Science and Boredom

What I've been doing...

2009-08-20T15:36:00.002-04:00

So despite the delay I now have what I believe to be a rather cunning plan in mind for the piano version of the glove. Before I start work directly on said plan however I am making a couple of small programs for the Arduino to help me gather data to be used as parameters in the final program. These mini programs should also be useful whenever I need to get an idea of an analog sensor's range and behavior, so that should speed up not only this project, but also any others that may follow. I am creating a sort of 'tool kit' for Arduino development. Next on the agenda is getting the program objects and all their methods down on a diagram to alleviate the burden on my brain. Proper coding starts tomorrow?

Wearable Musical Instruments

2009-03-23T09:46:00.003-04:00

I've been working on a group of wearable music instruments for over a year off and on. Although I have spent most of the time trying to figure out everything from haptic feedback to wiring, I am happy to say that I am finally ready to start making the first prototype.

The project started as a request from Cap Blackard for a "music suit" one that he could use to make music while dancing. Needless to say, such a request is deceptive in many regards. From a meta standpoint there was the issue of what gesture or action would cause what result. Technical limitations narrowed down the virtually limitless amount of possible user interfaces, which was helpful, otherwise it would still be an idea floating around forever. The result of this, for now, is that I have three distinct instrument ideas, and the parts to make them.

The basic setup that I'm working with is going to have three seperate parts. Following the path of a single note, we start with one of the three different instruments, the source of the raw data. The next step is the Arduino which takes the data, interprets it, and then sends it along to the Zigbee radio. From here the radio broadcasts from the wearer to the base station's own Zigbee, which in turn passes it to the base station Arduino. Now that the data is in the base station it is either turned into MIDI commands, or is output via an audio circuit (for rather specific effects). From there the computer can use the MIDI notes to play virtually any traditional instrument.

So that's the basic outline of the project. I'll leave off any description of the instruments until a later post.

So I got a little caught up in school...

2008-12-01T15:17:00.002-05:00

Well that and I decided that the investment would not really be a great idea right now. Initially I had thought that I would be able to do minor repairs to the solar system to get it up and operational, since then I have done some research into batteries and found that the lead-acid used in the original set up would most likely be damaged from having been discharged completely (especially over this long a time period). So instead I will be focusing myself toward some of my other interests i.e. reading about artificial intelligence and a disorganized list of other science/tech related books (the result of which will most likely be a ton of impossible to complete ideas, not because they are literally impossible, but rather because of resources, time, people etc). Thankfully winter break is coming up so I 'should' have more time to do that.

What this is about

2008-08-18T20:27:00.002-04:00

The tentative purpose of this blog is to chronicle the ridiculous things I make or do. Having come to the conclusion that South Florida lacks severely in proper nerd/geek culture I, as many have before me, aim to seek refuge and comfort in a glowing computer screen.

With the mild threat that tropical storm Fay posed I have remembered a certain unused solar panel laying around the yard (it had fallen into disuse after hurricane Wilma blew most of the electrical equipment connected to it). My current quest is to use it to make a solar cellphone recharger. The fun part is that in my case I won't need an inverter since I will be turning it into a USB power supply (I have an iPhone). Although it could also be later expanded via an inverter to supply power for all manner of things with the right power regulation.