Thesis I – Project Blog 10

Lipsync and eye controller added. All blendshapes are done. I wish to add wrinkle maps but currently that has been put on the back burner. Head turns, eyes blink, and lipsync shapes is about 50% done


Working on a procedural car generator. Although I will be reworking the concept to incorporate multiple curves and use sweep or rails.


Background

                        Theme parks are places where families go to let loose and be entertained. They are full of creative art pieces from the overall themes to the attractions themselves. Many artists, designers, and engineers has spent years working on designs to immerse audiences. A great an example is at Universal Orlando Islands of Adventure. There is an area that is dedicated to the Harry Potter universe. As soon as you walk through the entrance, you are immediately immersed. Everything from the ground, the buildings, the shops, sounds and the rides are designed in a way to mimic the books and movies. Places like this can ignite and spark creativity. For me, was the place that inspired my project.

Anyone who has visited any amusement park or resort will agree waiting in line is part of the experience. Knowing this, creatives who build the attractions, design sets that try to distract you from the wait time. One environment that stood out to me was in the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride at Universal Orlando. As you make your way through Hogwarts Castle, you come to a room with a tall ceiling. Within this room are paintings that are assorted on walls above the visitors. If one stood and observed, they would notice these portraits are not ordinary paintings but are animated. They move and talk among themselves. Fooling the visitors into believe they are alive. Seeing this I was amazed. Not only by the presentation and immersion but how people, including myself, were reacting. Visitors were standing around watching and interested in the character, but as they returned, they already knew what to expect. They have lived the experienced. The immersion fell apart because of the repetitions and limited interactions. This problem led me down a tunnel of questions. What would take this concept to another level? What if the paintings saw a person? Or if they responded back to the visitors? What if they would drove a story so each person would have a unique experience every time they visited? How would the audience react? Would they feel for the character? These questions brought my project to life.

Designing my project, I knew I desired to have a painting that could interact with the audience. I wanted a character that would be able to seek and determine the presentence of a person and try to communicate with that person. My curiously lead me to see if I could develop an interaction that could allow individuals to emotionally connect with an artificial being. This was a challenge considering the scope of the programming requirements needed and the limitations of the hardware, but I knew it was possible. As I progressed with the project, I started to see something interesting that happened. Each element of the character became more like me. Visually, the character is an old man, but his personality, intentions, expressions and message are mirror of myself. This discovery encouraged me. It gave me the freedom to communicate a message that could directly affect a person emotionally. As well as giving an individual a unique experience with this character. Although I was startled how much of me is within the piece, I have accepted the result. It brought my own mentality and personality to my attention. In turn, allowing myself to design an experience were the audience can create their own thoughts about the character without knowing they actually met a part of myself.

Box of Life’s Rhythm

Box of Life’s Rhythm

 

Description

Box of Life’s Rhythm is a self-reflection interaction with a box containing a beating heart. The interactor opens and holds the box. As they hold the box, their index finger will lay on the pulse sensor that is located on the left side. Once the pulse is detect, the heart within will began to beat matching the interactor’s own heart rate. Four red LEDs will light up. Two LEDs are static. They illuminate the box and heart. The other two LEDs will pulse to the rhythm of the interactor’s pulse.

*This piece is merely part of a larger idea. There would be two boxes on display facing one another. As the interactors hold onto the boxes, each heart would beat to the other person’s heart rate.

The emotional response expected from this piece would be the feeling of being disturbed but some individuals might be excited and interest. The personal value of the piece was the physical build. Trying to piece together all the components into the box was a challenge. Redesigning the heart to beat with a servo motor. Wires breaking over and over again. The rubber band in the heart not sticking until adding massive amounts of hot glue. A faulty pulse sensor. Even with all those challenges, the build was completed and works as planned.

Sketch

Components

  • 4 330Ω Resistors
  • 4 Red LEDs
  • 9 volt battery
  • Arduino Uno board
  • Black cardstock
  • Cardboard
  • Duct Tape
  • Hot Glue
  • Jewelry box
  • Pulse Sensor
  • Rubber heart
  • Rubber Bands
  • Servo motor
  • Wires

Links to parts

Wooden Box

Heart Prop

Pulse Sensor

Arduino Uno

 

Concepts

The concept of the piece originally bigger scaled interaction that required two people to complete the “circuit”. Once the “circuit” was completed the wavelength would be displayed on the wall along with LEDs that would change color and brightness based off of the signal.

Original Description of “Coupling” – It takes two to be one…

2 people lay their hands on two metal plates. There is one in the middle between them forcing them to “hold hands”. Once their hands are touching the plates, a frequency or current would transmit through them both to the middle column. While this is happening, a picture/video of their unique wavelength is show. Based on the wavelength, LED panels would changs colors based off that signal. The resulting expressions would be curiosity, excitement, and Unity.

