For the final project Nataliya and I want to build a (potentially moody) drawing robot. The robot will be powered by 2 DC motors that spin at different speeds depending on the input it is getting from a variety of sources (analog sensors and potentially weather and date APIs). The drawbot will be supported by a pencil on the opposite end to where the wheels are attached. This will produce a triangle and thus give the support for the drawbot not to tip over. Here is a schematic drawing:
Nataliya and I will probably use the laser cutter to print a box that will house the Arduino, the wifi or motor shield, and all the sensors. Here is a front view:
And a side/top view:
We have not yet decided on the sensors. However, it would be nice to use sensors that would elicit a certain response in drawbot. For example, when you get too close, he will scurry away and in the process draw a “picture”. Or when it is dark in the room, drawbot will move rather slowly and produce a different painting based on the speed. Other sensor I am thinking about at the moment are microphones to measure the volume in the room. However, I am unsure about the sensitivity of the microphone (I haven’t worked with it before) so I don’t know how well drawbot could react to that.
If we manage to connect drawbot to the internet, it would be funny to give him different moods depending on the time of day and the weather. He could be equipped with a speaker and he could tell you that he’s in bad mood because of the weather and now is going to draw something in a slow speed because of that.
Target audience:
There is no specific target audience in terms of age. Anyone who is entertained by a little device reacting to environmental influences and drawing a “picture” as a result.
Does it fulfil an existing need?
No, not really.
Does it enhance interaction or human behavior?
No, it’s more like a toy than a helpful device
What parts are needed?
I have looked at two parts that would be more or less expensive. However, I am unsure if they can work together because they use the same pins. So I will have to look into that more. The parts are:
- a wifi shield ($50)
- a motor shield ($25)
The good news is that the eLab has a wifi shield which we could probably use for this project. However, if we end up using both shields, we might have to buy our own shield because we have to change some pins on the board and solder them back on differently.
The motor shield is available on amazon and can be delivered within two days.
what, if any, hardware, mechanical devices, and/or movements will your project involve?
The wheels on the arduino will spin (rotational movement) with the DC motors and cause the drawbot to move (translative movement).
what, if any, Arduino, Processing, or other software applications or libraries will your project use?
Well, it depends on the shield we are using. The wifi shield requires the wifi library and SD card library. The motor shield requires the AFMotor library. If we end up giving drawbot a voice, we need a voicelibrary.
Team members:
Nataliya and I will work together on this project. She is:
- a senior in CAS majoring in Economics with a minor in Web Development and Applications
- great at manufacturing physical component
- the conceptual part is done by the two of use. In our last project she constructed the physical aspect while I did the coding. Maybe we will switch it up this time but that depends on what sensors and shields we will actually end up using.
- a senior in Gallatin and my concentration is "Understanding Modern China through Internet Censorship" and I will hold a minor in Web Development and Applications as well
- good at brain storming and conceptualizing
