benmillerbct

[benmillerbct]

Here's my final project for physical computing, a binary clock. It was a bit difficult to set up and, I'll admit, I did use a lot of example code, but I'm happy to have it done and working.

by simply compiling the program, the RTC module takes the time from your computer and begins sending the given time back to the serial monitor. the time is also sent to the 8x8 led matrix as different sets of binary in order to make a binary clock.

note: sadly the time is a few seconds late since it takes time for the data to be compiled.

[benmillerbct]

Assignment 2 for physical computing.

[benmillerbct]

integrative practice week 4. pughs method

for week 4 of creative technologies, I learnt how to use morphological charts and pugh's method of ideation.

using it, I worked as part of a group to try to figure out what makes a good story, by coming up with key attributes to a story, (immersion, themes, characters, etc.) come up with example details for each, and then use said examples to create 3 possible story concepts. finally, after figuring out a grading system of 1-5, we graded each concept piece on which makes for a good story.

Pugh's method is definitely incredibly useful, since you can take about any idea for a project and consider each part of it to come up with the best possible version. a chair on it's own sounds very simple, but considering each part of a chair (seat, back, arm rest, wheels, height, etc.) allows you to come up with the perfect chair for your needs.

my own project for this semester is to create some sort of experience to simulate the sensation or feelings of hearing loss. the problem I immediately face in regards to this is what kind of experience should it be, but using pugh's method, i can safely take examples of possible experiences and grade them each on different qualities i want for the project.

overall, pugh's method and the morphological chart are incredibly useful and i can easily see how i might use them myself.

[benmillerbct]

Assignment 1 enel599

here are the 2 photo's required for assignment 1 as well as a video of it working. figuring it out was pretty entertaining, if confusing.

[benmillerbct]

semester 2 week 3

for week 3 of creative technologies, we learnt about project framing and considering different ways we could go about solving a problem you may be stuck on.

an example of problem framing would be handling keyboards for phones. most people had originally considered the best solution for giving a phone the ability to write was to add a large keyboard or find some other ways to implement a full keyboard to the design. however, by simply framing the problem differently, phones no longer have direct keyboards, but instead a touch screen that opens a multi-layered keyboard on the screen.

the exercise had us taking already existing solutions, looking t it's opposite properties and then trying to use those properties to find a solution.

for my group, we were tasked with coming up with a unique solution like that of a raincoat. of the different properties we found, the primary properties we considered were that a raincoat is light, deflects water and sits around the body. looking to try to frame the problem in a different way, we considered their opposites.

the 4 different ideas we thought of were:

water-based heating coat. umbrella hat which absorbs water hydraulic exo-suit (absorbs rain for use in the system) hamster wheel. while most of these are rather nonsensical, they are unique possible ways to consider the problem. in particular, one thing I realized after considering the possibilities is that a water-based exo-suit could also be used for generating electricity, giving it possible use in powering personal devices.

overall, problem framing can be incredibly useful when other solutions are not working or helping. however, it is really only useful in considering multiple avenues of solutions. it may also leave people considering pathways that would not be realistically viable or possible. if done correctly, you may find a solution that could revolutionize a form of technology. if done incorrectly, you create a device that will act as a gimmick at best or be unusable at worst.

otherwise though, so long as you consider framing as a way to find new avenues and less a solution in itself, this way of finding solutions can be quite useful.

[benmillerbct]

semester 2 week 2. lotus ideation

for week 2, we learnt a bit more about ideation and ways we could use to create new solutions for problems. in particular, we practised using the lotus blossom ideation table to come up with solutions for a prompted problem.

working as part of a group, I chose to look into solutions for the problem of getting people to go to the local library again. the lotus blossom table works by putting the problem in the centre of a grid and putting eight paths for solutions around it. you can then expand on each path by putting solutions around each one.

lastly, start connecting possible connections between different solutions to create possible approaches to handling an issue such as making the library easier to access and add spaces to relax such as a coffee space in order to encourage people to come back.

overall, I think this is an interesting way to go about coming up with ideas and has much more organization to a simple brainstorm. I feel that the lotus blossom method is more limited in scope in comparison to something like a brainstorm as you need to limit the broad solutions to something more manageable. at the same time though, in comparison to brainstorming, the lotus blossom manages to look at many more minute details and encourages filling in the blank spaces, something which a brainstorm fails to do.

likely on its own, I would not use a lotus blossom when my preferred method of simply making lists are possible, however, more likely, I would use the lotus blossom ideation technique alongside a classic brainstorm, as they both cover each other's flaws while enhancing their effective abilities.

