Hazel’s Reflection:

The making process of the final project helped me better understand developing a piece from the concept design to the physical handwork. Our main and most important idea is to create an imagination of future human body. The tail is a significant part in terms of the mechanism, and we started thinking about the moving mechanism from assignment 2. However, we did not have a complete plan of how the whole piece will be structured for a long time. Me and Wendy were mainly thinking about how to design the outline of the dress and hide the motors and circuits in a natural and pretty way. The main focus was to make the design of the dress consistent: we designed the scales and tried different versions: the scales are supposed to be a metaphor of protection and defense. Meanwhile, we don’t want them to be too identical, nor unmatched with the design of the exoskeleton shape of the tail. So I finally came up with the plan to put the scales on the skirts as well as putting the refined rib on the top. I think no matter what kinds of mechanism and motors we put on the piece, the aesthetics need to be consistent and come along with the concept. Moreover, we waned the scales to be interactive besides the tail: we added a motor to control the scales on the shoulder stripes. And also some fishing lines on some scales on the skirt to have the user manually control their ups and downs. I initially had a plan to drill holes through each scale to attach the fishing lines. However, due to the lever principle, it was impossible to pull up the scales when the holes/supporting points are in the middle of the scales. So I finally used the glue gun to attach the line on the tip of each scale. And I was in charge of the hot glue part because I was better at controlling the glue. We also ran into some issues when making the top: we thought that it was just a rectangular piece of cloth. However, it couldn’t be attached to the model in a smooth way. So Wendy and I decided to use five small pieces and sew them into a piece. We drew the lines and selected the position on the model, but left the part open because we weren’t sure about the model’s size at first. The physics is important for the moving of the device. Me and Wendy also sewed the gauze on the top for connecting the scales, which also matches the skirt. Me and Wendy sewed the 3D-printed scales on the skirt as well. I also made many changes on the stripe design to make the result more harmonious. The belt design went through troubles too. We initially planned to use feathers to cover the belt. However, it does not match the concept (and the belt ended up on the outside of the skirt. So I thought we could use the discarded 3D materials to decorate the belt, and the users can decorate it with stickers. I learned that sometimes when you cannot hide things properly, maybe you should show it in a more natural way. (Actually the concept of exoskeleton came from this notion too). I connected the wires of the motor on the breadboard too with recut wires to make sure the space for the wires is compressed. Altogether, I think details and the idea of the whole are both important. Looking back on what we did and finally achieved, I was surprised by everything our group has done. Our decisions are closely related to the concept, and each step needs great care about the details. I am happy with the group cooperation and our final outcome. We spent many time on this piece and the IMA show was a nice period for this project and my college life! The pictures and details can be found in the group documentation