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Original animation of the ADM Machine

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Had fun with this one. Honestly I did not think I would complete this at all but with a couple all-nighters at the end here we are!

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Plan B . Always solid to have a backup

After cooking my progress with my other project I have rushed in a project that I have wanted to complete for a long time.

I have built a tea pot warming desk for Nobel and Sunday Tea Merchants that required it to be powered only by a single phase outlet but run four elements to keep tea warm while on display at events.

Each element is from a coffee maker bought from farmers, stripping the elements I kept the safety features like insulation and thermocouple devices that came with the elements.

Running all elements at the same time would pop the circuit breaker on the single phase plug.

To make sure this does not happen the Arduino will run a timer and keep each element within thermal limits, rolling over a two-minute loop with a maximum on time of 12 seconds.

LCD displays the what state the elements are in and for how long. buttons control the timing to increase or reduce heat.

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Drunk Lock Box

Idea for physical programming to modify a safe by installing an Arduino to sense if you are high or drunk! Stopping yourself from doing dumb things like taking embarrassing wasted selfies or drunk driving or drunk driving while taking embarrassing wasted selfies by utilizing The Drunk Lock Box.

in integrates a Simon says game that will be a challenge for a normal person let alone a stoner!

Don't forget you still have to pass the built in breathalyzer!

And for added fun there is a keypad that you have on any standard safe, oh the security!

Fun for the whole family or a party game trying to get your keys back the next morning while dealing with a hangover!!

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Lotus Diagram can be very handy to break down ideas into much smaller chunks. its like a calendar that radiates out from the center of the main event.

Here the goal is to have 8 top ideas relating to the Auckland library to keep it an exciting place. The top ideas come from anywhere on the chart but that is after all options are laid out. The Diagram also allows the user to visually see the small components that build up to a complete object, for example you never see all the parts that make up an engine but with this diagram you can strip it down to its base components to sort out where a fault may be coming from.

I am keen to see how this Diagram works in programming with understanding how the logic structure can be broken down as there are too many parts to a process to keep in your mind while editing.

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Validation-Qualitative & Quantitative data

A key learning session for me covered in class was about idea validation and how qualitative and quantitative data types differ, resulting in viable and/or unusable data. Implementing different types for data collection and using that data to construct reasoning behind ideas.

Gathering data on the AUT gym and how to increase its appeal was our task.

Using qualitative data (interviews and observation) we gathered information that led us to believe that it was too expensive for the experience that you get compared to other gyms.

Validation helps to confirm ideas but also helps others understand that ideas have been thought out with solid data to back it up. without validation you have no strength to explain the reasons why this or that works.

For myself communicating ideas can be a struggle and sometimes not overcome easily. These methods may help others understand why I think a particular idea or design may work.

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Flipping Normal

The brief was to re-invent the rain-coat by extracting what its function and experience is relative to a user without changing the purpose of a rain-coat (Protection from the elements).

We look at the material being flexible vs. what a "solid rain-coat" can be and we pretty much designed a waterproof protective cover with opposite qualities... Ideas from the ridiculous to feasible like being on fire to getting a spray applied that doesn't allow water to stick to you or simply hold a solid object above your head. Some of these ideas we just re-invented the umbrella and had me thinking that this would have been the perfect tool to use if umbrellas had not been invented!

What worked well was 'silly' ideas were thrown about and it made the whole mood of the group lift. How you feel during a brain storm could change the outcome of your and others ideas? maybe.. On top of that, I noticed some previously 'silly' ideas were not so silly after having a conversation about their function and involving others' minds in the thoughts as different experiences give different insights to problem-solving.

What didn’t work so well? Conveying important functions of ideas as sometimes the explanation can get lost in understanding. But if an idea is worth pursuing a prototype would communicate those designs better as it shows the other persons understanding in a physically 'explanative' way.

One of our out-of-the-box ideas was a bubble like a giant hamster ball that has the same function as a rain-coat with none of the mobility. It would be fun but impractical! The idea stemmed from the observation of material worn on the body, flexible and worn closely. The ball being hard-shelled and far away from the skin; maybe not a good rain-coat but to me that sounds like a zorb ball! That shows there are no bad ideas just poor implementation.