 

Concept Description

 

Blog Entry – Research and Project Updates – 2019 #13

This week I have been working numerous projects. First project is my human interaction final. As of now, I am struggling to get an heart rate from skin conductivity. I believe I will have to redesign the project to simulate the heart rate when the box is touched and held. Although I do have some time to develop it before the need to redesign it.

The other project I worked on this week was the 3d digital art final. I finally got a character that “fits” my requirement for the project. Here is a screenshot:

I am going to do a polish pass of the face and detail it out with wrinkles, defects, and to make the face asymmetrical. Also the character’s face has multiple layers that allows me to remove the beard and make the face fuller or not but the only thing I am deciding on is the clothes.  I haven’t figured out the style yet but I am feeling something Victorian or Gothic suit.

 

Tutorials/Interesting Videos:

 

Idea – Beat Box

Idea – Beat Box?

Description

Beat Box is a self-reflection interaction with a box containing a beating heart. As an interactor opens and holds the metal jewelry box, the heart within will began to beat matching the interactor’s own heart rate using conductivity and a servo motor. Four or more hidden RGB LEDs will light the interior of the box with color. The color and intensity will be controlled by the same input data as the heart. Lower the rate, cooler the colors while higher the rate, warmer the colors and brighter it is within the box.

This piece is merely part of a modified version of a final piece. There would be two boxes on display facing one another. As the interactors hold onto the boxes, each heart would beat to the other person’s heart rate.

 

Other Options

  • I would add in a small speaker to create some type of ambient, droning beat to match the heart rate.
  • Instead of a metal jewelry box, the heart would be suspended in the heart within an acrylic enclosure as if it was floating. The interaction would be the same, but the input would have to be adjusted. The viewers would have to lay their hand on a platform for the heart to beat.
  • The last alternative for a gallery version would be the main artist would wear a monitor during the show. The heart would beat in sync with the artist in real time for everyone to view.

Sketch

Components Needed

  • Rubber heart
  • Metal jewelry box
  • Acrylic plastic to split the box
  • Arduino board
  • Servo motor with 2 attachments to push the heart
  • Cloth interior – hide electronics
  • RGB LEDs
  • Arduino battery

Required Outputs

  • RGB LEDs
  • Servo Motor to drive heart

Required Input

  • Metal conductive material to get heart rate

 


 

Thats the Spot!

Thats the Spot!

 

Hardware Components Used

  • 1 Green LED
  • 2 Yellow LED
  • 3 330 Ω Resistors
  • 2 10k Resistors
  • 1 Servo Motor
  • Arduino Uno Board
  • Breadboard
  • 5-volt power
  • Soft Potentiometer
  • Flex sensor
  • Cardboard
  • Ducktape
  • Piezo Buzzer
  • 14 wires

Concept

 

Description:

That’s the Spot! is an interactive game where the interactor controls a servo motor with a soft potentiometer. The motor head collides and bends a flex sensor. As the flex sensor bends, the LEDs will light up from yellow to green. If the interactor discovers the “spot” and holds the position, the piezo buzzer will play a jingle. After the interaction, the system resets and a new spot is selected for a different experience.

As they interact, the interactor should feel determined. They should feel the struggle to find the correct spot to complete the sequence. The personal value of the piece was the challenge of the flex sensor and the board design. Since the breadboard is small, I struggled to create a smooth interaction between the servo and flex sensor. Besides the design, the flex sensor sensitivity is short. I mapped and constrained the values for the interaction to work correctly.

Possible idea for the structure:

I envision this piece as being contained within an acrylic structure with one side being brass. The side of brass would be the interface with the soft pot and LEDs connected too. The rest of the piece would be a clear shell which will allow the interactor to view all the working parts interacting with itself. The style would be a mix of steampunk and sciFi.

To fill the negative space within the shell, there would be a mess of colorful wires. Example: 

 

Spotter #7

Spotter #7

 

Hardware Components Used

  • 1 Photo-resistor
  • 2 Green LEDs
  • 1 Cardboard cutout
  • 2 330Ω Resistors
  • 1 10k Resistor
  • 1 Servo Motor
  • Arduino Uno Board
  • Breadboard
  • 5-volt power
  • 11 wires
  • Light

Concept

 

Description:

Spotter#7 is a little cardboard robot endlessly sweeps 180 looking for a friend.  When it finds a friend, it stops and blinks to show that it has spotted the person. If the person moves away fast, it will continue with its path and keep sweeping. If the person remains for longer time and then moves, the robot will shake back and forth in disapproval. After the reaction, it will begin sweeping endlessly to find a friend.

The emotional response expected from this piece is compassion towards the little robot. The personal value of the piece was the challenge of designing the interaction. Originally, it was designed to use a temperature sensor to detect the interaction. Plans changed when the only sensor I had was damaged and I had to rework the piece. I decided to swap out the sensor for a photo-resistor. Even with the redesign, the piece is enjoyable.

