Dallas Arboretum Project #1
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I got a commission through Mecca Design to improve some of the displays in the kid's area called, "High Voltage Island".
It has multiple displays involving water, solar and wind power.
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The above are the first 6 wind power displays i was to improve.
The kids point a blower on the different blades to get them to spin.
The display was OK, but had no, "Pizzazz". It needed some kind of added feedback.
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The first step was to brainstorm and experiment with different types of effects.
The first thought was to somehow measure the fan blades and convert that data into analog meter movement.
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Using a Parallax Stamp II, I programmed it to read the interruptions across a set of photo-electric beams.
At first I used a paper plate with holes cut into it on an axle that I could manually spin to simulate the fan blades.
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I built the first prototype that made cute sounds in stereo as well as deflecting an analog meter as the paper plate was spun.
As the plate spun faster and faster, the sounds got faster and funnier, as well as the meter deflected higher.
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See the prototype in action. >
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This is the prototype. It used dual processors and an amplifier.
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The sound component was deleted by the powers in charge.
I redesigned the system to improve the digital to analog conversion, using the fill power of the microcontroller, to sense fan speed and deflect the meter.
This is the test board that I made and motor with a spinning blade to calibrate the unit.
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The units had to be water resistant as well.
Here I have started building the actual units to be installed at the Arboretum.
Each box controls two fan displays.
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I used a double decker design.
The knobs were to scale the units to the differing fan speed ranges that each fan had.
This allowed the units to be all made the same, but calibrated in the field.
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The completed units with a special common power supply.
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