EXPERIMENTING WITH ULTRASONIC SENSOR

After last week's class, I had an epiphany: conducting small experiments through trial and error, without a predefined goal, sparks my creativity. Working through multiple iterations with various software and sensors, I've found that understanding their functionality and mechanics helps me ideate my concepts much more effectively. With this in mind, I decided to stick with this approach for the current semester.

My first step was to delve into experimenting with ultrasonic sensors. I've been intrigued by them ever since encountering them in numerous tutorials and projects. Of course, this requires investing in different sensors, which means my wallet is taking a hit. But ya sure whatever helps graduate hehehe.

To start, I focused on familiarising myself with the ultrasonic distance sensor and understanding its functionality. I spent time tinkering with it, using LED and servo motors, and simply figuring out how the distance measurement works. T his hands-on experimentation provided invaluable insights into the capabilities of the distance sensor and sparked ideas on how I could manipulate it to create something functional for my project.

TOUCHDESIGNER & ULTRASONIC SENSOR

I had stumbled upon this one particular tutorial on youtube How To Use TOUCHDESIGNER & ARDUINO Together - Beginner Tutorial Sometime last semester and Intrigued by the prospect of combining two of my favourite tools, I made a mental note to give it a try. Despite my excitement, I hadn't had the chance to work with TouchDesigner throughout the semester. However, as I grew more comfortable with Arduino, I saw an opportunity to try this tutorial.

With the addition of a distance sensor to my toolkit, I followed it step by step, albeit feeling like I was merely copying rather than creating something original. Nevertheless, the experiment was enjoyable, albeit limited to just that—an experiment. I struggled to envision how I could further develop this project. One significant hurdle was that TouchDesigner has a distinct aesthetic that didn't align with the direction I wanted to take for my project. Moreover, I aimed to steer clear of screen-based interactions, preferring a more tactile, physical approach. As a result, I ultimately decided to abandon the idea, despite my fondness for using TouchDesigner. It was a bit disappointing, but it's like Andreas said I can either master one thing or I can know multiple things.

BRING YOUR OWN ARDUINO EXHIBITION

While I was figuring out the whole grad project concept, I had this great opportunity to display my sem1 work at the Bring Your Own Arduino Exhibition by Cereal bowl for SG art week. I thought it was a great opportunity for me to do user testing on a larger scale, get more content for CPJ as well as get more feedback on my project, talk to more people and just get more exposure.

This was honestly one of the best experiences I've had so far. I haven't really gotten a chance to showcase my work like this before so this was definitely the first time and honestly I was a bit overwhelmed. When I got there I met so many amazing and talented people who have been doing this for years and some of the projects that I saw were so great that for a second I felt a bit out of place. Looking at other people's work I realised that everyone had a great sense of storytelling. I got so much inspiration from this experience and it gave me insight as to how I can improve my skills and also work in a smarter and more efficient way with the resources I have.

Initially, I harboured some apprehensions. I worried that my work might not resonate with others or that the interaction might prove overwhelming, given the numerous external factors required to achieve its intended goal. However, the response I received was overwhelmingly positive. One interaction, in particular, stands out in my memory: a person approached me specifically to express their admiration for my work. They shared that it was their favourite exhibit and that they had a blast interacting with it. What's more, they appreciated the conceptual depth of my project. Knowing that this individual hailed from the performance industry—my target audience as a designer—filled me with confidence and reinforced my resolve to continue working on this project.

CONSULTATION

With the Bring Your Own Arduino Exhibition and my recent experimentations with TouchDesigner and Arduino, I had amassed enough material to present. However, I also had a couple of ideas that I wanted to bounce off of Andreas.

The first idea had been lingering in the back of my mind since semester 1, but I hadn't had the chance to explore it fully alongside my interactive painting project. While I was clear on the mechanism and functionality, the concept itself was still murky. My approach typically involves ironing out the mechanism first and then refining the concept from there. I had even created a small mockup to visualise the mechanism. During our discussion, Andreas pointed out a potential hiccup with using a thread and servo motor combination, highlighting the possibility of the thread getting stuck on the motor's lever and affecting the desired push-pull effect. This feedback nudged me to explore alternative methods to achieve the desired effect—a perspective I hadn't considered previously.

My second idea stemmed from a personal interest I'd been harbouring for a while. As I grew more comfortable with Arduino mechanics, I found myself drawn to the interplay of lights, shadows, mirrors, and reflections. While I didn't have a concrete plan for this idea, Andreas provided valuable insight and suggested references to explore for inspiration, including Moholy Nagy, Bauhaus, cybernetic serendipity, Nonotak Studio, and Olafur Eliasson. Additionally, the significance of shadows in theatre piqued my interest, prompting me to delve deeper into this aspect.

WORKSHOP WITH KYUH

Attending the computation in design workshop led by Kyuh, a professor from K Arts South Korea, was a great experience. The workshop centred around exploring culture through computational design, with a focus on using P5.js. Initially, I felt a bit overwhelmed, especially since my proficiency with P5.js was not the strongest. However, Kyuh provided us with a template to work with, which helped ease me into the process.

During the two-day workshop, the first day was primarily spent familiarising myself with the functionality of P5.js and experimenting with different features to gain a better understanding of how it works. Once I felt more comfortable with the tool, I began to conceptualise how I could represent my own culture through the medium of food. Food holds immense significance in Indian culture, so I decided to use it as the focal point of my project.

My idea was to use my screen or laptop as a virtual cooking utensil, where users could interact with the sketch to simulate the process of cooking an Indian dish. I selected the five most common ingredients found in Indian cuisine as keywords and attempted to replicate their shapes and colours within the sketch. The aim was to create an interactive experience that would allow users to feel like they were crafting their own recipe as they interacted with the project. Overall, the workshop was both educational and enjoyable. It provided a new approach to computation which I would like to explore more in the future.