*Updated Idea
I want to move away from utilitarian features and embrace a “less is more” philosophy to create something beautiful. Specifically, I’m drawn to the idea of crafting a round wall sculpture with a light source (narrow or wide) that slowly glides along the inner perimeter of the frame. I believe there’s a certain truth in this specific movement and aim to evoke a sense of calm and timelessness.
Here are my brainstorming drawings (very abstract) that explore the location of the light source, featured objects, light and shade, etc. I’m particularly fond of the fifth idea at the central bottom. It’s a flat, round wall decor piece with a light-colored frame. It features a base layer of light blue (made out of acrylic/ painted canvas/ wood/ another material) and a transparent layer of acrylic engraved with leaf veins. The concept involves a single light source on the inner perimeter that either physically moves around or creates this illusion with an LED strip. I also plan to hand paint transparent relief paste/ UV resin on top of the laser engraing to enhance the texture of leaf veins.
To enhance interaction, I plan to integrate a sound sensor that increases brightness when it’s noisy and decreases it when it’s quiet.
Problem Addressed/ Purpose of Making
Life in NYC is stressful; I miss the greenery of nature, and my meditation time is plummeting. I want to create an unconventional piece of house decor that can help me regain focus at home. The decor’s calming look symbolizes harmony; the gliding light will be a powerful tool for focus and meditation. Its smart reaction to ambient sound levels makes me feel connected to the space’s mood
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*Previous Ideas
Split-Flap Clothing Palette Selector
A split flap clothes selector. It is attached to a gesture sensor and has three color wheels layered on top of each other, spinning independently on the same motor. The idea is I take pictures of my tops/ bottoms/ accessories and print them out on the color wheel, every time before I head out, I wave at the selector to help me pick a random (and hopefully good) outfit combination.
https://www.instructables.com/Split-Flap-Display
Low-Light Alert Police Beacon
A police beacon with an LDR sensor on top that starts screaming whenever its surrounding gets too dark. It can be used to alert poor lighting in our studio.
Clean Desk Protector with Radar
A radar sensor setup to keep my desk area free of random objects. The idea is to use an Arduino radar sensor that scans the space and alerts me whenever anything out of place enters the zone. To avoid picking up hands or other moving objects, I might need an extra heat sensor to ignore any skin detection, etc. (Not totally sure if one sensor will cut it or if I’ll need a combo). (personal least favorite idea)
https://projecthub.arduino.cc/nimishac/ultrasonic-radar-with-arduino-19baa3
Fun brainstorm, Rida! I know the guy who made that split-flap display, we used to work together at Instructables. His instructions are always great. But some of his videos in this guide have become unavailable, maybe drop a comment on that instructable to see if he can refresh them. If you want to expand upon his design (or someone elses) with a gesture sensor https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12787 , that’s fine by me. Here’s another guide that could be helpful: https://www.partsnotincluded.com/building-diy-split-flap-displays/ This would be an ambitious build for the time we have available, but because there is an open source design to build on, maybe it’s not as challenging as it seems…
For your second idea, I have to ask what is the ideal response to the low-light alert? Maybe it should be inside Allan’s office, for instance? I am unsure how this helps address the problem, maybe you can fill me in on your current lighting lobbying efforts among the student body.
Your third idea reminded me of a funny table i saw one time, it had a very slow conveyer belt, so that if you left your stuff, it would eventually end up in the bin at the end of the table. but i’m not sure what problem you are trying to solve, are people coming by and leaving things on your desk, or are you the one putting random things where they don’t go? HMU on slack or email to chat more.
Your new idea sounds fun and feasible, Rida! Here’s a suitable microphone:
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1063 and you can connect it to an analog input on your Arduino (your Uno or your Nano ESP32 will work fine, even your Gemma if it’s not still busy being a halloween costume). Then use the analog volume signal to map to different brightness values. We can discuss the code strategy next time we meet.
by “gliding” do you mean the light animates around the circle? you could use RGBW LED strip and only use the W, or get some new addressable strip that is only white, such as: https://www.adafruit.com/product/2586
Also think about the power cord, you will need a usb cable to connect to the wall AC adapter, maybe fabric covered and a specific color? https://www.amazon.com/s?k=white+fabric+usb+cable
Rida, I love the lamp idea! Such an important fixture to have during those cold, lonely winter days. Interested to see how you get the floating light effect behind the pane. You could consider bamboo as a frame material to give it that organic feel. I’m sure there are some academic journals that have amazing microscopic images of leaves that you can use as your laser etching template.
Hi Rida I love your idea!! I can’t find your docs or the Instructables so I would add that so I can see your steps and the materials list. Otherwise I’m really excited to see how this turns out <3
Hey Rida, personally, I like ur third idea cuz my table is always like a mess, But I’m curious about where u gonna put the ultrasonic sensor, if u put it inside the transparent shelf, it would be alarmed all the time!! May be it would be suitable if you put the sensor at the base, and the arduino board inside the base as well, and leave the alarm inside the shelf. Can’t wait to see ur final project:))))))