Montreal:

So I had a great time in Montreal, meet some really rad people. Learned a lot about pneumatic structures that I hope I can use in the future. Montreal was a fantastic city and I can’t wait to go back.

Here's some movies of what we did:

The Final Idea:

So I got the magnetic tape head out of the children's tape player and got them to still work when the play button is pressed. YA!!! When I pull magnetic tape over the head it makes a mixing sound similar to a DJ scratching a record. I also created a devise that moves from left to right hopefully it will work in unison with the walls. The idea is that when the devise moves the magnetic head will also move and therefore move across the magnetic tape making the scratching noise.

Magnetic Tape/Magnetic Tape Head:

The magnetic tape head is fastened to the bottom of the structure and the magnetic tape fabric is placed on the floor beneath the structure. The idea is that when the structure is blown up or deflated it would cause the magnetic tape head on the bottom of the wall to move over the magnetic tape fabric on the floor producing a sound.

This could also be reversed by placing the magnetic tape head in the floor and wrapping the bottom of the structure with the magnetic tape fabric.

Group for Montreal:

Carl: Accordion/type writer
Kyle: Theremin/optical theremin
Me: 8 track/walkman and magnetic tape heads/tape
Chelsea: Elmo

Pneu Studio
Erica, China, Barbara and Matt
Idea: Three circulation/entry/exit spaces that lead one into a center gallery/exhibit space

Concept Ideas:

Idea:

So today I have been de-constructing a walkman to get at the magnetic piece that reads the magnetic tape in cassettes. The idea is to mount that magnetic piece on to a glove that is then connected to headphones allowing the user to hear the noises made as they drag there finger over the magnetic tape.

Research:

I came across this really cool project that uses magnetic tape. The idea is to take the magnetic tape a weave it to create a fabric that has the ability to be listened to. By using the magnetic head of a tape player you can listen to the fabric as you move the head across the tape/fabric. :)



Check it out: http://www.sonicfabric.com/index.html

Some Ideas:


Using an etch-a-sketch is hard, hooking it up to a mouse might seem harder, but in the end, likely more appropriate and accurate. here comes the electr-o-sketch--hack a mouse to control and draw on the classic and ever present etch-a-sketch.



It used ultrasonic sensors to determine orientation and could detect four different positions per finger. The finger's resistance varies depending on how much it is bent, so Brandon used an LM339 comparator to determine the mouse clicks. For the actual mouse interface he used the guts of a Gyration mouse.

The Vivisection:

The vivisection is complete! After realizing the complexity of the 8 track player I choose to concentrate just on it and the mac mouse. I was able to pull the mac mouse apart very quickly and with a little research and computer knowledge figure out how it worked. (the attached images show the documentation of the vivisection and explain how it works)


Click here for a closer look: The_mac_mouse.pdf














However the 8 track player was a different story. After two days of re-wiring I was able to pull the 8 track player apart in order to see how it works. I then grouped the wires together and mapped out a diagram explaining where the wires come and went from which allowed me to better understand what they did. I also gathered some research as to how the 8 track tape moves through the cartridge and interacts with the player and plays the song. (the attached images show the documentation of the vivisection and explain how it works)








Click here for a closer look:8_track_player.pdf

The Final Mechanism:

So I reconstructed my mechanism for the third time and it works great. I used metal screws and nuts and set them into holes that were a size large for easy movement. I also put soap on all the connections so that the wood slides over one another more freely. Now when you put weight in the basket it causes the opposite weights to rise and fall when the weights are removed. In addition to the up down motion that is created through the addition and subtraction of the weights the arm connecting to wind mill is also forced to move and there moves the wind mill.