astarnaut22

[astarnaut22]

DIGI FAB REFLECTION PROCESS)

OK so . This process has been very long and frustrating, especially with measurements and applying it to Fusion 360.

I had to redo my 3d model so many times its not even funny. However i was perfectly fine with it and wouldn't have need to done it had i not done it correctly in the first place.

I struggled a lot trying to finish my final prototype but had fun with it. I didn't take into account a couple of things in the final box and that messed up the end product in the end .

Firstly, the draw. The draw intended to have a draw runner so i could pull it out and in. But i made the draw to fit instead of the 20mm space that was needed for the runner so i didn't put that in and instead use it as a support for the draw to slide in and out.

Next, the shelf inside. The sizing and everything was great, however i was gonna get it to rest was an issue. I ended up gluing 2 pieces of wood to the wall of the box and then had to let that rest on there. This ended up gluing to the draw and now its not stuck to the wall sadly.

ANOTHER ONE, was the thickness of the wall. I intended to make it 10mm but for materials sake i used 5mm. The problem i found with this and didnt take into account for was the things that would affect the end product of the box.

The smallest screws i could find were 9mm so the screws protrude out the side of where the hinges are and the original little things that would rest the shelf on were also 10mm and would have shown on the side of the box.

I  did enjoy this paper but wish i did something smaller and then i could have experimented with 3d printing but i was very uninspired at the beginning of this paper and through out it.

[astarnaut22]

Digi fab

Here are some more shots of my to date prototype:

[astarnaut22]

HYDROPONICS ENGAGE

OK SO. Its been 4 weeks since semester started  ( this week being the 4th) and I have a group and this semester I am focused on the Business side of our group project. In our group we are all assigned a different part of the project. Zhe, Max and Cosmo( year 1 dude) are focused on the coding and building of the automated hydroponic machine, Callum is focused on the design of the website/ app for our product to be and the overall aesthetic and I am the business side of the whole project. I have been doing SWOT and PEST analysis, along with market research and have a draft for a business proposal as well.

 Although this isnt creative technologies like learning or technological wise, I am more than happy to jump to this side of the project and to be able to do my part. I want to develop the skills I have grabbed from my minors which include creative entrepreneurship, strategic design, and currently marketing insights. Its nice to get a chance to apply what  I have learned from there and put it into a real life scenario, so at this current state I am currently happy with our group is going. An important part of our rubric this semester is collaboration and working together as a team. We were working together and asking for help, advice and at time opinions on how we can improve on parts and our thought about it. I grabbed opinions on my vision statement and mission statement.

HOWEVER, we have gone into lockdown today and the fate of on campus collaboration for the next 3 days will be questionable after the days are done.

yay...

[astarnaut22]

Adobe Xd, Illustrator and Paint 3D

Utilizing these 3 and experiencing them were interesting. Here i will post links to the videos and sites that helped me achieve my site to where it was and also things i looked at and potentially if i had the time would have liked to integrated into my final.

ADOBE XD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEOPGPN4JiU&t=234s ( Creating a Buttons Library, i did create a button with the star to go back or onto the next page but wouldn't of minded exploring this further)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9_nvt80bSM&t=902s ( Auto animate feature within adobe Xd, makes transitions between slides more flawless)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwYk5R3-IF0 ( Microcreations within the website would have been fun to explore, so i was potentially looking at this)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ev3fSi7P66c ( Adding this water animation would have been a nice touch to the ocean, to make it more interesting to look at as you navigated into the wayfinding part,didn't get time to explore it however.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JttI6YpmPGI ( 10 things to know as a beginner. Helpful with navigating throughout adobe xd and learning beginner tips)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2RsTm8U2x4 (Also a beginners guide into Adobe Xd, a little bit out dated(2016), but still helpful regarding basic shapes, what you can do with it etc.)

I used the pen tool in Adobe Xd to trace the hand and the vaka to utilize the silhouettes in my final.

ILLUSTRATOR

I used illustrator to show the red string of fate and how it connected. I used the glowing effect on the so called “string” and it gave it a nice mystical glow. I did the same with the scorpion constellation and helped with the overall night sky output i was aiming for. Other than that i also learned how to make AI files into jpeg or png files. These are the 3 sites i used.

