Final Documentation – Laser “Etch-a-sketch”

A-term of 2019, I began my Light Art Practicum to complete my humanities requirement at WPI. I had to begin thinking about what I wanted my project to be. I knew I wanted to do something unique, something where I could incorporate different aspects of my learnings and hobbies. Being the mechanical engineering that I…

Polish and Present – Alex Boggess

The final week working on the Laser Etch-a-sketch project involved the most work and persistence. I continued to use the same mechanical components including the two Fast-speed servos, an Arduino Nano, a Mini-Maestro 18 for driving the servos, two potentiometers, and two pushbuttons. As I noted last week, the y-axis potentiometer is now fully working…

Everything Working – Mostly

This week, I’ve made large strides towards success. I’ve finished up the CAD design, solved my power issues with the Polulu Maestro Mini 18 servo driver, and assembled everything. Currently, the code I have is semi-working as it can draw some shapes but I haven’t fully solved the recording function for the Etch-a-sketch side of…

Failure/Recalibration/Iteration – Alex Boggess

This week, I failed. I did not anticipate the high current draw from the two servo motors, causing my Arduino Nano to brownout. This initially caused some confusion. I thought maybe my wiring or my programming was incorrect, so I spent a couple of hours debugging. I then realized that the servos require more current…

Maquette – Alex Boggess

Earlier this week, I order all of the parts that I need to create a working Laser Etch-a-sketch. This includes an Arduino Nano, two Fast Speed Servos, two potentiometers, a push button, and some mirrors. Once the parts arrived, I started CADing in SolidWorks so that I could continue designing the Laser Etch-a-sketch. Below, you…

Concept Proposal – Alex Boggess

The idea behind my light art project is to create an “Etch-a-sketch” with a laser pointer. This will allow the user to draw shapes with a laser by turning two dials similar to how an Etch-a-sketch works. After the user has finished drawing, the Arduino will quickly replicate what was previously drawn creating a persistence…

Janne Parviainen

Janne Parviainen is 39 years old from Helsinki, Finland. Like many other light artists, Janne started with photography and discovered light art by accident when he had forgotten that long exposure was turned on and he noticed he could write text with streetlights by moving the camera while it was exposing. After discovering the Light…

Alex Boggess – Introduction

Ever since I was a little kid, I have always had a passion for art. Whether it was drawing cars, coloring trees, or doodling in class; it was something that relaxed for me and brought me to a peaceful place. As I grew older, I started changing my medium and I wanted to try new…