Luís Brandão, Sean Follmer, Fábio da Costa,

Blowing your sock on!

Project log

This article briefly describes the technical aspects of the project and the choices made during the prototyping phase.

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Kitting machine - Kitting machine

Day 2

General idea / system components

  • Attach a motor to one/two circular kitting machine(s)
  • Attach markers to stepper motors to change the color of the wool
  • Use a breathalyzer to measure the level of alcohol
  • Use a FSR, microphone or air bender to measure the blowing intensity
  • Use arduino(s) to manage the game

Open questions

  • Integration of the game in a social network

- Use a camera to record pictures or time-lapse of the games
- Use the ikTag for authentication

  • Choose the knitting machine(s) to use - 2 small ones, 1 large one…

Tasks

  • Check how to measure the blowing intensity - FSR, microphone or air bender
  • Disassemble the Tanita alcohol sensor and understand how the breathalyzer sensor works
  • Assemble the motor shields

Day 3

General idea (update)

  • The idea of changing the colors of the wool by measuring the blood alcohol concentration of the player was dropped. Instead each player will be assigned to one color.
  • The players should coordinate to create an appealing color combination / pattern for the sock by controlling the blow intensity or by playing in turns.
  • A camera will record the knitting process and the video will be displayed in real time vertically inverted

System components (update)

  • Use ink printer cartridges to color the wool instead of using markers.
  • Use a drill instead of a motor to rotate the knitting machine

Days 4/5

General idea (final)

  • The game supports 3 players
  • Each player is assigned to one of three colors: magenta, cyan or yellow
  • The players should coordinate to create an appealing color combination / pattern for the sock by controlling the blow intensity or by playing in turns.
  • A camera records the knitting process and the video is displayed in real time

System components (update)

  • To measure the air intensity we use piezo buzzer sensors
  • We use a drill to rotate the knitting machine
  • To change the color of the wool string we use a sponge inside a container with ink
  • The color of the wool is changed by making the string touch the sponge using a servo motor
  • The video is processed using Processing
  • Each player can log in the game using an RFID
  • The motor and the coloring of the string are controlled with an Arduino Uno