Did I gain anything from this exercise? Absolutely! As it is another tool to pull ideas from the darkest corners of your mind. Going through a project brainstorm, I will use it to explore outlandish ideas or if I am in a slump to stir the mind-pot.

It is important to be mindful while using tools like these as ideas can be taken too far from a brief and take up valuable time. keeping focus on the core function of the brief without restricting creative thinking will be key to its success.

To summarise the task was fun, team building in a positive way, could also be distracting for certain briefs but can excite the thought process.

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One of the best tools for breaking down tasks and other stuff

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Traffic Lights Nano perspective 2. note plastic shield will be re-glued as that just nasty!

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Traffic Lights Nano Soldered.

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Traffic Lights UNO wiring perspective 2.

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Traffic Lights UNO wiring.

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Cultural Probe

Our cultural probe to find where foreign students like/wanted/could afford to eat? If I recalled that correctly?? as there was a lot of confusion as to what we were doing!.

communication was flying around well trying to figure out what this cultural probe was suppose to be about and took most of our teams time. seems a difficult way to gather insight about users. ahh learning new sneaky tools... I'm sure implementing it more will allow me to understand how useful it can be.

what worked well for the cultural probe directly was getting minimal information specific to not much in a fun-ish way without making a survey. Being able to add that 'play factor' into gathering info can be much more engaging for the subjects, However the short time and complete lack of grasping the implementation of using this tool made the info we gathered minimally useful.

Tested is a stretch for the 2 min that we had testers but I can see potential scenario for children engagement and possible closed or difficult youth to gather information just from clever design.

possible failings with this method in data being bias from the design or from the input being non-truthful skewing the results or poor design missing the point and wasting time gathering data that could be completely wrong. Is there such a thing as useful incorrect data?

cultural probes being a qualitive method relies on good design and good implementation. it is easy to be critical of a method when you lack understanding but having a good grasp about the information you are needing would help when designing. we lacked understanding fully in the group but pulled off a Hail Mary at the end to smash out a rough cultural probe.

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FLAT Self-levelling Table Bases DEMO

whelp that makes my self levelling table idea obsolete as it has already been done. 

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CrackBac™ Personal Reflection

The CrackBac studio project has been educational in the fact that seemingly simple tasks can be problematic to implement, especially when designed for the human form. A prototype built for and tested in a particular individual to fit one size it may be comfortable and work correctly. However, scaling or transposition onto a different user of a larger/smaller stature could break the function of the device completely. Such problems that are initially assumed to be minor could become complicated issues that are critical for the device to function correctly.

The first rudimentary prototype failed to convey the idea of a back support reminder device, which was corrected by creating a more refined version that clearly demonstrated the intended function. In hindsight, prototype one became a tool for my understanding while prototype two was more suited and presentable to users for their feedback. It taught me that in order to receive feedback from testers, the prototype has to be of a certain standard.

I also realised that if I had presented multiple versions of prototypes at the same time, it would have allowed a broader range of information to be critiqued. This would speed up the process as ideas can be extrapolated, refined and compiled from these versions to make future designs that incorporate more information.

Having mostly positive feedback for an initial prototype could blind one to exploring new ideas but can also show that a certain idea or device is genuinely needed, acting as a bias confirmation feedback loop. In this situation, implementing design techniques is critical for objective evaluation of the initial ideas.

Working in a team with someone passionate about back posture stemming from their personal experience was a huge boost for the project. It brought new ideas and approaches to the table such as branching out with other designs, by conducting research on stretch sensors.

The group dynamic has been good and more enjoyable than working solo. I have a tendency to keep ideas in my head but teamwork has shown me the importance of communicating and explaining my design intentions clearly.

My strength is physically constructing prototypes, which was supplemented by my teammate’s research skills. Her previous knowledge of such devices brought to light that comfort was a major design driver and critical to the use of the product.

In the future, I hope I will have an opportunity to get a professional opinion on the device from a chiropractor.

The learning outcome of this project for me was firstly, the importance of information gathering through multiple prototypes and in what way those prototypes can obtain feedback. Secondly, I found value being part of a team and understood that adding even one team member can have an impact on the direction of a project.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7xeHzYSBr8&ab_channel=MalMal

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Pulling Power from the Sky: The Story of Makani [Feature Film]

13 years on one project. anyone else feel like that passion was involved?