final presentation day

After a 24 hour push to complete the assignment, study for a structures exam, complete studio work too, Team Slime pulled it together. We were able to create and finish (almost) everything we set out to create, whether that is a "hospital on acid" or a piano-key finger thing, or a piece of art, it was done. I think we all had our own interpretations of what this project became. For me, my hope for the final project was to create something that spoke of my architectural interests. In this regards, the final project definitely carried out some of these endeavors, it had a beautiful spatial quality about itself, which I don't think anyone really expected. The overall form provided motion and intrigue. Unfortunately, the motors purchased were not strong enough or rather provide enough torque to push the acrylic sheets, therefore the project failed due to the lack of glowing algae. With no way to agitate the algae, there was no way to get light. Bummer!

In all, the group worked fairly well with one another. In the beginning we worked great, but as the project progressed, the stress of school and outside "shit" started taking precedent over the project. We all had designated tasks which for the most part we each fulfilled with care and expertise. It was a matter of bringing it all together to create a profound project, which had the motors worked and the algae glowed it would have been.

Task 5 again

As this final idea progessed, we became more and more interested in developing a system to emulate a natural biological experience. The design was supposed to incorporate elements of the built environment we all know and love, as well as elements of a natural biological experience beginning to emerge through this built up world. The structure plays the role of the built environment, and the acrylic sheeting emulates an amoeba like form which could be experienced under a microscope. Here are some concept drawings done by Dave and I:



Dave and I were in charge of creating the form. We used Digital Project to help create a more sound and coherent design by setting up parameters to work within, as well as using them to our advantage. The overall design was to be 6feet tall by 8feet wide, with the potential to swing forward and backwards to agitate the IV bags of bioluminescent algae. In order to fabricate the 1/4" acrylic purchased for these sections I got to learn how to use the CNC router, which was very exciting. The University has a fantastic fabrication lab, and I was glad to be able to utilize it for a project of my own. Here are some fabrication images of the acrylic:\

Task 5 continued Day # unsure

In class Eugene Shteyn was our guest professor/presenter and got the entire class to think critically of the work we were adventuring into for our final project. Our group has already taken drastic turns with our intentions, beginning with a water purification system, to now a sloth-like helio-bot. What was to come next we were not entirely expecting.
Throughout the day with Eugene Shteyn, we were all asked to question our projects and really try to discover the potential in the task as well as pull out issues which still needed to be addressed in order to make a stronger more innovative project. By the end of the day, we realized there was a lot to reconsider for our helio-bot in order to make it as successful as we wanted it to be.
After dwelling upon the outcome of our class period with Eugene Shteyn, the team reconvened, some wanting to move forward with the helio-bot, others wanting to take it back to the drawing board. Back to the drawing board we went.
The new proposals were a success. It would still include algae, and human interaction, but would manifest itself in a new form. No longer a robot, per say, but an "installation" sculpture of sorts. Its overall implications and purpose were still unclear, but we knew it would involve more closely parametric modeling, digital fabrication, algae, and human interaction. All of these were ideas we professed interest in at the very start of the project.

Task 5, Day 4, 10/27/2009

From the previous team meeting, the group decided to follow through with designing a helio-bot, a mobile robot. Some of the characteristics we deemed important to investigate and implement in the design were as follows.

• always follows the sun: energy hungry/social commentary
• algae for hydrogen: perhaps using bio-luminescent algae
• hydrogen and solar cells: hydrogen to generate power for movement, and solar cells to power the "brain" (i.e. GPS)
• acrylic cylindrical tubes to be used as internal light source: bring light inside the algae
• design based off of animals that are sun hungry: cold blooded, reptiles
• waste products: water balloons?

After discussing our ideas for the helio-bot, we further broke down the essentials to have figured out and assigned tasks/research to be fullfilled by the next team meeting

Things we need to discover/figure out

• form
• movement
• algae and process
• materials
• solar cells
• power stats

Again, six topics of research, six team members...everyone had a crucial part in further developing this project

Task 5, Day 3, 10/25/2009

Today the final project was re-directed, we were advised to dwell upon the past solar trackers we created in class and to intensify them, essentially we were to create a glorified solar tracking device.

New Ideas from the group. Brainstorm round 2

• folding
• "Halca Muses-B" satellite
• Hyposurface
• helio-bots
• synthetic tree form
• amphitheater/pavilion
• park - night light
• tents
• back of cell phone: on person (coat, hat, adornment)
• building: windows, walls/facades, roof
• cars
• bridges
• awnings
• bikini
• windshield visor
• sun tea
• sunglasses
• satellite
• balloon/bubble wrap
• lenses - inflatables
• water filled pockets
• parasol
• personality
• chameleon
• vacation: towels, lounge chair
• airplanes
• pool covers
• ski lifts
• boats
• buoy: lily pads, ecology
• algae: bioluminescents, photo reactors
• moonwalk
• seat/shade
• asylum/mattresses

Other topics discussed in this meeting

Things that work as photovoltaic cells

• flexible p.v
• off the shelf panels
• colored panels (light diffusion)
• silicon: single/poly, amorphous
• multijunction devices
• paintable
• polymer

Concentrate/Track the sun

• lens
• balloon
• water pockets
• triangles
• mirrors/reflectance
• mechanized movement
• hyrdrolics/thermal expansion
• hydrasolar trackers

Task 5, Day 2 10/23/2009

Water purification became our first idea. Serve as an educational tool, to be placed in a publicdomain. Some characteristics of interest was for the project to be spatial, looked upon as an object, and involve human interaction. Some precedent studies we looked at included the Blur Building by Diller Scofidio and Renfro, along with the Water Theater by Grimshaw Architects.

