Codes from residents help session 9/26:
Simple Slider - http://alpha.editor.p5js.org/mathura/sketches/rJc-SPuiW
MouseFunctions - http://alpha.editor.p5js.org/mathura/sketches/SJfdj8uj-
Mandala1 - http://alpha.editor.p5js.org/mathura/sketches/H1_8TwdiZ
Mandala2 - https://alpha.editor.p5js.org/mathura/sketches/SJRhtgOiW
Pick a piece of interactive technology in public, used by multiple people. Write down your assumptions as to how it’s used, and describe the context in which it’s being used. Watch people use it, preferably without them knowing they’re being observed. Take notes on how they use it, what they do differently, what appear to be the difficulties, what appear to be the easiest parts. Record what takes the longest, what takes the least amount of time, and how long the whole transaction takes. Consider how the readings from Norman and Crawford reflect on what you see.
My immediate thought for this assignment was to write about the new LinkNYC "help" stations, which are these interactive towers that beam WiFi, have a free phone function and also offer various other services for anyone to use apparently for free. So far I have only witnessed people using it for its telephone function, usually standing by it with their own phone plugged into the USB port for power or to to charge it while talking on it. Sometimes talking for a long time, or not just for a short phone call to pass on pertinent information, but a full-on conversation.
Upon arriving home to Greenpoint the other night I also saw one with a big PSA on the side advertising how to donate money to those affected by Hurricane Irma with a large photo of a mother and daughter on it sitting in a devastated environment. It seemed like an effective way to get the word out. It was very bright and in my face. So far I haven't witnessed anybody using it to look for jobs or to ask for help which it also advertises that it does, but I wonder how many people have done that and found the help they needed.
Just for fun I am going to guess which each part of the LinkNYC station does.
1) Wifi (or symbol that it provides wifi)
2) Touch screen where you can look up help (finding jobs, assistance for substance abuse, other problems)
3) Menu?
4) Emergency alert and phone function
5) Charging station
6) External speaker for...announcements? Emergencies?
7) "Advertisements or PSAs go here"
To reflect on the readings from last week also, it does seem like the design of every function here is pretty basic and useful-seeming. There isn't anything about the design that seems superfluous to me. I have yet to actually use the touch screen on one myself but everything else at least seems easy and intuitive for anyone to find or figure out how to use on their own. The only thing is that apparently to use their built in phone function or call 911 you need headphones. Or 911 just comes to the location of that tower when you press that button?
#1: Blinking LED with Switch (after office hours meeting)
#2: Following schematics for Blinking LED with Force Sensitive Resistor
#3: Following schematics for CIRC-17 two LEDs.
I still have to get basics of how to check the continuity on my own and maybe I should be using an auto-ranging multimeter or figure out that function on mine because I'm pretty sure it has one...Or get better at calculating it. Following the diagrams visually is not adding up so I need to be checking that the current is working properly without just following a map. The codes compiled and uploaded for each project but then the switch/touch sensitive resistor did not turn on the LEDs. I feel bad for putting up photos of two nonworking projects! But maybe they will help to at least identify what went wrong here...I also didn't have the 2-pin pieces for the lab with the lab with the force sensitive resistor so I borrowed these from the shop, and I think they are the right pieces? I will continue to work on these and enlist help.
Source: https://itp.nyu.edu/physcomp/lessons/sensors-the-basics/
Many sensors measure movement or distance indirectly, by sending out a pulse of light or sound and reading the reflected signal when it bounces off a target. These are called ranging sensors because they read a range of distance.
Still other sensors work by converting the energy they read into a change in capacitance. For example, accelerometers and other miniaturized electromechanical (MEMS) sensors typically have a tiny moving conductive mass at their core, suspended on tiny springs and surrounded on both sides by electrical contacts. Because the conductive mass is parallel to the outer contacts, a capacitance builds up between the contact. When the mass is moved, the capacitance changes between the two sides, effectively creating two variable capacitors. That variable capacitor is then placed in a resistor-capacitor circuit to convert the change in capacitance into a changing voltage.
analogRead function to find range:
Dividing the project up into the smallest steps really helps (to find where you went wrong - miswiring, missing a pin):
1) Can I talk to the sensor
2) What is its range?
Once you get numbers you need or expect then you can move on.
You probably don’t need to convert the sensor’s readings into its output voltage or its physical property. For example, if you’re using a force sensing resistor, you probably don’t need to know how many Newtons of force are being exerted on the sensor, or what the output voltage is. Instead, you probably just need to know whether someone is pressing gently, firmly, or really firmly against the sensor. Perhaps you just need a range from 0 to 10. When you write your conversion function, consider what the relevant result is for you, and write a function that delivers that result.
Map and directional diagram
(Elevator door opens)
Hello! Welcome to the ITP mars habitat simulator. I’m Gwen, your guide. Come with me.
As you know you’ll be spending the next two years in this self-contained unit, training for your trip to mars.
You’ll be here with the other recruits, testing the limits of human cohabitation, living and learning together.
Let’s take this left here...
(pause, walking, sound of cane and footsteps)
To your left is the Earth room. We are currently testing simulations of different locations on Earth; for recruits to go when they feel homesick
First, we are prototyping a rainforest: (Sound of rain, rainforest animals) …
As well as a field in the countryside (Sound of crickets, running stream)…
And the ocean: (Ocean sounds)
We also are working on a big city: (Sound of New York City, people walking on sidewalks, cars beeping, etc.)
