Our team (Josue and Chris) has come up with three different concepts outlined in this post. They range from being lost in thought in a zen-environment to a fan that displays words as it rotates. The goal of these three concepts is to have the spectators interact with the art piece. We want the art piece to come to light when people are in the room. This inspiration came from what famous light artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer said, “If nobody shows up, there’s no show.” Now enjoy the following three concepts that our team created.

Concept 1: Absent, Out in Space, Out to Lunch, Remote, Daydreamer

• Parts list: Pulse sensor, LED strips, laptop (maybe rasberry pi), Tx and Rx modules,  App, string, and pipes
• Description: An experience that can provide a relaxing zen-like environment for an individual. With a main focus in how humans can get lost in thought. It takes place in a dark environment and uses the rhythm of the user’s heartbeat together with a user chosen relaxing background ambiance (rainfall, forest, waves). Based on the ambiance chosen, the LED’s will project a different environment within the room pulsating with the user’s heartbeat. If the user becomes stressed, the sound of the heartbeat increases to encourage the user to calm down. This could potentially be a project that the user is able to transport to any room (modular). We want it to be modular since we want our design to be used any room that has blinds and speakers that work.
• Challenge: The biggest challenge for this project is the light placement since it will have to adjust according to the room size. This could change the experience depending on the room which could interesting.

Concept 2: Location-Based Audio Reactive LED’s

• Part list: Microcontroller, IR tracking camera, LED strips, infrared diode, laptop, and pipes
• Description: This project involves an LED strip that reacts to sound which is also controlled by the user’s location. Multiple users may be able to enter the area as well, leading to more of the overall area being reactively lit. Each individual that enters the area will possibly have to use a hat that contains an infrared emitting diode to be tracked.
• Challenge: Combine the LED reaction to audio with the moving real-time location of the person.

Concept 3: Persistence of Vision Display

• Part list: LED strip, fan, and microcontroller
• Description: LED strip that spins very fast to produce a given image or word. Could potentially have a user enter in a word to display and then have the device turn on and produce the input word.
• Challenges: This project is math heavy and the biggest challenge is getting the word to be completely visible.

Timeline
Week 1 (Maquette, Shopping List)	-Choose Concept -Get Parts List (choose microcontroller) -Start coding (choose language, make flowchart and diagram) -Create a script for final video + document first week
Week 2 (Work in Progress, Failure)	-Start testing system by parts -Start designing layout and aesthetic (possibly create a structure) -Start filming video (sound and narration)
Week 3 (Everything Working)	-Get coding done and make system robust -Start putting structure and electronics together -Film and edit final video
Week 4 (Polish and Present)	-Polish design and fix any bugs that come up -Present final design and video