Hidden Figures — Major Project: 9
You learn more from failure than success
In the past week, there has been roadblock after roadblock. It seems as though every time I solve one problem another ten arise. I have been having technical issues with my Arduino setup and also having problems with making the form of my device. In the past, these issues would have stressed me out quite a bit. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still stressed but after coming through the masters I have learned to juggle my time more efficiently and also not stick on one problem for too long. If something isn’t going your way, just take a different route and try and solve something else on your to-do list. With that in mind, it has given me the space to concentrate on building out my design rationale and has also helped me focus on the secondary aspects of my design.
Ardui-NO
In my last post, I outlined that I was working from an online tutorial that allowed me to record audio with an Arduino. The tutorial itself is quite comprehensive and easy to work through. But what is not so easy, is diagnosing problems with Arduino devices. I’m well used to triaging technical issues as I’ve worked as an engineer for a number of years and also have a degree in computer science. With all this experience you’d think it would be a breeze. I tried everything under the sun to connect the Arduino to my laptop but to no avail. It simply would not connect. I went through two Arduino Yun Mk2, two different cables and a number of laptops. But still, the devices would not connect.
I spent about three days going over everything in parallel to other work and finally decided to call it, I couldn’t keep wasting time trying to fix the issues. I needed another solution. Whilst roaming the internet, I came across a tutorial, which also allows for the same functionality but with different components. For now, this is my current direction. The only thing I needed to pick up was an ISD1820, which allows for audio playback and recording. A simple and cheap fix hopefully, but I don’t want to speak too soon. I’ll wait for the parts to arrive and see what I can do.
Building/Making/Iterating
Since I have decided on my form, I felt it best to bring it to a medium-fidelity in order to test its functionality and experience. Working from the foam model I had made I set out to refine the shape and then vacuum form it. This process is tedious and laborious. I spent a whole day trying to make it work, only to realise the shape was too deep to vacform. This wasn’t wasted time as I learned some new skills in making, but at the time I was frustrated. Our college workshop is only open a certain number of days during the week, which means we need to efficiently work when we are in there. I had run out of time and needed to come up with a new solution for the coming week when I could finally get back in there.
One of the great technicians here in NCAD instructed me to come back next week with a 3D model of the device so we could CNC it. This is something I am new to and had only one experience where I modelled something. Below is my final piece, it took some time to get used to it, but I am happy with the result.
Next is to get back in the workshop and keep iterating on my idea. Along with this, I need to laser cut a ring and fix a mechanical rotary encoder to it in order to give some haptic feedback.
Reflection
Though we run into many problems in the design process, there is no need to get stressed as there is always a solution. Somethings may be out of your control, for example, time constraints on workshop opening hours. From these issues that arise it teaches you to work more efficiently and keep striving for new creative solutions. This way of thinking has been omnipresent throughout the year and has reassured me in finalising my project. I still have a lot to do in terms of the experience of the device but I’m going to keep testing and iterating.
