Graham asked us this morning to answer some questions as regards our project in a bid to help us think a little about the direction our ‘Make Phases’ are going.

What will it do / what won’t it do?

Make Mk1 (MM1) is about creating the ‘first versions’ of the elements; prioritising on the moveable rig and the iPhone app as I feel those are the key aspects of the project - if a basic website can be put together for MM1 then all the better however will not be focus.

What will it show / what will it not show?

- design / fee/ aesthetics / “looks like works like prototype”

MM1 is a “looks like works like” prototype; I want it to have at least basic functionality (camera tracking and iPhone demonstration). The app is in a relatively ‘demoish’ state with basic concept being portrayed well with dummy data. The rig however is still in proof-of-concept form on a breadboard while I await components. The majority of the next two weeks will be spent constructing the first iteration of the pan-tilt movements. If not possible in MM! I intend to use MM2 to  link the elements of the project together (i.e give the iPhone app “real” data to work with)

How are you going to do it?

MM1 will be split mainly into two parts: rig and app.

APP: The app is being built using the PhoneGap framework where native (also offline) apps can be built using HTML, Javascript and CSS. I have chosen this route as taking the time to learn Objective-C will inevitably lead to a less impressive app; by suing skills I already have I can fine-tune the interactions well.

RIG: This is slightly out of my comfort zone and as such will be seeking help from experts in the field. However, as a basic overview I can see the rig taking form by hacking apart the dummy CCTV camera mount I have as a basic structure and adding the mechanics in around it. The whole system will be controlled by an onboard ardunio board with two cables (hopefully shrink wrapped into one) coming from the uni: a USB cable (unless I can find wireless functionality) - possibly a MM2 consideration and the power cable for the stepper motors.

In other news, I still don’t have my components (tomorrow, hopefully?!) and no one was available to help me get my iPhone app working on my iPhone today. *sigh*