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/save-illustrator-files-formats/

https://helpx.adobe.com/nz/illustrator/using/painting-fills-strokes.html

https://helpx.adobe.com/nz/illustrator/using/drop-shadows-glows-feathering.html

PAINT 3D

I didnt look at any videos for this but i played around with it. I created my backgrounds with this and wanted to try and add more depth to some of the assets i made such as the hand or vaka. I found it difficult adding the picture and it had no layers, unlike illustrator, so if i needed to get rid of a line on a certain part of the hand it would get rid of all of it instead.

Failed attempt at “shading” my wayfinding hand.

[astarnaut22]

REFLECTION

OK SO.

Reflection overall, we worked well as a group. I believe we transitioned well from a project that was intended for a physical prototype and transfer our ideas to a digital format. We communicated as a group well through messenger and had regular video calls to make sure we were all on the right path. We also would book a tutorial with Claudine if we were stuck and if we needed some guidance.

I personally found this an interesting experience. I have gained knowledge on different platforms of software to meet the same criteria as we had intended before COVID-19. The whole everything online was a new experience for me, i could do everything from the comfort of my bed and was always looking at a screen.I had to manage my time wisely and not always get carried away with doing one particular thing. I do wish i had spend more time with illustrator and learning more than a basic line which is all i really did and needed with. But i have gained skills regarding Adobe Xd and illustrator. I contributed as much as i could to my group but i do feel like i could have done more. Im often scared of not meeting a certain requirement so i usually say i can do it but if anyone wants to do it they more than welcome to. 

Regarding our project, if we had more time i would make a full working prototype on Adobe Xd that integrated all our researched topics into one big interactive working prototype. Not only would this be easier to show our idea visually but would be easier to share, show and make other people form their own connections. Also would want to potentially create our own website that was on the internet/browser using javascript and html. This would be beneficial for further website building in the future and simply mire easier to get our themes and connections across.

Also integrating more animations would also be nice. I did play around with adobe animate, just a basic little animation of a ball bouncing but having more interactive and engaging animations to play around with would have brought a neat element of of interaction.

[astarnaut22]

Prototypes and layouts

I prototyped many different layouts and took into considerations many things.

Firstly i was very concerned with a suitable background that could be applicable to all and had a certain aesthetic to it.

The first one i had gave me sunset vibes. I did this with a gradient generator within Adobe Xd and i liked the colour pallet it gave. However, i had to take in consideration that it was navigation at night time and not sunset, so i wanted to go with more cooler colours.

I was happy with this background and the shades of blue i used. I used Paint 3d and the spray can tool to achieve this starry night sky look and was used in my earlier prototypes.

This was my final background i used with the correct colour pallet provided by Vi( thank you), also using Paint 3D. Giving off of more a cartoony vibe however suited my final piece as i combined simple aesthetics and animations.

The other pictures of the prototypes i will link into a google drive because there is alot of them, my bad. But inside include references for outlines,prototype and layout possibilities and my bouncing ball i did on adobe animate. The components i added into my final as well, references are inside.

https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1q_x5lhUs7hVFzlQfA-AlA_9xKFA2XVx9

[astarnaut22]

Video for final prototype to date

https://youtu.be/rHw3Z7wh1P4

[astarnaut22]

List of blogs

https://astarnaut22.tumblr.com/post/619240807307853824/blog-post-update

https://astarnaut22.tumblr.com/post/621123910048612352/video-for-final-prototype-to-date

https://astarnaut22.tumblr.com/post/621123935429378048/prototypes-and-layouts

https://astarnaut22.tumblr.com/post/621123987376881664/reflection

https://astarnaut22.tumblr.com/post/621124136629108736/adobe-xd-and-illustrator

[astarnaut22]

Blog post update

OK SO. I have not updated since we started our semester in quarantine, which is cool cause we can go to classes in our pjs but bad for me because I haven’t updated… my bad. Any way back to what is happening with our group, issues, personal reflections, and thoughts and where we go from here.

