inflation_attempts

taped_test1

taped_deflated

taped_inflated

taped_inflated

sewed_deflated

sewed_deflated

sewed_inflated

pillow comfort

Due to time constraints we have searched for alternatives of comfortable materials that could invite the user on to the warm floor. The next iteration of finding comfort are... PILLOWS!
Here are some shapes that I thought could be interesting. I modeled them and printed the patters to actually sew one pillow for demonstration. (pics to come soon)

searching for comfort on a floor

Thinking about how to inhabit the floor as a warm surface and play space, here is an idea of the form that the floor could be shaped as.

floor_pattern

Pattern for the floor including musical notes and lighting strips. Each circle represents a musical note. The floor is teak and the lights would be aligned with the grain of the wood.

Also in this image, the sloping edge of the mat to avoid trip hazard.

first attempts....

 

This was the first attempt at making a comfortable piece to go along our floor. The curve would rest along a wall and on the floor to invite the user to lay on the floor. The piece was modeled in Rhino and CNC routed. Then it was glued and sanded. The first attempt wasn't so comfortable. 

folds in Digital Project

One strip fold that when multiplied will hopefully become a surface.

Infographic inspiration

As the group moves along with the development of the radiant floor system for the client, we are thinking of infographics that we can use with thermochromic paint in the area of the house that we plan to install the radiant system. This is an awesome website that I go to to get inspired in graphic design.

 http://www.typetoken.net/tag/iconography/#/icon/analog-controls/

testing folds

As part of the smart surface for my house I'm testing folding techniques that could translate into a form of wall insulation or movable wall panels.

Info on thermochromic paint

Here is the MSDS for thermochromic paint from http://www.ctiinks.com/. They seem to be the most current company using thermochromic paint in commercial applications. I was also able to gather information on how to mix it. We haven't had a chance to test the paint yet, but from what it seems the paint can be mix with different solvents.

inspiration! :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF-YUgZTVSk&NR=1

Inspiration for proposal

In the haunt for inspiration for a smart surface proposal for our clients, I run into this studio that designs furniture and merges technology into it. The most interesting piece is the Minos Coffee Table! which uses thermochromic dye and wires that send heat to form patters. Here is the link! http://studio801.co.uk/works/show/?id=48 Anyways, if anyone out there has experience with thermochromic dyes or materials let me know!
Here is a website that sells testing kits! http://www.thermometersite.com/temperature-research-and-testing-kits/view-all-products.html.

Looking forward to propose an awesome project

Midterm Review

CLICK HERE FOR PRESENTATION

Researching Projects!

Here are some websites that I've run into trying to research inspiration for our project. I found this great project done with a HVAC system!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-HVAC-Servo-ThermostatController/
is nothing super complicated but it deals with a system that is already in place but it makes it better!

Also we order some conductive fabric (my choice) and not knowing what is capable of, I started to research and came across this website! i feel like there so much potential here!
 http://www.kobakant.at/DIY/?p=2789

Romo, the smartphone robot (video)

Had to share it here! :D
http://www.viddler.com/explore/engadget/videos/3310/

Complete Neglect

I know I have neglected the blog! Let this not be any indication of the work being done! actually to the contrary I've been so busy that the blog has landed in a huge pile of to dos! So today I'm attempting to catch up.
I've had a ton of work but with work comes lots of inspiration! :D. It seems that the more I read for school and go to lectures and class, I pick up on the idea of generative design or for lack of a better word... lots of trial and error. Talking about what interested me in terms of studio, my roommate David (an awesome engineer!) pointed me to a cool genetic algorithm (http://www.boxcar2d.com/version1.2.html), this completely relates to my studio which explores the idea of houses and generating many in order to find the IDEAL one!

In terms of Smart Surfaces... well so much has happen! No only are we on our final teams, but I feel like things might start getting more overwhelming. While the other projects didn't really provided me with many skills (which I believe were the goal of the small weekly projects), I did grow a level of tolerance that I think is beneficial when working with many people with many different personalities. While my technical skills in the world of electronics is not yet in the realm of where I wish to be, I hope that my social (tolerance) and communication skills are at a point that we can have a functional team.


I guess the post wouldn't be complete without saying that maybe our first attempt at being a functional team failed (turned in the order sheet way late!). But nothing we can't bounce back from! (keeping the positive attitude!). I'm actually really excited about the possibilities that lie ahead and I think if the level of commitment emerges from the group (people can't force commitment on other people), we can really accomplish something amazing! (crossing fingers!).

