Inspiration and Details

My inspiration for this project comes from using the Transit App. In the mornings, I would like to know how long it is going to take for the bus to come, but I also need to get ready in the time it takes. To solve this problem, I envisioned a visual bus tracker that uses a combination of lights and audio to alert the user when a bus is far away (no rush), getting close (gotta rush), and has passed. This bus tracker will start with options for inbound and outbound and for the 61C and 61D routes. The user can choose which way to be alerted: sound, lights, or both.

Logic Equations

The user has a choice between 61C outbound, 61C inbound, 61D outbound, and 61D inbound. This choice will output which bus to track, and this data will be used for further equations. The abbreviations are 61C -> C, 61D -> D, outbound -> O, and inbound -> I.

(C AND O) XOR (C AND I) XOR (D AND O) XOR (D AND I) -> tracking is valid

(C AND O) -> tracking 61C outbound

(C AND I) -> tracking 61C inbound

(D AND O) -> tracking 61D outbound

(D AND I) -> tracking 61D inbound

The next part is to send this information to the bus API and receive a time until arrival. With this new info, we can decide how to alert the user. If the bus is 10 minutes or higher away, the user is will see a green light or/and hear slow-paced music (depending on their selection). If arrival time is between 10 minutes and 5 minutes, a yellow light is activated and the music is increased in speed. Last, when the arrival time is less than 5 minutes, the red light starts flashing and the music is fast-paced. The lights and music can start at any point depending on when the data is sent back. Inputs: far away -> F, closer -> C, in range -> R, alert with music and light -> A. Outputs: red, yellow, green, fast, med, slow.

R -> RE

R AND A -> RE AND FS

C -> Y

C AND A -> Y AND ME

F -> G

F AND A -> G AND SL

Truth Tables

Most combinations for the user input and the data calculation will not be valid. The first table leaves out input combinations that will not work, while the second table shows Xs in such spots.

Logic Diagrams

Materials

• Arduino
• Three different colored LEDs
• Speakers
• 4-input keypad
• display
• switch

Designs

In a world where humans are not the majority, RoboVending is a vending machine made to be easy to use for robots.  Human usability is an afterthought, and unintuitive.

This project comes from the feelings of frustration and even alienation that come from canned responses to serious issues. I’m referring to the copy-pasted mental health messages you see in a course syllabus, a canned “I’m sorry for your loss” message from an employer or someone after the loss of a family member, or a friend telling you to “just take a deep breath” when you’re seriously stressed out.

These people may mean well – and often are making a serious effort to connect and help – but being on the receiving end can be exhausting. These are 1-way interactions, and they often feel disingenuous. The pillars of offering good support are truly listening, showing that you care, and devoting time without distractions or judgement. As online therapy and corporate mental health initiatives are becoming more prevalent, these issues might only get worse despite better awareness.

“Are you ok?” is a robotic emotional support kiosk, and embodies everything frustrating about bad mental health support systems. The construction is simple: A CRT monitor with an emotive face, and a pair of big push buttons for the user’s Yes/No responses in front. The kiosk prompts the user with text and displays emotions via simple faces on the screen occasionally. The systems sits on a sterile white pedestal that houses the logic circuits. The pedestal itself has a start button and a coin slot on it to “initiate the support interaction.” A speaker in the pedestal reads aloud the prompts so anyone nearby can listen in.

The kiosk:

• Doesn’t care about you or your emotions (it’s a robot…)
• Only provides canned responses
• The only input is a binary Y/N, you can’t open up to this thing
• It seems to solely attempt to diagnose you and move on
• It’s impersonal
• It only acts logically
• They might be in public locations, or in groups. There’s no privacy.

An example interaction would look like:

1. Are you ok?
   1. Y – Thank you! (Session ends)
   2. N – Sorry to hear that (sad face). Are you depressed?
      1. Y – Sorry to hear that (sad face). Have you tried getting extra sleep?
         1. Y – Hmm (confused face). Have you tried talking to your professors?
            1. Y – Your professors are looking out for your mental health! Have you seen CAPS?
               1. Y – Hmm. Unfortunately, that’s all we can help you with here! Thank you! (Happy face, session ends.)
               2. N – You can make an appointment online! (Happy face, session ends!)
            2. N – You should reach out to your professors! They have your mental health as a priority. (Happy face, session ends.)
         2. N – Try getting more sleep! (happy face) (session ends)
      2. N – Have you experienced the loss of a family member recently?
         1. Y – I’m sorry for your loss! (sad face, session ends.)
         2. N – Are you currently feeling anxious or stressed out?
            1. Y – Try taking a deep breath! (Deep breath animation) Did that help?
               1. Y – Great! (Happy face, session ends!)
               2. N – TODO, etc
            2. N – TODO, etc

The Logic

The logic sentence would work by mapping the order of Ys and Ns to a specific output -> ie, NYYY would map to “Your professors are looking out for your mental health! Have you seen CAPS?”

The inputs are binary Y/N, which are basically input’s “one” “two” “three” etc, and align with the Y/N inputs in order.

There’s lots of logic sentences here, one per output. The example above (NYYY) would look like:

(~one AND two AND three AND four) -> “Your Professors . . .”

or NNNY:

(~one AND ~two AND ~three AND four) -> “Try taking a deep breath!”

The table for those two sentences looks like:

and the circuit looks like:

The logic is basically a ton of AND gates.

• This is a project to design wearable kits which help with social distancing based on what your status is. This was an idea that came to mind thinking of what problems are really prevalent now. COVID-19 has definitely been a huge issue for a while now. The system I am hoping to implement should act as an aid to reduce the transmission of the virus.
• This system will consist of multiple switches indicating different statuses. The relevant statuses are vaccination status, whether you are wearing a mask or not, and if you are indoors or outdoors. There will also be a sensor to detect the distance between the person wearing the kit and another person. Based on these inputs, a buzzer will sound if it’s too dangerous. A LED can also be shown as a warning light in case it is unsafe.

Materials

• Arduino (for sensor thresholds)
• Battery
• Switches
• Ultrasound/Photo reflective sensor
• Buzzer
• LEDs
• Breadboard
• Attachable material to the body