Webcam
The first idea that came through our thoughts is about the motion detection. When a user makes a movement, a sound clip will be triggered. We manage to find the easiest way to deliver the idea by using a webcam.
There are available software that can be used to change the normal webcam into a motion detection webcam. When the webcam is placed on its position, anything that moves in front of it can be detected and it will trigger a sound clip.
Originally, the software is used as a security camera, the alarm goes off when movements is detected. There are two versions of software that we found that is suitable for the project which is WebCam Monitor and YawCam. There are few pros and cons to this software.
The WebCam Monitor software is not a freeware program, we would have to purchase the software to use it. But this software reacts faster to motion detection. The YawCam software is free to use but it is slow to react against motion detection.
We will place the webcam and speakers alongside the staircase as the user walks passed it and triggers the installation. We might use four or five webcam where the user can interact with it. It might took from two to three level of the staircase.
We also do not have to use one laptop or pc for each webcam because multiple webcam can be set up in one pc. Several speaker also can be used in one pc by using the audio splitter.
Yawcam
The left side box shows the area of the movement detection. The user can change the settings such as the level of motion sensitivity, the tolerance of the detection and select which place to place the detection area.
The right side box show the live view of the webcam recording and the bottom box is to select the application the user wants it to launch after a movement is detected.
WebCam Monitor
The first image is the menu of the application. The second image shows the settings menu for the alarm sensor.
Interactive Doll
Since our webcam installation just needs the movement of the user, we add up an interactive doll where the user can interact with it. The basic idea is that the user touch or move any part of the doll and sound clip will be triggered.
We use the same approach using the webcam to detect the movement of the user in front of the doll, but it will be just the same as the webcam and sound clip effect. Also there are a lot of problems if we use the same approach in the interactive doll because the concept is totally different and the situation is not appropriate for the use of webcam.
So, our group had discussed about putting a sensor inside the doll to activate the sound clip. This means that we have to spend a lot of time and money, also on trying to figure out the technical part of the equipment.
On the previous semesters, we have been taught to use basic actionscripts in Flash. One of it is a tutorial on how to use mouse events such as rollovers, mouse down and others. That was the first step on how we found out how to create the interactive doll. There is a script called mouseOnMove where an action is triggered when the coordinates of the cursor change place.
Basically, the idea is when the user move the cursor, a sound will be played until in finishes. During the sound is played, the detection will be disabled so when the user moves the cursor again, the sound would not play twice on the same time. When the sound clip has ended, it will be automatically reset back so that the sound can be played if the user move the cursor.
The mouse which moves the cursor will be placed in the interactive doll such as the hands. When the user touch or move the hand, the mouse inside the hand will move and change the cursor coordinates. The plan is to hide the speaker and mouse inside the interactive doll to give the elements of surprise to the user.
There two choice that is available to use, one is to use a mouse with a cable or the other one is to use a bluetooth mouse. We can also insert a mp3 speaker which is small that can easily be inserted inside the doll or just by using a standard size speaker.
The Program for the Interactive Doll
This is the view of the program. Basically, it does not have any images or settings. The stage will be set to full screen , so the cursor will move inside the stage and a sound clip will be played.
This is the view of the timeline in the Flash program.
Illustrations
The doll will be placed on the rail beside the stairways. When the user moves the hands of the doll, the mouse will moves inside the hand and a sound clip will be played.
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