This semester we were very focused on making a physical prototype and product. However, due to a Global pandemic, we were forced into isolation and are now able to work from the comfort of home. Taking this into consideration, we now had to come up with a concept that was manageable and still worked with our themes of connecting cultures, interaction and myths/legends. We are now focusing on myths and legends regarding constellations and how different cultures connect with that constellation. All of this would be condensed into a interactive website that can take the user on a journey and form their own connections from the stories.

 I have researched a fair bit into constellations but only got really into it after our trash to treasure prototype. I had made as if we were to have an interactive piece in studio, with users being able to engage with each point of a constellation and each one having a myths from a particular culture. They would all share similar themes regarding that and would intertwine with the idea of the red string of fate, the theme of connecting cultures together.

But then I moved away from that and looked towards the pacific and particularly Polynesians and how we used way finding techniques which included using constellations and stars to help navigate the ocean to look for land or other vessels at sea.

I focused on a major constellation just for the first series of my prototypes, the Scorpius constellation, or the scorpion known to many, which is foretold to be the Hook of Maui. I made potential prototypes for this but settled on one ( shown in video).

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIUDN_K9Jls

Also, the skills necessary for this that I have been improving on and learning include the use of Adobe Xd. Quiet a simple application that I could easily learn how to piece simple animations together regarding website transitions and different plugins to help expand on what is already there. I particularly found the pen tool useful for outlining and was able to outline the vaka ( canoe to others) nicely.

Adobe animate is also one I have begun to learn more about, but only just scratched the surface. Ive learned the concept of onion skins and frame by frame as well  but need to learn more about that to further refine the website prototyping process.

I am yet to explore Illustrator but will do that of necessary.

Personally, I think we have done well to adjusting to the sudden change in mediums because of certain circumstances but we maintained our themes and all are on task and focused with our tasks.

[astarnaut22]

YEAR 2 SEMESTER 1

We have formed groups AND WE ARE YEAR 2 STUDENTS IN BCT.  I have formed a group with Sophie, Mika (year 2) and Vi(year 3), where we all shared an interest in interaction, subcultures and cultures of fashion and educating people. I am quiet keen in the theme of interaction because it’s something I as child enjoyed doing, just interacting with anything and it was fun. It engages people more to have a certain level of interaction present within you work and makes them feel a part of it.

 We plan to make a garment of a sort to have that theme of interaction to it.

On Wednesday, we researched into different subcultures of fashion that we were interested in.me in particular was quiet interested in pacific and fashion and music and fashion ( https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ia-VKuvUZO_B5c689wC-uTlY4kNTDfbyAdm18bhrd4Y/edit ).

 Today (Friday), Sophie, Mika and I brainstormed ideas that we wanted to work with. We stuck them onto the giant pole.

We talked about how a big issue that we had to be wary of was culturally offending people if we were to make a garment integrating people’s cultures into it. Some ideas how we could approach this hurdle was:

-        Make something that included several people who know their cultures history or stories. That way we would check for validity and see if we are approaching it in a way that was respectful to their culture.

-        Approach it in a way where the members in or group do our own culture. Our group is very diverse, and we could potentially do a story from our own cultures and connect them in a way.

 We came to the approach that storytelling or getting people to tell their cultures stories was a good way to not only get them involved but also have their own interpretation of the stories. We could compare and reiterate a finer version of it.

But now we will continue our research and look more into connecting cultures through mythology, stars and stories/storytelling. Our purpose should become clearer next week when we are all here to discuss further.

