Another sip...
Apr. 27th, 2016 12:49 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thetimesink...this time of the big three that provide control circuitry and fuel. Three? I see two!
Patience is...
For the graspers to work or the motators to motate, they need to have some method to generate energy. We could dive down to the level of ATP and such, but we'll keep it simple by saying both the fuel and the oxidizer are provided via a closed loop system. ...and again, rather than terminology such as "cardiovascular system" we'll just go with arteries and veins. I mean we're looking at a system from the outside and trying to divine the workings within and I'm just not going to dive that deep unless it seems called for.
Oh, yeah, controlling this behemoth lest it run amok: nerves (see? there's that third one). ...and nerves get to be such a fascinating subject that I think I'll just run on about them for a few paragraphs!
Control... Ever used a servo? How about an automatic door? Yeah, there's the metaphor! "Door Open" is the command. Why? Says who? What? How? Oh, okay: let's stay with the out of body experience for a moment and postulate you approaching a door. ...and it has a sensing mechanism. All cool, "Door Open"! Ummm. What was sensed? Wind? Leaves? Body heat? Motion? Pressure? (a little old school). Regardless, "Door Open". K... How? Oh, a signal to the mechanism that causes the door to change position (side to side versus swinging versus up and down). Damn, this is getting complex... I'm sure glad someone did some serious work behind the scenes of this Disney Production, otherwise I'd have to perform some sort of physical action. ...unless I wasn't able to. Oh...
Moving on, hopefully: "Door Open", and the signal is sent, and the motive force motives, and the door opens. How far? Wait, how far is enough? Parameters. How far is too much? (see 'parameters' file) Oh, so we need to create a set of limits. Okay, "this much" is "just enough" and "that much" is "how far" and we need to feed that information back to the motivator to make sure it actually opens the door enough and stops motivating before the door gets to "too much" and things go sproing~~~~
...and we probably want that door to close again once we've passed through. ...but when? ...and without smashing any stray dogs, children, or grocery bags (in no particular order)? Man, this is getting way too complicated.
So, all that decision making and all that programming can likely now be handled by an Arduino and hand-coded in a geek's spare time. ...but think about it: just walk to any door in your home, open it, walk through, and close it behind you. What just happened?
Would you like the advanced class? Pick up an egg. ...or a grape.
More homework (don't worry; we'll put it all together in a bit): Ponder the next two sentences for a moment or so...
All three of the winding ropes I've mentioned have to pass through spaces between the sea shells.
Any pressure on any of the three can compromise system performance (both distal and proximal).
Patience is...
For the graspers to work or the motators to motate, they need to have some method to generate energy. We could dive down to the level of ATP and such, but we'll keep it simple by saying both the fuel and the oxidizer are provided via a closed loop system. ...and again, rather than terminology such as "cardiovascular system" we'll just go with arteries and veins. I mean we're looking at a system from the outside and trying to divine the workings within and I'm just not going to dive that deep unless it seems called for.
Oh, yeah, controlling this behemoth lest it run amok: nerves (see? there's that third one). ...and nerves get to be such a fascinating subject that I think I'll just run on about them for a few paragraphs!
Control... Ever used a servo? How about an automatic door? Yeah, there's the metaphor! "Door Open" is the command. Why? Says who? What? How? Oh, okay: let's stay with the out of body experience for a moment and postulate you approaching a door. ...and it has a sensing mechanism. All cool, "Door Open"! Ummm. What was sensed? Wind? Leaves? Body heat? Motion? Pressure? (a little old school). Regardless, "Door Open". K... How? Oh, a signal to the mechanism that causes the door to change position (side to side versus swinging versus up and down). Damn, this is getting complex... I'm sure glad someone did some serious work behind the scenes of this Disney Production, otherwise I'd have to perform some sort of physical action. ...unless I wasn't able to. Oh...
Moving on, hopefully: "Door Open", and the signal is sent, and the motive force motives, and the door opens. How far? Wait, how far is enough? Parameters. How far is too much? (see 'parameters' file) Oh, so we need to create a set of limits. Okay, "this much" is "just enough" and "that much" is "how far" and we need to feed that information back to the motivator to make sure it actually opens the door enough and stops motivating before the door gets to "too much" and things go sproing~~~~
...and we probably want that door to close again once we've passed through. ...but when? ...and without smashing any stray dogs, children, or grocery bags (in no particular order)? Man, this is getting way too complicated.
So, all that decision making and all that programming can likely now be handled by an Arduino and hand-coded in a geek's spare time. ...but think about it: just walk to any door in your home, open it, walk through, and close it behind you. What just happened?
Would you like the advanced class? Pick up an egg. ...or a grape.
More homework (don't worry; we'll put it all together in a bit): Ponder the next two sentences for a moment or so...
All three of the winding ropes I've mentioned have to pass through spaces between the sea shells.
Any pressure on any of the three can compromise system performance (both distal and proximal).
