#full-adder

[connective-environments-fall2019]

The Watergate contraption is the illustration of computation in its simplest form.  The construction is a binary full adder, but the intention is to comprehend how computing can be interactive and visible.  The techniques expressed in the Watergate Project could be scaled up to represent how utilities and infrastructure could be reimagined as a computing mechanism and public art display.  Computers and infrastructure are similar because the information systems are hidden behind screens or in boxes and the life giving systems are hidden under streets or in walls.  The act of deconstructing these systems to occupy public space would provide an experience where computing would become intuitive and appreciated.  Large scale construction projects and high water table in Berlin require infrastructure to be temporarily located above ground where water flows in large steel pipes share the public space with the flows of transportation.  What would a world look like if the flows of information, infrastructure, and transportation all shared public space and computation was as intuitive as redirecting the flow of water to compute binary addition?

[connective-environments-fall2019]

Watergate - Binary Adding Machine

Final Watergate Prototype - Assignment 3 (Alaa + Matt + Stephen)

Our final binary adding machine using water is seen here. The system is comprised of a few main parts. The CNC routed pathway board, tube piping, polyester string, our 3D printed half adder design and water! 

The idea for our full adding machine consists of the pathway shown above. We have six inputs at the top for the number selection. These inputs feed into two sets of 3 logic gates, labeled “Y1-Y3″ & “X1-X3″. The flow of information moves through the system and depending on the path through the watergates, the outcome will arrive at one of the four outputs at the bottom of the system. Not shown in the diagram above, is the flat bin at the bottom, the reservoir at the top that holds the water, and the water pump. These components act as a stabilization factor in our design that allows a continuous flow of water and input through our system. As the water moves through the adding system, the water is then recycled by the pump and continues the process again. 

Our final design did come with some issues. The transfer of information at the gates proved to be a bit faulty at times. The string and the piping sometimes would not line up exactly which would effect the intended output from that gate. So the information relayed into the next step of the adder would then be incorrect causing wrong outputs at the bottom of the system. The miscommunication in this area of the system was our biggest complication in our final design.  Assuming we did this project again, we would try to really work out the problems at the connection points in the system so that the relay of information was correct each time the system ran. Overall we had success in showing how our system can take multiple inputs and create a desired output.