MDDN 241: Poster

MDDN 241: Final Animation

MDDN 241: Development of sound

MDDN 241: Animation no sound

MDDN 241 : Sounds

The main background song i intend to have for my animation is Lightless Dawn by Kevin Macleod (Royalty free Music). It creates an eerie, mysterious kind of feel but also makes it seem a bit more like an adventure, which is the outlying important idea behind the animation. The short character, Crank, is lonely and wants a friend, until he finds the tall character, Clinkz. Crank will follow Clinkz anywhere just so he could have a friend, even though following him may get him hurt and he gains nothing from it.

http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?keywords=lightless+dawn&Search=Search

MDDN 241: Rendering

All of the scenes have finished rendering! YAY! Im currently in the process of adding sounds to the final product and make it fantastic! In the mean time, here are some more rendered scenes!

MDDN 251: Fried Sensor

As i was linking up the sensor to the circuitry with the LEDs connected and the code written out, i managed to accidentally plug the wrong wire into the wrong place. This resulted in SMOKE coming from the motion sensor, it being so hot that i burnt the skin off my thumb and the sensor no longer working.

I FRIED A SENSOR!

This is really unfortunate, and it means i have no sensor unless i scavenge something from another device. The place that i purchased the sensor from in the first place would take to long to deliver a new sensor, which means i can't purchase from there again. Fantastic.

This is a really unfortunate event results in me not having a final prototype to present to the class, but just working off images and videos i have taken before the sensor fried on tuesday morning. Hopefully imagery is enough.

MDDN 251: Video of work

MDDN 251: Images of Final

MDDN 241: Milestone

Milestone - Out of the total 26 scenes that will make up the entirety of the animation, i have fully rendered 16/26. Things are coming along great, and scenes aren't taking overly long to render the passes.

MDDN 241: Some rendered shots of my environment and scenes

MDDN 251: Mistake and new concept

So i made a foolish mistake with the concept that i originally had and the motion sensor i had purchased. The PIR motion sensor is an "OFF" or "ON" type of sensor, which meant that it either detected motion or it didn't. Sadly for me, i realised this quite late into the assignment and didn't have a chance to right my wrong while at the same time fully completing the prototype. The type of motion that my chosen concept entailed was more of a webcam type motion detection. It pays to read fully about the type of component you're purchasing before you do so. Therefore, to use this new motion detector that I have purchased, i need to change my concept.

My first idea of a new concept was to create a motion responsive Night Light for toddlers. The way that it would work would be the motion sensor would detect the movement in the restless child at night, thus turning on an LED that would illuminate a section of their room in a soft light. Then once the child falls asleep and is still, the motion detector will not sense any motion, and will turn off after a certain amount of time. For example, if the child is still for more than 20 minutes, and the sensor is off for that long, the sensor will automatically shut down until the switch is reset the next night. This is implementing a power saving method that most other nights lights don't use, making it more unique. Also, there will be a sound detector that will make the night light run as well, which remains on but only has a small amount of detection, so the light will turn on if the child is loud enough for example, waking up at night and crying, calling out, going to the bathroom etc. will all make the light turn on.

MDDN 251: Motion Sensor Connection

The motion sensor has been purchased and the connection is as shown above. The resistor isn't necessary to run the motion sensor i have found despite stating on some websites that it is. They state that the SparkFun PIR motion sensor has an open collector output - this means that the sensor requires a pullup resistor so that the output is always high, and when triggered it will put the output low. I found this code that inputs "Motion Detected" when the sensor detects motion and "Motion Ended" when the motion is not detected.

The code is as follows:

/* PIR sensor tester*/

int ledPin = 13; // choose the pin for the LED
int inputPin = 2; // choose the input pin (for PIR sensor)
int pirState = LOW; // we start, assuming no motion detected
int val = 0; // variable for reading the pin status

void setup() {
pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT); // declare LED as output
pinMode(inputPin, INPUT); // declare sensor as input

Serial.begin(9600);
}

void loop(){
val = digitalRead(inputPin); // read input value
if (val == HIGH) { // check if the input is HIGH
digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); // turn LED ON
if (pirState == LOW) {
// we have just turned on
Serial.println("Motion detected!");
// We only want to print on the output change, not state
pirState = HIGH;
}
} else {
digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); // turn LED OFF
if (pirState == HIGH){
// we have just turned of
Serial.println("Motion ended!");
// We only want to print on the output change, not state
pirState = LOW;
}
}
}

Don't forget that there are some times when you don't need a microcontroller. A PIR sensor can be connected to a relay (perhaps with a transistor buffer) without a micro!

