“Visual Instrument”
After looking at the photocell / bottle lamp example I found on instructables for inspiration, I have decided to design and build a sort of “Visual Instrument” much like a flute or something similar, but instead of producing sound, It will produce relaxing lighting effects.
This will be done by using a series of 5-6 photocells, each connected to its own different coloured LED. Akin to the holes on a flute, when a particular photocell is covered by the user’s finger, the LED will illuminate, and when several photocells are covered, a combination of LEDs will illuminate.
All of the LEDs will be positioned together, at the end of the instrument, behind a large piece of shaped frosted plastic. So that when illuminated, especially when in combination, nice effects will be created, instead of a simple LED light.I feel that I can add extra complexity to this idea using 555 ICs and various combinations of capacitors and resistors to create blinking and fading in and out effects, which will add to the aesthetic appeal.
As for materiality and size, the instrument will be around the same size as a modern instrument such as the flute I previously mentioned. The shape will be very fluid in form and be made of glossy opaque plastic to give it a stylish modern look, will a frosted plastic end to create to lighting effect.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
More Project 1 Research
After the setbacks of my initial idea, I browsed the instuctables website for ideas, And came accross this, An interesting lighting feature that automatically turns on when the room gets dark, using a photocell. Although the project itself was a little gaudy, I really liked the concept of using the photocell to control light and to create nice lighting effects.
Project 1 Research
I started looking for ideas for this project by reading over the background information of various components we were using on Wikipedia. Which led me to this image the humble Vacuum Tube.
I really liked intricate mechanical look it had, which gave me the idea of looking at other similar era electrical components to perhaps create some kind of pseudo future artifact, as in a futuristic artifact, that had been built in the 1970s. Like something out of a Cold War Spy Movie of that era. Upon further exploration of this idea I came across some really awesome looking stuff such as Nixie Tubes and Dekatrons.
Nixie Tubes
Dekatron
Nixie Tubes
DekatronThese pieces had just the sort of Soviet feel I was looking for. Perfect! But Unfortunately, Upon further research I found the neither of these components had been in production for decades, and are now quite difficult to obtain, They weren’t available anywhere in New Zealand, and the cheapest they went for on eBay was around US$ 15-20 + shipping, To make matters worse, they both required much higher Voltage than what we are using (120V) Also the IC's to run the tubes were equally difficult and expensive to obtain. So I decided to shelve this idea for now, and look and look for something a little simpler.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Project 1 - Task 1
I found this article a very interesting read, and has actually inspired me to watch a few of the movies included in it for the first time (Logan’s Run, 2001 a space odyssey) and re-watch a few favourites (Total Recall As a bit of a technology buff I liked the way the author looked into the feasibility of many of the technologies such as the “Breath ID” device form Alien Resurrection, although im not sure I quite agree with his view that analyzing a persons breath would not be a suitable method of identification, as surely there would be elements of the persons saliva containing their DNA , Those are just my thoughts anyway.
I found the section on the intelligent shopping assistant in Minority Report very interesting, the virtual shop assistant that logs a shoppers past purchases and uses this information to suggest similar things they may like, And how startlingly similar this is to the software used by many online stores such as Amazon to recommend products to you. This kind of information gathering and analysing also has loads of potential applications other than simply suggesting things we might like to buy, For example at the large hotel I work at part time we use a similar program to keep track of valued and frequent guests, storing things like what kind of food and drink they like, weather they like their room to be on a high floor or low floor and other preferences.
I loved the “physical display” table taken from X-Men, I have a real passion for 3D Modelling and the prospect of something like this just blew my mind. The ability to model a shape or form, and then have it quickly materialize in a static form seems quite beyond our time, but with rapid prototyping machines able to produce models from 3D models quite quickly and extremely accurately, this sort of thing probably isn’t too much of a pipe dream.
Fatherland (1994) (TV)
Punch card computer filing system.This Science fiction film, which looks at an ‘alternate history’ in which Germany won World War Two, and the characters are living in a Modern day (1960 ish) NAZI Germany. I found the punch card computer archive in this film interesting, all of the countries archives were stored and categorised in a large building, and searched and accessed via a punch card computer. Although this isn’t a very unique idea, I really liked the way it was done in the film.
Star Wars (1977) (Film)
Holoboard / 3D monster chess gameI really loved the idea of this thing when I first saw it, it’s a Holographic version of chess, but with the pieces converted into monsters that would fight each other. It’s seen briefly towards the start of the movie, being played by Chewbacca and the droids to pass the time. The game consisted of a round table, about the size of a small coffee table, with a round chequered grid on the surface, which the Holographs were projected off. The players appeared to control their characters with a few buttons at either end of the table.
The Island (2005) (Film)
Internet phone boothThe ‘Internet booth’ consists of what looked like a modern day phone booth, but with an interactive voice recognition computer in place of the phone and phone book. The two main characters use it to search for somebody, and after the person is found, a video link is established between them and the user. I like the way this is quite a feasible artefact, as it uses technology we already have today to a certain degree, and combines them into a simple product that isn’t too far removed from reality.
I found the section on the intelligent shopping assistant in Minority Report very interesting, the virtual shop assistant that logs a shoppers past purchases and uses this information to suggest similar things they may like, And how startlingly similar this is to the software used by many online stores such as Amazon to recommend products to you. This kind of information gathering and analysing also has loads of potential applications other than simply suggesting things we might like to buy, For example at the large hotel I work at part time we use a similar program to keep track of valued and frequent guests, storing things like what kind of food and drink they like, weather they like their room to be on a high floor or low floor and other preferences.
I loved the “physical display” table taken from X-Men, I have a real passion for 3D Modelling and the prospect of something like this just blew my mind. The ability to model a shape or form, and then have it quickly materialize in a static form seems quite beyond our time, but with rapid prototyping machines able to produce models from 3D models quite quickly and extremely accurately, this sort of thing probably isn’t too much of a pipe dream.
Fatherland (1994) (TV)
Punch card computer filing system.This Science fiction film, which looks at an ‘alternate history’ in which Germany won World War Two, and the characters are living in a Modern day (1960 ish) NAZI Germany. I found the punch card computer archive in this film interesting, all of the countries archives were stored and categorised in a large building, and searched and accessed via a punch card computer. Although this isn’t a very unique idea, I really liked the way it was done in the film.
Star Wars (1977) (Film)
Holoboard / 3D monster chess gameI really loved the idea of this thing when I first saw it, it’s a Holographic version of chess, but with the pieces converted into monsters that would fight each other. It’s seen briefly towards the start of the movie, being played by Chewbacca and the droids to pass the time. The game consisted of a round table, about the size of a small coffee table, with a round chequered grid on the surface, which the Holographs were projected off. The players appeared to control their characters with a few buttons at either end of the table.
The Island (2005) (Film)
Internet phone boothThe ‘Internet booth’ consists of what looked like a modern day phone booth, but with an interactive voice recognition computer in place of the phone and phone book. The two main characters use it to search for somebody, and after the person is found, a video link is established between them and the user. I like the way this is quite a feasible artefact, as it uses technology we already have today to a certain degree, and combines them into a simple product that isn’t too far removed from reality.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
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