day 5: and you can too!

Cassandra H
Sep 5, 2018 · 3 min read

I am so, so tired, y’all. Today’s project has made me in turn frustrated, triumphant, and finally filled with an exhausted rage.

I decided that for my last day, I would try to make a device that could physically convey some of what I feel with my magnetic finger. I spent the day working through how to do this using physical computing and Arduino, and then I implemented it. And eventually, it worked.

it worked.

and then one of the RIDICULOUSLY TINY WIRES attached to my motor just… snapped.

In retrospect, this is somewhat my own fault.

Let me back up before this turns into a rant. I combined an ultrasonic distance sensor, an Arduino, a small vibration motor, and the fabric piece that I finished yesterday. I made it so that a user can attach the motor to their fingertip, right where my magnet is. When they hold their hand over the handprint on yesterday’s piece, they trigger the distance sensor, and the motor attached to their finger vibrates, just like my magnet does. The closer they get to the surface, the more intense the vibration. It feels roughly like touching an electromagnetic field — maybe a little more external, and the vibrations of the motor are actually stronger than those I usually experience. But the sensation is pretty darn close.

Here are my process photos and videos.

https://vimeo.com/user89168326/review/288294850/a4ab5447ee

https://vimeo.com/user89168326/review/288294882/d4f138fef1

https://vimeo.com/user89168326/review/288294907/a8d461b156

Getting the motor working.
Getting the motor and the sensor working together for the first time.
The apparatus I made for holding the motor against the user’s finger.

As you can see, this is where I made the fatal mistake. My wiring got pretty bootleg as the day wore on, but these wires attached to the motor are tiny. By positioning the magnet near the edge of the velcro strip, I essentially made those really thin wires into a joint that was going to take a lot of wear. Not Good. And again, because the wires are so so small, it’s not really a reparable thing, at least without a soldering iron. Which I thought about buying today, but didn’t.

The full apparatus of the final piece.

Overall, I’m really really happy with how the final thing looks! And the effect worked the way I wanted to — when it did work. I just wish I had been a little more careful with the details of my construction, because it would be awesome to have completed a piece that functions.

Cassandra H
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