Category: Intro to Physical Computing

This week we demonstrated different types of serial communication from P5.JS to the Arduino IDE. I decided to have a potentiometer determine a couple of the color values in my sketch from last week for ICM. This was my take on the 10print challenge where the computer draws lines at different angles horizontally. Below is a video of it working, along with snapshots of the code in Arduino and P5.

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This week we began experimenting with assigning tones to a speaker. We were also introduced to a pitches.h library designed by Brett Hagman. I used the examples on the Arduino site to help create this simple melody. I also added an if statement so instead of just initializing the song when the program starts, you can trigger it with the touch sensitive resistor in the loop function. Below I figured out a simple melody for the song Old Town Road by Lil Nas X.

After figuring out the melody I wanted, I input the notes into the Arduino IDE. The code is below.

https://create.arduino.cc/projecthub/wpolitan/p-comp-week-4-bb8fb4

#include "pitches.h"

// notes in the melody:
int melody[] = {
  NOTE_E4, NOTE_E4, NOTE_E4, NOTE_D4, NOTE_C4, NOTE_A3, NOTE_A3, NOTE_E4, NOTE_D4, NOTE_C4,0,NOTE_A3,NOTE_G3,NOTE_D4, NOTE_D4, NOTE_E4, NOTE_C4, NOTE_A3, NOTE_A3,
  
};

// note durations: 4 = quarter note, 8 = eighth note, etc.:
int noteDurations[] = {
  8, 8, 4, 4, 4, 8, 8, 8, 4,8,8,8,8,2,4,4,8,4,4
};
void setup() {
 Serial.begin(9600);

}

 
 void loop() {

   
   // get a sensor reading:
   int sensorReading = analogRead(A0);
   int frequency= map(sensorReading, 0, 1023, 100,880);
   if(sensorReading>600){
       // iterate over the notes of the melody:
  for (int thisNote = 0; thisNote < 19; thisNote++) {

    // to calculate the note duration, take one second divided by the note type.
    //e.g. quarter note = 1000 / 4, eighth note = 1000/8, etc.
    int noteDuration = 1000 / noteDurations[thisNote];
    tone(9, melody[thisNote], noteDuration);

    // to distinguish the notes, set a minimum time between them.
    // the note's duration + 30% seems to work well:
    int pauseBetweenNotes = noteDuration * 1.30;
    delay(pauseBetweenNotes);
    // stop the tone playing:
    noTone(9);
    
    Serial.println("pressed");
    }
   }
    else {
      Serial.println("not pressed");
      }
   


 }

Below is the final application in use.

Next week I hope to expand on the use of triggering different sounds and LED’s. Eventually I want to create musical applications and hardware, that can interface with the computer in a more intuitive way.

This week for my observation assignment I decided to look at the Whole Foods automated register lanes. At the 365 whole Foods by Atlantic Avenue, there is always a backup around peak hours. There are three dedicated lanes that flash a new register once it becomes open. If I were designing these lanes I would try my best to incorporate the fact that everyone is extremely frustrated while checking out of the grocery store. They have kids at home, work to finish and places to be. This means everyone just wants to get out of there.

I tend to think of the status bar as an inspiration to make this system better. Why is it so satisfying to watch our data upload with a bar? Imagine uploading and downloading without it! These lanes seem to choose which of the three at random (with a preference to the express lane). How do they code the split? And what data caused the way they divvy up the lanes? This could cause more frustration for the other lanes but does provide a speedier experience for those not getting as much. All of these questions run through the minds of the people in the lanes. They also have screens displaying cooking videos, which do help I think to keep people distracted but also has the feeling of trying to sell you more product.

One way I think I would make this experience better is by using the status bar idea. Create a whole foods app (use the existing prime now app they make you download for discounts, where they are probably just selling more of your data/preferences). Instead, use the app to show the average wait time of both lanes in real time. This could be made using cameras and machine learning. That way, people know the wait time and can plan their expectations accordingly. Also, I would use this data to inform an algorithm that would disperse the express lane-regular lane ratio accordingly.

Getting started with breadboards was really exciting. I want to make hardware for musical applications eventually, so I decided to make a piano light switch.

The first thing I did was set up the connections on my breadboard. I used five lights, each using a 220 ohm resistor. I arranged everything in parallel so that I could close circuits separately.

To create the piano I wrapped a piece of aluminum around the side of a piece of cardboard. I connected that strip of aluminum to the breadboard’s ground. Then I separately connected each LED’s ground to the piece of cardboard, with an opening. This allowed me to use another piece of aluminum wrapped around my finger to close each circuit, when pressed.