Other Technical Information:

This interactive piece is using a servo and a photo-resistor. It requires a spotlight to light the “friend”. Since the lighting is important with this piece, the photo-resistor can be set for either, back lit or front lit, to make it work correctly. The servo motor has a sweep from 0 to 180. The speed of the sweep is randomized after every completed rotation to break up the repetitions of the piece.

Holo-Pods

Holo-PODs

 

Description

Holo-PODs is an immersive experience that uses real-time data of selected locations around the world. A Pod is about 8’ in height and should be built with a radius wide enough to fit one person. Inside the pod, the viewer will be able to see a video playback from the live feed of the 360 camera. The viewer will be able to turn fully around inside the pod to see everything as if they were there at the location. The location device will also have a photo-resistor which will send brightness data to an array of LED lights which are built into the pod to simulate the lighting – Sunlight, Moonlight, ambient lighting. Another sensor on the device would be the temperature sensor which is capturing the location’s temperature in real-time. The temperature data will be connected to the environmental control of the pod. An example, the location is the Grand Canyon which is at 90 F, the pod would make sure it is the same at 90 F.

The piece is to immerse the viewer and to “teleport” them to a location in a instant. Most importantly this interaction is meant for an escape of daily life. It invites the user to relax and experience parts of the world in a flash by walking into one of the Holo-PODs.

A few expected emotional responses could be excitement, happiness, and to be surprised.

I was inspired by another fellow graduate student with their concept of a 360-blogger hat that would be experience through VR. Another inspiration would be from Star Trek’s Holodeck.

 

Inspirational Images/Components used in my Design

https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Star-Trek-Transporter.jpg
https://img-s3.onedio.com/id-58a17d1a69f471a201300837/rev-0/raw/s-b14223fecb985d39bf3ef754d7b13ed9924874fc.jpg
https://scifanatic-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/realholodeck-head.jpg

Sketch

Components Needed

  • A location device
    • 360 camera
    • Temperature Sensor
    • Photo-resistor
    • Cellular data or WiFi
  • Pod structure
  • Projector (to project the video) or a flexable LCD screen (OLED?)
  • Temperature control for pod
    • Heater
    • Coller
  • Array of LEDs

Floating Pyramid

Floating pyramid

 

Description

Floating pyramid is an acrylic pyramid filled with magnetic fluid and water that is attached to a stand. The pyramid’s rotation can be manipulated 360 degrees by the user. Within the pyramid contains magnetic fluid called ‘ferrofluid’ and water (or some type of liquid that allows the ferrofluid flow freely). To control the ferrofluid, there are 6 electro-magnets that the viewer can stick on the pyramid. The power of the magnets can be individually controlled using 6 potentiometers.

Everyone is an artist and the goal of the piece is to allow the viewer to create their own unique art piece by using the pyramid and the use of the shadows created by the fluid.

 

Inspirational Images/Components used in my Design

https://i2.wp.com/ae01.alicdn.com/kf/UT8b72EXWJbXXagOFbXQ/Free-Shipping-Ferrofluid-A-Bottle-Magnetic-Liquid-Neodymium-Magnet-Office-Toys-Science-Decompression-Novelty-Creative-Toys.jpg

https://images.vat19.com/covers/large/ferrofluid-in-a-bottle-display.jpg

https://sc02.alicdn.com/kf/HTB15ukkLXXXXXXWaXXXq6xXFXXXY/china-supplier-new-style-wholesale-acrylic-plexiglass.jpg_350x350.jpg

 

Sketch

Components Needed

  • Ferrofluid
  • Acrylic container aka the pyramid
  • Spotlight
  • Potentiometers
  • Electro-Magnets
  • Arduino board
  • Metal/Plastic structural pieces

Simon Says…PhotoResistor

Simon Says … Photo-resistor

Hardware Components Used

  • 1 Photo-resistor
  • 1 RGB LED
  • 1 Yellow LED
  • 4 330 Ω Resistors
  • 2 10k Resistors
  • 1 Switch
  • 10 Wires
  • Arduino Uno Board
  • 1 Breadboard
  • 5 volt power

Concept

 

Description:

Simon says…Photo-resistor is an interactive game using a photo-resistor as the main input for the experience. As the user presses the button, the game begins. The RGB turns white and begins the blue blinking a randomized sequence. The number of blinks is the required number of times the user needs to flash a light towards the photo-resistor to win the game. During the “input” phase, the RGB led light blinks RED and GREEN indicating the time left. If the player fails to complete the sequence, the RGB LED will turn RED indicating they failed. If the player completes the sequence, the RGB LED will turn GREEN indicating they have won.  After the complete phase, either win or lose, the game will reset and idle until the button is pushed to start again.

As this piece resembles a game, the emotional response would be excitement, panic, and joy. The personal value of the piece was the challenge of coding and using a photo-resistor. As it was the first time I would have worked with one, I ran into some issues with calibration. Ultimately, I believe this piece was sacksful. It allowed me to push myself and try something different that was out of my comfort-zone.