The Final Video

Here is the final outcome of the game I designed

Prototyping Phase - Soldering the Accelerometer and Processing

 Prototyping Phase

3) Soldering the Accelerometer

Soldering the accelerometer will improve the stability of the accelerometer readings.

Accelerometer and it's readings

The readings have been documented better since the solder has made it stable. The pics are posted below:

Flat orientation

Portrait Down orientation

Portrait Up orientation

Landscape Left orientation

Landscape Right orientation

4)  Variation of Acceleration

Now to plot the variation of acceleration, I have used a serial reading plotter.

Serial Plotter showing variation of acceleration

Prototyping Phase - Testing and Using the Accelerometer

 Prototyping Phase

1) Accelerometer Testing and Use

After reading through the hookup guide, I came across the circuit diagram and code to execute the Arduino code.

Circuit Diagram of the Accelerometer hooked up to the Arduino

As you can see in the circuitry above, we can see the two resistors of 330 ohms connected to the SDA and SCL ports. I have connected the circuit as shown below:

Accelerometer and Arduino connected

2) Running the Code and Testing

I connected the circuit above and used the laptop to program the code to test the circuit. 

Coding ongoing

The code is shown in the pics below:

The code was tested and it worked, but the only flaws that we saw was the loose connections, so we are going to solder it.

Prototyping Phase Begins - Accelerometer has arrived

 Prototype Phase 1

1)  Spark Fun Triple Axis Accelerometer

The triple axis accelerometer has finally arrived at my doorstep. I opened up my soldering kit and I started to solder 6 small strips of red wire to the pins on the accelerometer.

Accelerometer soldered with 6 red strips of wire

Specifications and Libraries used

The MMA8452Q is a smart, low-power, three-axis, capacitive MEMS accelerometer with 12 bits of resolution. This accelerometer is packed with embedded functions with flexible user-programmable options, configurable to two interrupt pins. The MMA8452Q has user-selectable full scales of ±2g/±4g/±8g with high pass filtered data as well as unfiltered data available in real time. The device can be configured to generate inertial wake-up interrupt signals from any combination of the configurable embedded functions, allowing the MMA8452Q to monitor events and remain in a low power mode during periods of inactivity. This board breaks out the ground, power, I2C and two external interrupt pins.

Accelerometer And Pin Diagram

Preparation for the Presentation - Week 7

This week is the presentation week and I have prepared my slides for the presentation. The presentation will discuss about my new formulated research question which is " How might we design a product that would encourage sports training in indoor spaces ". The presentation would talk about the impact of Covid-19 and how it has forced the entire globe to move into lockdown. My project would aim to provide athletes to train at the comfort of their home or for purpose of entertainment. The presentation is due tomorrow and is in class.

Game Ideation for the Installation

 Ideation Phase 2

The idea for installation would be a penalty shootout game with a physical motion detector that would decide the movement of the ball virtually. The idea behind the game is to kick the motion detector and it would simulate the movement of the ball. The user would also be wearing a sole like apparatus with 4 vibration motors connected to it. 

Proposed Simulation of the Game

This would vibrate in response to how the user would shoot the ball. If the user kicks with harder intensity, the motors would vibrate intensely reminding the user to control the intensity of the kick. It would also vibrate the motors responsible to denote the trajectory of the ball, since the motors would be connected in 4 different places to denote direction of the moving ball.

The motion detecting kicking apparatus

I have also decided to not use the FSR (Force Sensitive Resistor) for this project. I would consider the previous test as failed test case and not feasible for the new idea. Instead I have placed an order for a Triple Axis Accelerometer and use that to detect motion sensing instead.

A few parts have arrived - Started to test the arduino

 Ideation Phase 1

This test involves the link of Arduino IDE with the Arduino mega. The other component used is an FSR (Force Sensitive Resistor). The above test shows the direct relation of pressure applied to the intensity of the LED. As we apply more pressure on the FSR, the intensity of the LED increases.

This test was a success and the FSR can be used in the footwear to detect pressure applied. Addition of an FSR could give the feature of applying pressure to move objects in a simulation. Although the mechanics of the game is not decided yet, I still think this is a successful test. Still waiting on the other parts to arrive.

The parts haven't arrived yet - Still working on finalizing the research question

A week has passed and still waiting on the purchase order to arrive. In the meantime, I have been looking through some readings like research papers and journal entries in the Griffith Online Library. I also have looked up for possible tutorials on how to operate the arduino online and anything else that would help me with the project. 

