Turn Signal Biking Jacket, Leah Buechley

User observation

This project takes form as a wearable jacket. On the back of the jacket there are two large indicator lights which blink to indicate desired turning direction. It is basically a signalling system for bikers to indicate their travel path to other vehicles.

The interaction ritual in simple, on each left and right sleeve of the jacket there is a button that when pressed lights up the appropriate indicator on the users back. Also on the sleeve is a light to indicate to the user that the signalling has been engaged. This is important to indicate the signalling as the user can not see what is happening behind them, so a flashing light n the sleeve flashes when and which signal is in use.

The context of use is for bike riders who use roads that mix with other vehicles, cars, motor bikes, trucks. In this context, people who use bikes typically use hand signals to indicate where they are going. With this jacket signalling is made more obvious and potentially safer for the users as other drivers will have a clear indication of where the bike rider intends to go.

The interaction outcome is to give the user indicators to others of their direction intentions. Also the user has feedback which shows is the signalling is working and which side is active.

The activation buttons are on the sleeves which are in easy reach for the biker. Having the signals flashing similar to a cars indicator lights makes use of the users senses and knowledge of signals but used in a new way.

The technology is simple, basically a button and a flashing light. The user presses the button on the sleeve, the lily pad arduino receives the signal them tells the appropriate signal light to flash.

Leah Buechley, build: turn signal biking jacket (accessed August 18 2010) http://web.media.mit.edu/~leah/LilyPad/build/turn_signal_jacket.html

Scenario

User is riding a bike down a busy city street. The user is wearing the turn signal jacket. It is about 6pm and starting to get dark so hand signals will be hard to see. The user wishes to turn down a street on the right. The user pushed the right sleeve button, the user sees a flashing light on the jacket sleeve. Therefore assumes the signal is working on the jacket back then proceeds to make the right turn.Interaction timeline

System timeline

System elements diagram

Pseudocode.

User is wearing jacket

User wants to turn left or right

If turning left push left button

Left button engaged then signal goes to arduino

Then left sleeve LED flash

and back left indicator LED's flash

User finished turning

Left sleeve button pressed

Then sleeve LED and back LED indicators stop

If turning right push right button

Right button engaged then signal goes to arduino

Then right sleeve LED flash

and back right indicator LED's flash

User finished turning

Right sleeve button pressed

Then sleeve LED and back LED indicators

If no button pushed nothing happens

Critique:

The turn signal jacket will be very useful for bike riders and other motorist. If the system works perfectly 100% of the time it will be great. One problem is if there was some kind of fault on the back indicator lights, there is no way the user will know if there is a problem. The sleeve indicator may still work but this may give the use false information is the signal is working or not.

A simple fix will be to attach the sleeve LED light to the same connection as the back leds. This may not show if all the light are working but will indicate that there is current in that section of wire.

Tuned Stairs, La Centre Pompidou (2006)

User observation

Tuned Stairs is the introductory installation for the Fabrica exhibition at Center Pompidou. As visitors walk down the stairs leading to the exhibition, their footsteps activate a musical sound. The installation refocuses the attention of the visitor onto their footfalls - allowing them the opportunity to compose their timing, movement, and the resulting melody.

On each of the stairs is a matt-switch which activates the instrument-playing mechanism attached on the outside of the banister. The armature is made of steel with a pull-thrust solenoid attached to it. Above the solenoid is a tuned resonating bar facing down. As the matt-switch is activated, the solenoid momentarily strikes the resonating bar - resulting in a soft delicate sound resonating through the local area. The matt-switch's signal gets fed into an arduino board which then activates the solenoid mechanism through a transistor circuit. Each arduino has its own conduit board built to easily connect the switches to their corresponding solenoid mechanisms.

(accessed 18/08/2010) http://www.plankman.com/projects/tuned_stairs/

As people step on the red section of each stair, a solenoid hammer hits the resonating bar attached to the banister next to it

An Arduino with a hand soldered breakout board mounted above it

System Diagrams

Time line

System elements

Pseudocode

User walking up or down stairsUser steps on first matt-switchThen switch engagedsend signal to arduinoArduino interprets signal as on for first stepThen ardunio tells pull-thrust solenoid to engageSolenoid strikes resonating bar once.

User steps on second matt-switchThen switch engagedsend signal to arduinoArduino interprets signal as on for second stepThen ardunio tells pull-thrust solenoid to engageSolenoid strikes resonating bar once.

if matt-switch is stepped on, solenoid strikes resonating bar onceif no button pressed no solenoid engaged.

Critique

The interaction for the piano steps if relatively simple. Essentially an on/off switch which engages note to be played. The main interaction is by use of sound and the step button.Perhaps if the key lit up when stepped on there would be an enhancement in the users sensory stimulation. Sound with visual recognition might be interesting.

Perhaps an interesting application will be to use it on a pedestrian crossing. This may encourage people to cross at that point and in between the lines. The key could make some kind of negative sound when crossing the road on a red signal. Perhaps on the green signal series of nice notes could be played when the keys are stepped on.

As people step on the red section of each stair, a solenoid hammer hits the resonating bar attached to the banister next to itAn Arduino with a hand soldered breakout board mounted above it