Stephen Eakin and I are working on a project for the Scarecrows on Parade project at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.  We have decided that our design will be informed by the traditional Klopotec.  For further discussion, see Stephen’s posts (1) (2).

An abstract I recently coauthored was submitted to the 2006 Society of Neuroscience conference. Much of the research I contributed was carried out at the CNL while I was working on my Masters of Biomedical Engineering at the BML with my brilliant advisor, Peter Steinmetz.

Here are some initial 3D renderings for our Urban Echo. They are rough and will be cleaned as needed later. Part of the purpose of this exercise was to learn Google Sketchup and Google Earth. Both are now freely available for Mac and Windows. These tools are extremely useful tools for planning and rendering projects. Sketchup is also useful for designing small parts and pieces for machines such as our new laser cutter.

The geometry of the Barker Dance center proved difficult to model with no prior experience. I was able to apply the basic textures by fitting some images I captured several days ago. Unfortunately, I did not have images of the entire dance center and art buildings.

Urban Echo (working title)
ArtsMosis 2006 Project Proposal

So, I got my first PIC processor(s) today.  I now have a PIC16F84A and two PIC18F232(? … need to double check this).  I was able to install MPLAB, and it successfully communicated with the PicStart Plus.  I also installed Microchip's C18 C comiler.  There are several others to try, but I think I will attempt to get one working before I try out the others.

I have spent a good deal of time figuring out how to power the Gumstix for portable use.  Initial tests with 3 AA (~4.5 V) batteries proved ineffective.  A standard set of alkaline batteries from Radioshack gave me about 1/2 hour of performance.  After that, the voltage diminished and fluctuated, causing the Gumstix to reset sporadically.  The same low voltage problems attended the use of rechargable (what type?) AA batteries.

I am now looking into several other power options.  Randell et al. were able to achieve 6 hours of continuous power using a 750mAh Lithium Polymer battery.  I am looking into the following battery/charger combinations.

• Battery ($12.95) / Charger ($26.95)

It is a bit pricey, but should work.  I will update my findings on the Gumstix Resources page.