Month: August 2016

kevinmichaelloeffler

Can we generate every image that could ever be created?

One of the most famous short stories by Jorge Luis Borges is The Library of Babel which features a library filled with books containing every combination of letters possible- implying that in that library there must exist every book to every be written or ever will be written. Similarly, users on the message board for the AllThePictures project believe that they can write a computer program to generate every combination of pixels in a 100×100 image possible- creating images of everything that has existed and everything that will exist.

THE PROBLEM

Now, in Borges’ story the sheer amount of gibberish and nonsense information drives the librarians to despair. But with only a 100×100 image rather than books, could it be easier? How many images could there be? On AllThePictures, they claim 1677721610000 possible images using 24 bit color. Yikes.

THE SOLUTION

test
Example output .GIF

Still, such a program sounds exciting, so I put together my own generator to see if I could make the process easier. I used Mathematica to generate images filled with random color pixels of a user specified size. To make things more tractable I did the following:

  • Let the user generate a number of images they specify they want to analyze
  • String those images together like a movie so that they can analyze a large number of images at a time looking for ones that have meaningful patterns
  • Added export buttons so that the strings of images can be shared online in .GIF and .AVI format

As you can see from the above image, you can analyze a lot of images at once (that one contains 100 different images believe it or not. I could have probably done better with a camcorder and an old tube TV). This gives you an idea of how many images there really are- for something really to randomly appear in this noise is very unlikely. But at least I made it easy! On a less cynical note, it was a lot of fun to make and I really do hope someone with the project finds something amazing someday in all that entropy.

SHARING THE SOLUTION

My generator is open source and can be found on my Github. You do not need Mathematica to play around with it- you can simply download the free CDF Player and run the CDF document in that repository. It has also been shared with the AllThePictures community.

 

 

 

kevinmichaelloeffler

3D Printed iPad Mini Bumpers!

Bumpers attatched to an iPad mini. Cheapo digital calipers for scale!
A close up of a bumper. They are made out of green PLA thermoplastic.

THE PROBLEM

My mother is a first grade teacher. That’s not the problem but it does give me a lot to work with. The problem is that she uses these iPad Minis to let her students play with OSMO, an educational game system that teaches everything from shapes to coding. They had these thick rubbery ballistics cases on them that prevented the little mirror that lets the game work attach to the iPad. It reflects the camera’s view forwards and down so that it looks at what the students have placed in front of the machine- a very cool application of machine vision. The cases have to be removed to play the game- leaving the iPads vulnerable to damage.

THE SOLUTION

3D Printed Bumpers! Take a bit of soft, nontoxic PLA thermoplastic (it’s probably in your water bottle or Tupperware), choose a kid-friendly color, and in no time you have these cute bumpers that will protect the iPad from short falls and hits to the corners that could shatter the screen. They print in about 15 minutes each in high-quality on my Robo3D printer. Notice how there is plenty of room for the OSMO mirror- perfect for playtime. They are a form fit and slide right on and off.

SHARING THE SOLUTION

You can get your 3D model here on Thingiverse. You can even use 3D Hubs to find a local place to get it printed if you don’t have access to a 3D printer!

For more technical folk who want to customize these bumpers, you can get the CAD file on OnShape! OnShape will let you download the file for various CAD packages if you do not want to use its web-based editor.

kevinmichaelloeffler

Standup Nametag Holders!

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https://www.inventables.com/projects/student-desktop-nametag-holders-makes-seven

A project for your Carvey or X-Carve machine to make some beautiful stand-up nametag holders! Perfect for teachers- they’re inspired by similar nametag holders that can cost up to $4 each! I think they would also work great for board games.

From my description:

A cheap way to have your students’ nametags stand vertical on their desks, which keeps them from picking at them all year long. These holders have a slot for one nametag and a tray for pencils. Velcro them to the desk and moving students around the room is very easy.

kevinmichaelloeffler

Welcome to my blog!

This is my professional blog for sharing my projects, updates, and developments. I want to focus this blog on:

  • Open source software
  • 3D printing and machining
  • Community service
  • Engineering
  • Science
  • Roller Coasters

Seems like an eclectic mix but these are the things that I love to talk about- and the things I hope you’ll love to read about.

If you haven’t already, read the definition of Problemism on the home page or on the sidebar. This is my new philosophy as to how to approach not just engineering and my projects but how I can approach life in general. I invite you to join me as I develop problemism and define what it means to be an authentic problemist!