Giancarlo’s Physical/Digital Spray can (Final Project)

i made, what i call, “street art magic” — a physical/digital spray can

essentially it’s a symbol for the use of spray cans and their connection to street art in the digital age.

this one works as a can, or trigger, for the acrylic tag that i constructed to become a light. the use case would be someone who is a fan of graffiti and just wants a novel spray can that lights up a tag; however, it would be great for the setup to be used as a communication tool for young artists to non-verbally communicate when they arrive hone after a night on the streets. Being that Huzzahs are [going to be] used, the cans can trigger lights that are remote (another town, city, state) by using WiFi.

overall the process was undulant but the challenges made it worthwhile in the end. currently the product and video, themselves, are only a work-in-progress, due to challenging software/hardware interface issues. the current production uses acrylic to display the tag and diffuse light, with a 3D printed casing to wall mount and house the neopixel strip.

this seems like an appropriate time, so the materials are as follows:

2 acrylic sheets (fill and outline)
3D printed case
315/433mhz RF transmitter/receiver (if wanting to create a local remote to trigger)
Arduino Gemma (if wired version, current prototype)
Arduino Huzzah (if WiFi version, to interface with others)
Arduino Huzzah/Metro (if using RF transmitters, for a local remote trigger)
Dozen (approximately) pvc coated wires
Neopixel strip
External Battery
Button

In using the materials, I tried to manage my time efficiently so I could work on the various pieces of the project concurrently. Almost all software and hardware resulted of new endeavors, but it wasn’t too overwhelming (other than the RF module being defective).

Process photos and explanation:

Wiring photo (RF attempts, Current modified button cycler, and Huzzah); Tag sketch (in notepad); Laser Cutter; 3D model for case

Overall I’m satisfied with the current state of the project, but my next steps for the near-future iterations will use both the RF module and Arduino Huzzah (for the local, and/or remote LED triggering spray cans).

Final video