[benmillerbct]

week 1 semester 2. Cultural Probes

today was my first day of classes again after a month-long break. the beginning of class was primarily just talking about what will be happening this semester but it helps me feel things will be much less rushed this time around :)

the second half of the class had us split up into groups and learn more about Cultural Probes, a Qualitative way of learning information about people without directly disrupting their activities.

doing a basic survey can give people some basic information but can also skew a surveyee's responses. as such, a better way to gain information about a particular demographic would be to come up with a way to find out information from people without direct interference, these are called Cultural Probes.

our group was then split into groups of 3 and each given a short brief for making our own cultural probe. my group were given a prompt to find out information about people in regards to food.

we decided on the idea of "hey, Buffet!" a buffet in which a "Probee" would be given a questionnaire placemat to fill out after eating, asking about what they chose to eat, what they would have preferred, what they didn't like where they usually eat and if they would like seconds?

this would likely work rather well in a place such as a restaurant, where people expect some sort of buffet, but it's also somewhat flawed as only a few people would likely care to answer. another issue is that, despite this being made to meet a student demographic, this is something anyone could fill out, and few students would likely bother.

one of the possible upsides though is that not only would we have the questionnaires for information, but we would also be able to learn what food people enjoyed the most by looking over the buffet afterwards.

the buffet concept, or something similar, could also possibly work in an office work setting, where one could find out what kinds of food different kinds of office workers enjoy by placing different kinds of snacks in a lunch or break room.

one of the biggest issues I see with Cultural probes overall, however, is that it leaves most of the interaction in the hands of the "Probee". if a Probee were given a package or kit to fill out in their spare time, for example, it's possible that they may not use it at all, while a form of installation requires for people to choose to interact with it. this means data could also be swayed by having only one kind of Probee interact with it due to a pre-existing interest in the Probes subject matter.

despite these shortcomings of the probe and the flaws I saw with my concept, I had a lot of fun considering this new way of gathering information and I feel it could be an exciting experience should I make or use one again.

[benmillerbct]

Reflecting on Team Projects

My team’s project for this semester was AUT Friends, a project with the goal of helping students with similar interests meet each other and talk. The project was a lot of fun to work on and even though we didn’t actually make the program, we did a lot of research into similar products and spoke with people who would know about these sorts of things, including the AUT student hub.

It was a fun experience working with other people. at the start, we had a few difficulties in finding ways to split up the work. some people had less skill in important subjects for the project and we had difficulty thinking of things we had to work on. Once we started breaking up the work though, we got a lot of work done a lot faster.

Another issue we had though was making sure to find times where we could all meet up and work rather than working independently. Quite a few times, one or two of us were busy with work and weren’t available for a meetup, while we still were able to meet up together later and were able to communicate online, I feel that a lot more work could have been done together. One of the best ways we could have done this would have been to overlap our current schedules and see what times we would be able to meet up. Another option would have been to try and find times where we could remove recreational activities from our schedule for a day.

My own part in the group felt rather minimal at the start, however as we continued working, I feel I was able to help in ways other people in the group didn’t expect such as helping with finding design information and creating possible design images. A similar event happened the other way around for me when working with the other Ben in our group, where he showed expertise in finding information about peoples possible interests which we would use as part of a questionnaire at the start of the program.

While working on the project was fun, I feel most importantly in helping us work together was finding similar interests beyond the project. Being able to go out and get lunch together was a lot of fun and helped me get to know my teammates better. Even the small talk between work was a lot of fun. They are small things, sure but they made me feel more comfortable while working and made me feel closer to the team.

Overall, the main things I learnt from the experience about working in a team was making sure to split work evenly across the team, even if you may think someone may not be able to help much, you will likely be surprised what they can do. Be aware of schedules and try to find a time everyone can meet up to work regularly. Lastly, try and have fun as a team!