 Our information that we collect and anything relating to our project will be posted on our trello ( https://trello.com/b/R1ufVZoW/ctec607-ctec708 )

[astarnaut22]

FINAL

The semester has been set and everyone else is doing their exams. We have been working on the final prototype and the layout for our final A4 and for the crits and openstudio. I will follow this up with a brain dump so stay tuned 😊

 THERMOCHROMICS:

Team members

-        Zhe Deng

-        Astarlii Taokia

-        Yasmin Manuel

-        Nandika Ratwatte

 Blog posts ( In order)

-        https://astarnaut22.tumblr.com/post/186513302149/stream-days-wearables

-        https://astarnaut22.tumblr.com/post/186874302209/update-on-week-3-4-wearables

-        https://astarnaut22.tumblr.com/post/187746679744/week-5678

-        https://astarnaut22.tumblr.com/post/188077224329/week-10-wearables

-        https://astarnaut22.tumblr.com/post/188226548424/continue-from-the-last-post

-        https://astarnaut22.tumblr.com/post/188357037794/week-12

[astarnaut22]

WEEK 12

Currently working on the table for the survey results that Nani did. We have at least 20 people who participated in the survey. Currently making conclusions about it for our raw data feedback, here is what i have drawn from my findings so far;

BY THEMSELVES OR PT?

- 9/15 who work out by themselves have suffered from injuries from working out incorrectly, whereas 1/3 who work out with a PT have suffered injuries, the 2 who have worked out with both also suffered injuries working out incorrectly

-   9/15 who workout by themselves would like a wearable band that visualizes muscle use, 5/15 would like a suit that visualizes muscle use and 1/15 would like both

-   All 3 who work out with a PT would like a wearable band and each person has a different set of experience in the gym

-      ½ who use a PT and work out by themselves would like a band and the other would like both a band and a suit

 EXPERIENCE IN GYM

-        3/5 people who workout by themselves but for less than a year, have suffered from working out incorrectly, 1/5 uses a wearable , and none focus on a muscle group. 4/5 know what muscles are being used

 - Those who have been working out 2-4 years and by themselves, only 1/3 has suffered injuries from working out incorrectly and none have used any wearable, 2/3 are focusing on a muscle group

-       4/7 people who have been working out 3+ years and by themselves have suffered from injuries and 3/7 have used a wearable before, 2 of the 3/7 have suffered from working out incorrectly, all 7 are focusing on a muscle group and all 7 know what muscle groups are being used when working out

WEARABLE

-        With the 3 who work out with a PT, 2/3 have used a wearable, 2/3 are focusing on a muscle group

-        Out of the 2 who work either with a PT or by themselves, 1 has suffered from working out incorrectly and 1 uses a wearable

-        11/20 would like a wearable to show muscle use, heart beat and calories used/lost? 6/20 would like at least 2 of the 3 options available and 3 would like individual options for the 3 options

-        5/15 who workout by themselves recommend that when exercising SHOULDERS need to be careful and know specifically what muscle they are using

-        9/15 who workout recommended 2 or more muscle groups when working out to be careful and know specifically what muscle they are using, all include the muscle group SHOULDERS.

-        2/3 of the people who work out with a PT, recommend 2 or more muscle groups when working out to be careful and know specifically what muscle they are using; all include the muscle group SHOULDERS.

-        Both of the 2 who work out with a PT and by themselves recommend 2 or more muscle groups when working out to be careful and know specifically what muscle they are using; all include the muscle group SHOULDERS.

IN CONCLUSION:

There is a market for a wearable band that will visualize muscle use, however they would also like the band to show heart beat and calories used. This is a future possibility that we can further explore and look into but for now we will aim at visualizing muscle use. Even the most experienced people who workout have suffered from injuries from working out incorrectly and are often working out by themselves.

Along this week, we plan to be working on our raw data feedback and also the layout for our crits.

[astarnaut22]

CONTINUE FROM the last post

WEEK 9

We are currently working with Gordon from the textile lab to help us prototype for our stretch sensor. Zhe and Krishna worked together on fusion to create a a4 size panel with different paths that are made of conductive steel yarn and we will individually test these to see what works. Once the prototype is in, we can test the thermochromic ink on top and see whether when we generate enough heat, the ink will change, from when the sensor detects stretch.

Its quiet a long process to make sure that we get the results we are expected to get. For example thermochromic ink is quiet unpredictable to work with as many variables can affect the outcome of  the colour change.(research)  If we send the heat directly so we can make the colour change when the sensor detects stretch then it will be easier to show visual output to the user.( https://tinyurl.com/yy47fzwo , batteries that have a strip of thermochromic ink and shows change depending on juice in battery when pressed, directed heat)

Also how well the sensor will be able to detect stretch depending on the paths made will also effect the outcomes we will have from this. There are many variables that keep coming up and effecting our process whenever we have made progress. However, we work around these and ask for opinions and help to help overcome it and see possibilities that other paths can offer.

