Today has not been good. I managed to not only achieve nearly nothing on my list of things I wanted to do but I also managed to destroy one of the servos in the pan tilt unit which now needs replaced. Mike has lent me one for the time being and I think I’ve fixed things but it still feels like I have taken the baby-est of baby steps forward today.

So, let’s recap (mainly for my own benefit so I can convince myself that there is still a point in continuing)…

I have a servo based pan/tilt mechanism which currently runs from its own independent power supply. Previously the two servos were running from the Arduino; a massive electrical drain from the computer which occasionally was causing the Arduino to trip and crash every now and then. Hopefully this rectifies that problem.

I also plan to run the WiiMote from this external power supply but I will need to transform the voltage down from 6V to 3V. Thinking back to my Advanced Higher Physics days at school I figured that the way to do this would be using a potential divider. The circuit was simple as the voltage I required was exactly half of the input voltage so I only needed two identical resistors. Testing with a voltmeter proved that everything worked, however Mike (to the rescue) advised me to use a voltage regulator instead. I don’t particularly understand why and even after asking him just there as he’s in the studio I still don’t get it - but it is apparently “the accepted way of doing it”; fine by me!

I also ordered a Fire-I Webcam from eBay to install into the casing. I’m kinda doing this blind but the camera comes recommended by Ali (our studio technician). We’ll see what happens.

Next steps, in a nutshell and no particular order, are as follows:

• Build a casing for the camera unit. Ali generously gifted an old tripod to me to hack apart. With a bit of work I will be able to build a mount for the servos which will also incorporate a housing for the Arduino. I intend to keep all the circuitry and major electronics as ‘encased’ as possible. Hopefully the only cables coming from the unit will be a power cable and a couple of usb cables (Arduino and webcam). I’ve ordered some cable braiding (cable sleeve to the layman) to wrap any unsightly cables in so that it appears as if there is only a single cable.
• Branding. As I am designing this project as a service it is important that there is some consistent branding going on across all the elements (camera unit, iPhone app and website). Currently liking ‘SnowScope’ but still feel that it needs a little tweaking.
• Rebuild, redefine and remake the iPhone app. In its current form the app is sluggish and unreliable. In order to simulate a more realistic user experience I think I will build the app again but with more thought into the branding and less ‘workingness’ i.e: I’ll fill it with dummy data - a supporting video will explain the linkage between unit and app.
• I also, obviously, need to install and ‘make work’ the webcam. This is primarily as a form of immediate feedback for the users who will be viewing the prototype(s) at the Degree show and New Designers. I’ve not even thought about how this part is going to work or indeed how it will be implemented in the final thing.

A bit of an information overload there; it at least puts some perspective on things, if nothing else for my own sanity.