives and so does the player and the lives are represented by lightning bolts and there are abilities as well which makes the game more tactical. I wanted to almost recreate the game or at least the aesthetic but for now I will not do the abilities since I need to at least finish the foundation, i.e. just normal Russian Roulette.

The lightning bolts representing the lives of both the dealer and the player were done because each of them could be revived with a defibrillator. It was the lightning bolts themselves which lead to me having the idea of a player receiving an electric shock.

Then having the lives and a little menu on the side of the table inspired me to have a p5js sketch which can has a similar aesthetic.

How Russian Roulette works
& How this game will work

In the real game of Russian Roulette a revolver would be loaded with one live round and then the rest would either be empty or blanks.

In Safe Russian Roulette there will also be at least one live “round” and the rest are blanks, totaling 6 rounds. Depending on the difficulty chosen there will be between 1-5 rounds that are live. The names of the difficulties in ascending order are Standard (1 live round), Hard (1-2 live round), Harder (1-3 live rounds), Nearly Impossible (2-4 live rounds), Masochist (3-5 live rounds)

There will be 2 buttons for each player to press to either shoot themselves or the other. When the player shoots themselves they may either shock themselves or it may be a blank. If its a live round they lose and if its a blank they get a second turn which means its more likely that the next round will be live and therefore more likely that they will win if they shoot the other player. Each player has one life. Basically its a game of chance.

Before the players start shocking each other they will be greeted with a start page. There will be a potentiometer or knob of some kind and a button and together the user can select different options that are displayed using p5js. Options such as difficulty and retry.

There will also be some kind of lights that flash in a certain way which are in the middle of the table. It will display the number of live and blank rounds at the beginning (it can change color, red = live, white = blank) then, depending on the difficulty, it will either disappear completely, or it will show the number of rounds remaining but it will never show the number of live or blank rounds left, just the number of rounds left at most.

Then after one of the players lose it will indicate on the play screen who won and who lost and then ask the players if they want to play again or not. Also, during the game while the players are playing it will indicate the difficulty that the players are playing at so that others can see and in case they forgot.

Upon developing the concept for my final project, I have decided to incorporate a more communal element into my work as a means to utilise internet culture to physically bring people together and create tangible memories.

I will be using the same image classification process as described in my initial post but will create my own machine learning model using Google’s Teachable Machine. Doing this will enable the object classification to be more accurate and specific, ensuring a smoother interaction between users and the project. When gathering the sample images for this, I will make sure that the environment and framing is as close as possible to what the program will see on-site in order to ensure its accuracy while being open to the public.

In terms of the communal aspect, the project will require two phones (and therefore two people) to be detected by the program in order to generate the digital mirror. In making this choice, I hope to utilise the tendency we have to take photographs of ourselves as a means to bring us closer with our friends and loved ones, thus replacing an otherwise self-centred process with one that focuses on interpersonal connection. In order to compliment and emphasise this point, I will generating an ASCII-style digital mirror which fills the thresholded space with the text-heart emoticon ‘<3’. Not only does this link to the theme of interpersonal connection, it also refers back to the theme of internet culture which was ultimately the influence behind my project.

“Design Meets Disability” provides a rich examination of how design intersects with disability, with a focus on both the historical context and contemporary innovations in the field. It delves into specific examples like eyewear, hearing aids, and prosthetics, and underscores a cultural shift from viewing these items merely as medical aids to considering them as fashion statements and expressions of personal identity.

As someone interested in design, I find the intersection of fashion and functionality particularly fascinating. The way eyewear evolved from a stigmatized medical device to a stylish accessory exemplifies how cultural perceptions of disability and assistive devices can shift dramatically. This shift challenges us to think about other devices in the same light. Could hearing aids or prosthetics become similarly fashionable? This idea encourages a reconsideration of what we define as “normal” and pushes the boundaries of inclusivity in design. From my perspective, embracing design innovation in disability aids not only enhances functionality but also boosts the self-esteem of users. If more designers viewed these aids as opportunities for creative expression, we might see a broader acceptance and desire for these products, much like what happened with eyeglasses.

As for the progress on my final project this week, the body frame is already built. I am still assembling the legs (They take time).

Also, in terms of the electronics, I need to order an additional Li-Po battery and a voltage converter to supply the power to the servo motors.

Also, for the cardboard castle above the walker, I began generating the textures in Midjourney. Still in the progress of assembling.

I unfortunately lost my ESP32 chip, so need to re-order it again.

Finalized Concept for the Project:
“Interactive Musical Garden” is an immersive installation combining technology and nature, designed to create a harmonious interaction between physical and digital realms. The project features a set of 3D-printed roses, each equipped with capacitive touch sensors and LEDs, laid out on a cardboard garden surface to mimic a garden. Interacting with these roses triggers specific musical tones and stimulates the blooming of virtual flowers on a screen, managed via a P5 sketch. This setup aims to explore the symbiotic relationship between touch-based interactions and visual-audio feedback, enhancing the user’s sensory experience through art and technology.

