fromCONCENTRATE

Just before yesterdays presentation I asked two fantastic helpers to draw on the back of these demo lanyards “something which they know nothing about” (and would like to learn about.)  Connie and Eve (daughters of Jane Dudman – thanks!) suggested ’swimming’ and ‘the deep sea’ to go on the back of their lanyards:

I chose this example to illustrate that it isn’t such a big deal for children to express that they don’t have knowledge about something, but I think, as we get older (and more ’specialised’) it can become increasingly difficult (and socially embarrassing) to admit that our knowledge or ability is in some way inadequate.

This very lo-fi demo brought up some interesting questions about what exactly the project is trying to do.  In the above example – wearers draw or write on the back of their lanyard something which they want to learn about and then they are in control of when (and to whom) it is revealed.  This is akin to the kind of ’speed-dating’ or ’social-networking’ games which already take place within conference environments and is not really the type of interaction I’m trying to get at…

The device which I am building would not be activated by the wearer – instead it would be activated by the presence of others members of the community and it would *involuntarily* reveal inadequacies (or short-comings) in the wearer’s knowledge or ability.

here is a quick summing up of my progress in developing this ‘augmented inadequacy’ device for my DOING assignment:

Progress…

1.  Arduino —> Programmable Display

I used this LCD display:
http://www.coolcomponents.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=45_71&products_id=151

And this tutorial helped a lot: http://www.arduinoprojects.com/node/13

Problems:

* need to make secure connection to LCD

* need to control contrast of LCD

Code already called the LiquidCrystal library at setup and interfaced seven of the arduino digital pins to the LCD:

// include the library code:
#include <LiquidCrystal.h>
// initialize the library with the numbers of the interface pins
LiquidCrystal lcd(2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 12);

I put the wire controlling the LCDs contrast (pin 3 on the datasheet excerpt below) into the arduino digital pin 5:

// contrast variable to digital pin 5
const int contrastPin = 5;

And then established the best contrast level for this 16×2 LCD using PWM (which runs from 0-255) via analogWrite – 118 seemed a good value:

//PWM value
analogWrite(contrastPin, 118);
//info http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/PWM

* need to work with Arduino Nano

* http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/ArduinoBoardNano
* http://www.ladyada.net/learn/lcd/charlcd.html
* http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=1500

2. Programme —> allow switching of display

(Demo with tilt sensor shows principle)

3. Transmit / Receive Infra-Red Signal

bought these IR components:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=10379#features

sought advice here:

http://tthheessiiss.wordpress.com/2009/08/05/dirt-cheap-wireless/
http://www.arduino.cc/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1235097384

got stuck!

tried this instead:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-an-arduino-IR-link/

but also does not seem to work :-(

4.  (received vibration motor – have not yet integrated into programme)

5.  Cut out a simple housing on the laser cutter to demo the concept and give an example of layout:

IR transmitter and receiver mounted above and below electronic display.  (I added a button to the bottom right which would allow the device to be triggered ‘manually’ by the wearer themselves.)*

*added later – in retrospect, the last minute addition of a ‘manual’ button, allowing the wearer to trigger the device themselves is totally unnecessary and undermines the concept of the device.

The ubiquitous conference lanyard-pass (which is basically a wearable device combining properties of ‘ticket’ ‘pass’ and ‘identity badge’) allows individuals entry to talks and events and is worn to indicate membership of this temporary and exclusive community.   Different coloured passes are given to different actors within the conference (‘delegate’ or ‘artist’ or ’speaker’) and different passes also indicate different levels of involvement (‘weekend pass’ ‘day pass’ ‘organiser pass’ ‘punter pass’…)

The combined properties of ‘exclusivity’ and ‘around-the-neck-ness’ mean that the device is, in a sense, a medal*.

The lanyard pass communicates an individuals name and affiliation and acts as a ’social signifier’ indicating the individuals own specialist status and subscription to the specific conference concerns.

I intend to develop a device for use within conference environments which would facilitate individuals in sharing (rather than hiding!) gaps in their knowledge.  I think it is appropriate that such a device might be incorporated into the design of pre-existing conference lanyards.

The device would have an electronic display with two states:

1. passive/dormant state – electronic display shows usual delegate information: name, affiliation, role etc.
2. activated state – when in the presence of another device further information is revealed – the wearer displays a ‘gap’ in their knowledge

* ‘Thinker of the Year 2008′ medal awarded by close friends on my birthday that year – to this day I am still unclear about the irony:sincerity ratio of this gift.