Week 6 | Untoolkit - Electronic inputs

First some theory

A sensor is an electronic device that is constantly measuring a physic variable. For example: temperature, distance, humidity, light, etc. And then transforms the physic variable in an electric signal. An actuator is an electronic device that transforms an electric signal in a physic variable (light, sound, etc.)

They are two kinds of sensors: digital and analog.

A digital sensor only detects two possible status: if it is working at 100% or at 0%.

An analog sensor measures continuously the variable and detects any proportional value between 100% and 0%. For this reason, the measure provided by the analog sensor is more precise than the one provided by the digital sensor. source: https://www.ksixmobile.com/en/post/difference-between-analog-and-digital-sensors-167.php & lessons in class

The process

Desiree and I made four analog sensors. Their all based on the following sensor which was given as a example.

This 'switch-sensor' is made of a bead that hangs on a cardboard by means of a piece of steel, copper tape and conductive wire.

When you move the cardboard back and forth, you switch the circuit on and off: you break the circuit and you close it.

By connecting this properly to the Arduino Uno, you can operate an LED light.

The following four sensors are made by Desiree and me. We used this example as inspiration.

Sensor one

This first sensor, looks a lot like the one above. The difference is that the ball in the middle is not a bead, but a marble. Also, we did'nt use the solder device. But in big lines, it's the same.

The difficult thing about this was that we had no beads. A bead has a hole in the middle where you can easily put the copper wire through and fasten it like this. With a marble it is quite a job to attach this to a copper wire because it keeps slipping or is not firmly attached.

Sensor two

The second sensor is also a hanging marble. Here, I have made the points that the marble should touch, higher (the soft balls).

As you may can see, I used copper wire to tie the copper tape to the soft ball. When I tested this on my Arduino of Desiree, it didn't work. Then, I used another wire that worked in my previous sensor, this worked immediatly. The other copper wire was not a good conductor.

Sensor three

The third sensor works also like the two before: tilting the paper to let the marble move, but here, the marble doesn't hang. With a hole in the middle the marble can move.

The marble is with a wire conneced to another marble on the other side. This ensures that the marble remains in the right place.

If you tilt it left or right, the marble will touch the copper tape and close the circuit.

Sensor four

This is the last sensor. The marble is connected to two wires which meet eachother on the back of the sensor. The idea was to role the marble to the other side.

So, after making these four switch sensors, I wasn't able to connect them immedietly to the Arduino because I didn't have a breadboard. In the 8th week my breadboard came and I tested the sensors below.

Connecting to the Arduino

The paperclipwires we soldered together in class were all still at Desiree place. I don't have a soldering machine at home, but this was not that necessary. I still attached the wires to the sensors with a paperclip. It was annoying that they detach very quickly when I moved the Arduino.

I used the setup of the breadboard from the video that Loes had put on DLO. No code was included, I used the Arduino to make it a circuit and to use the power.

The sensors

Final digital switch

Final digital switch connected to the Arduino

As you can see, I based my final input on the third input I made as an example.

The design consists of two marbles that are connected and are both on the other side of the carton. They are connected with a copper wire. The marble at the bottom is connected to the Arduino and the switch is operated at the top. If you move the marble at the top to the side, this will come into contact with the copper tape that is also connected to the Arduino. So, the circuit is then closed and the LED light turns on.

Zine

Analog & Digital

Digital and especially analog are broad words if we only look at the meanings they bring.

So, you have cheese analogues, an imitation cheese that does not consist cheese but substitute ingredients. You have a term called Analogy proof; this is a form of reasoning in which a conclusion is derived based on a comparison with another case. You also have Analogy in linguistics, psychology and biology. All with different meanings.

Analog and digital that we work with this week has to do with electronic inputs. An electronic circuit usually consists of an input and an output. The input is the controller of the circuit. This allows you to turn it on or off. You close the circuit so that current can flow through it or you interrupt the circuit so that no current can flow through and no output is possible.

The difference between an analog and a digital input has to do with how it works. A digital sensor works on zeros and ones. That is basically, on or off. An analog sensor, on the other hand, measures a quantity and converts it to a voltage. This voltage changes continuously in relation to the quantity to be measured.

This week I focused on making a digital sensor. By doing this, I immediately and easily understood how a button worked, which I had never really thought about.