Ergonomics and Aesthetics of the Fake TV - Assignment Example

ERGONOMICS AND AESTHETICS OF THE FAKE TV Student’s Name Class Instructor Institution of Affiliation City Date Introduction When Engineers discuss Ergonomics and how it influences design, they commonly allude to the product design. In order for a product to be bought by customers, it must be spontaneous and comfortable to use and operate. Therefore, it’s the work of the product designer or engineer to establish the optimal ergonomic design in relation to the intended customers or users of the product. Aesthetics also plays a major role in the design of the end product and also the design ergonomics as well. This term is used to explain the link between an individual’s perceptions of a product or object, environmental event and the type of reply it evokes from that individual. In other words it refers to the sensory inputs produced by the products from an individual (Liu, Y. 2003, 1273). The main objective of this report is to discuss the ergonomics and aesthetics of the design of the Arduino fake TV. In order to determine the ergonomics and aesthetics of the arduino for the fake TV, this report will cover the procedures and steps involved in the design and making of a fake TV using simple wiring. This enables the Arduino fake TV to imitate the real TV. An Alduino fake TV with is a device that makes use of 7-12 (varies with models) LEDs to imitate the real TV flickering. The Original purpose behind the development of the fake TVs was to trick potential burglars to thinking that the home is occupied when they see a bright light through the window making them to think that the owner is at home watching TV. This is because the fake TV LED lights illuminates the room just like a real television does. It is capable of being programmed to react with light changes such as turning on at night. The procedure for making a fake TV are simple and available free of charge at commercial sites where an individual can follow them to make his or her own fake TV (Oxer, J. and Blemings, H.2009, 198). Advantages of an Arduino fake TV It produces bright light that is enough to imitate the light produced by a real 40 inch TV screen. It brightens or dims, change colours randomly and also fades for a while like the real TV when scenes are changing. The bright light it produces can be seen from the outside at night making it look as if the real TV is on, it’s built in timers also enable the fake TV to turn itself on in response to the changing light intensity in the environment (mostly at dusk and night) and also turn itself off during day time. The fake TV also consumes less power as compared to the real TV. Disadvantages of an Arduino fake TV Sometimes the built in timer malfunctions and turns the fake TV off and on at odd hours like during the day and shutting it down early in the night before the set time. In case the room contains any ambient light, the light sensor is interfered with. Another disadvantage of the Fake TV is that it must be placed near a window for the light to be visible from the outside. Specifications The Arduino fake TV power supply is UL listed, this means that it has undergone various safety tests and passed. The entire unit of the fake TV uses only 9 volts which is a low voltage. The power supply has also been tested in accordance with the EU standards. The Arduino fake TV itself complies with the European safety standards thus it is CE marked. The Arduino fake TV is also compliant to the Reduction of Hazardous Materials (RoHS) requirements. The fake TV is also protected by the United States patents. Requirements for an Arduino fake TV Arduino board, WS2812B Red, Green, Blue LEDs, 8 pin DIP socket, 10 uF electrolyte capacitor, Resistor between 300 Ohms and 500 Ohms, hook-up wire of 3 colours, double sided perfboard, barrel jack for power supply, 10K potentiometer, power adapter of 3.5 to 5.5 volts and a plastic or wooden box. All this parts can be purchased from amazon or e Bay or the respective manufacturers. Steps for making a simple Arduino fake TV Step 1: building This step involves the building of the design of the fake TV and completing the entire circuit board through soldering of the capacitors and wires and other components in their designed ports in the Arduino board. The following is a simulation of the fake TV circuitry Step 2: Code In order to make a fake TV, data from real TV of distinct models and makes was taken. The various TV programs were characterized and the intensity for light output and variations in colour was analysed. Computer files were produced containing the television data. Then, mathematical formulas were generated and made to behave in the same way as the data. This mathematical formulas were then programmed into a fake TVs computer as code and then tests were conducted on the light output of the fake TV and real TV (Klimczak, E. 2013, 156). The following are the two graphs. It can be noted that one can’t tell the difference between the real and fake