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| Front view |
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| Top view |
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| Side view (right) |
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| Back view |
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| Side view (left) |
Intended audience:
This toy is intended for children over the age of 6 years old. The box invites the user to explore its shape and its functions. There are three triggers/sensors - a potentiometer, a photometer, and a press sensor. When a sensor is deactive - a corresponding green LED is pulsating. After triggering, the green LED is turned off and in turn a red LED is turned on (not pulsating).
Only after the first sensor (the potentiometer) is dialed it to the correct resistance, the next sensor (the photosensor) can be triggered. This is done physically (i.e. no Arduinoe needed in this step) by connecting a wire from the potentiometers red LED to the photosensor circuit.
Once the photosensor circuit triggers the red LED, the press sensor can be manipulated. Once all three sensor are at the correct value, the blue LED in the middle/top will be turned on.
Capibilities:
The shape of the toy invites the user to explore the toy in three dimensions, i.e. the user needs to turn and the box in order to discover all the sensors. Also, the placement of the LEDs seems random, i.e. the LEDs corresponding to a sensor are displaced so the user needs to trigger a sensor and observe all sides to see which LED just turned off/if anything happened.
Limitations:
I first wanted to build a sphere, making the interaction a little more abstract. This is because a sphere does not have difinitive sides, making it harder for the user to explore and navigate the object. The wiring also is very sensitive - I used wrapping wire which was very good. However, I was unsure how to really connect the sensors to the Arduino. After sleeping a night over it, I came up with a better idea I will be able to use next time.
Affordance:
There are 3 affordances: turning (potentiometer), covering (photometer), and pressing (press sensor). All of these are of course connected to/reliant on observation of the LEDs.
Testing:
Unfortunately I do not know any small children in NYC so I used my roomates.
I tested my toy with my roomates in two stages: in the breadboard stage and the physical stage (i.e. the final product). During the breadboard stage, my roomates had a very easy time figuiring out the triggers becasue the LEDs where placed right next to the tirggers. Thus, there was no exploration of the actual object needed.
During the final test, my roomates needed to inspect the object in order to understand the sensor layout as well as to explore the effects of the triggers. Thus, the physcial object added another layer of complexity and interactivty to the toy.