But while we wait,Zhe and I will work on the concept of the programming need to be done for the sensor and any other bits and pieces necessary to complete what we are missing.

  WEEK 10 -  UPDATE

 (REMEMBER ADD PHOTOS, will make a doc showing documentation process of prototyping and stuff.)

On Monday Zhe and I worked on another prototype for the stretch sensor. We discussed different pathways as Zhe has found out that the stretch from the patterns when the resistance drops, there isn’t much of a difference when it is stretched.

We drew up another 8 patterns as we found the number of lines would affect the resistance of the conductive line.

Zhe and I continued to work on the prototypes. Gordon had finished the 3rd prototype and we were having problems. The crocodile clippers were picking up different resting and stretched voltages, so we asked Donna. She recommended adding a small square to allow the crocodile clippers to attach to something and it will have an equal amount of resting voltage and will have something to attach to.

Zhe drew up a new prototype with the little squares and sent it to Gordon. While we waited for that Zhe works on the coding for the sensor and I tested the thermochromic ink onto the patches. The ink made the fabric quiet stiff and hard to stretch.

 Zhe has the run down of the sensor( insert link here)and is working on it because its also her physical computing.

I have been putting a document together full of the documentation, photos we all have taken and will put that on here when I am finished( insert link).

 WEEK 11:

We are still waiting from Gordon for the prototype, we will now work on the A4 that is due next week regarding the raw data feedback and continue with working around getting a stretch sensor.

[astarnaut22]

Week 10 WEARABLES

We are currently working with Gordon from the textile lab to help us prototype for our stretch sensor. Zhe and Krishna worked together on fusion to create a a4 size panel with different paths that are made of conductive steel yarn and we will individually test these to see what works. Once the prototype is in, we can test the thermochromic ink on top and see whether when we generate enough heat, the ink will change, from when the sensor detects stretch.

Its quiet a long process to make sure that we get the results we are expected to get. For example thermochromic ink is quiet unpredictable to work with as many variables can affect the outcome of  the colour change.(research)  If we send the heat directly so we can make the colour change when the sensor detects stretch then it will be easier to show visual output to the user.( https://tinyurl.com/yy47fzwo , batteries that have a strip of thermochromic ink and shows change depending on juice in battery when pressed, directed heat)

Also how well the sensor will be able to detect stretch depending on the paths made will also effect the outcomes we will have from this. There are many variables that keep coming up and effecting our process whenever we have made progress. However, we work around these and ask for opinions and help to help overcome it and see possibilities that other paths can offer.

But while we wait,Zhe and I will work on the concept of the programming need to be done for the sensor and any other bits and pieces necessary to complete what we are missing.

[astarnaut22]

Week 5,6,7,8

11th August -16th August

Researched more into skeletal muscles and projects done in the market.

 19 August – 25 August 2019

 For wearables, we got the presentation ready for the updated project pitch we had to give to Donna. We had to do something and then we had a group meeting and discussed what we had to do and research for since the market for the wearable we aim to make there is already project in motion.

 Donna had said to research more into the things that we need to learn about it to make the band and narrow our idea down. So we need to research skeletal muscles and further gap in the market.

  26th August - 16 September

 ITS ALL ABOUT RESEARCH. I did quiet a lot of research, I will link the doc over here to see all the research I did( https://tinyurl.com/y5f3dt6u) . Zhe did prototyping while I researched more into what projects were out there.

This is to ensure that whatever we plan to do and further prototype in the future we can back it up with further evidence to show that it has been done before and we will expect so and so expectations from this outcome.

 Over the break Zhe, Yasmin and I came in and brainstormed again what our brief and purpose of the whole project was again. We are back with learning more and pushing past the limits of our abilities and are keen to explore new pathways to achieving ideally what we want. ( pic upload later)

I also met with Zhe and discussed with her the prototyping she did and what went well and what we could do further. We are currently just waiting for the thermochromic ink to arrive so we can prototype with that and in the mean time, analyze the research further, any ideas we have we can come in and work together to prototype.

