Collaborators: Zeal, Ruoxiao

Link to project brainstorm

Play-test from last class with 4 gears connected to "LEDs" leading up to a computer screen of a digital hamster and its apartment. The "LEDs" signify a connection to each of the 4 appliances in the hamster's home: coffee maker, lamp, TV, and radio.

Animation

User Flow

When no electricity is being powered into the hamster's home, the hamster will be in an 'idle' state where it could be looking or walking around, pointing to different appliances around the home to be turned on.

Note: The hamster will have distinct points throughout the apartment with a return location at 'Point 0'. This will be to make the hamster's movements more fluid and less jerky when different points are prompted on the map. If another appliance is triggered during another one, the animation will reach an ending point and will immediately move to Point 0 and following animations will take place.

When the lamp is turned on by Gear 1, the hamster will be prompted to move towards 'Point 1', or where the lamp and bookshelf are located. When the hamster is met with an invisible collider, animation to sit down and read the book will play through.

Note: In further iterations, we hope to give the hamster randomized choices, in which the hamster's reaction will be randomized in whether or not it will trigger movement towards the turned on appliance.

Furthermore,

• Gear 2 = Coffee Machine [Point 2]
• Gear 3 = TV [Point 3]
• Gear 4 = Gramophone [Point 4]

When multiple gears are turned and LEDs are maxed 100% (2-3 gears at a time), the hamster will be confused at Point 0 and will nervously look around. When all gears (4) are turned and maxed at 100%, the hamster will have a new reaction, for example, an angry hamster that yells at the user.

Note: We came to a consensus that it would make the best sense for each appliance to turn off after 5-10 seconds when there are no more input from the gears. Although ideally, it would make sense to store energy as time that is dependent on how long a user has generated, we speculate that the experience for the users will be limited, at least for the specific scope that our project will be in. However, I think this is something we still want to user test and actually see it in play.

Complete animation and user flow. [Figma Link]

Physical Sensors

• Neopixel LEDs
  • We figured out how to control LED's and learned that it will require specific amperages to turn on each specific LED.
  • LED; getting silicon tubing and how to dress it up to make illusion of electric flow more fluid
  • Consider setting brightness to low instead of turning it off completely and then raise it significantly when prompted by user turning the gears to have a softer transition
• Rotary Encoders
  • Requires 2 digital pins; we will not be using the button/switch
  • 23 'steps' is one rotation
• Fan Motor (Coffee Smell)
  • Consider grinding coffee grounds and trigger its smell with a small motor fan blowing at the user.