Design and Manufacturing
A few weeks later and everything is done! I will compete with my robots next wednesday but for now enjoy this photograph taken in lab moments before impounding.
Design and Manufacturing
A few weeks later and everything is done! I will compete with my robots next wednesday but for now enjoy this photograph taken in lab moments before impounding.
Design and Manufacturing
Mock-up of my saw blade contraption. Should be completed by the end of the week!
Design and Manufacturing I
In lab from 9am-5pm today for 2.007 Design and Manufacturing. I first completed the robot on the left to present to my lab instructor, then heavily edited my design after his input. In my remaining time in lab I drew an altered design and took apart most of my robot- my progress on the new design is shown to the right. Only a few weeks left before the competition!
Undergraduate Research in Art, Culture, and Technology Program
Making a lot of progress in my work with Prof. Azra Aksamija. Today we constructed my paper model of the muqarnas structure and brought in Professor Joel Lamere for advice on the project. We have decided to model the muqarnas in many different materials
1. Plastic for a stiffer version which will behave much like the paper version we constructed today.
2. Light textiles and possibly an Austrian fabric to tie back to our theme of combining Austrian and Muslim culture. Fabric would have no structure on it’s own so we will experiment this week with hanging it and sewing it to wire structures.
3. Thick felt which again would reference the mixture of Austrian and Muslim tradition. We think felt would behave somewhere in between stiff paper and soft fabric because it will keep some of it’s structure, but it may not support the weight of multiple layers of muqarnas.
Design and Manufacturing I
Update on my robot. This robot will push a button dispensing tickets from a ticket booth. It’s arm will swing down and a wheel will begin rotating to hold the tickets taut. Finally, a saw blade will cut through the tickets.
Now I need to add motors so this robot will work. Next week I will be creating the saw mechanism to cut the tickets.
Graphic Design
Working on a logo for “Official Swag Crew”, a group I’m putting together to perform at AXO’s LipSync event to benefit Cambridge YMCA.
Toy Product Design
Wheeled elephant toy I made in 2.00b Toy Product Design
Design and Manufacturing I
My robotic arm. Bottom picture is my current SolidWorks model. Top left is the wheel section of the arm and top right shows the gear mechanism I am using to raise my arm.
My plan is to have the arm horizontal while my robot pushes a button to release tickets from the ticket dispenser. Once I have dispensed all of the tickets I would like, the arm will swing around 180 degrees to clamp onto the tickets. Next the week will begin turning to hold the tickets taut.
Next up I need to design a saw to cut the tickets!
Undergraduate Research in the Art, Culture, and Technology Program
I am working with Azra Aksamija in MIT’s Art, Culture, and Technology Program this semester. We are creating a piece for the exhibition “INTERIOR VIEW SOUTHEAST: Explorations of Islamic Religious Spaces” which will be on display this summer at the Architecture Forum Upper Austria (or AFO) (http://www.afo.at/page.php?id=70&lang_id=en).
Our project is called “Cultural Transfers – Three-dimensional Patterns”, which is an architectural reinterpretation of the traditional Austrian Goldhaube (Gold-Cap).
Envisioned as modular system of elements arranged as a threedimensional geometric pattern, this art project investigates modes of cultural exchange though architectural forms and crafts. The research part would involve historical and formal investigations of the Islamic geometric patterns and “muqarnas” (three-dimensional stalactite-like decorations of Islamic architecture). Based on our investigations of patterns, the design part would involve creation of three-dimensional modular systems in wood and / or textile that can be stacked into different (non-Islamic) forms. The installation will be produced in workshops with people from different cultural and religious backgrounds.
Design and Manufacturing I
I am currently taking Design and Manufacturing I. In this class, each student builds his or her own robot to complete the obstacle course above. The course contains four stations: the Balloon Clown (fill the clown’s balloon with air), the Ticket Booth (click the easy button to dispense tickets, remove the tickets), the High Striker (raise the puck), and the Ferris Wheel (rotate the wheel to multiply your score).
For my strategy I have chosen to focus on the ticket booth and the ferris wheel. If I create a design that consistently performs well, I will attempt to improve my robot to solve more of the tasks.
Graphic Design
My dance crew Mocha Moves has our annual show this February. This year’s theme is MoTown- check out the 4’x7’ poster I designed to go up in MIT’s Lobby 7! After 20+ hours of dance a week for the past few months I can’t wait for the performance.
Undergraduate Research at the MIT Museum
Making our mini-Light Ballet and the final product. We experimented with a matte spray paint to get the matte black finish I wanted for the full size Light Ballet cube.
Undergraduate Research at the MIT Museum
The base robot of the light ballet- disassembled to the right and my reassembly (more compact but with more space in the bottom to fit batteries) to the left.
Undergraduate Research at the MIT Museum
I’m currently working at the MIT Museum on their Lichtballette (Light Ballet) project with Otto Piene.
The light ballet is the work of Otto Piene a german artist who worked as a professor at MIT back in the 70s. He began his work with the Lichtballette in 1959 and now he would like to develop his ideas further with a moving light ballet structure.
Otto’s first lichtballette structure: http://youtu.be/eVk7vl85snU
I discovered the Lichtballete when I wandered in MIT’s LIST Visual Arts Center in December. I was mesmerized by the patterns of light being created on the walls around me. The next day I spoke to one of my professors and found out that not only could I work on the Lichtballette project currently going on at the MIT Museum, I could also meet Otto Piene the next week! I was blown away.
BostonGlobe article on the Lichtballette with great photos:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2011/11/20/otto-piene-light-ballet-dazzles-mit/ZuK6iw202qxEOmGgdhDv4N/story.html
(This photo is by Gunter Thorn from the BostonGlobe website)
Hi! I’m Tara Ebsworth, a sophomore at MIT majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a concentration in Industrial Design and a minor in Arts, Culture, and Technology. I love experimenting with the connection between art and technology. Follow me on my journey through MIT!
