So Far…

This is where I am at at the moment. I have attached one of the kalimba’s to a base stand with a lightweight aluminium arm coming out to hold the servo motors. The idea is that one servo will propel the striking arm backwards and forwards (changing the note) while the other servo will raise the arm away from the kalimba and then back down so it touches (striking the note).

Unfortunately I have not tried out any code with this yet so I don’t even know if this will work yet. I am intending to use the servos in conjunction with either the sharp IR distance measuring sensor or the Ping ultra sonic sensor I’m not sure yet but I think the Sharp has a shorter sensing distance so this would lead to a more private and intimate feel where as the ping has a longer range and would be effected more by people more in the background. I actually quite like the idea of the two working together so it you possibly could play with the piece yourself but it opens itself to a collaborative piece even if it is an unexpected one.

I sent a really useful link to some coding using the sharp sensor controlling a servo. I used this in a previous project and I think I should be able to just modify this slightly to at least get one motor moving (code is at the bottom of the page):

https://wiki.engr.illinois.edu/display/ae498mpa/The%20Sharp%20GP2D12%20Infrared%20Range%20Finder

I am hoping to exchange some skills working with Vincent to help me with some my coding issue in exchange for some metal fabrication assistance. So hopefully this wont hold me back to much and I can carry on with the project into completion. If what I have done with the arm out to side with the servo’s on doesn’t work I might need to reposition the arm in front of the kalimba and possibly use a Pan and Tilt motion.

It makes using the motors easier as it has all the necessary resistors and capacitors you need and it keeps you working at a high level so you are free to experiment quicker and easier as there is quite a lot of code available for using this shield. Also it comes with screw cable connectors allowing easier attachment and changing of motors.

The shield comes in a self assembly pack which requires you to solder it together. On the ladyada website all the instructions are very clear and easy to follow http://www.ladyada.net/make/mshield/solder.html.

This is what it looks like once its all soldered together and with all it’s pin’s protruding through the underneath located into the Arduino below.

After that I played around with the lengths of the prongs and as shown in this picture on the right wavy arms. The length determines the pitch but the shape slightly distorts them. I like the idea of having more natural and organic looking shape to the prongs.

After my initial experiments with making these from a single sheet of metal I wanted to see what it would sound like being on a hollow box with an acoustic hole. So I prepared some sheet metal using a guillotine to get this pattern then I measured and marked it out ready to be drilled and welded together. I used a M.I.G (metal inert gas) welder to weld this thin gauge sheet steel together, setting the current low as to be careful of not blowing holes into the material and using a circular hole saw to make the acoustic hole.

The sound was suprisingly good and managed to amplify the sounds fairly clearly which I’m not sure I want but still I want to be able to make it louder and distort the noises being made. I intent to look into using electrical amplification, either like guitar pick ups or something similar.

Aesthetically I like these prongs, they were beaten with a hammer against an anvil curving them into wavy arms.

I propose to make a piece of interactive sculpture that produces sound. The concept is to look at the free-will debate through trying to make the work produce sounds by reacting to the viewer’s presence and participation with the piece.

The name “Mechanical Components” comes from a quote from Daniel Dennet’s Elbow Room, asking the question “How do we reconcile our feeling of free will with the idea that we might be mechanical components of a mechanical universe?”

So within this piece of work I want to explore this theme in a way that will hopefully go beyond previously learned experiences and be an intuitively enjoyable and playful object. So by encouraging a certain lack of knowledge and experience, this will hopefully open up some biological principles of play. Through this in a whimsical manner an experiment of the free will debate will be offered to see whether you can create a harmonious result from the modified music boxes known as Kalimba’s or thumb pianos.

“Mechanical Components” stems from ongoing research into the topic of free will. Following on from my previous sculpture called “Bad Faith”, a theory by Jean-Paul Sartre concerned with the nature of freedom of choice and questioning whether previous experiences determine your identity and or future decisions.

I find influence in crafted sculpture from automata artists such as Paul Spooner and Tim Hunkin. I studied their approach to problem solving and fabricating one off mechanisms to arrive at either humorous or often futile conclusions in the case of Arthur Gansons machines.

The work of American folk/ outsider artist Emery Blagdon who recently had some work on display at the museum of everything, is an overriding influence on the aesthetics of the wiry forms I find fascinating. With a mystical belief in the natural properties of metal that if shaped into particular ways they can have a healing effect upon the body.

There are two main areas of production of the project. Firstly I will be studying and trying to replicate the vibrating noises of a Kalimba (thumb piano). This will include experimenting with different types of metal, at the moment I’m thinking sprung steel would be best but also trying different gauges to see what effects I can achieve. Alternately if I find this tricky I’m also considering adapting an existing Kalimba to suite.

The second part of the process is the electronics. I plan to use an Arduino Duemilanove board which is an open-source electronics prototyping platform (for more info check here, http://www.arduino.cc/). In conjunction with this I have a couple of Sharp 2Y0A21 analogue range finding senors (more info @ http://document.sharpsma.com/files/GP2Y0A21YK-DATA-SHEET.PDF). These sensors can detect the distance between you and itself and give a continually changing analogue value allowing, for example a servo to move in relation to the viewer. I am also looking into the Ping ultrasonic sensor, which is another form of distance measurement but using ultrasonic instead of infra-red like the Sharpe. I’m looking at these as an alternative as there seems to be more information and examples of how to use them available.

To use the information from the sensors I’m going to attach them via the Arduino board to servo motors (SuperTec SO3T/2BB/F more info @ http://www.thmodels.co.uk/supertec-so3t2bb-standard-1143-p.asp). These will be attached to arms that will pluck the tongues of the Kalimba. I am not sure how these will be set up yet to achieve the best sound whether each tongue will require a separate servo or if I will be able to construct something that can cover a few different notes with the same servo. I have also considered using stepper motors if I use a separate motor for each individual note.

My vision of the finished piece will be a free standing sculpture consisting of two Kalimba’s Stacked on top of one another, standing on metal legs running through both of them. The Kalimbas will probably be made from wood and the servo motors will be attached to these bases, determined on how the mechanics plan out.

I will be documenting my work as I go by firstly referencing my theoretical research into the likes of Daniel Dennet and influences from artists such as the Tim Hunkin to Ray Lee.

I’ll show a progression of drawings/ designs to demonstrate what I’m considering to make and also take photos of the development of ideas whilst I’m physically experimenting with materials and ideas. I will then carry on taking photos throughout the whole making process, annotating them to explain my footsteps as clearly and concisely as possible. Also I will take screen shots of programming the Arduino, showing how I managed to work out the coding for using the sensors and motors I finally decide upon and why.