Kinetic Object Prototype

This week I made a kinetic prototype using simple materials and mechanical mechanisms. I was initially inspired by kinetic art that can create optical illusions in their work. I wanted to use some of the movements commonly used in optical illusion objects in my prototype. Instead of creating an optical illusion, as I was building the object I thought it started looking like a crazy clock. I decided to lean into that and created a crazy cat clock!

Here is a video of the prototype:

Here are some photos:

If I continue to make an object with this type of motion I would like to explore how I could turn this motion, or even the cats specifically, into an optical illusion. I would also want to use a similar shape to the clock body that I have now, but I would want to make that shape all the way around, so it would look more like one solid object. Lastly, this kind of object could quite easily be controlled with a motor, which I would want to be continuously circling, with variable speed.

Thanks for a great semester!

Comments

Interactive Object Proposal

I want to create an object that is able to generate 6-word stories with the help of user interaction. It is based on a combination of a few ideas. Those machines in arcades with the circling lights that you need to press at the right time to get a lot of tickets. Combining this with ‘story’ creation is my way to make fun of AI-generated text, which I am not a fan of. The idea of the 6-word story comes from two things: Wired magazine, where people are prompted to create a new 6-word story each month, and an AU Arts class called Words at Work. We had a warm-up activity called Proverb where we stood in a circle and each said a word until someone declared that it was a proverb, then we wrote down the sentence and started again. Here is the arcade game I was talking about: The object will be a circular or square box with a 'spin-the-wheel' set up with words in a circle. The words will be chosen from the inner-most circle to the outer-most circle. Each layer of words will be part of ...

Interactive Object: Progress 1

This week I worked on the code for this project and created the graphics for the top of the object. I am also planning the object's design, as I have decided to 3D print it. I think I have settled on the size and style of the object, which is a simple circular container with a lid. What I am still stuck on for the object is how to incorporate a button. I kind of want to have an oversized spring-loaded button, but I'm not sure how to incorporate that into the object. It could either be in the centre of the object, or it could be below the neopixels on the lid. Sketches for box size and style: Here is the graphic I created for the words on the object: The code for the light circling the object is working. I now need to figure out to get it working with a button. Based on what I have been reading it might be best for the button to change the 'state' of the neopixel, but I don't totally understand how to incorporate that with my current code. The reason I need the stat...

Interactive LED Circuit

This week I applied some of the in-class coding lessons to an interactive LED Circuit. My main idea was to create a system where half the LEDs go off and once interaction happens the other half would go off. In the simple example, I created this week, the 1st, 3rd, and 5th light go off together in a row, then the 2nd and 4th go off together once the potentiometer changes reading. I found success in creating what I wanted to for this week, though I certainly see the potential for similar code to be used on a larger and more complex scale. For more on that see the end of the post. The challenges I encountered were mainly associated with knowing how to order the code for it to work properly. I knew all the pieces necessary for this idea to function, but I wasn't sure what had to happen first. Once I was able to figure that out, the code worked well. The only problem that remains is the last LED in each light sequence doesn't fade in and out, it just flashes on. I still don't ...

MADT 304 - Nadia Perna

Search This Blog