I will also start draw some band ideas or ideas of how we could go further with the potential “band” and explore opportunities we could take and explore.

[astarnaut22]

PHYSICAL COMPUTING:ASSIGNMENT 1

video: https://vimeo.com/354104058

[astarnaut22]

UPDATE ON WEEK 3+4 WEARABLES

 SO, we have had lots of help from Colin and Harriet, who have previously worked with thermochromic ink and sensors.

Week before on Friday, Zhe and me had a meeting with Colin and we discussed sensors and he also gave suggestions on what we could and look further into. We split the research into 2, I got to research the existing market and what gap is present.

 Tuesday 6th ,we had a meeting with Harriet who had previously worked with thermochromic ink and offered to help us in any way that was needed. She told us a bunch of useful things regarding what materials we could use and inks and pigments we could possibly use.

 We also came up with another idea that could be developed further and the post graduate student Harriet we worked with offered to do a proposal and send it in to the uni and we could possibly do some summer research for it .However that’s still a maybe and an opportunity that could be explored further.

 Also, on Tuesday we got some leftover paint Harriet had and we gathered a bunch of different fabrics and screen printed them in the design building.

We found which ones reacted with the heat well and recorded which fabrics we could possibly work with.

Wednesday 7th August

 We didn’t do much work on the project, instead we got to learn a bit about sewing with the e-textiles and we got to play with the felt loom in the design place which was pretty cool. It was interesting

 Thursday 8th August

 I played with the thermochromic ink and tried that onto sports tape and a wrist support band.

(Sorry blurry pic)]

The sports tape reacted quiet fast to skin contact but would stay like a grey ( ink works from black to clear).

 Nani then came and then we went to Krishna and asked for some help regarding how we can accurately measure temperature, because the band that Krishna sewed for us with a patch of fabric that had thermochromic ink in wasn’t really giving an accurate visual representation of whether or not their muscles were working, it would only slightly change colour.

Also the infrared gun wouldn’t give an accurate reading of skin temp because the fabric was in the way of the skin, so it was like off by a degree or 2.

 Krishna hooked us up with a temperature thingy ( forgot what it was called) but we chucked in a sketch for the Arduino, checked to see if it would measure temp while someone worked out their muscles but we came to the conclusion that the muscles had to be working for a long period time for us to try and get any kind of reading from it.

SO, we went to workout at the AUT gym.

Well Nani did, while Zhe and I monitored his temperature while working out.

Nani being our user tester, went onto the spin cycle , where Zhe hooked up the temperature to Nanis thigh and attached some sports tape to keep it in place.

While he worked out, his temperature would fluctuate by a degree and go back down. It went this way for about 10 minutes.

It was when he stopped that his temperature rose by a degree or 2, I realized that went he works out his muscle would remain at a constant temperature but when he stopped, his muscle temperature would increase. From the article I read regarding post workout temperature increase, (https://www.sharecare.com/health/types-exercise/body-heat-go-up-exercise )it’s your body trying to get rid of the excess heat that was accumulated during working out. When muscles work out the heat causes blood vessels in the skin to dilate which increases blood flow to the skin, so the heat produced is expelled into the air through the skin.

 Although this is quite interesting, the fluctuation in the skin temperature change and the fact the temperature change isn’t a big difference and if we combined this with the thermochromic ink, it wouldn’t be enough to visually see change in the colour of the ink. Also, because thermochromic ink comes in varying temperature changes, a degree or 2 isnt enough for a complete colour change unless we got a chemical engineer to make us a specific batch to change at that specific temperature( which would be 31-32 degress).

Also other factors that affect this include environmental issues(where they exercise, room temperature etc) and skin to skin contact while working out, gender and other factors are also take into consideration.

So from this I believe our group got a solid understanding of temperature and the user testing was useful, but to get an accurate temperature  We now need to think of implementing other possible sensors such as the stretch sensor and also prototype different inks such as hydrochromic inks and experimenting with them as well