Midterm Project Proposal

I wanted to stick with my original idea of the interactive Indo Board, and think that I could make a functioning product soon using a gravity switch to read the state of the board. The gravity switch would be the input, reading on/off, and multiple LEDs would act as the outputs.

A lot of the point when working out or training with the Indo Board is to try and keep it level for prolonged periods of time. The board is always tipped when it is not being used or the user is getting on, so the gravity switch would start out reading as “on.” When the switch is off, and the board is level, the multiple LEDs will light up sequentially by how long the board is level. This is achieved by a counter in the program, most likely with a while loop. The status of the switch would be checked before the counter was incremented, and each light would be light or made brighter based on the value of the counter. If the arduino runs this while hooked up with the computer, the program could print out to the user a reading of the longest time the board remained level.

The schematic and state diagram are based on the assumption that I would be using something like 4 LEDs. The output for the LEDs would be analog to create a smooth transition as the lights become brighter and brighter.

Midterm Project: Mood Cube

For my midterm project, I want to create a small interactive mood light. The light is a small, discrete object that can be used to subtly light a space. However, depending on the mood you are trying to set, the light can change from off to white, red, orange, or blue, depending on how you place it. The light will be contained in a frosted plexi-glass cube, so it can be placed on multiple sides, each side providing a different lighting condition. The project will work through the use of a 3 axis accelerometer. By using analog output, the accelerometer will have set readings which will set off different colored lights as you position it in different ways.

 

This idea was inspired by a student in last semester’s Making Furniture Interactive course where the student made a light that just turned on and off through the use of a tilt sensor. I really liked this idea, and for the midterm project, I wanted to take it further.

Basically, the accelerometer will be able to tell what orientation the cube is, and be like “hey, I’m oriented this way, I’ll light up the blue LED’s.” or the arduino might say, “the cube is oriented in this other way, so I’ll light up the orange LED’s.” this will happen for all 4 colors as well as well as the off position.

 

Parts List:

 

4 Ultra Bright White LED’s

4 Ultra Bright Blue LED’s

4 Red LED’s

4 Orange LED’s

TIP 3055 Transistor x2

TIP 120 Transistor x2

100 Kohm Resistors

3-Axis Accelerometer

Mood Cube Schematic

Midterm Proposal: Fireflies in a Jar

Fireflies in a Jar is a teaching tool for children who can’t sleep in the dark. There’s going to be three differently programmed fireflies and a jar where the child can place them in. Before going to bed, the child can place as many fireflies into the jar and close the lid to activate the light. You can adjust the luminosity of the jar by putting more or less fireflies in. The light from each firefly will eventually fade out and turn off within a certain time span. The child at this point will either be too tired to put in more fireflies, and end up sleeping in the dark, or still be awake. Then they have the option of putting more fireflies in to reactive the light or sleeping in the dark.

The program of the fireflies. The three fireflies will have different programs that will mimic the light of a firefly. The LED will start with a high intensity light and gradually fade out and turn off. This is going to give the pupil time to adjust in the dark to see better. Each light will also be programmed to have different time span it to be on, keeping the fireflies spontaneous and fun for the child.

How will it work? Each firefly will have an LED attached to it. The fireflies will sit on its own on/off switch. Removing the firefly from the switch will let us know which firefly is being put into the jar and need to be on once the jar is closed. The jar will also have on/off switch, attached to the lid, that will tell us when the jar is closed. Once a firefly is placed into the jar, and the jar is closed, the program for that firefly will run as long as the jar is closed. If the jar opens and closes, with the same firefly in the jar, the program of that firefly will restart. This works with all the fireflies.

All the switches used in this design will have a digital read, and the LEDs will have a digital output according to its corresponding switch. The switches will have a HIGH and LOW digital read. The brightness of the LEDs will be controlled using the “for” program code in the Loop Setup, and the “if” program code will be used to activate each firefly.

Parts List: Arduino, 3 LEDs (white), 4 on/off switch, jar with lid, 9V battery, circuit wire, wiring tape.

How to go about this project…

Step 1. Wire and program LED 1

Step 2. Wire and program LED 2

Step 3. Wire and program LED 3

Step 4. Wire 3 switches. Place each LED on its corresponding switch, and program it to activate when the LED is off of the switch.

Step 5. Wire the switch for the jar, and program so that the LEDs turn on when the jar switch is pressed and when the LED is off of its switch.

Step 6. Add an interruption code to the program, for when the jar is opens and closes.

Step 7. Test run design for error (different combination of LEDs in jar, and when jar opens and closes, etc.)

Step 8. Assemble parts for presentation.