As part of taking a handle of all aspects of this class (meeting with people, prototyping, presentation making, making/thinking/and struggling with houses, fighting with digital project) I will (to the best of my abilities) make more contributions to my blog! :D

Lets have an AWESOME week!

100 trials

This semester, as part of our design studio, we are designing 100 "ideal" houses. The meaning of "ideal" is more or less left up to us to decide and figure out. Through this project we are also producing many iterations of some basic geometrical shapes (cube, pyramid, cylinder and sphere) and trying to pick the most "ideal" out of the bunch.
Here is a TED talk that I saw a while ago, and it seems fitting to both studio and how with time the iterations might become better, and also smart surfaces and the idea that we should build on what works. 

:D Enjoy!

http://www.ted.com/talks/tim_harford.html

Some inspiration!

Here is a project that is similar to what my group is doing this week! check it out! http://www.livinglightseoul.net/
This is a little preview to what we'll have for the presentation. More to come soon! :D

house7 _ cylinder+60 deg

house6 _ pyramid (cone)+60 deg

house5 _ cube+30 deg

house4 _ sphere+60 deg

house3 _ cube+60 deg

house2 _ cube+30 deg

house1 _ cube+flat

LEGO inspiration!

My excitement to make something cool in smart surfaces has inspired other people to give me ideas on things to make! My roommate Andrew who as a child was LEGO inventor and enthusiast, enlightened me on Mindstorms from LEGO! Check out the website and some of the sensors and other whatchamacallits! I have no idea if these can be used with arduinos but I think they are awesome! :D
http://mindstorms.lego.com/en-us/products/default.aspx

Check out the accessories and sensors tabs!

Spin Motor Spin! :D

I added a little piece of paper so you could actually see that the motor was spinning! (exciting!)

Small Victories!!

So the motor set up that I had on Thursday was apparently not set up correctly because it did not work! So before I wrote about my failure, I wanted to make sure that I could correctly set up the boards to make the motor spin!! In hindsight I should have taken a picture of the set up I had before and compared it to the one that now works! However, I was so frustrated that I couldn't figure out the wiring or read the schematic drawing that I gave up.. rather quickly! 

Before I succeeded with the motor I did a couple of more tutorials with leds! I follow the instructions from the website recommended by John: http://www.ladyada.net/ .  Even though it was a little time consuming to go step by step (even simple steps I already knew) it was SUPER HELPFUL!! I won't lie, on the 3rd tutorial (http://www.ladyada.net/learn/arduino/lesson3.html) where you are suppose to rewire things based on the schematics... I accidentally burnt an LED (I didn't connect the resistor correctly!). It was a little scary but in my mind one of those inevitable things of playing with it! 

One light just on (no blinking) - starting simple!

After reading the tips on how to decipher schematic drawings I moved on to try to tackle that "spin motor spin" tutorial (I was determined!). So I looked at the few instructions from the CIRC-03 tutorial of the sparkfun guide and I felt like I understood a lot more! I still used the breadboard illustration sheet but I felt a little more informed about the decisions I was making! 

I admit, even when I thought I had everything set up correctly the motor didn't turn on! I found out that the diode was reversed, once I changed it it worked!

Anyway here are some videos and pictures of how my day with playing with the arduino went!

Final set up for the motor

Beginning to set up for the motor

Hello!

Hello!

This blog is part of the Smart Surfaces course, a course that is definitely OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE, but I told my self... how hard could it be? (guess we'll see!).

This blog will serve as a way to keep track of what I'm doing and how I'm doing (honestly right now a little scared of all this wires) and also document inspirations and ideas.

So far, I'm really excited to play with the arduino and the starter kit! I had a small victory on the first day of class when I made an LED blink! :D (believe if I can do it, anyone can!).

Even though I'm not familiar with the technology, I'm extremely interested in machinery and the ultimate goal of the class which is to provide efficient sources of power. I like the idea that at the end I might have the knowledge to maybe produce some gadgets on my own or at the very least be able to communicate effectively with those who can maybe help me with my ideas! 

There will be more to come! I'm waiting to resolve some computer issues but I have my boards set up to get a motor spinning!! I haven't set it into action yet but I'm crossing my fingers!

Wish me luck!