Ideation Stage - Figuring out my research question

 Since the order has been delayed due to covid restrictions, I was unsure of when the parts would arrive from New South Wales. I decided to work on the theory side of the project. I have been playing with my research question which is " HOW MIGHT WE DESIGN AND INTEGRATE HAPTIC TECHNOLOGY IN TRADITIONAL SHOES FOR ACTIVITY TRACKING AND TRAINING? " but something about the research question doesn't feel right. The classes have begun as well and I am looking forward to attending the classes in person as well. Not much activity this week for now besides pondering on what the research question should be. 

Purchase order of the parts

Since the project would be a physical installation, I decided to order in Bulk. The order consisted of all the items listed below

Vibrating Mini Motor Disc	ADA1201	4	$14.80
Arduino Mega 2560 R3	A000067	1	$64.50
Panel Mount 10K potentiometer (Breadboard Friendly) - 10K Linear	ADA562	4	$9.00
Premium Female/Female Jumper Wires - 20 x 6 (150mm)	ADA1950	1	$4.35
Jumper Wires - Connected 6" (M/F, 20 pack)	PRT-12794	1	$2.55
Jumper Wires - Connected 6" (M/M, 20 pack)	PRT-12795	1	$2.55
Uno R3	CE05629	1	$18.70
MPU-6050 Module 3 Axis Gyroscope + Acce​​lerometer	018-MPU-6050	1	$12.05
Solderless Breadboard - 830 Tie Point (ZY-102)	CE00304	2	$13.16
9V battery holder with switch & 5.5mm/2.1mm plug	ADA67	1	$8.80
Resistor Kit - 1/4W (500 total)	COM-10969	1	$14.95
Hakko RED Soldering Iron 60W	CE04585	1	$25.50
Helping Third Hand Magnifier W/Magnifying Glass Tool - MZ101	ADA291	1	$20.55
Solder Reel/Iron Holder Stand	AT1306	1	$28.75
Essential Sensor Kit	SEN-12862	1	$67.65
Subtotal			$307.86

As most of the parts ordered was extra, it was better to be prepared for anything than having nothing at all. I also dropped the idea of 3-D printing soles and decided to buy it. Then I would attach the vibration motors to the flip flop.

3D Printing for the Prototyping Phase

 For the Prototyping phase, I have decided to learn 3D printing basics that would help me to 3D print a part I desire. For this I have chosen the education license of Fusion 360 to work on as it more proficient compared to other softwares out there. Also I have decided to make my project more game based and decided to make a foot controller that would emulate the movements of character on the video game with haptic feedback.

Which bring me to the latest updated research question "How might we design and integrate haptic technology to experience character movement in video games?"

The Second Assessment

Following the presentation, we were tasked to come up with a paper that would explain our ideas more prominently and would also be recorded in text. Also it enabled us more time to research and stabilize our idea more realistically and in practical sense. The paper also explains the possibility of achieving this idea if not completed by me then maybe by future fellow researchers.

By looking at the chart above, I am still in the ideation stage at the moment. But soon I would love to jump to prototyping stage.

The Presentation

The Easter break was wonderful. It gave me a lot of time to relax and think about how I would present my presentation. The presentation went great and I had the opportunity to listen to everybody else's ideas as well. I got a wonderful feedback from Eleni and my batchmates and with that feedback I am also planning to tweak my idea a bit as well.

Preparation for Presentation

This week I will be busy preparing for the presentation. Unlike the online sessions, I will be presenting it in class and I am really excited to present my idea. The idea has changed since the last time. This time I am trying to research on my other field of interest which is haptics. I thought about integrating haptics in footwear technology which would send vibrations to simulate environments like sand and forest. This idea is based on a research paper that was conducted years ago. Anyways, I have come up with a really interesting presentation idea as this idea would complete evade the ethics situation.

There is still a lot to prepare and hopefully the presentation would go smooth.

Brainstorming Ideas for my Research Project

I am finally excited to attend physical classes this trimester. Due to the pandemic last year, students had to attend classes online and although the classes were interesting, it still lacked the excitement of attending classes in campus. On my first class, I met a bunch of amazing people and everyone seemed really interested in attending the class. We were greeted by Dr. Eleni and our class had started. Our first task given by her was brainstorming and we all had to come up with various ideas on what to work for our project. Many of us came with really interesting ideas but these ideas weren't furnished including mine. Eleni was engaging with every student and she carefully explained the flaws with each idea by questioning as a professional examiner. By the end of the session, I felt elevated with joy and confidence as these classes were more interactive and fun compared to online sessions.

Found Images for my Idea

During our previous class we were told to surf the internet and search for images or media that closely resemble our ideas in order to explain it. During the previous weekend I came up with the following images.

 

My idea was to create a navigational mobile app that would allow blind people to navigate in shopping complexes with haptic vibrations from the watch. Upon relaying my idea to Eleni, I found out from her that the idea would lead to certain complications like getting ethics permission to test my idea with the visually impaired community. This made me to question my research question again.