My final project (which I present tomorrow) is a film whose speed is controlled by how fast the viewer runs in place. On the suggestion of my teacher, I picked “Run Lola Run” for the film. I edited the running scene in Final Cut Pro.
I started out thinking that I was going to use an accelerometer, however, I switched midstream to a step switch and tracked the interval between foot touches to control the movie speed.
I think this kind of technology would be fun in gyms. Well gotta run.
I went to do some errands and realized how many sensors I react with daily. Just to get out of the garage I had to press a button to open the door. At the crosswalk, there was a sign ‘push button for green’ (which I’m still not sure does anything). At the drugstore, I went through the automatic sliding doors and paid for my things using a machine at checkout. Now off to the cash machine.
It’s 1:00 in the morning and I wasn’t able to figure out how to make the LED’s turn on one at a time with a force sensor. Still, I managed to get the LED’s to alternate with the touch of my finger. I’ve come a long way but still have a way to go. Merry Christmas!
I kinda feel like I’m on Mars sometimes. Physical Computing is whole different world than what I’m used to. As a result, I’m trying to read as much as I can on the subject. Over the course of the past few weeks, I’ve collected enough LED’s, wires, resisters to make my family think that I’m constructing a bomb. I’ve also amazed my kids (really just myself) by constructing a blinking light. I also learned how to solder (which for me is a big deal). Gotta go finish ‘Getting started with Arduino’.
My first mission was to observe people using a piece of interactive technology in public. I choose a drive-through ATM and camped out, very spy-like, in a parked car across the way. Most of the transactions took a couple of minutes, except for an older lady that took her time counting her money and situating herself. The easiest part for these people was pushing the buttons on the screen. The hardest part for them was getting in a position to actually reach the screen. You see, this ATM did not move up and down (like the drive-through ATM down the street does) so the drivers, depending on their type of car, had to reach up or down in order to use it. The first old lady actually pulled up and felt more comfortable getting out of her car in order to make the transaction.
In the book ‘Emotional Design’, Norman said that attractive things work better. Well I wouldn’t call the ATM very attractive. However, it might seem more attractive to the end user if it automatically adjusted to the height and reach of the driver.
I’m an award winning writer/creative from the ad world that wants to see what this ITP world is all about. You can see samples of my work at www.adlandish.com or www.craigpines.com
Craig Pines's Blog 