INDN 341: 3D Into 2D

So I've been doing a lot of thinking with respect to the project and how I'm going to make the interpretation of it clearly show what it's going to achieve. Another aspect that I really want to look at is the concept of the user interaction. This is a very important part of the machine as it's what the entire process is founded on.

The interaction is something that I want to consider quite heavily. Since I'm looking at the process of movement and getting the user to manipulate the fabric to generate something unique every time, it seems prudent to ensure I've designed a system that allows a certain effective method of control. One difficulty I've had is to decide whether to make a system that is fully automatically controlled, or a system that requires constant user input. These two options could both create quite a poetic object.

To allow the user interaction, I have to make sure that the design of the components  makes sense to people, as well as being easy to see and comfortable to use as well. The way I can see the fabric suspension working is as such: Multiples parts of the fabric are attached to small wheels, allowing them to be moved closer to one the three struts. Using the three sides to control the angles and locations of different points of the fabric allows the user to manipulate the resultant shapes that the trickling watercolours create below.

Using just straight connectors between the different struts would create issues though, as the angle of the connecting wire coming off the wheels would be slightly off what it possibly should be to ensure the best possible functionality. By bending the connecting struts, it alters the angle to be facing slightly more towards the center, which will make the connections to the fabric less strenuous and more direct.

In terms of other options for making the wheels function appropriately, another two options would be to have the wheel function off a small ratchet, and another option would be to have sort of "brake pads" that keep the spinning of the wheel in check. This natural inhibitor would allow for the user to manipulate the cable while on it's own it won't be able to move.

After talking to the tutor today, I narrowed down my idea a fair bit, and decided to break away from the fabric idea a bit. As opposed to letting the user dictate how the result would be, I decided to go down the path of object cataloguing, whereby the user would place an object, and said object would then be "catalogued". The way I conceived this cataloguing would be for it to have quite a simple form, allowing for a very visible structure of how it functions. I want to highligh exactly how the device turns data from 3D into 2D.

This particular sketch details the concept of that idea, which would allow for the user to place an object of their choosing in the receptacle below. The beauty of this design is in the visibility, I feel. By making it incredibly clear how the whole device works, the user can feel more connected to the process as a whole. This utilisation of a clear-cut machine should allow the user to feel more connected to the creative process as a whole.