Following a class presentation of our ideas, we further broke down the project into categories of research for our next team meeting.

• Filtration types
• sediments for filtration
• cyclical forms
• materials - specifically for distillation
• water testing
• gravity filtration

Six team members, six topics to research

Task 5, Day 1, Brainstorm 10/16/2009

Final Project group and task were assigned. "Each team is required to design, build, program and test a 'heliotropic smartsurface' that makes use of:

• solar energy harvesting
• microcontroller programming (arduino) and circuit building
• Parametric modelling (Digital Project)
• Digital Fabrication

Our first meeting was a brainstorm session, where we tried to develop a sense of what everyone was interested in and eager to pursue for a final project

Interests among group/issues

• inhabitable
• use of fab lab
• human interface
• shelter
• self-contained
• sustainability
• materiality/fabrication
• form
• modularity
• simplicity/elegance
• affordability
• reproducible
• who is the audience?
• use of shortcuts (good/bad)
• wearable?
• solving a social problem, economic problem, cultural problem
• Resources
• cradle to cradle
• decomposition
• energy tapping
• design of the city - urban design, public vs. private
• "rainforest effect" - layering
• connect the future to the past
• Biomimicry - mimic the actions of nature
• kinetic energy - potential energy
• existing energy sources
• something for nothing

Initial Constraints for project after this first meeting

• Urban space
• biomimicry

Glowing Cube

Better late than never...right?

Well for this project, the task was written up as follows:

This exercise prompts you to propose, develop, deconstruct and implement an idea based on the principles of an interactive, heliotropic smartsurface. The smartsurface concept should constitute a set of functionalities that otherwise exist in 3-dimensional space, collapsed into an ostensibly 2-dimensional space, thereby gaining additional functionality and/or appeal.

With that being said, to simplify we were asked to create an interactive smartsurface, which reacts, uses, or responds to the sun (heliotropic). Our initial idea which drastically fell through involved a redevelopment of the "facade." In particular the facade of bar, in our heads, a place which uses no power, or little to no power, during the day and switches the switch for a handful of hours at night. Soooo, why not design a facade covered in solar panels (solar energy harvesting, heliotropism), which could help to collect and harvest energy to power the bar during open hours of business. When the bar opens, this wall of solar cells reveals another layer embedded with LEDs and interactive software helping to not only indicate strong activity outside of the bar but in addition, a means to attract more business inside. The exterior surface would become fully interactive. Some precedents we were inspired by:

Digital Wallpaper: Strukt Design Studio

Hirzberger Events - Digital Wallpaper from Gregor Hofbauer on Vimeo.

You Fade to Light, rAndom international for Phillips Lumiblade

You Fade To Light, rAndom International for Philips Lumiblade from rAndom International on Vimeo.

Hyposurface

From this initial idea, we further developed a more cohesive, feasible, and rather interesting project. We took the same ideas of light, interaction, and solar charging, but implemented this into a very different form. No longer were we stuck designing a facade, but rather an art installation to be set up in the University of Michigan's central campus diag. The design was a simple cube, with removable acrylic panels, which could be self designed to light up with LEDs. An array of these cubes, varying in size would be distributed around the entire diag, creating new means of access as well as travel throughout. The cubes respond to the people walking by via motion sensors; LEDs were programmed to delay in the pattern they turn off. Ideally what would occur is when walking/running/galloping, etc...the lights would trail along the face of the cube with you, as though leaving behind a mark of your existence. This installation would help to initiate new ways to communicate between people and the way we interact with objects, with art, with technology.

2 Week Heliotropic Smartsurface from John Marshall on Vimeo.

Heliotropic Field (aka the acrylic beast)

Following our first study of Heliotropes with task 2: track the sun, it was assigned for us to further explore these concepts and create an entire heliotropic field. Task 3 allowed us to build upon the use of parametric modeling and to further understand Digital Project (software designed off of CATIA and made known by Gehry Technologies). This time rather than using a handheld flashlight as our light source, we programed the final model/device to simulate the path of the sun.

Task (according the professors):

You are to make a heliotropic field that is responsive to the movement of the sun. Use this project to build on previous work and to refine your understanding of a heliotropic system. Is it possible that a shadow of one cell might affect its neighbor? Is it possible for cells to work together to share the available light?

