Creative Tech Blogs

https://jrtataut.tumblr.com/post/626114444505841664/digital-fabrication-project-update-1-so-far-i-have

https://jrtataut.tumblr.com/post/627024340902461440/digital-fabrication-project-update-2

https://jrtataut.tumblr.com/post/628594544838082560/i-tested-my-prototype-and-this-is-what-it-looks

https://jrtataut.tumblr.com/post/628605123577380864/digital-fabrication-project-update-3

https://jrtataut.tumblr.com/post/628606866944081920/digital-fabrication-project-update-4

https://jrtataut.tumblr.com/post/628606876856254464/digital-fabrication-project-update-5

https://jrtataut.tumblr.com/post/629909009903828992/digifab-01-project-refinement-discussion

https://jrtataut.tumblr.com/post/633076663092232192/digifab-02

https://jrtataut.tumblr.com/post/633074382000029696/digifab-03

With the power button issue out of the way, the phone holder works fine. There a few issues with its design though:

Sliding the phone in is very awkward when the holder is attached to the laptop

The roughness of the plastic can potentially lead to scratching either the laptop or phone, especially when sliding it in

There is excess material that can be cut off and the holder will still work fine

Iterations:

- Original 3D printed sketch prototype (ZontiFit Design)

This held the phone and fit on the laptop perfectly. Was able to use this only half inside the slot because the slot was too tight, and the button would be held turning the phone off. There were issues with scratching as well.

- Refined version of the sketch (ZontiFit)

Involves padding, less material, clearance/grooves for the buttons.

- Different Design Choice (VertFit)

Slip in design for easy usage, less material, introduction of an interference fit (represented by the bump), cylinder supports added possibility of compatibility with other phones.

- Refined Version (VertiFit)

Includes padding, different materials appropriate for the use for added structural integrity

- Ultimate Design

Even more refined with added mechanism (telescoping interference fit) and fitting (both original design) with fleshed out materials (metal for cylinders, strengthened plastic for soft joints, etc).  Most likely would consist of multiple parts, padding, suitable materials, etc

Limitations of 3D print:

Integrity of the 3D print is based on layers and how they are oriented

Flimsyness of the 3D print material (this split appeared after a day of use)

3D printing is a very good method of prototyping and testing strength and structural integrity as well as playing around and figuring things out like how I found that it was easier to slide the phone in vertically.

Cylinders difficult to layer sideways, wont print properly or lose structural soundness

I found that the phone holder worked better when the phone was held as it is in the photo above - the camera is angled towards me and the buttons were not interfered with. 

So I can go with two designs - one that refines the previous designs intention (slides in horizontally: ZontiFit) and the other that continues with this method (slides in vertically: VertiFit)

With a ZontiFit, its easier to insert the phone before attaching the holder to the laptop. I feel that this is clunky and awkward and would rather look at another way of putting the phone in. Also taking the phone out during use is very difficult.

What are the aspects of your design that you want refine?

Design - maybe go towards a more versatile design that can work with many phones instead of just my one. Making it universal. Might include moving parts. Sliding the phone in is a bit awkward so I might work on a way to simply slide it in.

Materials - needs additional materials for padding to protect the laptop and phone (probably rubber), need to strengthen the joins, stress point with stronger materials as the plastic is a bit flimsy (long-term usage needs to be considered). 

Features - A mechanic that allows the adjusting for the size of the phone, pen/cil holders, raising the compartment so users can use the screen at the same time maybe??  

In terms of the Mountie, a design that does away with the wedges and consists of a “one piece” design would be a potential idea to work on. Using small powerful magnets for clamps instead?

What digital fabrications processes? Would you use different processes for different parts of your design?

3D printing most of the design. As the design gets more complex i.e. working on ways to slide the phone in easily, I might split the printing in different parts. 

Elaborate a plan by defining the next steps and their deadlines for your refinement version.

I will add grooves to the current design (marked by black pen) using a file in order to fix the power button problem. This should be quite an easy thing to do and afterwards I will look at how to add padding to the design as well as better fitting to the laptop. 

Another feature I would like to add to this design would be to allow adjustment and remove the roof to allow for compatability with other phones. Also to remove more material in order to make it cost effective. Make the platform more shallow so that the camera can be used. Make curved hook for use on more laptops.

I have 3D-printed the prototype holder and tested it out (the video should be in another blog post). The space between the hooks fits the bump on the laptop bezels perfectly. Unfortunately, I can’t slide the phone in all the way because the compartment holding the phone is too tight so the power button will be held and the phone will restart. 

I’ve been looking into soft robotics and using compliant materials in my Thingy. I cannot think of an appropriate name for the time being so it’ll have to do for now. Out of curiosity, I googled to see if any products had the same name and unfortunately all I found was a movie about a living placenta. Maybe the phone holder will bring justice to the name, Thingy...

