RIX Living Lab

Empowering Innovation: Where Technology Meets Inclusivity

Month: September 2013

  • “Big” redesign

    As the large playback-only soundboxes worked fine at MERL, and the small size of the last version made it very difficult to get all the components in, the sound recorder has been scaled up.

    comparison
    The old version, the new one, and a quick model of a pint glass I had nearby for scale.

    The speaker on the last version was crudely glued to the bottom, and didn’t really fit properly; the new one has a proper piece to hold the speaker with a grill to protect it. The bayonet fitting idea was copied from the top piece of the old design.

    speakermount

    The joint between the bottom piece and the main body is less obvious than the top/body joint as the edges aren’t rounded off, but it should still be secured with glue, tape, screws, etc to stop users from undoing it.

    microphonemount

     

     

    It was noted that it would be nice to be able to ‘point’ the device at the desired sound, like a microphone or dictaphone. The previous version had the microphone mounted in the side of the main body. The new one has a socket in the centre of its top, with a small grill to protect the microphone.

    As the new case is so much larger, this should allow for more complex electronics (perhaps a microphone preamp to clean up recorded sounds a little), and larger batteries, as well as being easier to construct.

    It will take considerably longer on the 3D printer though. It’s unlikely that more than one case could be printed simultaneously.

  • MERL Pilot Workshop Kit

    The pilot workshop at MERL was based upon two main activities, both relating to sound. The first activity involved looking for objects around the museum that could have produced specific sounds that we provided on custom-built sound players (which we informally refer to as the ‘Sound Boxes’):

    The Sound Boxes
    The Sound Boxes

    The sound boxes were designed to be as simple to use as possible: turn the dial to one of the six positions, press the big button and the sound will play. We have used sound recorders/players in previous workshops, but they are often very complicated to operate, and therefore require someone to assist in using them. For this pilot, members of the group were given the sound boxes and asked to try and locate the source of these sounds from around the museum. The activity itself worked very well and engaged the group members. The boxes themselves also performed very well too, and produced good clear sounds. More importantly, everyone could use them.

    The sound boxes were also used in the second activity, along with various other sound making objects, to produce a soundtrack to a silent movie clip.

    We are planning on extending the capabilities of the sound box to more sounds, and possibly create distinct players for different categories of sound. i.e. one for mechanical noises, one for animal sounds, etc.

  • Testing Session at MERL

    Ahead of the Autumn workshops planned with Reading College, Kate, Nick and I have planned a session with a group from Mencap Reading to test out some ideas and Nick and Craigs new sound storing boxes (to be revealed!).

    Here is how we have planned the day:

    Attendees: 3 researchers (Kate, Nick, Kassie), 6 Mencap co-researchers, 2 support workers.

    When: Thursday 5th September – 10.30am – 2.00pm

    10.30am: Welcome Talk: Introductions from everyone, explain the day ahead, short    tour of MERL.

    11am: Recognising Sounds: Scavenger hunt where co-researchers hunt to find objects that make the sounds they can hear from the device.

    12pm: LUNCH: Picnic lunch inspired by the collection at MERL.

    12.40pm: Making Sounds: Sound making workshop where we will create and record sounds using instruments to accompany video clips from the rural past.

    1.50pm: Review: Review of the day. Quick questionnaire for co-researchers.

    (more…)