Think I've got the wrong end of the arduino!! (aka the stick).

But by the end of Fridays session its all clear...

The movement of the flower opening will be via a motion sensor.

Its up to me how complex this is and what emotion I want to capture. .

The colour change is via paint on paper.

In the meantime some  more research.

Dutch artist Lonneke Gordijn of Drift .
These light s are made out of real dandelion seeds!
thats a big WOW from me.

can't remember what this shot was all about,
but to me it highlights how off track you can
get when searching the WWW.

these are my flowers at home...its my one indulgence. 

metal flower beside the River Mersey in England.

London architects Tonkin Liu have completed a wind-powered 

If I had the time I would change my mind and do something along these lines. Might be easier. Its a wind sensitive electronic dress.
http://www.fashioningtech.com/profiles/blog/list?user=306sf06eygkoc

Theres too much stuff out there, its great but I'm confusing myself. 

So I'm going to stay with what I've got , and will keep these refs for future explorations.

Sooooo....

Some adjustments to my idea and a lotta of snipping later and this is where I am so far.

I am still looking at the outer leaf formation though, its not quite right yet, but this is what I want to happen.

After a lot of finger clicking...The only heat sensitive paper I can find is in the USA...too far, too costly, too long. So, now looking for thermochromic inks/pigments that you apply to paper or card. 

The paint is heat sensitive, and you can mix with acrylic to make new colours.  

So I will have to book some time in with Claire Heathcoate in textiles dept for introduction and experiments. 

In the meantime, will look at story boarding what I want to happen, make a shopping list and do a flow diagram for tomorrow morning. 

If I need a specific temperature change then i will have to purchase specific thermochromic pigments. 

Books search Smart Materials in Architecture, Interior Architecture and Design: Types, Products, Architecture by Axel Ritter would provide a starting point  about  science and application of thermochromic products.

more about thermochromic dyes and pigments.

<http://www.chromazone.co.uk/?gclid=CLLlkqD67a0CFUcTfAodVxF7TQ>

<http://www.mindsetsonline.co.uk/images/SMARTCOLO.PDF>

<http://www.colour-therm.co.uk/index.html>

Mmmmm I might not be as random after all. 

After receiving a prompt from JS (more like a prod) 

I have basically got two ideas. 

The first..... sticking with the flower theme....(might not be dandelions thought), but making them out of heat sensitive paper that will respond to the speed or heat of the air blowing onto it. 

Great if it could be from people blowing onto it, but alternatively, a switch with three levels that control it, bit like a hair dryer. 

If I can't source the paper, perhaps showing the effect in a different way, like a lights brightening when you blow on it or ... can you get stick on ones so I can put them on leaves, or change the colours like fibre optics to show the effect of motion.... Or use light sensitive paint.

The second one, idea that is....making the steam/humidity on a shop window appear in isolated spots to form an image or pattern instead of the blanket appearance of inhouse fog. Not sure how that can be done. It's a reaction to humidity, or heat for a reverse effect. Going to check it out now...

well, I've found me some dandelions...
Looks like this project took up the whole summer for the artist Regine Ramseier...wish I could speak German though, but great images.
It is natural, and a bit soft and dreamy a world away from Newcross....
but has nothing to do with technology though.
mmmmmm
.......
much later


I contacted the artist via email, informing her that I was currently working on a project somehow trying to marry nature and technology, that I really love her work etc etc...
(unfortunately I did this in English...
maybe I should have got my Swiss cousin to translate)
Does this now mean I am a blogging stalker?
anyway, it might lead me somewhere 
hopefully not a field of robotic dandelions, lets see.

directionhttp://www.regineramseier.ch/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73&Itemid=79

Now i'm beginning to think i'm approaching this from the wrong angle.

Whadayathink??? Please read on...

As part of Methods and Processes session, we were asked to make a monument, out of card, for 'homework'. So kill two birds with one stone, (things are time sensitive in the Easington household)  I created a  monument to nature, so that whilst still exploring the possible dandelion theme of project I'm also doing a bit of homework.... Its not quite finished, but I filmed the shadows it created with the hope that it might shed some light on me and this project.

OK so I'm thinking of doing something that moves , some sort of motion sensor, 

thats like a wave or has some sort of knock on effect

or like seeds been blown by a summer breeze or a childs breath

gonna look at dandelions... I quite like them

Still not sure where all of this is going but here are some more bits and bobs 

that I quite like....

http://www.interactiondesignblog.com/2008/08/liquid-display/

An interactive display which is controlled by manipulating three cups of water. By entering your finger and moving around in the cup you control the size and frequency of the bubbles on the display.

http://www.studioroosegaarde.nl/project/lotus/

LOTUS 7.0 is a living wall composed of smart foils that fold open in response to human behavior. Walking by LOTUS, hundreds of aluminum foils unfold themselves in an organic way; generating transparent voids between private and public.

