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Yin and Yang - Project Harmony
Two halves come together in harmony to light up the world .
While learning to fabricate, this project was meant to showcase the fit and finish of an interactive object, having two sub-parts that connect to each other. Once the two objects come together, they do something different than what they would do independently.
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For this, we selected the famous Yin-Yang with an inspiration to show harmony by lighting them up in sequence once the two opposites connect together. Independently, the LEDs in the parts blink constantly, until they are connected to show lights in sequence alternatively on a count of 4 seconds.
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The users includes kids over age of 5 years , and adults who'd like to play with the Yin- Yang.
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For the fit, we used magnets that keep the two parts intact when connected, and for the finish we 3D modeled the prototype using Acrylic.
THE CHALLENGE
Connecting the two parts smoothly was a challenge because the spot of connection was not a straight line, but was a curve. Additionally, the contacts are too delicate compared to the force of the magnets, which affected the precision of the contacts. Also, fitting the circuits in the desired size of the model was also a challenge throughout the project. However, with some experimentation and strategy, we managed to make it fit perfectly as desired.
THE TEAM AND ROLES
We had an amazing team of 4 students from Technology Innovation at GIX, University of Washington.
1. Ketki Hardas : Involved in the ideation, circuit building , documentation and UI and usability testing .
2. Alvaro Carmona : Involved in ideation, strategy, circuit building, 3D modeling, prototyping and testing.
3. Dominick Mendoza : Involved in ideation, 3D modeling, prototyping, documentation and testing.
4. Huichen Li : Involved in ideation, 3D modeling, prototyping, testing.
THE SOLUTION
SYSTEM DIAGRAM / SCHEMANTICS LAYOUT
The base which holds the microcontroller circuit, LEDs and the light guide.
The top which holds the battery.
Designed in fusion 360.
Complete view of the top and
base.
The connector holder.
That's how it holds the connector.
Two connectors when connected.
THE PROCESS
Iteration 1
1. Sketching | Ideation
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Sketching helped us ideate and visualize the model and communicate our idea to the team. Here are some of the early sketches from our very first iteration :
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2. Hand-Cut modeling | Testing and feedback
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Iteration 1 was much more about helping us visualize how our product might look like and what would be the perfect size. Hence, we decided to prototype it in low fidelity because it is quick, cheap and suffices the purpose we were trying to achieve. Once this was done, we also took feedback to get a validation on our idea. This hand model helped a lot in ideating the further unknowns.
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Iteration 2
1. Sketching | Ideation
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In the second iteration, the basic outer design of both the parts was clear, but we needed to figure out many details like right spot for connector, space for USB port, space for locks to hold the two parts tightly, way to hold the connector etc. We all had different ideas to fix all the details .Also, we were still not sure whether we want to make the model smaller and thicker , or wider and thinner. Hence we again used sketching to ideate and communicate our ideas to each other.
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3. 3D print | Testing
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Since this was our first 3D print of this model, our aim was to test the wide vs small prototypes. So we printed both types and finalized the wider and thinner version because it instantly appealed to all of us. Additionally, we also tested the light guide on a chosen material. The light guide worked perfect on the material, but deciding between placing it on the edges vs holes in each part and making it fit in our model was again a challenge to be overcome.
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2. 3D Modeling | Hardware Designing
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The design we had chosen would look best in 3D. So we decided to model it in fusion 360. At this point, we were yet to discover the final design of the top and base of each part. Here are some snaps from the early 3D modeling:
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Iteration 3
1. Sketching | Ideation
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3D modeling is indeed a time consuming process. It's always a good idea to quickly paper sketch before starting to model it in fusion. This time, sketching was used to add the missing sub-components and note the mistakes in measurements of components designed previously. Iteration 3 was all about putting the pieces together and refining it to get the fit , finish and make it work as desired.
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3. Circuit Programming | Software Design
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We wanted to make the LEDs in the yin and yang (two opposite parts) blink independently, and light up alternatively in sequence on a count of 4 seconds when connected. To achieve this, we used the following code :
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4. Hardware and Software Tests | Testing
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We first wrote a code to achieve the blinking of LEDs when help separately, and lighting up in sequence on a count of 4 seconds, and then tested it on the circuit boards and then when it worked, it was incorporated in our model . We using soldering to fix the connections on feather circuit. Following are some glimpses of our test and final version tests :
2. 3D Modeling | Hardware Design
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With the help of paper sketches, we improvised our prototype which turned out perfect on printing. Following are some snaps including all the components in the final design. This time , we also brainstormed on light guide design and fixed it.
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5. Finishing Touches | User Interface
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No matter how hard we work on a product, it comes to attention when it has some aesthetic importance. Being mindful of this, we brainstormed and discussed the color themes, and to give the yin and yang a modern look, we did 2 square holes in each part instead of the traditional circles, and also picked the color of LED lights that symbolizes harmony (green) ,depth(blue) and peace(white). As we are modern design lovers, we also believe in minimalism and simplicity. Hence we kept our prototype minimalistic.
IMPLEMENTATION AND SOFTWARE
We used two feathers to create the desired effect. When the objects were disconnected they were blinking and when we connected they blinked. To do that we did the first version using a protoboard. Once the code was executing properly we deployed the software into the final version.
We had two programs executing at the same time one was the sender and another one the receiver.
When the feathers are disconnected, they just blink. When they are connected, they star a binary counting from 0 to 15.
Example
0 = 00 00
1 = 00 01
2 = 00 10
3 = 00 11
4 = 01 00
5 = 01 01
6 = 01 10
7 = 01 11
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After every 4 seconds, the other feather increments by 1.
4 = 01 00
When the feathers are disconnected, they only blink 00 to 11 every second.
Every part of the Ying Yang has 2 LEDs.
For the Feathers connections we used:
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Sender, Pin 3 to send counting information. Receiver pin 3 to receive this signal.
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Receiver, pin 4 to send a keep alive signal to the sender. Sender pin 4 to receive the keep-alive signal from the receiver.
Given this, we have 3 lines in the connector (pin3 to pin3, pin4 to pin4, ground to ground).
REFLECTION
There's always so much to learn from the projects like these. This project specifically, challenged our creativity, but also helped us build inter disciplinary skills that we needed to make it successful. Our mistakes in every iteration helped us learn new things about design, attention to details, how to put the parts together, how to find solutions when we are stuck, and thereby improve our prototype in the next iteration. Sketching helped a lot to communicate ideas to each other. Hand modeling saved much time of printing. 3D printing the tests instead of the whole model saved a lot of wait time. Collaboration and communication helped us be on the same page and division of work helped us be mindful of every little requirement and make every little thing perfect as possible. We also made sure to take timely feedback throughout the process to get validation to our work. That is all about our beautiful journey of making the Yin and Yang.