Inspiration
We wanted to do something cool, original, and interactive with the Myo Armband. When we saw the t-shirt cannon being controlled by an Xbox controller, we knew we had to get our hands on that cannon. It clicked in our heads that if an Xbox controller could control a t-shirt cannon, why couldn't a Myo armband?
How it works
By binding Myo arm gestures with keys on the keyboard, the program that runs the Kinect T-shirt cannon recognizes the gestures as keyboard input (e.g. waving the hand to the right is binded to the right arrow key). When the keyboard input is read, the program will tell the cannon to rotate in the direction specified. One key switches the axis of motion from horizontal to vertical, and vice versa. This allows for less key bindings and less gestures to memorize. After moving to the desired angle, a fist gesture will fire the cannon.
Challenges we ran into
The interaction between Kinect and the Myo arm band was not as responsive as anticipated. To counteract this, we reduced the speed of the cannon's rotation so that even when the cannon was unresponsive to the gestures, the cannon would not attempt to move beyond its boundaries. Another challenge was determining how to override the Xbox controller commands with the Myo band gestures. To overcome this, we skipped over the Xbox controller entirely and focused on binding the gestures to keys on the keyboard, allowing the Myo to communicate with the program.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Editing the Kinect Kannon's code to respond to a gesture which switched the axis of rotation was a significant accomplishment for our project. This allowed us to rotate left and right with the same gestures we used to rotate up and down. Another accomplishment was determining how each Xbox controller key event interacted with the cannon, so that we could replace the controller key events with our own key events.
What we learned
We learned more about object-oriented programming in a way that is visual and interactive, how to integrate multiple API's into one project, and how hardware interacts with software to create a user experience. We also learned how to collaborate as a team, make use of provided resources and mentors, and how to take an existing idea and build upon it.
What's next for MyoKannon
The Myo Kannon can be used at any event that the Kinect Kannon would be, but instead of having to use a clunky controller, the Myo Kannon becomes a hands-free extension of the user. Its uses could also come to include skyscraper window-washing, firefighting, and military applications.
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