#udbs

Here are some of the details of the HOME INCUBATOR that we photographed after the final review.  These images show the tolerances and precision that we had to work with between each detail. 

On May 8th, we had an event at PROJECT RE_ with the Reality Computing student cohort to celebrate the work developed this semester and try out the virtual and augmented reality experiences that they had made.  The work will be utilized during the HOME INCUBATOR deployments and for their own showcase, “Meeting of the Minds,” which is held on campus.  The end products turned out great and the interactivity was remarkable, awesome work!

On the left are a series of digitally rendered branding iterations developed by Sophie Nahrmann (UDBS ‘18) during the 2018 UDBS Summer Internship. The image on the right illustrates paint tests conducted this Spring to test the feasibility of the color schemes on the left. While we were drawn to the vibrancy and contrast created through the painting, we came to the realization that the application of the spray paint was too unpredictable; we were unable to create consistently clean edges or effective feathering of color.  Therefore, we decided to leave the HOME INCUBATOR unpainted and celebrate contrast between the smooth refined maple and the rough texture of the cardboard.

One communal event that the HOME INCUBATOR is designed to host is a movie night. Utilizing the projector that will be stored in the cargo box on RE_TOLD and the front end stand, movies will be projected onto the felt of the VR cube. Movies that are exhibited are aimed to be socially relevant to issues in the City of Pittsburgh. Eventually oral histories that are recorded using RE_TOLD will hopefully be formatted and displayed before movie nights to give contextual relevance of certain issues at hand in local communities.

After our final review Jay and I took extensive photos of the progress we had made this semester.  As you can see there is still work to be done on the trailer module, for instance the letters, but we are excited to finalize the construction of both modules and get the bike out on the road!

During the construction of the Home Incubator, I learned how to use a 1960s metal lathe in the wood shop on campus.  We have utilized the metal lathe to core maple baseball bat blanks that are used to clamp the cardboard laminated chunks together on both the HOME INCUBATOR and RE_TOLD.

As RE_TOLD was being composed, construction documents were developed to document the entire composition. An exploded axonometric of all RE_TOLD components illustrate how every part is composed in the bigger picture. 

Hard maple wood was used to compose the branding for RE_TOLD and the HOME INCUBATOR, the community outreach tool being developed by the UDBS. Letters were created by CNC milling the hard maple wood into individual pieces which were laminated and fastened together using brads. After sufficient time to dry, each letter was sanded extensively using orbital sanders and then rigorously sanded to finish quality by hand. Wooden dowels were then glued on the back sides of the letters to insert into the cardboard laminations. All letters were then polyurethaned with three coats to ensure letters were fully weather proofed.