Digital Media Project

I have been doing research on the Arduino Micro-Controller board. Specifically I have been researching the electronics/wiring of the Arduino, which I am hoping will help me on my own Project.

The research was carried out by reading up on Arduino (using tutorials, MAKEZINE videos on Arduino project such as making an LED blink). These were vary helpful and thought me the the basics of the Arduino.

The inner workings
Through this research I have made some progress in learning the inner workings of the Arduino board itself, Resistors and Wires. This is what I have learnt so far:

The board
So far the main thing I have learnt about the Arduino board is the Input/Output Pins. It's still all a bit hazy at the moment, but I think I understand how they work. I found out that the Pins come in Digital, Analogue and Ground on the Arduino. I am not quite sure the difference between the Digital and Analogue pins quite yet. All I know is that different projects require you to use either Digital or Analogue pins. I will need to go into further research on this so that I can get a clearer understanding.

The Ground pins are used to wire/connect e.g. the LED ground signal to the Arduino. So far I know this is done so that whatever you are working with doesn't break.

Resistors
This is what I have learned about Resistors:

• They are used to controll the flow of electricity by resisting current.
• The resistance of "Resistors" are measured in ohms units, also written as this Ω.
• The bigger ohms a resistor has, the harder the flow of electricity gets.
  
• An easy way to think of a Resistor is like in Waterpipes, i.e. the flow of water current. The bigger a pipe the easier the resistance such as a firehydrant used to put out fires, and the smaller the pipe the higher the resistance such as a water fountain where people drink water from.
  

Finally handed in my FYP Proposal document on thursday 15th October. It contains in good detail about what the project is, what I want to accomplish, objectives (research, learning, etc). So far I feel quite confident about the proposal and even project.

Since the final handin of the Proposal document I have been looking into the overall budget, i.e. how much all the components will set me back. I have been wanting to go to the UWE Robotics department to see if they can help with the budget. fortunately my Interaction Design module was going on a tour to the Robotics department On thursday 15th October to learn about HRI (Human Robotic Interaction).

At the end of the tour I approached our guide(A researcher at the department) and asked if the department help UWE students undertaking Final Year Projects. I explained to him that my FYP was to investigate and create an Internet Controlled Robot. He asked me to email him and then he would be able to tell me of someone that can help me. I have emailed him but he has not replied to me yet.

I am going to chase him up, but if he does not reply this time, I will have to make due. I am thinking I might have to cover the budget myself, really, I am prepared to do this, after all I am hoping it won't be very expensive.

I have also been gathering research, using (mainly) the internet. I have been reading relevant online tutorials, such as learning how the Arduino Micro-Controller works. I have yet to finish this as the content is quite extensive.

Next Stage:
I am still at the Requirement Gathering phase of the project. I have various objectives to look into. I will start with researching how to create the User Interface, everything involved, i.e. programming languages, etc. Also, in my Proposal I mentioned that I will be carrying out a Comparative Analysis, before I start doing that I will need to figure out if it is relevant to my project. Not sure what I will benefit from doing it, yet.

I also will need to obtain an Arduino Micro-Controller so that I can learn how it all works. I will need to make a decision between buying a SERB (Arduino Controlled Servo Robot) kit or buying the Arduino and the rest of the components required seperately.

I was able to draft the proposal on time for the friday session. So far it's only 1 page long. For todays session I recieved a lot of good feedback such as other functionalities to add to the project, (i.e. future improvements) from my assigned supervisor of the day. She also suggested that I use an Arduino Microcontroller for my project and not bother with others. I already had some knowledge of the Arduino Microcontroller, such as, it being the cheapest budget wise and easiest to program out of all the others.

I also had a constructive discussion with the group I was assigned into about my project. We also discussed their projects, which in turn helped me to think more deeply about my own. Unfortunately didn't get the chance to ask how much we are required to write for the proposal alone. This session also made me realize that I need to think of a lot of other factors involved with my project, such as the budget. My team mates in todays session suggested that I should go to the UWE robotics department and ask if they are able to help with the budget.

Hi my name is Farah Ali. This blog will be dedicated to the final year Digital Media Project I am currently undertaking at UWE. My FYP (Final year Project) will be on creating an Internet Controlled Robot. My project is called 'WebDroid. 'I will be posting weekly entries regarding anything related this project, such as progress made (i.e. project, learning and research objectives met) and to reflect on my learning.