Exercise: Mechanical Duo

For this exercise, students will work in pairs to build and choreograph a pair of simple machines in the lab. A pair of dual stepper-motor systems will be provided as a foundation. We will also deploy DMX-controlled lights to explore the potential for dynamic shadow play in conjunction with the movement.

The high-level goals are much the same as for the simulated duet, including creating a sense of identity, embodying empathy and communication, and expressing a relationship. This now takes place within limitations of physical hardware, including limited motion, precision, and speed, not to mention size and scale.

There are a variety of technical approaches; here are some starting points to contemplate:

  1. create a mechanism with additional freedoms, possibly counterweighted, to extend the basic movement dynamics

  2. create a visual representation in light and shadow of the physical concept of expansion and contraction

  3. create counterbalance in which each of the mechanisms pulls or pushes on each other

  4. consider out-of-plane movements which create forced perspective in the shadow field

The technical foundation for the exercise can be found in exercise3.zip. This version includes a sample application script and several tools:

exercise3.py
dmx_controller.py
list_MIDI_ports.py
midi_display.py
osc_display.py

More detailed documentation on the sample code can be found under exercise3.py sample code, and library documentation under rcp Python library.

Learning Objectives

  1. Formulating a two-agent narrative as a physical animation concept.

  2. Resolve a physical animation concept into a pair of simple mechanisms.

  3. Formulate and test physical movement goals for multiple agents.

  4. Rehearse live performance and improvisation of the motions.

  5. Optional: script motion control in software.

Deliverables

  1. In-class demonstration of simulated behavior.

  2. Short blog post outlining goals, outcomes, and final code.