In this DMSP project, the whole group of us put in a lot of hard work. I think what’s great about us is that we combine scents with life stages and give different life stages different colors and flavors. But the disadvantage is that the smell is not used as a carrier of memory, and it more clearly reflects the living conditions of a certain period of time. In the project, the smell is more as an embellishment, and the visual is more as the main body.
In the early brainstorming, we wanted to try to make people perceive the brevity of life through smell. I think in this project, we should have thought more about how to display and collect smells. We did not solve the original question: how to minimize the impact of odor mixing on visitors in a small space.
Due to site and technical constraints, we did not implement the draw mode using the M5 sensor in the last part. In the original vision, the interaction of the fifth scene is very interesting, because visitors can interact with the screen pattern by shaking the lottery box in their hands. When you shake the lottery ticket hard, the image will be clearer. When an extreme value is reached (the bamboo stick shakes out), the final state of the visitor’s life will be fixed. Although the above code has been verified to be feasible, unfortunately, due to the failure of the software and hardware docking, we did not realize this step in the final demonstration.
However, we finally tried to do it, and tried to make up for the shortcomings in more places, and I learned a lot of new knowledge. This is a success for me. In the process of group cooperation, I learned to solve problems and improved my ability to deal with conflicts. In the future, I will learn more about MAX related skills, and may use it in the final graduation project.
Author: Moshan Cao
Middle-aged video
I am in charge of the production of one of the middle-aged videos. This stage is a middle-aged man with a successful career. At this stage, I chose a visual pattern that is constantly flowing and advancing, and a more obvious mature and stable element for the video. Whiskey shots, people walking, well-dressed businessmen…. The shots are interspersed with abstract, flowing patterns against dark backgrounds.
In the editing process, in order to better guide the visitors and provide them with a more personalized experience, I used more divergent and abstract visual patterns as the main body. According to the keywords summarized in the previous research, I emphasized the word positive as the main tone of this life stage video.
Preparations for the exhibition
Early preparations:
We have borrowed many items on ECA Bookit that have helped us. During the preparation stage of the exhibition, Xiaoyun, Xiya, and Xiaotong and I moved the display screen from eca, which was of great help to us in the later stage.
When we came to the exhibition space, we spent a lot of time arranging the scenes, including making and collecting some representative items that meet the keywords of the relevant life stages. When we decided to work all night until daytime, the security staff of the teaching building came and ordered us to leave, which greatly disrupted the progress of our exhibition.
In the process of building the scene, it took us a lot of time to cooperate with the software, hardware and the scene, because the scene takes up a lot of space, and we need to use very long wires to connect various parts. The reason for the circuit failure requires countless times to improve the direction of the circuit in order to ensure the stable realization of the final effect. Before this, it took us a long time to weave the scattered threads. This is a brand new experience. During the process of setting up the exhibition, the enthusiasm of the whole team was mobilized. efforts to complete.
During the experiment, due to the limitation of the site, we had to give up many original ideas and improve the original ideas and plans step by step to the current state. In the end, we connected the partitions with the canvas to divide the space, divided the overall space into five parts, and used light strips to guide the movement of visitors. It is worth mentioning that due to the insufficient number of partitions, we had to temporarily borrow two bookcases as supplementary partitions. When there was no way to hold canvases and other hard objects in place, I sewed them together with a needle and thread (didn’t damage anything).
When building the scene, there were so many items that it took us nearly six hours to complete the pre-arrangement of the exhibition. Including wooden boards, tables, monitors, objects hanging from the ceiling, etc., took a lot of energy from the team members. When the exhibition was finally completed immediately, we found that the windows on the wall seriously affected the condition of our space as a dark room, and we had to urgently buy black plastic bags to stick on the windows.
Video of the process:
Pre-exhibition preparation (making the mushroom base) (1)
Pre-exhibition preparation (making the mushroom base) (2)
Pre-exhibition preparation (prepare for wiring)
Pre-exhibition preparation (testing connectivity)
Pre-exhibition preparation (welding lamp strip test) (1)
The second technical study
The main work:
According to the continuous advancement of the concept, we finally decided to screen among different sensors such as buttons, infrared, and M5. In this technical study, we tried to modify the code of different sensor affected parts. Summarize the experience and draw a conclusion: Although the infrared sensor can capture the precise position of the visitor, the light shows a large change. However, in a large space, it is difficult for visitors to accurately align with our sensor, and the instability is too high. It is difficult to ensure the stability of data transmission if the infrared sensor is installed on the wall or on the back of the chair, so we rejected this method.
Then we considered the option of installing buttons on the seats of visitors, but there are three problems that need to be solved: First, the soldered wires are not firm, and frequent movement and pressure may cause problems in the connection between the light strip and the button . Secondly, installing buttons on the seat or on the back of the chair can easily cause discomfort to the visitors. Finally, the pressure that the button can withstand is limited, and repeated heavy pressure may cause damage to the sensor.
Using the M5 sensor is currently the most stable and effective solution after testing. Its disadvantage is that visitors need to shake vigorously or perform large body movements to ensure interaction with the lights. At the same time, the data transmission of Wi-Fi will also have problems from time to time.
In this case, we decided to use the simplest button interaction to ensure the smooth progress of the exhibition. But at the same time, consider adding the M5 sensor to the exhibition to ensure more fun and enhance the interactive experience of visitors.
Questions & Reflections:
Unfortunately, the main reason why the original team’s ideas were difficult to realize was that we did not have a good grasp of technology. While exploring ways to interact, we are also actively looking for ways to embody our most important theme – smell. The difficulty of this problem lies in the synthesis and emission of odors.
Video of the process:
The second technical study (test how the infrared sensor affects the light strip)
The second technical study (try M5sensor in WiFi mode)
The second technical study (try to use different sensors)
First technical study
The main work:
As an art form in the digital age, installation art will combine technical means such as digital programming, art design and computer assistance. Since we are systematically exposed to this type of design for the first time in the interdisciplinary course of DMSP, we do not fully understand the forms that can be taken. After conducting systematic research and initial brainstorming, we asked some students with a background in science and engineering to help us start the initial technical learning.
The content of our first technical research is mainly to study how to realize the direction of the initial group discussion. Leyao Zhang and Jingxian Li of my group are mainly responsible for the realization of specific technologies. We first screened the use of sensors, and tried more possibilities according to the different functions we need. We need the interaction between the experiencer and the sensor to control the intensity and color of the light in the overall environment. The content of the first technical group learning is mainly the assembly of components, testing, and connection with codes.
In this study, we wrote a piece of code that can change the color and brightness of the light strip, but due to technical reasons, it was not successfully connected to the hardware. We decided to try it out by borrowing more materials at school as suggested by Jules and Dave.
Difficulties:
During the experiment, we found that due to the limitation of technology and the incomplete concept in the early stage, it was difficult for us to select the sensor. At the same time, because there is no code foundation, it is difficult to achieve the desired effect in a short time. The amount of time we spend on code selection is unimaginable.
Video of the process:
First technical study (trying to run the code)
