MIT Museum Studio
"Museum Studio is a place where the art studio, the engineering lab, and public forum combine to create a genuinely 21st century learning environment; a place where each student can discover his or her individual genius and voice." This is the studio I managed for Seth Riskin and Allan Doyle, co-directors of the MIT Museum Studio on the second floor of the MIT Museum.
NEW: Light Ballet 2.0, a collaboration between Otto Piene & the MIT Museum Studio
The MIT Museum Studio first prototyped Otto Piene's "Robotic Light Ballet" at the beginning of last summer of 2011. Our frame was made of 80/20 extruded aluminum bars, 0.125" thick aluminum plates and all the associated machine screws, nuts, and lock washers to keep everything together. The prototype did exactly what it needed to do: support a delicate and heavy box-like light source, and move throughout a room in a very stable manner.
This time around, the Light Ballet must be ruggedized for international travel to art shows and museums around the world. The motion platform (our hexagonal robot) must be able to traverse across more uneven flooring and should be able to calibrate its position and then calculate its "dance" or path to traverse much like the Roomba vacuum cleaner by iRobot.
For me, this requirement means:
-extended battery life/ capacity on board.
-welded frame (reduces the likelihood of the frame falling apart)
-larger wheels for increased suspension
-rangefinders, motor encoders, proximity sensors, and tactile switches to interpret and guide its motion.
above: 3D Cad drawing of the new light ballet design. Motors will be mounted vertically to make space for twice the battery storage (wheels not included).
This time around, the Light Ballet must be ruggedized for international travel to art shows and museums around the world. The motion platform (our hexagonal robot) must be able to traverse across more uneven flooring and should be able to calibrate its position and then calculate its "dance" or path to traverse much like the Roomba vacuum cleaner by iRobot.
For me, this requirement means:
-extended battery life/ capacity on board.
-welded frame (reduces the likelihood of the frame falling apart)
-larger wheels for increased suspension
-rangefinders, motor encoders, proximity sensors, and tactile switches to interpret and guide its motion.
above: 3D Cad drawing of the new light ballet design. Motors will be mounted vertically to make space for twice the battery storage (wheels not included).
Welded Steel Frame Complete
MIG welders make welding very easy if you know what you're doing. The Miller welder I used to put this frame together applied a pressurized line of inert (Carbon Dioxide + Argon) gas to shield the weld, while also automatically supplying my weld site with wire. Worth the late night spent at work.
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8 Inch omnidirectional wheels
-upgraded from 6 inches in diameter to 8 inches to boost the robot's suspension up by an inch.
-NPC motors provide enough torque at a respectable RPM to move our robot smoothly and steadily. |
Hollow Steel Frame
-Frame is fully cut (base of frame displayed) and will be welded by the end of August 2012.
-Welded joints are stronger than the metal members themselves, by far the best permanent method of joining structural members together. |
iPod Touch Holder (MIT Museum Studio)
Custom designed for the 4th generation 8GB iPod Touch. Leaves room for 30 pin connector and 1/8" headphone jack. This simple case is intended to protect the Museum-owened iPod from physical harm and prevent the user from opening or closing out of the custom designed app for the iPod. To do this we recessed the Hold and Home button behind a layer of acrylic so they are accessible only by knowledgable MIT Museum Staff. Not fool proof, but good enough for public use as a supplement to the museum's exhibits. 4 spanner screws, 4 layers of acrylic protection, 4 threaded inserts, 1 logo.
Acrylic Waveguide Exhibit Labels (MIT Museum Studio)
Designed for the "Ways of Seeing" exhibit lead by Seth Riskin and the MIT Museum Studio. These labels were designed to produce illuminated text without polluting the surrounding installations with extraneous light. The photo to the left depicts an early proof-of-concept. Visible to the left and right part of the black rectangle are the ends of a green cold cathode ray fluorescent light which provides a thin and continuous line of illumination through the acrylic label above it.
Arduino Compatible Strobe Controller (MIT Museum Studio)
Commissioned by the Education Center at the MIT Museum, this strobe controller's purpose is to receive user commands and output a specific sequence of flashes through a strobe. There are a total of 4 buttons on this strobe controller, 1 toggle on/off, 1 flash duration, and 2 sequence duration buttons. The arduino I chose to control the strobe can be reprogrammed via USB from any laptop.
One problem with this interface is that the controller triggers the flash sequence as soon as a sequence duration is chosen. Next iteration will definitely include a separate trigger button.
One problem with this interface is that the controller triggers the flash sequence as soon as a sequence duration is chosen. Next iteration will definitely include a separate trigger button.
Space-Time ModulatorAn exhibit on light and optical illusion in the works at the MIT Museum Studio.
The effect is the illusion of a shortened cone while the sweep is in the opposite direction of the cone's motion or an elongated cone while the sweep is in the direction of the cone's motion. Space and time are thus modulated! |
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Otto Piene Robotic Light Ballet
Commissioned by Otto Piene, this is his first robotic lichtballett. In essence, this is an inverted camera-obscura, where the light comes from inside the cube which only lets light out through tiny pinholes. Images of the filaments are thus shone on the surrounding walls and ceilings as the source rotates within. This whole box sits on top of a motion platform which uses three omnidirectional wheels to translate in any direction without having to spin!
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