So for my last elective, I chose to try Art and Technology, a mixture of engineering and fine arts. The teams consist of both fine arts and engineering students that worked to create kinetic sculptures, interactive or expressive art piece. For the last project my group decided to create a visual display that corresponds with the heartbeat of the participant. The blue and red colors each correspond to a sensor input and when both the inputs are active the piece generate another motion.
Technical Detail: Taken with the K20D burst mode and then compiled into a flash movie.
For 3 days we worked together in the machine shop during the day and at night worked on the assembly, prototyping, electrical, and programming. This was by far the most last-minute project I have ever done. Much thanks for the Robotics Team for letting us use their space and tools.
[Left] Homemade heartbeat monitors; [Right] The swash-plate mechanism with the LEDs mounted.
6AM: Testing servo assembly with the Audrino microprocessor. The servo would inject so much noise into the system and trigger all the heartbeat monitors.
10AM and we started to assemble the final pieces, the center shaft is in place. [Right] Brandon is taping the commutators for the LEDs.
11AM Installing the fins to the shell. Due to the swash plate design, everything had to be assembled in a very specific order.
We got the piece installed in the Student Life Center and it looked beautiful when we powered it on. Here Brandon is demonstrating to another classmate the idea behind the project. Half way through the show the gearbox blew out so the next day we were back in the machine shop putting in a belt driven system in there…
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That video is pretty cool. I still don’t quite following the “large meaning” behind this? Is there a philosophical twist to it that I’m not getting? haha..
Comment by Horace — April 19, 2009 @ 7:26 pm