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What do you think of me?

Fall 2017 
Robotics for Creative Practice

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A robot that shoots paintballs based on voice inputs.

Roles & Responsibilities

p5.js code, vinyl design, canvas assembly, final assembly, documentation

Background

Background

This installation draws attention to the unproductive discussion on gun control which has continued to dominate the U.S. political environment for the past several years. The viewer was prompted to speak into a microphone with the question “What Do You Think of Me?” in relation to the presence of a visible weapon.

As the viewer increased their volume to try and overpower the sound of the gun, the firing moved vertically along the y-axis and subsequently started hitting the more fragile portions of the canvas. The resulting deterioration of the canvas was representative of how the shouting match between the two sides of this larger debate is unproductive and grows more and more destructive.

Collaborators

Brandon Darreff & Travis Chambers

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Process

For this project we developed the narrative first, and then worked to design a robot that told the story. I used p5.js to write an algorithm that converted sound from a microphone into (x,y) coordinates mapped to our canvas. The X value was set based on tone, while the Y value was controlled by volume. 

We designed and built a robot that could move in both the x and y directions and fire itself, using three servo motors controlled by an Arduino.

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We chose 3 different materials on the canvas that would behave differently when struck by a paintball. The bottom was the made of plywood where the paintballs would simply break, the middle was made of paper mache where the paintballs would break through the paper mache, and finally plaster at the top which would chip and shatter.

We did this to demonstrate how the gun control conversation becomes more destructive as volume grows louder and people speak over each other rather than listening.

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Challenges

One of the main challenges we had was the center of gravity of the paintball gun. Originally we had measured the center of gravity without the carbon dioxide tank or a hopper, but when the tank was added the marker tilted up because it was too back-heavy, so we added a counter balance to the barrel.

As the gun fired and the hopper emptied, the center of gravity shifted back again. This change in center of gravity made it difficult for the motors to move the marker forward causing it to fire above the canvas. 

If we were to do it over again, we would have investigated using bungees or springs to help vary the counterbalance through the performance. 

Installation & Performance

Our robot was on display at Carnegie Mellon’s Frame gallery where viewers could speak into the microphone and watch as their words were drowned out by the robotic gun.

©2024 by Shannon Eger

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