Design and Description of the Arduino Program:

Inputs: The Arduino will use capacitive touch sensors placed beneath each 3D-printed rose. These sensors detect the presence and duration of touch.
Outputs: Corresponding to each sensor, LEDs under the roses light up when a touch is detected. Additionally, the Arduino will send serial data to the P5 sketch indicating which rose was touched.

Interactive Elements:

Visual Outputs: The P5 sketch will display a dynamic garden where each touch on a physical rose causes a new type of flower to bloom at random positions on the screen.
Audio Feedback: Different musical tones are played corresponding to which rose is touched, enhancing the multisensory experience.

User Testing Goals:

Usability: Assess the ease of interaction and intuitiveness of the touch interfaces.
Responsiveness: Measure the system’s responsiveness and the synchronization between physical touches and digital responses.
Aesthetic and Sensory Feedback: Gather feedback on the visual and auditory elements to determine if they effectively enhance the user experience.

To-Dos:

• Begin assembling the components as per the design (I couldn’t get all the sensors yet because of unavailability but as soon as I get them I’ll try to assemble everything).
• Complete printing all the roses (I’ve one prototype now but I’d need to replicate another 3).
• Test the initial versions of the Arduino and P5 code (I’ve written the primary codes, I’ll be repurposing the Virtual Garden p5 assignment I’d completed, and I’ve shortlisted which sound files I want to use).

I feel that this week’s reading provides interesting insight into the disability design space, specifically in how referencing other spaces can both support and limit the development of design.

The comparison made between the design approach to glasses and hearing aids led me to consider this point. Over time, the destigmatisation and eventual popularisation of wearing glasses allowed designers to make bolder stylistic choices when producing new glasses. Comparatively, as hearing aids are slowly becoming destigmatised, the reading points out that some designers started to adopt elements from eyewear in an attempt to push the development of ‘HearWear’. While effectiveness of a design is ultimately dependent on the user to decide, I feel that this approach presents even more constraints in a context which is already presented with limitations surrounding social stigma and technical capabilities (how well the hearing aid works, how seamlessly it can be integrated into a design (discrete or otherwise)).

In response to the quote by Charles Eames stating that “design depends largely on constraints”, I do believe that too many constraints can hinder rather than progress design. In this case, I feel that the aforementioned limitations offer enough constraints for designers to experiment and develop different approaches that offer a comfortable solution for users. By adding a stipulation of following the conventions of eyewear, I feel that the designer in this case has prioritised their own creative vision over the usability and practicality of their design.

The reading offers a profound examination of the role design plays in the realm of disability, challenging the conventional perception that design for disability must focus solely on functionality. The discussion centers around the transformative potential of integrating aesthetic and cultural elements into the design of disability aids, proposing that these elements are not merely supplementary but integral to redefining these aids within broader societal contexts.

Historical examples, such as Charles and Ray Eames’s plywood leg splints, serve as a foundation for arguing that design constraints related to disability can catalyze broader innovations in design practice. The Eames’s ability to transform a functional object like a leg splint into a design that influenced their later iconic furniture pieces illustrates how solutions born out of necessity can transcend their origins to impact broader design disciplines. This notion is further reinforced through the transformation of eyewear from a stigmatized medical necessity into a fashionable accessory, which underscores the potential for disability aids to evolve beyond their functional inception towards cultural significance.

However, this integration of aesthetics raises questions about the balance between form and function, reflecting a potential bias towards design that may overlook practical user needs like accessibility and affordability. While the reading persuasively invites a rethinking of disability aids as elements of personal identity and expression, it also prompts critical reflections on ensuring these designs remain accessible and practical. The challenge lies in achieving a harmonious integration where design innovations in the disability sector do not compromise on functionality, ensuring that these aids are not only culturally resonant but also remain true to their primary purpose of serving the needs of the disabled community.

Inspiration and Concept

Ever since I’ve come to Abu Dhabi, my passion for jet-skiing and boats has been growing and growing inside me. At the same time, I wanted to do something unique, something that nobody has ever done before. That is why for this final project I decided to make a boat. 

I want the boat to be controlled by the users hand, and with gestures like: if you want to go left, you slide your arm to the left, if you want to go right, you slide your arm to the right. Same thing goes for the speed. If you want to go faster, you put your hand closer to the sensor (kind of like a pedal).

Implementation

The implementation phase can be very easily explained. For the gestures of the user, I would like to use this sensor that is available in our booking website:

I have also found a 3d model for the boat and matched the size so that It can fit the Arduino, the Breadboard and the Batteries. The plan is to attach a fan to a DC Motor, and attach the DC Motor to a Servo, which would be used to set the directions. As the user moves his hands, the servo will adjust the angle accordingly and the dc motor will adjust the power too. The communication will be done through a wireless receiver which would be provided by PI.

I plan to use p5.js only as a “dashboard” highlighting the way the boat is headed (straight, right, left) and also the speed. It would be interesting if I could animate the boat so that it shows some fun animation If we are speeding up or turning too sharply.