Evaluation

From the prototype to the final result, there were changes in design, but the concept kept the same. Looking at other artist's work made me realize that the impression of the piece can be improved by changing the design. Though a finished artifact was not demanded, I am glad I finished everything I wanted to do. The message of the Three wise Monkeys would not have been able to understand if one of the cows does not do what she is supposed to do.

I am quite proud of my work and fell in love with the three funny looking cows.

During the process of my work I felt increasingly confident in the fields of programming, electric circuits and even in construction. Now I would not panic as much when starting a similar project.

Going to Maplin and ordering photo cells or resistors, does not bother me anymore, whereas before I felt a little uncomfortable, especially as a girl.

Actually, I really enjoyed working at the project. Research enabled me to achieve things I expected to be too complicated.

The progress also enables me to judge other artist's work better. Their concept, but in particular their execution of artifacts appears to be easier understandable.

When I look back to where I started the project, I must confess that I have chosen my project, so the costs would not be too high. Also, I decided only to use the Arduino software to be able to have the sculpture separate and independent. Though my workshop has improved, it is far away from being sufficient to create more sophisticated projects.

These were all constraints and I hope that for the next project, I will overcome them at least to a certain degree.

I am looking forward to become inspired for the next project and will continue to invest time into it.

Randomize

The syntax to randomize is actually quite simple.

The command "randNumber" basically districts the program to a specific number the loop passes through. So, by changing this number, I can influence how frequently the cow speaks.

Three different melodies are stored in form of individual loops.

These loops are called at a certain number.

Example:

If randomNumber==30

mana();

So, if the number 30 is called out of the "randNumber", the loop/melody will start to play.

It is as simple as that and will hopefully help me with future projects.

http://arduino.cc/en/Reference/RandomSeed

Save Sound

During the process of development, I wondered whether instead of the rather simple piezo buzzer, there are other possibilities to save and produce sound. It would be funny if the cow could actually really make her original "Muhhhhh" sound.

There are a couple of possibilities indeed. However, it seems to be quite complicated. Either the quality of the sound ends up very poor or he equipment is quite expensive and complicated to use.

The first way is to use an audio shield for the Arduino. The shield consists of an onboard DAC, filter and op-amp and an SD card.

 

It is quite hard to build this kind of tool. I tried to find out where all components are available, but it turned out that already the appropriate SD card holder is quite difficult to find. If there is SD card holder is not available, the card could also be inside a camera. Unfortunately, that would make the project unnecessary big and another way to connect the USB from the camera to the Arduino needs to be found.

Moreover, writing a program for the music library that is supposed to make playing music easy is quite challenging. It would be a total different approach to what I have programmed so far.

Another key point to consider is that the music files cannot be compressed. It has to be ".wav". Converting anything to .wav may not be that complicated. Nevertheless, a lot of space will be needed to store the file.

The second possible way to achieve some sound quality is to use a Pulse-width modulation (PWM). According to Wikipedia "PWM of a signal or power source involves the modulation of its duty cycle, to either convey information over a communications channel or control the amount of power sent to a load."

Though this is a relatively cheap way to duplicate sounds, many programs need to be downloaded for a successful execution and a computer needs to be connected throughout. When watching the video it surely becomes obvious that this process is tricky.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-width_modulation

http://www.rpi.edu/%7Ekouttd/03/Rage_against_the_arduino.html

There is no problem to save sound when using programs such as Max MSP. Since I am interested in building a digital sculpture that does not depend on a connected computer, but that works on its own, this option cannot be considered.

Making the box

The actual making of the wooden box turned out to be quite difficult. Due to the fact that I do not usually do any woodwork or similar projects, I do not have any tools. Therefore, I tried to find ways of how to get all my equipment at a low cost.

The wood I chose a first was cut at homebase. Unfortunately, the huge machine is not the best for small measurements. My pieces were not precisely cut and the the nails did not get a proper grip. So, I had to get different, more appropriate wood as well as a saw to be able to cut everything at the exact lengths.

Finally, after getting the right nails, everything is put together. The space on the bottom of the box is used for storing the Arduino and all other electronic devices. This shelf is very useful. If any changes need to be done, you just need to take it out without damaging anything else.

It was definitely worth spending a lot of time arranging the wires as tidy as possible. If I want to change something now, or a wire gets lose, it is very easy and quick to do.

The soldering, especially when connecting the LEDs to wires was quite difficult. There is some sort of fat that I was not aware of that makes soldering easier. Without it, the soldering material hardly attaches to the wire, but sticks to the soldering tool.

James Seawright

James Seawright is another American artist who is greatly influential.

He"uses modern electronics and controlled technology to apply to sculpture." What I like about his art is that very often the electronic component are not just visible, but they seem to be an important part of the works appearance.

Ursa Major

Very often his work employs sensors and demands interactivity.

Therefore, in this regard The Three Wise Cows are not that different from his work. They are an interactive sculpture and the connection to electronics can be made through the visible LEDs and the electronic sounding noise.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Seawright

http://www.seawright.net/jamesseawright/works.html

Jim Campbell

Jim Campbell has been a very interesting artist for me. I believe especially the look and the way of his presentation influenced me with my decision to change the design from "tacky" to far more simple.

For one of his projects he uses advanced computer-driven custom electronics and video to represent memory. Some of the pieces fascinatingly require the viewer to become a participant. My favorite pieces of the Memory Works Installation is the "Night Light"

There are two memories in this work. One of them stores the level of lightness of the movie "Psycho" by Hitchcock and the other stores the level of noise. According to these data, the light bulbs will change their brightness.

This project does not seem to be too difficult to be rebuild. Attempting to do so would very likely end up in a number of great work.

http://artscenecal.com/ArticlesFile/Archive/Articles1997/Articles0697/JCampbell.html

http://www.jimcampbell.tv/

3 different functions for 3 individual cows

To avoid confusion, it is very important to specify the exact function of the cows.

Cow 1: Seeing

There is a photo cell hidden beh

ind the cow to measure the level of light. When it is light enough, the eyes/LEDs will be on - the cow can see. When it is too dark, the eyes will be off.

I decided not to use the ping sensor because of two reasons. Firstly, it is very difficult to make the ping sensor invisible. Secondly, in case of an exhibition, complications may occur if the sensor is accidently covered.

Cow 2: Hearing

A ping sensor hidden can sense the frequency. When the signal is above a certain threshold, the LED light up.

Cow 3: speaking

Something I am interested in, but have not done before, is a randomizer. I intend to store some short melodies and led them play at a random time and order. That will give the appearance of the cow having an own mind. Sound is played with a ping sensor.

A sketch helped me to connect the right wires to the cows.