This was an exciting time when I started leaning about a basic electronic circuit, How to make my own electronic circuit, how to attach different components with it. The difference between LED’s connected in series and parallel. Calculating the resistance and the different types of LED’s. I got exposed to new prototyping materials from different types of conductive tapes, conductive threads and conductive paints. I started exploring these components in circuits. I figured out that a lot of simple ideas can easily be prototyped using basic materials like copper tape, conductive paint etc. The simpler the materials used the better the result.
The challenge was to design a drawing machine and with my team we decided to investigate how images are actually drawn in our eyes i.e. how do we perceive images.
For this we had a twofold build, the physical construction of the installation, circuitry and the programming with Arduino.For this we used neopixel RGB LED strip and stuck it on the circumference of our rotating globe held together with a split disk ring. The second challenge was to assess the number of rotations per second and to send the LED strip a buffer signal at a particular point to switch on/off specific LED that would create a desired image. For this we used a hall sensor on the frame of our installation and stuck magnets on the circumference of the rotating globe. Every time the magnet would cross the hall sensor we would get the change in polarity and the position of the rotating shaft.
The team dived into the theme of how people cope with stress and anxiety. Some people join art therapy classes and paint to distract their mind; others cope better relieving stress with physical exercises. The aim of the installation was to connect both these stress relieving techniques to maximise a unique meditative experience.
A custom-made velostat (conductive sheet) pressure sensor detected every punch on the bag and translated it to the mandala drawing machine. The rate at which the drawing arm on the machine moved depended on the pressure with which one punched on the bag. A sound sensor on the bag detected the punches and rendered it into a visual output on the drawing machine in form of changing LED lights.
To put this idea into praxis the team had to overcome several challenges. These involved exploring a large variety of sensors best suited for the installation. Another challenge was to build a 3D printed drawing arm and calibrate it with the custom-made pressure sensor. Connecting all the components – the pressure sensor, lights, drawing arm and the rotating canvas together with multiple Arduinos and code, was the biggest challenge to overcome. Handling these complex variety of elements meant there had to be a structured process in place to troubleshoot the very different elements of this project.
