Use Arduino to build something cool. Yes, it was that broad, so I decided to instill it a bit further to “How can I leverage Arduino to create magic and awe?”
As a result of a nerd induced conversation with my professor, that soon became, “How can I leverage Arduino to make someone feel like a Jedi.”
Everything you see here - Ideation, Arduino programming, and circuit design and construction
Place: California College of the Arts
Class: Intro to Processing and Arduino
Duration: 3 weeks
Tools: Arduino, accelerometers, flex sensors, button switches, and lots of solder
Once I landed on the whole Jedi idea, my next steps were figuring out how to use gesture to control things. The hardware – gyroscope, accelerometer, etc. – seemed obvious so I focused in on human behavior. I would place objects about ten feet in front of people and ask them to try and control them with hand gestures. After the laughs and blank stares I found patterns in how people tried to initiate and carry out control of these objects. The challenge was then keeping these patterns consistent in spite of functional constraints.
1. Realize I want people to feel like a Jedi
2. Find the sensors I would need to power a drone via gesture
3. Solder, program, re-solder, reprogram, repeat
4. Give people the force
Imagine putting on a glove and feeling the force. Yep, that’s what this is like.
1. Put the glove on and press the button
2. Throw the hand out toward the drone, straightening out the flex sensor and starting the drone
3. Raise the hand increase the throttle and lift the drone
4. Gradually move around the hand to control the drone