Glendon's recipe

Having troubles of connecting door joint with a potentiometer well, I asked for Glendon's advice. He just gave it a peek and drew a instruction for me.



Instead of plug a straight iron wire into the pot of potentiometer, he suggested me to bend the wire and inlay it into a horizontal indentation. So it has a anchor point to move and a full control of rotation. I did the same to the other side of wire to connect it with door joint tightly.



I cut the potentiometer to less then 3/4 inch so I can hide it into a step at th bottom of the door case. Now the angel of the potentiometer changes identically with the door angel. And I tested it with my laptop. The angel of this wood ready-made door is only 90 degrees, which made me have to change my original code to show videos completely . But I am thinking how I can make it open wider to let the interaction longer. I also tested it with a led installed in the doorway to add some light while the video switches into a hidden camera view.





Production - open door open mind from Hsiang Ju Hung on Vimeo.



This is a ideal view of a mini camera which I haven't plugged into the door way. Now I am using a plug-in cam on my laptop.



Manual, box, eee pc. I am trying to install OF and Arduino into this tiny computer.





Test view. I found that the screen is smaller then my doorway exit. So I have to redo the door way again.

2D to 3D

3"*7" panel door and two sets of door knob and keys.
$ 11 + $ 4
They are tiny but not cheap.


The box for install eee pc and a doorway.
I went to 9th floor's fabrication lab to make this. Thanks to the help of Glendon and those people at the lab. I found that the worker at the sawing room is very friendly to show you how to use those machine. And a professor from product design also taught me how to assemble and screw correctly and effectively. Yeah~ I love making physical things in that kind of environment where everyone is working with hands, objects, and loud music. It was fun.
Those pieces are cut from a shelf wood board got from HomeDepot $ 10.


Assembling the door with a doorway. The doorway is made of card boards costing $ 4.


There will be a fake perspective created by a trapezoid door way.


Trying to hook up a potentiometer to the door.
Pot from Digikey costs $2.


I decided to as a step at the bottom of the door to cover the pot.


Front view.


Back view.

Sketch of Box

Today I went to Home depot as my plan and got a wood board for $10. Mr. Glendon promised to help me to cut it into pieces on this Tuesday night. Above is the box blueprint with length and width noted. I am still thinking about whether I should put the setting vertically or not to put into a human figure.

There is another issue with the door setting. I am still figuring out how to fit a potentiometer into the door frame, how thick the frame is supposed to be, and how to make it look natural...

And I also thought about the human figure sculpture a little bit. I found more parts of mannequins on line. Perhaps I can get some to build it sooner.



I am thinking maybe I can build my sculpture on this kind of stand to make it free-standing and more durable.
However, making a human sculpture lets me feel that the original meaning has been distorted. Putting the interaction into a sculpture would draw a line between the viewer and the object which makes the viewer thinks it is another person's door that he is opening and closing. But what I want he to experience is to treat the door as his own exit toward outside world, and to feel like he is deep inside a room or a body.

How can I make he feel that way? Create a sealed and dark space? Or make a fake wall with this tiny door on it as the only exit? Then how about the human characteristic? Make a wall with sunk shape like a human figure? Or just draw a blurry shadow of human on it?

Because Taipei Cultural Center is not open to dig any hole into the wall and ground, I have to make a completely independent thing that is durable to interact with and easy for the manager to operate the computer everyday as well. So I would like to make it smaller and flexible to place. If it is a human sculpture, I have to make sure it is stable and stands firmly. If it is a fake wall, I have to make it harmless to the environment. It is very difficult for me on both the form and the implement parts...

Keep A Diary

To improve my writing, I decide to fallow Ethan's suggestion - keep a diary of my making and thinking process. Today is my material hunting day for my box.

Before I build anything big, I would like to make a durable box containing my core installation. Which should have a panel door outside, a door way and a computer inside, and a built-in potentiometer connected to an aduino board plugged to the computer. I think as long as the box functions well, I can apply it to any kind of form, such as putting into a hallowed sculpture or placing behind a fake wall. A portable box with the interaction working is my current aim.
So to build the box, I have to 1)design the structure. 2)get the materials. 3)assemble and test it. I have already made a paper-made one, so there is a sketch of how it constructs in my mind. But the scale and details of organizing inner parts of it is depending on what kind of materials and devices I am going to use. Therefore, I started with material researching.

After considering several ways of setting a screen and a computer together with my installation. I finally made a decision of purchasing a EEE PC recommended by Adam. It costs a lot, but I guess it's the most efficient way to do it. So if there is nothing wrong, I will get the small laptop on Wednesday. Here is the product.

ASUS Eee PC900HA 8.9inches Netbook $300


I went to Tiny Doll House to search for available parts as well.

The store is a wonderful place for me to visit, because I can actually take those doll house kits as my architechtual reference. I was concerning about how I can make a durable tiny door with what kind of wood, and how to modify the hardware. But when I saw those half-ready-made tiny building materials, I released. It inspired me to color my piece as well. I hope I can have a pink door as Doraemon's Anywhere Door on a white box at the end. However, I need to make it functional first then beautiful later. As a result, I got a traditional 6 panel door and two door nobs. They are so small, exquisite, and suitable that I feel so happy that someone has made them for my project.

What's more, I also ordered some potentiometers. I ordered the one that with a plastic rather then metal nob. It is easier to drill and connect with other objects.

POT 50K OHM 9MM VERT PLA BUSHING

So for tomorrow, I am going to pick some wood materials at Home Depot. And draw my blueprint for the box with precise scale according to today's results.

By the way, I went to a New York based chocolate store on the way home. It's called Jacqes Torres. There are many people purchasing gifts for their lovers. So did I. But due to my stomach illness, I can only appreciate those colorful chocolate in different kind of flavor with out trying any of them. Looking at those giant machines making chocolates, I hope someday I can make a project eatable.

Form revolution

For make viewers understand it is about human mental connection, I decide to create a human figure to put the installation into its chest.

Interaction

Untitled from Hsiang Ju Hung on Vimeo.

A working and updated prototype.