[Robotgroup] Hauntlites- Review, thoughts, Lessons learned, and improvements...

[Def Egge]

At 10:50 2006/09/29 -0500, you wrote:

[trimmed]

>Even if they point the light toward a prop or actor that is the "source" 
>of the darkness, when the light goes out, its *after* they have "swept" 
>past the source (and the light has come back on). The beam from the 
>flashlight is flicking from place to place so quickly that the bearer 
>does not make the mental connection that- "Hey! The light goes out when 
>pointed at that!". There's just too much chaos and "stuff" happening to 
>make that connection in their head. Also, any patron *not* holding the 
>light doesn't see the connection at all.


Enlarge the hold in the cardboard LED retainer?  We originally thought that
the extreme sensitivity was a liability.


[trimmed]

>--Problems encountered with our current implementation--
>
>Issue 1: The lights, as delivered, were judged too bright and 
>subsequently some green spray paint was applied by the MOT staff to the 
>Hauntlight lenses to darken and diffuse the light. This paint attenuated 
>the IR light from reaching the detector, making the Hauntlights more 
>resistant to being turned off (contributing to "Issue 3" below)
>
>Resolution: To address the brightness concern, remove one (or two) of 
>the LEDs. This will have numerous benefits, including a) reducing parts 
>cost, b) increasing battery life and c) decreasing assembly complexity. 
>It was also suggested that the water-clear LED case be "roughed" with 
>sandpaper to make the light more diffuse.


Sandpaper might be less effective than, say, acetone.  I have some here if
we need it.  The LEDs could be roughened without unsoldering...no risk of
damaged leads as per sandpaper.


>Issue 2: The IR remotes (as delivered) have a red LED that illuminates 
>when the remote is transmitting IR signals. This red flickering LED 
>would give away the actors positions in the haunt as it was clearly 
>visible when they were "firing" at the patrons.
>
>Resolution: We can simply open these remotes and cut the red LED out of 
>the circuit. As these LEDs appear to be in parallel with the IR 
>transmitting LED, this may have the added effect of increasing the IR 
>level making the transmitter more effective in being able to turn off 
>the flashlight no matter the orientation of the light or the 
>transmitter. (Note: we might want to remove the pads for buttons that do 
>not produce IR, i.e. "program" or "mode switch", in order to make it 
>easier for the actors to trigger the remotes).


Black electrical tape ... even fixes that pesky GET ENGINE SERVICED SOON
light on the dashboard!


>Issue 3: Actors seemed to be distracted by having to "aim" the remotes. 
>Though our original design was structured around having the ability to 
>direct the "dark generator" toward a flashlight to "kill" it, the 
>reality is that the flashlight/patron is moving so fast that aiming is 
>very difficult or impossible. This seems to be a distraction for the 
>actors as they become distracted in trying to "hit" the flashlight with 
>the IR transmitter in an attempt to get a result, instead of focusing 
>their energies on giving a good acting performance.
>
>Resolution: To address the lack of responsiveness to the IR 
>transmitters, the cardboard baffle could have a hole created/enlarged to 
>allow the IR light easier access to the receiver. The LED leads could be 
>shortened to bring the sensor closer to the front of the light to allow 
>it a wider view of the area. During testing we had discovered that the 
>IR light from the transmitter would extinguish the Hauntlite even when 
>activated from under the test table. We felt this was a detriment and 
>subsequently made changes in design to try and limit the view of the IR 
>receiver to allow for directional control. It appears that now we should 
>consider redesigning the board to be as sensitive as possible to any 
>trigger light so as to make it possible for the actors to simply press a 
>button to make the light go out.


See first note at top of this reply.  The reflector could be dimmed a bit
with paint?  Chemically-diffused?


[trimmed]


Eric, Ed, and I were discussing ideas out in the parking lot.
Unfortunately, all that came to mind was a Lemmiwinks tunnel.  ;-)

"Lemmiwinks, you must find your way out of this place, or you will surely
die.  This way has been closed off by the great sphinctor.  To escape, you
must journey up to the dark riches of the intestine and pass the stomach!
Who am I? Just a friend.  Heed my words, Lemmiwinks.  Your time is running
out.  Make for the large intestine.  Start straight ahead."


All the best....

Mike