This afternoon we had our final presentations for project one, with members of the museum staff on hand to view our results. Above is a short recording of the visuals when wobbling on the balance board, and below are some stills, with some explanation. Overall the simulation has been made to look like a live video feed from the Karori Sanctuary, along with a status indicator to aid in achieving balance. The final Quartz Composer file can be found HERE
Board in centre position
When the board is centred and in balance, many native birds (Kiwi, Weka, Kaka and Bellbird) slowly appear, and move through the environment. The background is aligned, and the environment status reads good. The sounds of the native birds would be looping so long as the board is aligned.
Board is slightly misaligned in any direction
As the board moves out of alignment, the environment twists and distorts and the the camera filter becomes more desaturated, visual cues that something is wrong. Some of the birds begin to disappear, and a stoat appears in the background.
Board is fully out of alignment, in any direction
When the board is fully misaligned, the environment is dramatically skewed from its original position, and the camera filter provides an orange/brown indication that the situation is dire. The environment status reads critical, all the birds have gone, and are now replaced by ferrets running about the forest. The user now must really work to balance the board to bring the birds back.
Unfortunately I found it nearly impossible to calibrate the controller fully, and even once it was it would quickly jump out of alignment if the board moved too quickly. However, overall I feel that the project has been quite successful, I have learned a lot about Quartz and Macs in general, and have enjoyed being able to construct the controller. I can see some of the knowledge gained being helpful in the future if I ever need to construct circuits, even though I’ve built circuits before, but not this sensitive.
Here are some photos of my final controller for the project. Built in half the time as the mock-up, and to a much better quality and strength. Unfortunately it isn’t very sensitive, so my quartz patches will need 2 use multiplied mouse values.
The final controller has been constructed from solid treated timber, not only for strength but also for the aesthetic of a DOC platform or something typically found in a reserve.
Larger gaps between the members mean it is very hard for body parts to get trapped, and the stretchy fabric cover all but eliminates the problem. It can also serve as an attachment point for further aesthetic modifications.
The mouse board and wheels, hooked up to the axles. The large hollow axles provide good strength, make for a smoother rotation and allow the cabling to pass through.
Here is the final mock-up balance board I have created for the project, along with another quartz experiment. The key things I’ve learned from building this is firstly to use thicker axles, for holding more weight and providing smoother movement, and using thicker wood both for added strength and aesthetics. Another key point brought up in the group review stage was that there was a distinct possibility of children getting fingers caught between the elements, and this will also be looked at.
Some more photos of the construction progress, the axles epoxied in place and the pullies that will link to the optical sensors from the mouse.
I have started construction of a full scale mockup of my balancing controller, starting with the base and the first inner frame. I’ve also got my mouse apart and will be taking the optical sensors out and placing them into new circuit boards.
On Thursday we had our initial concept presentations to the class, tutors and a member of the museum staff. My powerpoint slides are below, explaining my concept of restoring balance. The key comments I took from the critique were that the controller would be difficult to build and be strong enough, although I’m quite confident I could do it. Also, that the idea of physical balance might not transpose well into the concept of ecological balance, which may result in people trying to do the opposite..
Overall I’m still quite confident that the idea can work, and I’ll be continuing to develop it.
For project one I’ve chosen the story of 1995 from the Museum of Wellington’s ‘Telling Tales’ exhibition, which is about the creation of the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary Trust, which ultimately led to the construction of the 250Ha Karori Wildlife Sanctuary itself, enclosed in a pest-proof fence.
My first two quartz experiments I’ve done are below (screenshots coming when I next get on a Mac (filthy machines!!))
Experiment 1: Crazy colourful twitchy mouse following balls
Experiment 2: Kiwis vs. Ferrets
Kiwis in the forest
Sunday 13th July 2008
On Thursday I rode out to the landfill and picked up three ball mice. Heres the little bugger thats getting the chop first!
Will also head into uni today to do some experimenting with Quartz Composer, and those files should be up by tomorrow, when we have our visit to the museum the project is to be based around.
Tuesday 8th July 2008
The first post of the year
This will be my DMDN305 blog, where I will document my progress throughout the duration of the course, and post any other interesting or otherwise relevant Digital Media content.