Observation Blog
Take a walk around your neighborhood, or a different one, or imagine a walk you’ve done routinely. Take a count of every interaction with a sensor you see or experience. Blog your findings:
- Identify the sensors and how they sense (or do not sense) you / someone else??
- Does the sensor make itself known to you? If so, how?
- How do you know if the sensor has sensed?
-Is there more than one stage of interaction or multiple interactions?
Feel free to take pictures or videos as appropriate, of the most interesting ones. Some sensors might include: pushbuttons, motion sensors, floor mats, cameras, smart devices
Walk Around:
Due to Covid-19, sadly I am not allowed to leave my home. When I walk around my home, I found something I’ve never notice before.
Sensor Case 1: My mouse
My mouse has three buttons, one wheel, and a red light at the bottom. Cause it is a wireless mouse, there must be a Bluetooth sensor inside the mouse.
The buttons and the wheel are the most obvious sensors on the mouse. They sense the force from my fingers. The buttons read the p[ush forces, and the wheel need the rolling force. When I try to interact with these buttons and the wheel, there will be a “click” sound and a reaction force. I can interact with the wheel in two ways: click it and roll it。
The red light at the bottom of the mouse should be a light sensor. It senses the light reflected from the table to count on movement. Most time, this sensor does not make itself known to me by hiding itself under the mouse, but when I need to check if it works, I can directly flip the mouse to see whether the light is on.
The Bluetooth sensor is the one that is hiding away from me. I have totally no idea whether the sensor has sensed until I wave my mouse and see the curse is moving and follow the movement. This annoys me a lot.
Sensor Case 2: Air-conditioner & Remote
The air-conditioner in my room is about 30 years old, so there are some differences between it and nowadays’ air-conditioners.
At the bottom-right of the air-conditioner, there are four lights and one sensor. Next to each light, the words are showing “on,” “power,” “timing,” and “sleep mode.” Through these three lights, I can recognize the working situation of the air-conditioner. The sensor here, I believe, is an infrared sensor. I need to point the sensor with the remote to control the air-conditioner.
At the top of the controller is the infrared sensor, Each time two sensors sense each other, there will be a “beep” from the air conditioner. The screen shows the general information about the air conditioner, and it will show every interaction with the remote.
The interesting point is the remote has two different modes with the same set of buttons. While the “window” is closed, the buttons are for changing the mode, temperature, and wind speed. When the “window” is open, the screen will change into another mode to show the switch of the buttons function. Also, different icons are printed above the button. After some research, I found the mode switch is controlled by the little black button at the bottom right. When the “window” is closed, the button is pressed for the standard mode. Otherwise, the button is released for the timing mode.
Other Sensors:
Refrigerator: temperature sensor to keep the temperature, force sensor to identify the opening of the door and turning on the light inside the refrigerator.
Lights in the room: buttons to switch on and off
Washing machine: buttons to control; a sensor that senses the water level
Smart speaker: sound sensors for control, wi-fi sensors, buttons