Connection from United Visual Artists on Vimeo.

The work consists of an array of vertical luminaires integrated into a pedestrian bridge. These create oscillations of colour and geometry based on human movement, transforming the rigid structure of the bridge into a fluid entity that transmits the rhythm of the crowd to its surroundings.

http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/171-exhibition-sense-and-the-city


heres something to go see at the london transport museum...at last that family ticket will come in handy.

Voidloop() {
Serial.begin(9600);
}
Void.loop() {
Serial.printIn ("ello dear");
It will print out "ello dear" over and over again because its in the loop.
Instruction must be verified by clicking the arrow key then select board your using in tools/board.
Select correct serial port (USB) before uploading.
The serial monitor will show message.
That done.... now to turn LED light on/off
When setting up your circuit remember, electricity flows in one direction only.
Arduino sends out 5 volts of electricity which has to be grounded.
The LED light has one leg shorter than the other, short/GND and long/13.
13 has to be made into an output pin.
ie put in code PinMode(13, OUTPUT);

In the loop function, tell light to turn on/off

Void loop (){
Serial.print In ("ello dear");
Digital write (13 HIGH);
Digital write (13 LOW);
The LED has resistance that will reduce voltage.
You have to calculate this when setting up your board.

This is called a breadboard.
Using it allow you to work out a circuit without having to use a solder.

The power supply comes from the arduino.
A resistor before the LED will reduce voltage going to the LED light.

void setup () {
serial.begin (9600);
void loop () {
analog Read (0);
}
Serial.printIn (analogRead(0));


This reads the amount of voltage going to the board.
The serial monitor shows the number which represents the amount of light it can service.
If you cover the light the number (which is determined by the arduino) goes down.

The code below represents the code used to start programming.
You can cut and pasted coding into the ARDUINO programming window directly
from the Arduino home page.

Text in purple is a definition of elements I dont really understand...
anyway


Go to reference, and find required function. 
In this case it is +analogRead()
int analogPin = 0;
the 0 is the number of the analog pin used on the breadboard.
Analog reads from high to low
int stands for interger which is a whole number
int val = 0;
val is the value of the number from the sensor
void setup()
Setup is a function. 
A setup is a block of code that performs a function.
when text changes colour from black to orange it means that particular part of the programme has been recognised.
therefore, when setup is called the code that is housed by {} is the function that will take place.
{
  Serial.begin(9600);
9600 is the speed of communication per second.
}
void loop()
{
  val = analogRead(analogPin);
variable is number of the value of the sensor. It 
can be a number or a word
  Serial.println(val);
}

I like this!

OK
so I'm starting the project..I am honest.
Im looking at the blogg, trying to navigate byway around the bolgg, I am going to be at one with the blogg...and then theres getting to grips with youtube. Neither have been in my world up until now so lets see where we end up. should be interesting. 


WOW theres so much stuff out there. Its amazing.


http://iampoem.net/

I think this is brilliant.... 

It is poem in action

below is the arduino used and blurb.

http://arduino.cc/blog/2012/01/12/i-am-printer/

http://vimeo.com/28651568

This is the one... I think

maybe different shapes with different sounds, or that you can speed up or slow down 

depending on how you react with it

Or instead a mood changer.

An audio stress buster....

Happy sounds, laughter, musical sound, fairy dust invoking, 

babbling brook kind of calmness and tranquillity.

What it's all about

http://vimeo.com/groups/physicalcomputing/videos/24505857

Now im way off track, but this is beautiful.

Kinetic Art - Dynamic Structure 29117 2007-2010 from Willem van Weeghel on Vimeo.

I've seen something like this before

http://vimeo.com/groups/physicalcomputing/videos/17138196

I can't look at any more images today

The Arduino is a circuit board that is controlled via a computer.

It sits above the programming platform, which means you do not have to know how to write complex computer codes... apparently.

The programming language used is Java, and can be used on any platform, i.e. mac or PC.

Arduino is an open source electronics prototyping platform.

It is based on flexible hardware and software and is concerned with interactive objects and environments.

"Physical computing, in the broadest sense, means building interactive physical systems by the use of software and hardware that can sense and respond to the analog world.  Physical computing is a creative framework for understanding human beings' relationship to the digital world. In practical use, the term most often describes handmade art, design or diy hobby projects that use sensors and micro controllers to translate analog input to a software system and/or control electro-mechanical devices such as motors, or other hardware."

The Arduino board

The Arduino is a circuit board that is controlled via a computer.

It sits above the programming platform, which means you do not have to know how to write complex computer codes... apparently.

The programming language used is Java, and can be used on any platform, i.e. mac or PC.

......we sense the world then react to it...