[benmillerbct]

Of Reflection and Time-Management

something I've been learning throughout the year so far has been reflecting on my work and managing my time more appropriately. questions I've been asking myself a lot now have been things such as: What am I going to work on today? what did I do yesterday and what can I do to make it better? what have I learned from my progress so far?

these kind of questions are things I've found quite helpful in considering my options and being aware of myself compared to the time I have. as I write this, Thursday at 11:21am, I'm still thinking back on what work I still must do and remind myself that I can go to playing games and relaxing once it is all done.

managing my time as I am right now however can also be rather taxing. I find myself being much more tired and stressed as I constantly play the things I need to work on through my head while doing said work. this can lead to difficulty doing any future work that may suddenly appear as one concentrates on managing the pre-existing work.

just yesterday, I was asked to work on a new blog discussing what I have learned over the past 8 weeks of BCT and I have difficulty remembering it. not only due to a lack of proper care to record and reflect on the lessons, but due to focusing more on the present work to be done, writing other posts, finishing my 2nd programming assignment, beginning work on my final project (a dnd character creator) and working to design my final studio project (a friend making app).

as such I think I need to re-orient myself and come up with a better way to manage time. as it currently stands, I have done so by simply remembering, but I'm seeing how much that taxes me. I think a better option would be to set reminders on my Calender and taking more notes, that way I can focus on the project soonest to be due and have everything I need to remember hints and tools to remember my other work between the weeks.

this is a lot to read but the "too long; didn't read" of all of this is, looking back and reflecting on my current way of handling my time, I see it has flaws that need solving and I may have a possible solution. I'm sure it's not the best solution, but that is why we have the internet. to help get information!

this brings us to the topic of reflection rather well. reflection is a rather useful tool in most parts of life. it lets us consider alternative actions and solutions to our mistakes while giving us a chance to congratulate our successes big or small. it gives us a moment of respite from the present that troubles us and lets us consider the past and future. and it helps us to act with hindsight.

I've found that reflecting on one's actions can be very useful, and very powerful, but one may find themselves using such a power dangerously, be it against others or themselves. reflect on your actions incorrectly and one may go about making excuses. reflect too often and one may find themselves either becoming arrogant or self-defeating. never consider your reflections in future choices and actions and one may find it useless as they continue life never fixing their mistakes.

Reflection is a tool we have learnt as we have grown but it can be abused or wrong. even I find myself using it in ways that lead to being critical of myself or simply making excuses for my actions. something we can do to strengthen our ability to reflect however is to learn from others.

Everyone has a different background and life. this changes how we see ourselves or consider the world. this can help us to better ourselves by learning from their beliefs and considering them alongside our own. we often can be very critical of ourselves, getting the opinions of others can help us in reflecting by giving us an outsider's look at our actions and a less biased understanding of our situation. do not consider another's opinion any more important than yours, however, as it can lead to many insecurities and a feeling of incompetence. this is something I can also say from experience.

Overall, we must remember something important in regards to both reflecting on our actions and managing our time. these are both tools that we use to better ourselves and make our lives easier. they have no say in how they are used and can be used for better or worse. they can be used too often or too little and we choose how we use them.

all I can do is give my understanding and give the advice I was taught and try to live by.

"Everything in moderation."

[benmillerbct]

coding comments and how to laugh

This is not directly related to anything I'm working on in class (aside from maybe the fact I'm learning how to code) but I thought that we might as well remind ourselves of the nonsense that can sometimes happen when programming.

As much fun as I have writing programs and figuring out how to solve the Rubik's cube I'm making, I'm sometimes disappointed with myself that i am unsure how to make some funny comments. So instead I'm stealing other peoples comments for their work and putting it here.

Why am I doing this? Because it's funny.

I mean it also shows that we aren't the only ones still learning and having coding troubles but still, mostly because it's funny. Hope you all enjoy and remember, sometimes your code will mess with you, if so, try make the best of it. When life gives you lemons, make LIFE.

// Ad Index scheming and plotting - Those with // heart conditions are advised to not continue

// We don't really need to do this, as the environment will keep track of it and clean up for us. But we're tidy Kiwis round here, aren't we?

# Tkil's gonna love this one. :-) But what the hell... it's safe to assume that the only thing initiating DCCs will be Connections, right? Boy, we're not built for extensibility, I guess. Someday, I'll clean all of the things like this up.

//Ye Olde Contructor Methode. You know the drill. Takes absolutely no args whatsoever.

/* Project : XYZ (Please somebody shoot me!) */

// Yesterday I had a scare, // I ran some code that wasn't there, // It wasn't there again today; // Oh, how I wish that it would stay.

public boolean isDirty() { // why do you always go out and return dirty;

}

A personal favorite of mine.

//Dear future me. Please forgive me. //I can't even begin to express how sorry I am.

Lastly, for my final gift, I give you all this beautiful video of the team at valve suffering.

