Next Step

I will have to switch polarity in order to change motor direction in addition to cutting all power to the motor.  I found this website that seems to explain it pretty well.  Multiple relays should do the trick.  Leaving them both connected to ground will stop the motor completely while having one connected to power and the other to ground will allow for control of the motor direction.  This website goes more in depth and suggests pull-up resistors.  I also have to remember a flyback diode for each side.

Controlling DC motor direction with relays

Latest Research

I've been doing research into control for my latest project idea.  This video is an experiment with a chip I'm considering using.

Arduino-Serial to Parallel Conversion

Where I am artistically?

As most artists probably do I have swayed in my choice of medium as I have become more knowledgeable about what mediums are available and how to apply those to my own goals.  Only recently, last semester in Wayne’s class, did I learn of interactive installations in which art is installed into a space and changes based on how a user interacts with it.  This has become my prefered medium because the user is transformed into part of the artwork themselves.  After doing research into what place interactive installation has in the art world I have come to the conclusion that my desires lie as a postmodernist artist.  I would like to create an experience through my art that allows the individual to make their own interpretations around the piece and so the individual can never be wrong with what they come away with.  I strive to create art that fascinates the viewer and inspires them to see the world differently and as a majestical place.

I have become obsessed with learning how simple everyday objects work and I enjoy breaking them apart to use pieces from them or make plans through transformation of their schematics.  My technique will always be developing as I will always need to keep up to date on new technologies but I am currently working with Arduino and Processing.  The Arduino allows for simple manipulation of electrical current and sensory while Processing is a simple java based visualizing program for the input received.  

Reuben Margolin has been an inspiration for me.  His kinetic sculptures, although not interactive, have opened my eyes to how simple engineering, and not so simple engineering, can make a piece totally revolutionary and new. I’d like to mix this idea with my interactive ideas to make art that never ceases to amaze its users.

Maker Profile: Reuben Margolin Kinetic Wave

Neil Degrasse Tyson - Most Astounding Fact