There are some other variations of this hook based holder I want to look at, and then I’ll try my hand at some other type maybe.

I found a 3D model of my phone so I will be using this to design my holder more accurately. I was thinking that for the back side of the phone compartment, a flexible plastic could be used to make sliding in the phone a lot easier and perhaps add the potential for use with different model phones. 

The Mountie is actually made of 3D printed materials and features interchangeable wedges that fit different sized devices. I have hand sketched a diagram of what it looks like.

The high friction wedges pinches the phone, with additional holding power provided by the clamp. I am not quite sure of how this might damage the phone or the laptop as the clamp is very small and supports the full weight of the phone holding it with the laptop. The price is at a somewhat reasonable $22.00 on Amazon.

Going into Fusion 360 I have managed to create a rough model so far (and wasted about 30 minutes in Photoshop learning to put this together). It is all to scale and measured, the only thing I haven’t been able to determine so far is what the thickness of the walls should be at.

I aim to try and replicate what we have done in class by using actual photos of my phone to design the slot for the holder more accurately so it is more fitted.

1. What areas in your field of interest or usage in regards to technology, that you can identify potential current or future ethical or design bias issues? (identify at least one) 

The video games industry

2. What are those issues specifically?

ZT Online was a game released in 2007 that used loot boxes as a way to guarantee monetisation when piracy and going to internet cafes prevented players from not buying the games for themselves (Newman n.d). This proved to be extremely effective for them, at one point raking in over US$15 million in one month (Koo 2007). More and more video game companies have included loot boxes as a form of reliable in-game monetisation.

Loot boxes are bought using money and usually sell the chance of receiving one or more highly prized items. The catch is that the chance to get these items is very low and the majority of the time players will receive ‘common’ items that are of little to no benefit. It’s completely randomised. In New Zealand, loot boxes do not meet the definition of gambling in the Gambling Act but they share the same elements that make gambling so addicting. What makes matters more concerning is that loot boxes can be found in games that have children as their main audience.

A game design philosophy that is often paired with loot boxes is “Pay-to-Win”. This intentionally makes a video game’s difficulty harder or progress slower in order to incentivise players to purchase items that give an edge over competition or accelerate progress. In the case of a teenager having spent over $3000 in one of their games, EA had this to say:

“...Fifa Ultimate Team can be played without spending any money and that purchases are entirely optional.” (Andrews & Hannah 2020)

But they actively encourage people to with how they design their game - you have a clear disadvantage when facing against players that have better players and to get those players you can only purchase them in loot boxes.

I would say that the problem lies within how game designers and corporations like EA begin making their game with making more money off of players at the cost of fun.

Research:

Koo, S. (2007) The China Angle: Wii Piracy, World Of Warcraft Beaten? Retrieved from: https://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=13369  Date Accessed: 26/08/2020

Newman, J. (n.d)  How Loot Boxes Led to Never-Ending Games (And Always-Paying Players) Retrieved from: https://web.archive.org/web/20171114193808/http://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/features/loot-boxes-never-ending-games-and-always-paying-players-w511655

We made chess pieces in class today as a practice for using Fusion 360. I managed to make the pawn fairly easily but I got stuck on the knight. 

I did a couple of rough drafts when I got home of what the design of my holder would be, trying figure out the mechanics of it i.e. how the phone will be held and fixed to the laptop in a convenient way. I have to be weary of the camera position and the side buttons on my phone as it may disrupt the video call if the buttons are accidentally pressed. With the way I am designing it, I am trying to fit the phone at the top of my laptop like this.

The Mountie achieves this using a wedge and a clamp to secure the device pretty reliably. 

So far I have designed a basic example of a laptop phone connector holder thingy. There are two designs that I have found that achieve exactly what I am aiming for. 

They are the Mountie:

https://www.mobilefun.co.nz/ten-one-design-mountie-universal-laptop-clip-for-phone-and-tablets-51760

And the Monkey Holder:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/monkey-holder-merging-laptops-with-phones#/

And here’s my design:

1. Body: Name an IoT product you might design, its purpose, what it's connection to IoT represents

A device that can track differences in muscle growth and sends the data to an app on your phone. This will grant the wearer better information on how their regimen is affecting their body so they can adapt for the better. A side effect of this app is a solid statistic of how much muscle mass a person has which can be compared among peers and perhaps even used to predict chances of success in a fight.

2. Smart Home: Name an IoT product you might design, its purpose, what it's connection to IoT represents

A music system that plays music based on the weather and what task I’m currently doing. This will highlight usually boring events in the home such as getting ready in the morning, washing dishes, and just life around the home in general. This data however does require what exact tasks are being done by the people in the house so their actions can be tracked and used for malicious purposes.

