Our HTMAA midterm assignment was a one-week group design sprint. Each section (of roughly 15 students) had to work as a team to imagine, design, build, and program a working machine, defined as “mechanism + actuation + automation.” Our section decided to build a time-lapse camera rig, similar to the equipment used in Netflix’s House of Cards’ cinematic opening credits. As the Harvard section divided roles, I was tasked with designing the camera’s touch points as we would be using my camera. I worked with a partner to design and 3D print the camera mount and rotational axis housing, researched schematics for the camera’s remote shutter interface, and worked closely with the embedded programming team and the linear axis team to integrate everything together. Though the camera rig could use some cable management, we were able to give a successful demonstration during our presentation the following week.
