Author: Ben

documentation to the last two entries, including pictures and videos. i suppose there is a lot more detail i could go into about the process of the project, but the heart of what happened is that we started with one concept. then, we continued to develop it over time based on problems we encountered and solutions that made the most sense. in the end, we got a big bird that moved in a way we’re quite satisfied with, and we know how it would be used and how we could make improvements. the box could be covered w a type of insulation to mask the sound, since the mechanism of the wire and pulleys is pretty silent already. we could place the structure in a public space for it to be self contained and the silhoutte could be really really nice. we had difficulty when presentation time came around, as the motion sensing, light emitting unit ceased functioning at go time. we believe the unit was short circuited (most likely when i was soddering extension wires). we were still fotunately able to see what might happen with a silhouette due to some improvising in class time. charley and i worked well together. i’m thinking of making a smaller model in the future for myself, and i think i’m going to continue with the idea of flight/freedom/birds/motion/dreaminess in future projects. documentation will probably become more methodological and good looking. we’ll see. for now, we’ve learned and have a lil something to show for it.

what is up. charley and i broke through tonight. phwew!

light flight from ben yee on Vimeo.

light flight from ben yee on Vimeo.

light flight guts from ben yee on Vimeo.

and here’s the working code we implemented

/* code modified by Ben and Charley
from James and Christian’s Balloon Tree
*/

int photoSwitch = 2;
int motorPin0 = 3; // pin in hbridge to arduino for motor
int motorPin1 = 4; // pin in hbridge to arduino for motor

int switchPin1 = 7; // pin for switch 1 to arduino
int switchPin2 = 8; // pin for switch 2 to arduino

int state1 = 0; // initial state of switch 1 is open
int state2 = 0; // initial state of switch 2 is open
int motorPinSwap = 0; //variable used to switch direction of motor
int motorPin0value = HIGH; // variable for motor direction
int motorPin1value = LOW; // variable for motor direction

boolean previouslyPressed1 = false; //BOOLEAN STATEMENT USED TO UNDERSTAND THE PREVIOUS STATE OF SWITCH1
boolean previouslyPressed2 = false; //BOOLEAN STATEMENT USED TO UNDERSTAND THE PREVIOUS STATE OF SWITCH2

void setup() {
Serial.begin(9600);
pinMode(motorPin0, OUTPUT);
pinMode(motorPin1, OUTPUT);
//the switch is an input
pinMode(photoSwitch, INPUT);
pinMode(switchPin1, INPUT);
pinMode(switchPin2, INPUT);
}

void loop() {

if (digitalRead(photoSwitch) == HIGH) {
digitalWrite(motorPin0,motorPin0value); //starts motor in one direction using variable motorPin0value
digitalWrite(motorPin1,motorPin1value); //starts motor in one direction using variable motorPin1value

//
state1 = digitalRead(switchPin1); //READING THE STATE SWITCH1
Serial.print(motorPin0value,DEC); //PRINT LINE
Serial.println(motorPin1value,DEC); //PRINT LINE
//********************************* IF STATEMENT FOR SWITCH1 ******************************
if(state1 == 1 && previouslyPressed1 == false) //IF STATEMENT IN ORDER TO CHANGE THE MOTORS DIRECTION
{ //IF SWITCH1 IS TURNED ON, AND IT WAS NOT PREVIOUSLY PRESSED
motorPinSwap = motorPin0value; //THEN SWITCH THE PIN AND REVERSE THE DIRECTION OF THE MOTOR
motorPin0value = motorPin1value; //WHICH IN RETURN MEANS THE SWITCH AS BEEN PREVIOUSLY PRESSED
motorPin1value = motorPinSwap; //WHICH IS WHY IT IS NOW “TRUE”

previouslyPressed1 = true;
}
else if(state1 == 0) //ELSE IF THE SWITCH IS NOT TURNED ON THAN IT HAS ALSO NOT
previouslyPressed1 = false; //BEEN PREVIOUSLY PRESSED

//
state2 = digitalRead(switchPin2); //READING A SECOND STATE USING SWITCH2
Serial.print(motorPin0value,DEC);
Serial.println (motorPin1value,DEC);
//******************************************* IF STATEMENT FOR SWITCH2 **************************************
if(state2 == 1 && previouslyPressed2 == false) //IF STATEMENT IN ORDER TO CHANGE THE MOTORS DIRECTION
{
motorPinSwap = motorPin0value;
motorPin0value = motorPin1value;
motorPin1value = motorPinSwap;

previouslyPressed2 = true;
}
else if(state2 == 0)
previouslyPressed2 = false;

}
else {
digitalWrite(motorPin0, HIGH); // set leg 1 of the H-bridge high
digitalWrite(motorPin1, HIGH); // set leg 2 of the H-bridge
}

}

charley and i made lots of moves yesterday.

here’s a bunch of images taken over the course of the progress dating in the future even. smile.

our solar-powered-motion-sensor-triggered-super -bright-led unit arrived today. we were happy to find that it includes an auto/off switch and toggles for darkness, sensitivity, and time. also today charley further strengethened the mounting of the motor and added an antenna for the photocell.

though we took a late start to the project, our rapid action and hourly contributions have this “birds the word / light flight / qua quaalh qua quaaal” project near completion.

yay, this should work for real this time. (greg likes the look of our) bigger dc motor. we’re shooting for the windshieldwiper mechanism concept. if only this were my only project in life… it’s so nice outside. arg to time constraints. yay to may and june and more.

so we’re moving away from using the fan because we cannot get enough wind with our little radioshack motor. boo. so much for the h-bridge circuit and analog coding success and fan hacking i did yesterday. double boo.

howeeeever, charley found great material for the bird (no need to sew umbrellas together anymore), and we brainstormed more and more and have a new grand concept that should work like butter. no dc motor and fan, but instead a servo, pulleys, and levers. the bird will still be fairly free flowing, but more reliable under our control. we’ll be drilling holes and using the woodshop more too. fun stuff.

we also discussed ideas for presention:
lights off yes.
stillness then triggered by flapping motion.
video shoot on blue screen? sky video behind perhaps.
setup before or during break.
…

*new* video of the wings phase 2

working the code out on our own was pretty darn satisfying today. h-bridge. analog. yes. we’ll need to tweak the speeds/values once we get the actual fan and bird setup, but this is functional. see the lil video here.

int sensorPin = 0; // analog input photocell
int potValue = 0; //value read from photocell
int motor1Pin = 3; // H-bridge leg 1
int motor2Pin = 4; // H-bridge leg 2
int speedPin = 9; // H-bridge enable pin

void setup() {
// set the PWM as an input:
pinMode(sensorPin, INPUT);
Serial.begin(9600);
// set other pins as outputs:
pinMode(motor1Pin, OUTPUT);
pinMode(motor2Pin, OUTPUT);
pinMode(speedPin, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {
potValue = analogRead(sensorPin); // read the pot value
analogWrite(speedPin, potValue); // PWM the sensor value with the pot value
Serial.println(potValue); // print pot value back to the debugger pane

if (potValue >= 800) {
analogWrite(motor2Pin, potValue*4); // set leg 2 of the H-bridge “high”
}
else if (potValue >= 400 && potValue