We led out by introducing my lamp, which was pretty awesome I suppose, but I didn't expect to be in the spotlight for it... other people had much better lamps, especially the rangefinder - that was extremely impressive.
I am a huge fan of the work with physical computing, and I have been experimenting with the Arduino since we got it. I found a program called Processing, which can be set up to interact with inputs from the Arduino and uses the data for other things, such as compiling graphics. I intend to look deeper into this, hopefully designing an extremely neat program.
Day Two: Project
Our project for the day was to design and construct a light tracking device utilizing photoresistors to detect where a light source is. We were divided into groups, and almost immediately our group was off to the races. I had been working with code for Processing which interacted with the photoresistors, and was able to help jumpstart the coding. Marc and Damien jumped into developing the code for interacting with the servos, and the remaining members of the group either helped me work with the photoresistors or worked with the cardboard, whatever was needed.
The worst part about this project was the amount of time given - we only had an hour, and only discovered the code for the servos existed already 45 minutes in. Our group pulled together well, however. Everyone did their parts, and we were able to come up with a finalized design with finalized code, at the very least, even though we did not construct the actual unit completely. Other groups were in approximately the same boat as us.
After the presentations, we were told to meet later on to finish construction of our unit. We met Sunday night, and after a couple of extra hours and several wires that wouldn't stay where we wanted them, we were able to construct our unit and get it operational, if a little jittery. The unit will track light, though it is not the best at tracking small point light sources - it is just not feasible without a full array of sensors. Also, ambient light is the enemy of this project, so we built a shade for it in order to keep ambient light off of it.
I felt our group worked much better than last week's group. There was a definite cohesion, everyone knew what they had to do, and there were very few moments where someone was 'lost'. The work got done, and we were all very proud of the final result.
Day Two: Thoughts Going Forward
I have worked with Allison twice now, and I am hoping she winds up in my final group - she has done a great job each week to learn quickly when she doesn't understand and to do what needs to get done when she does. She brings great ideas to the table, and has been a valuable member of each group.
I feel like the Arduino is going to be great to work with, and look forward to whatever this class has in store for us next. I haven't quite gotten to play with Design Studio, that is my next project, for tomorrow.
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