Physical Computing
The Focus: Lights and How They Work
There are so many projects out there that involve physical computing it hurts my brain. So I made it easier for myself and picked a focus: LIGHTS.
Let’s revisit the example we did in class. You can create an amazing circuit board full of wires, knobs, and buttons. And most importantly, this circuit board can power a light if wired properly.
Pac-Man LED Pixel Panel Costume
This was another great example shown in class! Ben Muller, a family man who loves Halloween, wanted to make cohesive yet unique family costumes.
“It was my daughter that suggested Pac-Man, since she had recently played the Namco gem at a bowling alley a few weeks prior. That suggestion was all we would need. It was a great idea and we had to make it happen.”
The Supplies & Materials
Arduino UNO & Genuino UNO
Laser cutter
Base: 1/8" cardboard, laser cut and hot glued
Translucent Cover: Drafting Paper (Vellum or Mylar)
LEDs : 12mm DC5V WS2811 Individually Addressable LEDs (Strings of 50)
Board: Ardunio Uno R3
Power: 5V DC Portable Power Supply (Like a portable phone charger) + USB to DC Adapter
Misc: DC Power Jack Adapters Breadboard jumper wires DC5V Power Supply, for testing Velcro Woven Duct Strap Duct Tape
The Recap
Ben planned out the pixels, making each design cohesive and functional. He then cut each cardboard piece with a laser cutter, making them precise and symmetrical. Next was assembly, including LED layout and wiring. Once that was all set up, coding came next.
“I used the FastLED library for these. Its easy to use and easy to find examples to help figure everything out. It was useful that they use Web Colors so you can set any LED to any color by using the name.”
Then Ben added the covers, did a last minute check, and Halloween was a great success! Read the full story here.
Mediatec
Mediatec, “a company at the cutting edge of live,” created an interactive graphics display. This is their LED floor display created early last year.
This interactive floor uses live motion tracking to move particle systems. Sensors are some of the main components, creating reactions in real-time. This story was featured on HarwareUX’s Instagram. See the @mediatecgroup post here.
Affinity
Affinity, another example shown on HardwareUX’s Instagram account, is an interactive sculpture that explores the effect of Alzheimer’s disease on the brain. Purple spreads through parts of the sculpture that are not interacted with, showing how memory loss affects the brain.
“To experience Affinity, participants explored an intricate web of interconnected orbs representing neurons in the brain. Stimulated by touch, these interactive orbs triggered a striking display of sound and light that brought the sculpture to life. As audience members engaged with the orbs, their colour would spread across the entire experiential marketing sculpture. However, if audiences stopped interacting with Affinity, the Alzheimer’s colour purple would spread across the sculpture, using creative technology to represent the challenge of remembering when memories are no longer engaged with.”
See the full Instagram post here.
Lights are always fun so I am sure I could come up with something cool for a project using lights. But, another idea that was triggered during class was a random Rock, Paper, Scissors simulator. The randomness, I would think, is similar to the in class example of randomizing numbers. More brainstorming soon to come!
