Have you ever been in a situation where you have forgotten when your next period is ? I have been in such a situation and hence I decided to make Cylo. It is a period tracker that visually represents what stage of your cycle you are at.
This idea initially originated from idea of preparing oneself in advance for the arrival of their period so that their period experience is smoother. However upon further discussion, the idea transitioned to how periods are stigmatized in many cultures and how Cylo is helpful in educating about periods as well as reduce the stigma behind periods.
For this Halloween, I decided to be a pop art comic artist. I have always wanted to do this character because I was mesmerized by the makeup behind this look. I also personally love the era of pop art and retro culture.
For the costume I decided to make glasses with WOW written on it that light up use Arduino to animate to show the WOW.
Materials
Retro Glasses
Laser Cutter
Acrylic
Glue Gun
Gemma
Wires
Solder and Soldering Iron
Arduino Metro
Wire strippers and Cutters
Side Light LED Strip
Things that I would have done different and Lessons :
I underestimated the problems relating to GEMMA. While I was planning out my project, I did not expect connecting GEMMA to my project as the most difficult part. If I were to do this again, I would try to completing the circuit and soldering it to GEMMA before working on the other parts of my project.
Some takeaways:
Soldering LED is not easy, so practice before you work on your actual LED.
Always have backup options to be on the safe side.
Finish the project a week before the deadline to prevent any last minute problems.
My Plush Night is inspired by Ghost Fireflies, they are a rare type of fireflies that can be sighted in the mountains of North Carolina during the Summer months.
Luna the firefly is designed for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Sometimes children with autism may be highly sensitive to certain textures and other senses. Luna is designed to be a support buddy and help the child cope better in a situation of sensory overload.
Sketch
Materials
Felt
Black and White Material
Yarn
Buttons
Fiber Fill
Pom Poms
Needle and Thread
Pattern
Process
I enjoyed this project as a whole. I have never made an electrical circuit before, so it was a great learning experience. If I had more time, I would work on the details of the night light and probably improve my sewing and patterns.
The three initial ideas for my plush night light is
1) A night light that looks like the pet animal they lost
2) A desk buddy with a message
3) Calming Sensory Plush Night Light designed specifically for children with autism
I am still confused about what type of sensory experience should the plush toy be projecting. Should it be a night light that switches on and off when touched or the night light projects this pattern of light or stars through a screen?
The idea that I am gravitating towards the most is a night light that is designed for children with autism.
So the device that I chose to teardown was the Apple Ipod Nano.
Step1: The first step to tear it all apart is to use the heat gun and expose the screen to a lot of heat , this way the glue that is keeping the entire device together loosens up.
After a couple of tries, the glue loosened up pretty quickly. Then I tried to force the glass to come apart.
Step 2: Once the glass comes apart, it was pretty easy to tear down the rest of the parts. I had to unscrew the tiny screws that are used to secure the circuit board and battery that is beneath the metal sheet.
Step 3 : Once I removed all the screws, I could see the circuit board, battery, battery outlet and earphone outlet.
Step 4 : The final layer is to remove the screws that is responsible for holding the clip (the part that helps you clip the Ipod to your clothing). This part was quite tricky though because the screws were glued into place, so I had to use the heat gun to repeatedly heat the shell to loosen up the glue. Once I successfully removed the screws, this was the final result.
All of the metals are Aluminum. It is an excellent material because it’s lightweight, durable and at the same time strong.
LCD screen.
Tiny Screws.
Logicboard and Battery
Headphone Jack and Dock Connector
Some of the techniques used to secure all the parts and keep them intact is that apple secured them all together in a tight space without any gaps, they also use very strong glue that will not come apart unless by force.
Two Design Elements that I appreciate:
The size of the product. The designers have chosen the perfect size for the purpose of listening to music, the user could carry it anywhere and everywhere and wont have to worry about it taking up space.
The intention of having just an LCD touch screen without having any other buttons or functions. It looks very chic and also is easy to use.
Yeah, that’s me! Let me take you through a brief walkthrough of my 23 years of my life. Don’t worry, it won’t be that long….So I was born in Hyderabad which is a fairly large city in India. I moved to Dubai when I was six months old. The next 17 years of my life was in Dubai. This is the place where I grew up and made connections, it is such a huge part of my identity. I always tell my friends how the city and I grew up together. In a span of twenty years, both of us changed in our unique ways. I don’t think I will miss Dubai that much because of how similar New York is to Dubai.
Fast forward to 2016, I moved to the US at 17. For the next four years, I lived in Richmond, Virginia. I studied Interior Design at Virginia Commonwealth University. During my undergraduate program, I was part of a living-learning program called Globe. Through this program, I got to live and make connections with International Students from all around the world. It made me realize how much I enjoy meeting people from different cultures and getting to know them and learning about their traditions and the food they eat. My life during my undergrad was a combination of highs and lows just like any other college student, but all those experiences have changed me for the better.
My bestfriend from high school Friends from College
Over the years, I have developed a variety of interests. I like to dabble into a bit of everything. I enjoy cooking, baking, photography and reading. I have tried to learn screen printing, jewelry making and this summer I learnt pottery. I also LOVE dogs, I fostered two dogs over the past year and they have absolutely stolen my heart. Here are a few pictures of them.
If you’re reading this, Thank You for staying with me so far. I can’t wait to learn and know about all of you. I once read somewhere that you are a mosaic of all the experiences and people you have met, this journey that all of us are going to embark on is going to add another colorful piece to this beautiful artwork called life. I am looking forward to the future.