TV. The top graph represents the light output from the fake TV and the bottom light output from a real TV. Step 3: assembly In this step, after having successfully completed the making of the functioning components of the fake TV, the board and its various components are then assembled inside a ready-made box for protection and cover from damage of components. The following is a picture of a fully assembled fake TV from the manufacturer. Step 4: control and use This step involves determining the controls of the fake TV and how the controls are used. The fake TV has three pots where pot 1 controls the brightness, pot 2 controls the cut speed which varies between Action adventure (8x) and RomCom (1x), pot 3 controls the light show length varying between 15 minutes to 6 hours. The fake TV also contains a pushbutton whose purpose is to terminate current light display without turning off the fake TV. The LED signal that continues to blink after the pushbutton is turned off shows that the program is still functional and hasn’t crashed. After the code is successfully loaded into the Arduino board, it’s easy to use the fake TV. Discussion To many people, the fake TV is just a flickering and a random light source that helps to protect their homes from buglers. It is annoying for people to simply just view it that way without really appreciating its design implications. To be frank, it’s true that the computer in the fake TV contains random generators of numbers and it never repeats itself. The key to making a realistic Arduino fake TV was the discovery about the light characteristics such as the light intensity of a real TV. In consideration of the design aspects of the Arduino fake TV, it is necessary for individuals to consider the various components of the fake TV to concentrate on. The main components of concern include: The entire fake TV unit which will be positioned near a window but obstructed from view of a person on the outside. How can such an equipment of that small size produce such a bright light equivalent to the light produced by real 27 inch TV? The recent technological advancements in LEDs technology have led to the development of brighter LEDs than the old LEDs. The fake TV uses this advanced LEDs to produce a brighter light which makes it pleasant to the eye. The fake TV sometimes requires the user to program it the way he wants it to behave, therefore, this made it important to consider the ergonomics of the design. The limitation facing the development of individual Arduino fake TV is the existence of counterfeit materials used for making this TVs and the fact that these materials are not commercially available for free and therefore an individual must purchase the materials needed especially the motherboard though at a cheaper price. Conclusion The aim of inputting the best code derived from mathematical calculations and using advanced LEDs was to make sure that the fake TV was convincing enough even to a burglar who was staking a home for a planned burglary. It is clearly evident that no burglar is capable of studying the light intensity produced by a real TV or measure the degree of variation in colour. However, human beings possess many qualities such as the ability to discern patterns and note specific differences. In case of a simple glitch in the design and making of the fake TV, a normal person can spot the difference in the light pattern produced by the TV simulator and even though he can’t establish what the difference is, he will obviously know that something is not right. In order to avoid this the designer and maker of the TV simulator must make sure through observing and measuring that no differences can be seen. Recommendations In case an individual develops his or her own fake TV, all the pots and the pushbutton are determined by the software. Therefore, in case an individual wants a tint knob or a disco light all he has to do is modify the code. The Commercial fake TVs do not have a backup battery, there in case of a power outage or shortage the program of the fake TV stops. An individual can therefore add a backup battery to improve the efficiency of the fake TV. Normally. An Arduino fake TV do not have a real time clock, the programed code after the simulation is turned on starts counting down. The addition of the RT clock module can enhance the Arduino fake TV setting and programming more spontaneous. The Neopixel can be implemented to fade to black or a clock face can also be implemented on the ring to initiate a countdown to the start of the light display can also be done to stop the Neopixels displaying the same lights at equal time intervals. References Klimczak, E., 2013. Design for software: A playbook for developers. John Wiley & Sons. Liu, Y., 2003. Engineering aesthetics and aesthetic ergonomics: theoretical foundations and a dual-process research methodology. Ergonomics , 46(13-14), pp.1273-1292. Oxer, J. and Blemings, H., 2009. Practical Arduino: cool projects for open source hardware. Apress. Read More