Author Archives: Sebastian

Lightning / Install in costume

After the two boards with the resistors and connections was soldered to the LEDs (see post), now these two are sewn on both shoulders. The LEDs have a different cable length and were able to different shoulder, back and front areas. the two boards are wired to each other and need for the Arduino Uno only one PWM-pin and ground.

IMG_20140630_183205_325     IMG_20140701_162449_480

To scatter the light glow of the LEDs, we use fiber optic light cable and glue them on top of the LEDs. Then the length of the fiber optic cable has been adjusted on the costume.

IMG_20140701_162521_540     IMG_20140703_213101_297

To illustrate, here’s a video:

Experience Design Theatre: Exploring the Role of Live Theatre in Scaffolding Design Dialogues

Original: Vines, J., Denman-Cleaver, T., Dunphy, P., Wright, P. & Olivier, P. (2014). Experience Design Theatre: Exploring the Role of Live Theatre in Scaffolding Design Dialogues. CHI ’14 Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Pages 683-692.

Authors: John Vines, Tess Denman-Cleaver, Paul Dunphy, Peter Wright & Patrick Olivier

Keywords: Scaffolding, experience-centered design, theatre, care, older people, intergenerational

Summary: Experience Design Theatre with several diverse groups of people, different age, in the early beginnings of a design using experience-centered designs. In EDT small groups of participants are formed, which engage in a theater piece about the design of product, and then to share their concerns and aspirations with domain experts. Theatre gaining more and more importance in HCI.

Main Contents: For the development of a design different age groups are formed. Then the product, through experience-centered-design, role-play and non-scripted-live-theatre, evaluate. By the live theatre and improvisation, scenes can be changed individually, by sudden dynamics of the group to integrate the experiences of the people in a unfinished piece.

Exploring the Role of Live Theatre in Scaffolding Design Dialogues

From the original paper: Experience Design Theatre: Exploring the Role of Live Theatre in Scaffolding Design Dialogues

In the Experience Design Theatre process all workshops and performances will be recorded to experience to conclude. It is improvised, with few rules and after the piece a new piece is then shaped it. There are 5 phases:

  • Phase 1: Definition of situations and starting scenes
    The responsible of the theatre will be trained how the design should look like and must be paid to what, then the people are selected according to various criteria.
  • Phase 2: Rehearsal workshops
    The purpose of the five workshops was to show some scenes and ask participants do help us redirect them to convey their own experiences of care.
  • Phase 3: Performance development
    Extracts of re-directed scenes and any missed details of contrasting view where reworked into a number of more developed episodes.
  • Phase 4: Voice Validation Workshop
    At the end of the performance participants were invited to voice their views on the performance.
  • Phase 5: Public Voice Workshop
    This is a public performance. The primary aim of this performance was to communicate to the domain-experts what the user experience of the design might be like. And generate discussion about the design implications.

“Live theatre provides a responsive space for sharing experiences between participants, designers and research teams and iteratively prototyping future experiences.”

Ideas for costume evaluation: The paper does not contain a lot of useful information that we can use in the final phase of the costume. In this excerpt, it was a matter that older people work with younger and reviews this design. In our project, it would be the actor and our group.

Lightning / Soldering

First I tested my circuit and improves the code.
IMG_20140629_223504_488

After that I soldered together this structure as a solid variant. We build two boards a 10x LED in different colors. The circuit board is further cut to the appropriate size and the cables are bundled together.
To be honest, my first major soldering action. 😉
IMG_20140630_162502_835

This is a small video of the viewpoint.

It’s getting serious. 🙂

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea – Captain Nemo

STORY
+ Our Character: Captain Nemo
+ He is a scientist and captain
+ Isolation from Humans
+ wants to live under the sea
+ Has his own crew (his follower) > leader / captain
+ composes the Nautilus
+ indian roots

COSTUME
+ Two different costumes (one big costume) to show his transformation from land to underwater
+ First costume: royal, indian (colorful), own style, Coat / Cape > colourful stripes = sea plants/animals and under the coat: Shawari Kurta Suit (with glowing yarn > pattern?)
+ Second custome: diving-suit (also for his crew)
+ a lot of LED-Wires in the Costume (diving suit)
+ actor can control this costume and the wire
+ pipes from the back in the neckskin
+ Lightning : flashlight in his hands
+ a box on the front (a light, to show the oxidation-state) in the box the arduino

IDEAS
+ Costume that blinks at the beginning and is finish (bright light) > Booting a Computer
+ Costume transformation (Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOPxcPrxL5w) with a Bracket
+ when the monster is near costume, the costume blink red.
+ Hand-gesture for the interaction with the costume
+ when the stage dark, the costume shine bright.
+ on the neck is it a chain > this is the source for the whole costume
+ a gesture controlled the wire, when he is attacked, he can shut down the light

VISUAL STUFF

captain NEMO

Nemo_Coat_Suit

DeepSea_Diving suit_plants
Suits

A good technical example, on how to move things on the costume.

Smoke-Costume for KönigUbu

My recherche was more technical and include two versions for the smoke costume.

Option 1 – Long tube
– Connect a drain tube (diameter 40 -50cm ) to a normal fog machine
– Tube holds a certain amount of time the heat when fog ejection from
– From a long tube transparent tube up under the dress (back)
– On the back of a distributor with several small tubes that go into all the regions of the costume
– From the tubes then the smoke comes out distributed

Option 2 – small fog machine
– Set includes 12-volt battery, charging adapter , Nebelfulid and Transport Case
– The battery is charged via the included charging adapter ( charge indicator )
– Suitable for all water-based fog liquid
Discharge volume : 8,5 m³ / min.
Fuel tank capacity: 0.11 l
Dimensions ( WxDxH): 227 x 66 x 81 mm
Weight: 2.7 kg
Fog Duration: 60 s
Output distance : 2.5 m
Reheating time : 120 s
Warm-up Time : 7 min

Problems
– Fog machine needs warm up time
– Strong heat development
– Large current: 230V, 700Watt ( a very small ) = 4.34 A
– Heating elements need a lot of power ( battery would be after a short time (10 – 20min) empty.
– Fog transformer required for the AC voltage supplied from battery comes only DC
– Tiny Fogger costs from € 700 upwards