Progress This Week

I was not happy with the touch sensitivity and the output/input I was getting with my previous touch bar. I have been struggling to get a consistent touch reading from the copper tape which is hooked up to the Arduino.

So this afternoon I had a good look at some tutorials and how they have connected the wires to see if that was my issue. Turns out I needed to have the actual copper wire exposed a little more and to ensure that is connected to the tape. After some more testing, I then started to have better readings and it makes it easier for the user to touch the panels.

I also decided to change the shape of them to little handprints. This makes it a more obvious action and the user can interpret the icon as touch. Eventually, in my final design, I want to make this imbedded in the plastic, but for now, this will have to do.

I also managed to finally get all my code work simultaneously. Meaning the lights will turn on and the user is able to touch the panels at the same time to turn it off. For the last few weeks, this has been an issue I was dealing with as the loop would run my different functions separately. Turns out you have to remove the delays in the functions and its better to use them in the main loop. I also learnt about a new function called millis() this is a better alternative to delay()

Next

I need to start planning my demo video. Install my prototype to a wall and make sure all the functionality still works the same.