Lab 6: Being creative with sensors and actuators

Make sure you have watched the videos related to class meeting 5 and the slides from class meeting 6 before starting this assignment.
As always, read the description carefully.
This assignment divided in 2 lab sessions, so you don't need to submit before the second session. If you want feedback right after session 1, you can submit preliminary ideas/codes/video and clearly indicate that it's preliminary and that you're only looking for strictly formative feedback. In any case, we can also provide live feedback in supervision sessions, if you're using this assignment as a building block of your final project. 

When designing interactive systems, we need to do more than just connecting sensors with wires. For instance, to use a flex sensor, we will have to build something to attach it to, so that sensors can be properly activated through interaction. Then, we will need to tune thresholds and filters to work in that particular setting. This is also the case for actuators. 

In this lab, you will focus on prototyping an interactive installation using cheap materials such as cardboard, paper, wood, silk paper, wires, ropes, textiles, and so on. You can also reuse (upcycle) other stuff such as a chair, couch, carpet, box, musical instrument, ball, skateboard, bike, door, or other things you have around and want to give it a new life. Why not visiting the recycling room at your building? Use your imagination and be creative! 

Your prototype should contain both embedded sensors and actuators and give an intentional interactive experience (i.e. not a random, arbitrary mapping between sensors and actuators, but a designed interaction, e.g. an artistic one, a functional one, or a combination).

Sensors should be used creatively. What does creatively mean? Try to think about what each of your sensors could be used for, instead than the low hanging fruit. For instance, a button can be embedded (and kept invisible) as a regular button, and placed to detect a change in the environment. A temperature or humidity sensor could be used to detect human breath. Ask questions such as: Can we detect if someone is sitting on this chair with “this” weird sensor? Try to challenge yourself! Try using the methods in class meeting 6 to push your ideas into creative thinking. 

Actuators should also be used creatively. For example, ask yourselves: isn't it a pity to use an LDR as a binary sensor? (i.e. to use a threshold to separate the signal into just 'dark' or 'light') You could instead use this rich signal to control something else in a much more nuanced way. Or, if you have a screen, you could for example place the screen inside some paper tube to create a binocular, or something to look inside! LEDs could be hidden behind other materials such as glass or textiles to create nice effects. If you want to use Processing you can try to give the screen a place and purpose in your installation and instead work more on packaging the sensors (and on hiding the keyboard of the laptop).
If you want to use servos or DC motors, you will have to work more mechanically, in a quick and dirty way. For inspiration see, for example, Charles and Ray Eames' classical do nothing machines. 

Inspo example: SOLAR DO-NOTHING MACHINE Links to an external site.

Try to work quickly when you prototype, then incrementally improve it as new ideas emerge. Oftentimes our initial intentions do not work out in practice and we need to rethink and change strategy. 

You can (and we recommend you to) use this lab as a practice for your final project, and reuse some or all of the ideas that you come up with now. For this reason it's important that you take your time to do this assignment and employ some of the methods you learnt in class meeting 6. And what about also using conductive materials you explored in lab 3? Or making your own sensors or actuators inspired by the videos on e-textiles and crafts? What about asking in MIDDLA if there are new sensors or actuators available for you to use, or interesting materials to collect? 
Whenever in doubt, as your teachers during lab sessions, or writing in the forum. 

1. Lab procedure (start as early as it becomes available, waiting too long will hinder your final project): 

There is not a fixed procedure, it is up to you how to organise the work.

Once you are ready to submit the assignment, this is the checklist of things to upload --and that, you guessed, we will enforce when grading because otherwise we can't assess your work--:

1. A descriptive video documentation in the form of a show and tell explaining each part of the prototype, including: 

1. 1. How it is constructed. Clearly show it in camera, while describing the components in use and their wiring. As in previous labs, be specific when describing the wiring. Imagine that someone watching the video and having the same hardware might want to replicate what you did. Mention the communication protocols you used, as well as your sensors and actuators. 
      
   2. What the code does. Walk us briefly through it, explaining how it works. Don't spend too long on this part, as the interaction is what matters the most in this assignment.  
   3. How one interacts with your prototype. Show the interaction in action, with both the sensors and the actuators (and with sound if this is relevant), and the conceptual idea behind it if it's not evident. 

2. The code.

3. A picture of the prototype (you will reuse it in the final project, at least to show the design process and how it evolved!)

4. A text with a short reflection on what you learnt, what changed with respect to what you planned at the beginning, what problems and challenges you had, and what could be improved.

5. You can write an optional, brief piece of feedback explaining if you struggled with anything in the description of this assignment (not its resolution) and your suggestion for improvement. You can upload this together with the previous files, or as a submission comment.

Just like in the previous lab, you can also choose to include sketches and descriptions of ideas that you wanted to implement but didn't succeed or didn't have time to do. Or any trace of the design methods that you learnt in class meeting 6 and that you would like to show off a bit :) 

2. Lab sessions (there are 2!): 

During the two lab sessions, the teachers will be available to help you if you have got stuck with the assignment.
For those connecting remotely, we will use a queuing system to make it fair and organised. So, if you have trouble completing the lab AND after looking for info online you are still stuck, OR towards the end of the session you simply want to show us what you did, then you sign up here:  https://queue.csc.kth.se/ (look for DM1588).
Please indicate there your group number, your Zoom meeting link (make sure it is not password protected) and whether you require help or just want to show us your nice results (this is optional). When it is your turn, a teacher will join your Zoom meeting and will label your group in the queue as being helped.

We also have physical classrooms assigned to us along the course (you can see this on the official schedule in KTH Social). We will do our best to have at least one teacher physically there (maximum 2 teachers) to help those who really want in-person assistance. This will depend on how we assess the risks regarding the pandemic, which may change from one week to another, so please let's be patient with each other and respect social distance, etc. You can also use the classrooms during the assigned slots if you need a space to gather with your group, even if you don't need the teachers' assistance.