The group for this team project was awesome, we were all on the same page with each other, which made it much easier for us to progress towards a final result. With our initial meeting, we were all eager to get going and figure out the prefect solution. Some of our ideas included indicating light intensity through LED brightness levels, position of the sun (time of day) indicated by LED color (sunrise, high noon, sunset), and perhaps even an alarm of sorts to indicate obstructions (i.e. shadows, loss of sunlight, etc...).

The project ended up being made of acrylic and nylon fishing line. A structural base to support two moving planes (one both move opposite of each, if looking at a traditional x-y coordinate plane, one moved back and forth along the x-axis, the other along the y). On these planes were grids of fishing line to support and hold up our idealized fiberoptic tubes. The concept here is to create an efficient way of transporting light into spaces; fiber optics were chosen for their flexibility and durability.

Pictures finally being uploaded. Big thanks to Z for taking loads of pictures for us.

Heliotropic Field from John Marshall on Vimeo.

Track the Sun

Our first attempt at understanding and exploring the world of Heliotropes. For this second project, out goal was to create a mechanism, or a thing, which tracks a light sources using LDR light depending sensors, arduino, and servo motors on dual axes. After a few arduino tutorials the prior week, we were to build upon the knowledge gathered and alter it to complete the assignment.

The Task (according to our profs):

"Your team's task is to design, build, program, and test a device that tracks a light source (a handheld flashlight). This system should operate on dual axes and be active. Ideally it should be capable of:

• tracking the light horizontally
• tracking the light vertically
• indicating when it is in alignment with the light

For our specific design, we used two servo motors to accomplish the dual axes; one rotates what could be considered the stem, around on the base in the horizontal direction, while the second is affixed near the head (or perhaps flower, if you want) in order to rotate in the vertical direction. In addition, I believe six LDR's were used; two of which to correspond with the horizontal rotation, two of which correspond to the vertical rotation, and the final two are the center points. These central LDR's were added to help indicate the direct alignment with the light source. When the light shines on these two centrally located LDR's a couple LED's light up inside of the base, which is concealing majority of the electronics and wiring to create a cleaner final product.

I want to thank Damien for taking some great photographs of our model/project which you can find on this page at the top and of course thank you to John Marshall for documenting the presentations for our own viewing pleasure

Flashlight Tracker from John Marshall on Vimeo.

Arduino Color Mixing Lamp

Here we have the first attempt at learning how to properly write sketches and organize circuits using arduino. Below is a short video helping to illustrate the mixing of colors and the effects produced by this colorful lamp.

The script is as follows:

int redPin = 12; // Red LED connected to digital pin 12
int greenPin = 11; // Green LED connected to digital pin 11
int bluePin = 10; // Blue LED connected to digital pin 10

// The setup() method runs once, when the sketch starts

void setup() {
// initialize the digital pin as an output:
pinMode(redPin, OUTPUT); //sets the digital pin as output
pinMode(greenPin, OUTPUT); //sets the digital pin as output
pinMode(bluePin, OUTPUT); //sets the digital pin as output
}

// the loop() method runs over and over again,
// as long as the Arduino has power

void loop()
{
digitalWrite(redPin, HIGH); // set the Red LED on
digitalWrite(greenPin, LOW); // set the Green LED on
digitalWrite(bluePin, LOW); // set the Blue LED on
delay(500); // waits for half a second
digitalWrite(redPin, HIGH); // set the Red LED on
digitalWrite(greenPin, HIGH); // set the Green LED on
digitalWrite(bluePin, LOW); // set the Blue LED on
delay(250); // waits for a qurater of a second
digitalWrite(redPin, LOW); // set the Red LED on
digitalWrite(greenPin, HIGH); // set the Green LED on
digitalWrite(bluePin, LOW); // set the Blue LED on
delay(500); // waits for half a second
digitalWrite(redPin, LOW); // set the Red LED on
digitalWrite(greenPin, HIGH); // set the Green LED on
digitalWrite(bluePin, HIGH); // set the Blue LED on
delay(250); // waits for a quarter of a second
digitalWrite(redPin, HIGH); // set the Red LED on
digitalWrite(greenPin, LOW); // set the Green LED on
digitalWrite(bluePin, HIGH); // set the Blue LED on
delay(500); // waits for half a second
digitalWrite(redPin, LOW); // set the Red LED on
digitalWrite(greenPin, HIGH); // set the Green LED on
digitalWrite(bluePin, HIGH); // set the Blue LED on
delay(250); // waits for a quarter of a second
digitalWrite(redPin, LOW); // set the Red LED on
digitalWrite(greenPin, HIGH); // set the Green LED on
digitalWrite(bluePin, LOW); // set the Blue LED on
delay(500); // waits for half a second
digitalWrite(redPin, HIGH); // set the Red LED on
digitalWrite(greenPin, HIGH); // set the Green LED on
digitalWrite(bluePin, LOW); // set the Blue LED on
delay(250); // waits for a quarter of a second
}

The script follows the color progression as describe in lesson 3, but then doubled and reversed for the second half.