Remember, even when you think your code is going horribly, horribly wrong, there are likely solutions. Even if there aren't, you can always try make a way to circumvent the issue and if that doesn't work, you can do what all these programmers did and just say:

// Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

[benmillerbct]

week 4, the half way point

last week was my last week of classes until the school break and for it, we were asked to use different fabrics, iron string and some lights to make a flag!

nonetheless, we still had a few challenges, such as sewing.s process was much easier compared to what we had done the weeks prior, which left us with less work to do overall.

nonetheless, we still had a few challenges, such as sewing. you would think it would be a simple process, we already had the design for our flag and knew where we would put the lights. the lights themselves are meant to be sewn together with the metal string to make a circuit. and yet, whenever we sowed them all together, the lights wouldn't quite work.

we eventually got them to work, since it seems we didn't properly sow them together and the string was still loose, stopping it from actually touching the lights, once we got it to work though, it was perfect.

we were the first group to actually finish, after a bit of time spent supergluing everything together, and first to put our flag up. though the image is a little blurry, u think we did a great job in making it and coming up with our team name (one of the silliest might I add)

Team Send Help.

[benmillerbct]

Introducing the piAAAHno

For week 3 of creative technologies, I was tasked with working in a team to make an instrument using audacity and scratch. Through my musical fl studio skills and my teams' skills in coding and engineering, we made a board with 5 wooden clothespins. Each pin is coded to play a cut scream from a person in our team, which has been changed to different pitches.

One small issue we found is, since they all use the same ground, touching with multiple fingers and closing the loop plays both notes. Also we don't have 7 pins for 7 notes in a full piano range.

Beyond this though, it still works very well, and was not too hard to make! something that I learned in class afterwards is that sometimes when making something, the prototype can and sometimes should start as something as simple as a brick taped to a pen. in this case, we certainly started simple, but it also helped us to find some of the issues we might need to consider if we were to continue working on this.

one of the things I learnt is to be aware of how you connect the parts of your device together and consider how you can simplify parts while keeping the device effective. something else I learnt is to try and be more aware of the limits we may have in making our project. making things can take time and materials we don't have, so it's important that we consider what we can make in the time we have with the tools we have. after all, the modern car wasn't invented in an hour, it took years of trial and error to reach the point of manufacture we are at know.

all things considered, I think we did rather well in making this, and I think next time, if we were to work more effectively on this with a bit more time. we could likely make a piAAAHno that would make metal bands proud.

[benmillerbct]

a unique way of seeing them. because I'm a sucker for the curses you give us though, why active?

ah to be a silky shark drifting daintily through my villainous underwater lair which incidentally is an active motherfucking volcano

[benmillerbct]

note to self: if I need help with java, my dad can help. if I need help with processing though, he can't teach me that.

while processing uses java, the actual java stuff is hidden and compiled by the program for me so i don't have to worry too much.

when a java user writes in processing, without knowing how processing works, they may just write stuff that processing already does for them.

it was kind of funny to see, yet very insightful.

[benmillerbct]

BCT week 2 reflection of board game

during week 2 I was tasked with "hacking" a board game as part of a group to develop skills in Papertronics, project work and creative design.

this process took some time as we had multiple ideas for the project. we decided to make a game in the style of Mario Party, in which players would have to complete minigames to win.

it was an enjoyable experience, although it was difficult to put all the pieces together and come up with some minigame ideas.

the original idea we had, a top-down, turn-based combat game, certainly didn't work, something we figured out early into development, thankfully we figured out what to make. the primary issue we had was explaining to new players how to play the new game.

the problem was that the rules had not properly been reviewed until given to play-testers, in which play quickly turned to chaos as players rolled randomly without a clue as to what to do. another issue faced throughout was poor time management in making the game. something primarily caused due to differing schedules.

positive parts in the creation include success in putting the game together, as the use of Papertronics and the MakeyMakey were simple to apply to our game. it was also easy to come up with minigames for each area of the board, using the already established rooms as the theme for each.

to reflect, in future, it is important that I try to manage my time more appropriately so that I can get things done quicker. I should also try to test my work more beforehand and make sure that my projects are easier to use. that way, i will be able to make sure my projects are able to be used properly and easily.

[benmillerbct]

Truly, this is a crime against humanity. to all those who failed to answer, I have a bone to pick from you.

I think I should be allowed to have as many bones as I like and I don’t think that is an inherently controversial statement on my part

[benmillerbct]

I found the solution! my variables were calculated before the size of the program was even set up. instead, it's calculating width and height as about 100 pixels.

I don't know what happened

you know how some people say you only live once? I was trying to figure out how variables work and I think I figured it out until this happened.

I do not want to deal with this. I have no clue what went wrong.

no matter how big I make the size, even if I remove /2 from the floats, it's still small compared to the actual box.