Week 10: Automating Paper Hand
This week started with an arduino workshop followed by making my paper hand move with the thread tied to a servo motor.
① Arduino Workshop
During the first workshop, the atelier was introduced to the different components of an Arduino kit and the resources available online to get started in arduino.
We were then introduced to the different components such as motion sensor, light sensor, etc, and the one that I found partcularly simple and straightforwatd was the servo motor.
Introduction to Arduino workshop by Andreas Schlegel 11 Oct 2024
Arduino, Potentionometer, Breadboard and Jumper Wires 11 Oct 2024
Set up connected to Arudino IDE 11 Oct 2024
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Simple Set Up for Potentionometer (input) to light bulb (output) 11 Oct 2024
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Set Up x3 light bulbs *party mode*!!! 11 Oct 2024
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② Buying my first Arduino!
Going to an electronic store can be intimadating so the best I could do was to prepare a shopping list. Sunlight @ Sim Lim Tower at Rochor, Singapore, has pretty good staff that are willing to assist in your questions.
After shopping for close to an hour, while googling and making assumption of the compenents, I got seven items which amounted to $86. The experience was a tiny bit scary, expensive but everything felt a little better after I was greeted by a heart from the Arduino.
Shopping List 16 Oct
Goods from electronic store ‘Sunlight’ @ Sim Lim Tower, Singapore
Left to right: Breadboard, Arduino, M/F and M/M Jumper wire, Tower Pro Micro Servo 9g SG90 (motor), small bulb and LDR
My Arduino First Light Greeted by a heart
③ Incorporating sensor into paper hand 🔎
Keeping things simple, the first thing I tried was to get the motor moving. It opened Arduino’s website to get a sample code for motor and within 30mins I got the motor to move.
Servo Motor example – Arduino IDE
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My first time getting a Sevo Motor to move 11 Oct 2024
- Next, I explored how I can incorporate the pulling mechanism of the prototype to the servo motor. My first idea was to makeshift a coiling mechanism for the string. So, the first iterations included chopstick, tapes and wallplug.
- One of the major component in this set-up is the importance of keeping both the motor and prototype stucked to the surface. Although the tape worked for the prosthetic, the tape holding down the motor kept breaking off each time it moved. The coiling method did not work either. Neither did simplifying the coiling prototype helped.
Tools to create a coiling mechanism – Chopstick, Wall Plug, Blade (provided w Servo Motor) and Tape
First coiling protoype - failed
Testing - Failed
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Second coiling protoype - failed
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Feeling frustrated I asked Tammy for help and she suggested why don’t I just tie the string into the holes of the motor blade. To solve the tension problem between motor and prototype, I decided to make use the table and more tapes to provide better support.
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This set up was successful and some of the key factors were (1) building good tension between motor and prosthetic and (2) tying knot straight onto the provided blades of motor.
Tying knot on to blade itself
Table edge as a support for better tension between prosthetic and motor
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Video testing - success!
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Greeting fake hand 16 Oct 2024
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Reflection:
The prototype is successful however it did not have the same intimacy as before. The first prototype felt more intimate as there was an input and output by human efforts. This prototype only has an input and output that is pre-determined. Hence, my next iterations would involve another sensor as input.
④ Interviewing People about what they would want to touch if they could touch anything. 🔎
After this, I was curious about what people wanted to meet hands with - like “what is something untouchable that people want to touch?”. Providing simple context and video reference, I asked people around my age group what is something untouchable you want to touch?
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"I want to touch people's heart" Chunying, 24
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“I want to touch people’s mind, heart… and just things that out of this world lah” “…I want to touch stars!” Jane, 24
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“But, every particle of every thing on earth are simply stardusts. We are already touching them” Anna, 24
- so, my interpretation of Anna's interview was a suggestion to use dusts as a material for touching stars. cool. i didn’t know i was so close to being one w the stars.
Self-portrait Taken by Anna
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The interviews were helpful in
knowing people around my age have the desire to
form emotional
connection with the natural (physical) world.
Holding hands are intimate for humans. Science has an explanation called the 'oxytocin', often called the "love hormone" or "bonding hormone as it evokes a sense of security and closeness. Throughout history, humans have always engage in their sense of touch for survival, relying on close physical proximity to form social bonds and ensure protection within groups.
'Nature is Intimate' Week 2 CPJ Header Picture
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However, the idea of physical closeness blurs as we
enter a digital age where our senses and
perception are constantly shaped and altered with
technological devices.
Acknowledging the good and bad of electronic devices between humans, my question lies with the non-humans. In what ways might sensing machines (or electronic devices) mediate social bonds between humans and non-humans, raising questions about the nature of mutual protection and intimacy in interactions like physical touch or holding hands?
Week 10: Feedback & Reflection
It wasn't much of a feedback but more of a appreciation for my creative journey and expression. I was then introduced to a online seminar of 'A Knowing Wrongness' by Fraser Muggeridge - a graphic designer who did his PHD thesis on unconventional approaches and 'interuptive' methods. I was also told that this approach is a risk because I do not know where this exploration will end up as but I was encouraged to keep exploring various senses and sensors. It was also implied that I should watch the online seminar and recosider the trajectory of my reserach.