Next I’ll show you where we are building the dorms… Follow me.
(pause walking)
The 3D printers will be moved soon, but they’ll remain in the habitat for repairs and maintenance.
The terrarium will be fitted here by the way, the unit will be self sustained for food and oxygen recycling.
(pause, walking, sound of cane and footsteps)
(Sounds of construction start happening in background)
This is where you and the other recruits will be sleeping. We are installing the oxygen tanks and testing the the cabin pressure.
Hey mark! could you use the oxy-acetylene torch away from the cylinders? You’re going to blow the whole unit sky high!
Let’s go to the meeting room, and meet the other recruits…
I was once a recruit, too, you know. But I had an accident onboard the ship and that’s why I’m using this cane… (Sound of explosions) (People running)
Oh no!
(Sounds of commotion fade out…)
Changing colors of background and shapes:
let bgColor = 0;
let circleColor = 0;
let squareColor = 0;
//change colors on mouse click!
function setup() {
createCanvas(400, 400);
bgColor = random(255);
circleColor = random(255);
squareColor = random(255);
rectMode(CENTER);
}
function draw() {
background(bgColor);
fill(circleColor);
ellipse(0.33 * width, height * 0.5, 100, 100);
fill(squareColor);
rect(0.67 * width, height * 0.5, 100, 100);
if (mouseIsPressed) {
bgColor = color(random (255), random(255), random(255));
circleColor = color(random (255), random(255), random(255));
squareColor = color(random (255), random(255), random(255));
}
}
//function mousePressed() {
//bgColor = color(random (255), random(255), random(255));
//cicleColor = color(random (255), random(255), random(255));
//squareColor = color(random (255), random(255), random(255));
On p5js.org: Source
Rectangle appears....
function setup() {
createCanvas(400, 400);
}
function draw() {
background(220);
if (mouseX > width/2) {
rect(100, 100, 200, 200);
}
ellipse(width/2, height/2, 50, 50);
}
On p5js.org: Source
Circle turns red/purple/blue on x-axis:
function setup() { createCanvas(400, 400); }
function draw() {
background(220);
if (mouseX < width * 0.333) { fill(255, 0, 0); }
else if (mouseX < width * 0.667) { fill (255, 0, 255); }
else { fill(0, 0, 255); }
ellipse(width/2, height/2, 300, 300); }
On p5js.org: Source
Click and drag circle + change color of circle:
let circleX = 100;
let circleY = 100;
let diameter = 150;
function setup() {
createCanvas(400, 400);
}
function draw() {
background(220);
fill(255);
if (dist(circleX,circleY,mouseX,mouseY) < (diameter/2) && mouseIsPressed) {
fill(50);
circleX = mouseX;
circleY = mouseY;
}
ellipse(circleX, circleY, diameter, diameter);
}
On p5js.org: Source
..it is essential that products designed for use under stress follow good human-centered design, for stress makes people less able to cope with difficulties and less flexible in their approach to problem solving. Positive affect makes people more tolerant of minor difficulties and more flexible and creative in finding solutions. Products designed for more relaxed, pleasant occasions can enhance their usability through pleasant, aesthetic design. Aesthetics matter: attractive things work better.
Note that the anxiety produced by walking a plank high in the air -- or even by performing in public -- can be beneficial. Anxiety focuses the mind, reducing distractions. It is when the negative affect is too strong that performance is inhibited, whether because of the fear of falling or stage fright. Some performers welcome anxiety, for they recognize that the proper amount helps them focus and do their best.
Just as negative affect can make some simple tasks difficult, positive affect can make some difficult tasks easier. In a clever set of experiments, Alice Isen has shown that if people are given small, unexpected gifts, afterwards they are able to solve problems that require creative thought better than people who were not given gifts. The positive affective system seems to change the cognitive parameters of problem solving to emphasize breadth-first thinking, and the examination of multiple alternatives. It also has the side effect of making people more distractible.
Good design means that beauty and usability are in balance. An object that is beautiful to the core is no better than one that is only pretty if they both lack usability. In the quest for enhancement of life, let us not be usability bigots. Yes, products must be usable. But all the many factors of design must be in harmony. Marketing considerations must be accounted for, aesthetic appeal, manufacturability -- all are important. The products must be affordable, functional, and pleasurable. And above all a pleasure to own, a pleasure to use.
*Compass Ion Organ is a posture and meditation support belt embedded with sensors which track the curvature of the users spine, and provides feedback for the wearer in the form of visual and sonic information via a microcontroler to software (Max/MSP/Jitter). The belt has a calibration button which can be set for each user in order to give personal readings about their current state of spinal posture. The information coming from the user influences changes in realtime, to visual and/or sonic algorithmic compositions. These are displayed on a large flat panel LCD screen which the user is facing. The compositions for the belt will explore different mathematical principals about balance and order, such as Lindenmayer Systems and Fractals, as well as irregularities, dealing with atonal and chaotic patterns. The feed back of visuals and sound is meant to guide the user into proper alignment and help them maintain it once they have it. The algorithms are designed to reflect balance when the spine is straight and discord when it is not.
Source: https://itp.nyu.edu/shows/winter2007/compass-ion-organ/