So far in our project, everything was running smoothly. We weren't having any technical or mechanical difficulties, we were ahead of the schedule we set for ourselves, and the only thing to do for a few days was wait for the materials we needed for the dance pad.
This was a really fun part. We ordered copper taffeta and conductive foam, bought some carpet padding, and Juliette's mom sent us some FABULOUS fabric to cover everything. So we got to work. First, we tested a miniature version of the pad:
Our pads consisted of conductive foam sandwiched between copper taffeta that has a wire soldered to each side. pressing on the pad changes the resistance between the wires, and we can measure that change using LEGO NXTs. We choose to use NXTs for our project because of the Bluetooth capability because the pad and the dancer are separate. Bluetooth gave us flexibility in where we could set up our project, because the pad could be quite far away from the dancer, and if we decided to put it in a display case that would not have been an issue.
We made a mock pad on the floor with masking tape so we could get a feel for how big it should be.
To measure resistance on the NXT, we had so trick it. It actually doesn't have a way to measure resistance, so we connected the wires to its light sensor. The numbers it collects read from 0, when the pad isn't pressed, to 100, when the pad is pressed. The wires that read the "light" are the black and white wires, so we just soldered wires onto a connector and it plugs right in! We were good to go!
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| HI JULIETTE!! |
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| Duct tape is GOD |
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As you can see, we have seven sensors connected to 2 different NXTs. Each pad controls a different motor. We have pads for the elbows, knees, and hands, and another for the right hip, so he can do a little hip action.
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