MDDN 251: Assignment 2 Proposal

Assignment One Prototype Description

In the previous brief, I had proposed to create an electronic object using the screen from an analog alarm clock and the microphone from a guitar tuner. This resulted in adapting the lights on the analog display LCD screen to light up and create patterns as a certain level of sound is recorded in the microphone. The volume of noise was put through Arduino and certain output on the serial monitor was read, which in turn displayed the speed of the patterns on the display.

This proposed design was reflected in the final prototype, which accurately displayed the effects that was trying to be achieved. When music, for example, was played into the microphone of the device, the lights would synchronize with the beat of the song. When there was a loud beat or a sharp tone, the lights would flash rapidly. When the song was quieter, the lights would disappear and the screen would be black. Also, when all of the instruments were played at their loudest, the lights would flash erratically and create a pattern. This was the proposed effect that had been achieved.

To further develop the designs from Assignment One, additional items would be required. For example, a larger LCD screen would make the project more intense and provide a larger area to work with. Incorporating different sensors rather than just a volume sensor, that can detect a larger variety of things such as motion sensors, infrared sensors, electro-optic sensor etc. could provide a larger potential of development to the prototype.

Proposal One

By connecting the Arduino program to Processing, a wide variety of outputs are now available to experiment with. To develop the use of responsive lights to an input of human interaction, using a sensor would be the main component to incorporate that interaction. Motion sensor would be the most effective component to use to develop the prototype to further achieve greatness.

Wiring the Arduino to a motion detector for the input would make the interaction movement which is a development from the sound sensing microphone. Then Arduino would be connected to Processing. This connection will allow the use of digital output rather than a physical output. Arduino would sense where the movement is occurring on the area that is being sensed by the motion sensor (in a designated space on the ground). The output from this motion interaction would be displayed from a projector connected to the computer running Arduino and Processing. On the screen would be a pattern that resembles the movement input.

For example, if the interaction was a person swinging their arm across the detection space, the output would be a flashing pattern across the screen. Or if a person jumped up and down in front of the detection space, the pattern would be flashing on the screen in an up/down motion.

Required Parts:

·        Arduino System

·        Processing System

·        Projector

·        Motion Sensor

·        Wires

·        Microcontrollers

·        Soldering Iron

·        Solder

        Other electronic components 

Proposal 2

            The addition of extra sensors to the device and an upgrade to the screen system would be a strong development on the previous prototype. In this proposal, there is an added motion sensor and light sensor to detect movement from the interacting person. There is an upgrade to the screen that is used so there are more lights and more possibilities in patterns from the lights. The lights will react to the type of the interaction it senses. The larger screen would make it so that there are more lights involved to experiment with and the outcome would have a greater effect.

For example, if there is sound received on the microphone, the lights would resemble the beats of the music or the beats of the sound.

If movement is received on a movement sensor then the lights will move to reflect the type of movement (for example if someone waves slowly at the sensor, the lights will flash from side to side in response to the waving).

Lastly, if there was a light shone on a light sensor, all of the lights will shine brightly in response to the brightness of the light. Therefore, if there was a light shone in the general direction of the sensor, the lights would response in a way that showed the closest LEDS to the light source.

This sort of response gives an output that has an effective interaction and can be more interesting than a simple input/output. There are multiple forms of interaction inputs that involve this proposal. This makes the proposed prototype a more interactive design than the other. Because of the multiple inputs, this design has a larger variety of outputs.

Required Parts:

·        Arduino System

·        Large LED screen

·        Motion Sensor

·        Microphone

·        Light Sensor

·        Wires

·        Microcontrollers

·        Soldering Iron

·        Solder

·        Other electronic components

MDDN 241: Character arm movement Playblast

MDDN 241: Environment Development

MDDN 241: Character Rigging Movement & New Arm

MDDN 241: Animated Turntable

MDDN 241: Animated StoryBoard

MDDN 241: Orthographic with Origin and Personality