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Reflective statement

This was the first project that I have chosen to work in a group for. The last project which I worked in a group for was during the start of the year and it was compulsary to work in group for that project. This time around it was more workable and less problematic, in the pervious group project there were problems due to the large number of people within the group
leading to problems with task management. This time is was smoother possibly because of 3 person group making task management easier and also that we knew each other strengths. Contributing in these areas when ever possible.

My main contribution was developing the project conceptually and finding a location that would fit in conceptually with the laser projector i also did some initial experimentation and construction however most of the input in this area was done by other group members. In some parts of the project we worked separately as it was necessary too. This was extremely helpful because we could complete more by multitasking even multitasking on the same task. For example in construction we each worked in different parts of the projector and because of this we were able to get it completed within 2 days.

Other benefits of working in a group included a larger budget since their were 3 people in the group we could all input a larger proportion of money enabling more opportunities this helped buy another laser. The main benefit i gain from working in a group would be the fact that you can share ideas and thoughts with other members helping the development of the project. I think these benefits have convinced me to work in more group projects in the future .

Concepetual statement

Concept wise i think that this assignment has developed the most compared to all the other project that I have done this year. This is due to lecturers highlighting that my pervious projects had lacked conceptual depth, thus focusing my attention into developing this project more conceptually.
Initially as a group we didn't have a concept but were interested in non-conventional types of projection methods. In the early stages of the project we had decided that the standard screen displayed wasn't appealing to us so we research and found DIY laser projection. Since we had enthusiasm for this kind style of projection we settled with this idea and started planning then
later constructing it.Its only during the construction where I thought about what to display that I realized that we could somehow incorporate the DIY message into our projection. I thought that
this would be fitting since we constructed the laser projector. I also realized that we could make the laser projector part of the projection and then could placed in an urban environment which supports this message, this turned out to be a electronic hobbyist shop. I thought this was unique since most of the groups had kept the screen and projection method separate from what their were projecting; the screen and what created the screen was just a means to get the message across but not part of the message. I thought that because we had incorporated our projection method into the message it became part of the message.

Areas which we could develop the concept were highlighted during presentation day. This included making our projection look more aesthetically electronic, since our laser projector had little electronic parts on it. It was suggested that we could of incorporated more electronic bits into it to reinforced the message. We could of used more readily available materials and methods of construction that are readily available to the general community re-enforcing the DIY message; most of the materials and building techniques that we used to create this projector is not readily available to the public such as a laser cutter to create the slides. Despite this I think I had developed the concept well in this project.

The slides

We have finished making making the slides, it took longer then expected due to so many people using the laser cutter. The slides have printed on it a circuit board with the words DIY written on the centre of  IC chip. This is the slide that we will be projecting on the wall. We have chosen this image to project because it conveys the message of DIY electronics. And because the projection of the image will be inverted where you can only see the image but not the clear slide, it will work well with our style of projection. I will upload pictures of the projection at the site when we do it this Thursday.

Laser diode

I wasn't able to find another dvd burner to take apart to make a stronger laser diode. So instead we are sticking to using the 50mw laser. I have  thought of a way to improve the quality by making the image of the slide smaller this in turn should make the image projected smaller but the quality of the projection better since it is more concentrated. Besides cutting out the slide we will also use the reminder of the of the plastic to cut out letters to decorate the projection slide. This should all be done by tomorrow or on the day we do the projection.

Location, Still tweaking.

Found a location and a wall to project on. The eletronics hobby shop which i mention in one of the recent post is where we will be projecting. The size of the wall is decent enough for our projection and the location fits perfectly with the message of the projection; the DIY electronic enthusists. We are still tweaking out some issues with the projector and have started work on what image to project. This should be sorted out by tommrow. Right now we are working on the vectors  for the image and should have it completed and cut out using the laser cutter sometime tommrow. I am still working on trying to create a stronger laser for our projection, However its not looking hopefull at the moment; One of the diodes which i pulled from a dvd burner is weaker then 50mw. I can hopefully find another burner to take apart tommrow, however if it does fall through we will have to use the 50mw laser with a smaller image. I will post an update with the results of the laser cutting and laser tommrow.

The style of the shop fits in well with the message.

The wall

Tweaking

Have a few minor issues with the rig most are  problems with optics and size of objects. Once these issues are sorted out the projector should project better. One of our lasers doesn't seem to be working so were down to 50mw of power (from one laser) this is  however enough for static projections at medium range. If i have time this week i might also build a powerful laser using a spare dvd burner diode, following a guide i found on the internet. This new laser should be 100mw+ in power (power depends in diode) This new laser should make up for broken laser.