3. Smart City: Name an example of IoT used in the public realm, its purpose and what its connection to IoT represents

1.What is the cultural context of what you see in the image?

The creatures remind me of a more ancient take on the usual Pacific creatures you’d normally find, representing strength, charm, adventure.

2.What technologies are apparent in the image?

The use of paint...

3.What creative practices can you name in the context of this image?

The artist painted this taking inspiration from their culture and Greek mythology and art style.

1.What is the cultural context of what you see in the image?

Classic symbols of Pacific culture in spaces that resonate very strongly with me

2.What technologies are apparent in the image?

Use of photography

3.What creative practices can you name in the context of this image?

The artist has taken seemingly Pasifika objects and put them in a space that amplifies their meaning

1.What is the cultural context of what you see in the image? 

The lighting depending on how you view it is very reminiscent of art patterns found throughout Pacific culture

2.What technologies are apparent in the image? 

The artist uses lighting in a dark space

3.What creative practices can you name in the context of this image?

This piece interested me the most. I first thought that it looked very pretty and was wondering exactly what it was. Upon looking closer however I could make out cans and debris and recoiled at the sight of the pollution. By my personal reaction and reading the context listed above, the artist succeeded in her aim and I was very impressed.

1. What is the cultural context of what you see in the image?

Due to the nature of industry waste and mass production/consumption of goods, this piece speaks on an international level.

2. What technologies are apparent in the image?

Uses photography, byproducts of human advancement and consumption of goods.

3. What creative practices can you name in the context of this image? 

She’s arranged photographs of the items in a way that presents them suspended in a void, likened to how our trash is in our oceans.

1. What is the cultural context of what you see in the image?

Reflects the values surrounding hard work in specifically Chinese culture and how business is rapidly evolving

2. What technologies are apparent in the image?

Uses photography to capture the image, which is of a modern cluttered working office space in a building in China where the lighting is artificial and there is a combination of computers and physical paper models of building.

3. What creative practices can you name in the context of this image?

The artist manages to capture the entirety of a crazily packed and organised mess of an office.

1. What is the cultural context of what you see in the image?

The photographs show how technology is involved with the identity of young adults from a Western perspective

2. What technologies are apparent in the image?

Photography with the models posing with phones in their typical bedroom environment.

3. What creative practices can you name in the context of this image?

My name is James but you can call me James as that’s what my friends call me. I am not very good at comedy but you can blame that one girl who actually laughed at a dumb joke I made for my persistence. When I’m not being super coolio, I practice guitar and try to make the most of what my laptop and the internet has to offer.  This year my main side thing has been video editing using Adobe Premiere Pro which has been awesome to learn. I’ve always loved to make things and see how others interact and (hopefully) enjoy them. Which is why I am excited to get into Digital Fabrication!

The three most important objects in my life are my phone, toothbrush, and hoodie.

I use my phone everyday and it is my main tool for communication, accessing information and organizing my life. I wake up and the first thing I do is check my phone - it’s how I keep in touch with the world around me. Throughout the day wherever I am, you can bet that my phone will be involved to some degree which I’ll admit can be problematic at times especially in terms of procrastinating. It is a tool that should be used wisely as it contains great potential for furthering quality of life such as for learning and using information for planning out a diet and workout plan and this is something I must develop - that is, wiseness.

No, I will not show my real toothbrush.

Brushing my teeth is an act that sets my mind and body up for the day. It is refreshes not only my breath but my very soul (yes I am being 100% serious). I love the feeling of having brushed my teeth as I’m not a morning person and using my toothbrush gives me the boost of energy I need to fully wake up and continue on my way throughout the day. I find brushing my teeth in the bathroom to be very boring so I will walk around my apartment and look out the window as a sort of light exercise before finishing the job. Obviously, I use my toothbrush twice a day although using it at night is more of a chore.

Team Name: In Development

Jordan Bryan

Nathan Gibson

Bhumika Patel

James Robinson-Togia

Blog Posts in Chronological Order:

1) https://jrtataut.tumblr.com/post/186828953604/so-it-begins

2) https://jrtataut.tumblr.com/post/188537413959/the-what-and-nothing-but

3) https://jrtataut.tumblr.com/post/188526063434/research-and-presentation

4) https://jrtataut.tumblr.com/post/188619614729/team-discussion

5) https://jrtataut.tumblr.com/post/188055935174/summary-of-test-for-a-treat-event

6) https://jrtataut.tumblr.com/post/188623100069/issues-with-the-ocd-spectrum

7) https://jrtataut.tumblr.com/post/188625299549/my-prototype-cdo

8) https://jrtataut.tumblr.com/post/188653406434/problematic