Arduino playground - Xandros

Arduino playground - Xandros

I just checked the floor box and it's not working. I think the PC went to sleep ( I did tell it not to) and lost contact with the board. Looks like I'm not collecting info while I'm away. 

Mean while - did borrow a linix laptop which I think I can use and it looks like the Arduino stuff will work. 

http://www.sunspotworld.com/GettingStarted/

Looks like sunspots will work with Linux too 

Old PC now working.

We have the old PC working!!! 

Success

I finally got the Spot and PC configured and in the floor.  PC was so slow to install but its configured and now running a recording program. More importantly it is suppling the Spot with power (most expensive power supply ever). I'm going to leave this recording while I work on getting the visualisation working.

I'm hoping PC will continue to work with lid shut (I've configured it this way but its a PC who knows). 

I was trying to explain what I was doing to Jeff when I realised my big mistake. If I am trying to persuade people to do something I should be trying to get people to not walk down the corridor chatting on the ground floor and use the other route instead. Eva pointed out this would make a much better paper (doing diffrent  2 experiments not just one).  The technology would have to count people going via the atrium vs those talking while walking through the work space to the meeting room. I think I could measure people with IR monitor and microphone then look for people + noise. This looks moderately simple.  Will think about this when I get back. 

Conversations

Spoke this morning to Nadia - she had brought in a large old laptop to use as part of the experiment (hurray). Nadia's phd is turning out to have a partial spatial bend. I promised to send reference to Ruth's Museum paper to her. She promised to send me some other augmented spaces.

Jeff has moved on to working on getting a version of my idea tree/concept mapping table - but this time done without the physics and in smalltalk (the way it should be:-)).  I mentioned how I wanted to make the items bigger if they were more integrated. We discussed how to get some research out of this. I suggested doing a comparison of physics version against more traditional interface. Debate still goes on. Lets see how this leads. 

Mean while spoke to Paul, he has an intrest in doing a research proposal based on space, ubicomp in schools ( new school building budget is big he tells me) to be honest I'm on for it. I like the idea of building a class room in the new big lab. Thought of the research Erica is doing, fortunately now over lap as yet, but I would like to invite her up to give a talk.

Did some research on persuasive technologies. 

More successes

Went to see the new table in preparation - pretty assume! Promised to drop the screw-thread over for Dave to work on. 

Paul put a conical diffuser on the reactor table this  and it works pretty well. New RV1.4 is very cool (does finger detection). We might use the left over 50 LEDs to form a disuse illuminator. 

Had a good discussion with Simon over/After lunch on grant writing and direction combination. 

Finally managed to get the floor pads in the floor (hard-work) but N didn't come in with PC as hoped. Can't start logging until tomorrow (but will run a test upstairs). 

Also found a link to some multi-touch software people. 

A methodology begins

Had one of those excellent chats with Ruth 

Ruth thinks that doing the persuasive technology front could form a good basis for a grant application to either ESRC (Economic/Social Science Research council) or the MRC (Medical research council). Medical research is interesting, they have lots of money but they have lots of very top notch people applying for it too. Still the point was I got quite excited. 

Then I had an inspired chat with Paul. 

Clearly I want to play to my syntactical strengths so the most natural response here is where to put the display to have most effect. Paul suggested that I pick four locations  (A,B,C,D) with 2 equal or identical isovist properties ( A,C) and (B,D). Run the experiment and check to see if the response ( what people do ) goes up and down in pairs.  (up A,C, down B,D). Clearly there will be some learning effect ( but how much), but the return to previous state should be obvious if people are responding to the technology. 

This would both establish the utility of a syntactical analysis while also doing some persuasive info. Also leaves some legitimacy for doing a grant application (making this the pilot) later on. Thinking about two weeks per state ( 8 weeks in total + 2 weeks for without action comparison). Paul suggested doing  8 + different locations and trying to correlate results against syntactical factors. 

Table progress

Yvonne just left on her hols. I went down to Ikea to buy 15 pound mirror and delivered it + Dell projector to the wonderful people

building the table over in technology.  The only bit they are missing is a vidieo cam - might get cheap webcam while

waiting for good camera to turn up.

NATS-table.

I agreed with Yvonne to make a small NATS demo on the new table. 

The PC second drive is still not working. I told Y I would handle it.

Spoke to our PC fix it guy - he claims it's to do with the computers 'memory', coming over later to fix it. 

Problems Problems Problems (sun spot)

I had a quick chat with Yvonne On the way back I wanted to check if I could send something from the other side of the other door ( answer no). 

 With a stick I probed under the floor and found that there was something softish ( feels like wool insulation to me) under the door to the bridge.  This would make putting a USB cable to the spot nearly impossible. Did I mention that the guy in charge of the building is away for 3 weeks? 

Looking at the problem again I had another thought. I could run VERY VERY long cables under the carpet ( which I can lift up ) and run the along the side of the bridge all the way to the floor box were I could put a MacMini/Adui/connected sunspot.  

I'm going to try making a longer cable and seeing if the current will pass detectable. 

Problems problems problems (sun-spot)

I've been up on the bridge trying to get a radio signal under the floor from the nearest cable box ( next to meeting room on the other side of the bridge to the space next to the staircase.

 Basically no luck there. I can't get a radio signal under the floor (but can get over the floor) This would mean having to expose the sun boxes ( which I'm not to happy doing).  I spoke to the builder - he said there was no block under the floor ( under the door ) which you might have thought being a fire door. Perhaps he might have been wrong - I guess I must check. 

So what are the options now. 

1. Start recording rather than transmitting the data and try to retrieve the info later ( might be a good starting point but negates the interactive side of things). 

2. If there is a space under the door then run a very long USB cable from the sun-spot to a MacMini under the floor. This would solve two problems. First it would mean that the spot or aduino would get power as well as a way of sending info back. I ran the sun-spot last night and discovered that the sun-spot can basically last some of the night - I guess the radio is a power drain. I just checked and you can get 5m USB cables. This assumes you can run something under the door. Now where can I get a long stick?

sunspot problems.

I was testing the radio range today. The spots can't reach up to the second floor (clear line of site). The biggest problem is getting a signal out of  the floor to some were I can get a line to. 

I'm starting to wonder if I might have been better of with an ethernet cable... 

Still no sign of the Xbees. 

Tourist info table.

I thought I would put this picture I made up. I need to pop over to engineering and make sure they have the mirror and LED specs. I know Jeff is having some fun making a reactorvision tourist table thing.

The picture isn't quite right (to low rez?) I wonder why... 

Floor sensor

got the Sunspot working as a floor sensor. Then before I could put the thing in the floor it ran out of power. I'm going to leave recharging over weekend - but don't know how long it will last.

I'm not sure if this big box will fit through the holes in the floor either...