Propinquity
An interactive light installation
Duration
3 weeksTeam members
Jason de RuñaAshley Engelhardt
Jordan Fugate
Skills & tools
ArduinoBasic electronics
Deliverables
PrototypeVideo demo
Overview
As part of the course Physical Games & Interactive Media, our team created an interactive light installation designed to encourage playful exploration. The display changes based on the viewer's proximity and multiple people can work together for even more dynamic effects.Design
Propinquity consists of 12 cubes each containing one superbright tri-color LED. Three Arduino boards control the lights, with each board controlling a single color. Each board is also connected to a Maxbotix ultrasonic range finder attached to the bottom of the piece. As people approach Propinquity, the ultrasonic sensors detect their proximity and trigger the lights in a predefined pattern based on distance. Because each sensor controls a different color, a wide variety of patterns can be created. The key to Propinquity is that the interaction is not one-to-one. Viewers realize that they influence the pattern but it is not immediately clear in what way. As more people join the interaction, they have to work together to figure out the patterns.
Process
We wanted to see what kind of interaction we could create with a few simple ingredients: lights and ultrasonic sensors. The goal was to create something that was could be both a
piece of artwork and an interactive installation. We started by sketching out our idea to figure out how the lights and sensors would be attached to the Arduino boards. From there, we created a foam board prototype to test the strength of the lights and the overall effect we were trying to achieve. Once we were satisfied that our concept would work, we began constructing the final version of Propinquity.
Construction
Propinquity is a 3x4 ft matrix of cubes. Each cube has a hole drilled in the bottom and sides to allow the wiring to be pulled through. A tri-colored LED sits in each cube. All ground leads are wired together, all red leads are wired together, all greens, all blues, etc. An Arduino board is mounted at the base of each column and attached to a single color light and all grounds are connected to the same board. In addition, an ultrasonic sensor is mounted at the base of each column and connected to each other (to avoid interference) and to the board below. Finally, the casing consists of sheets of transparent plastic used to cover fluorescent lighting.Showcase
Propinquity was featured as part of A/V Happy Hour - Experiments in Light & Sound at Indiana University.
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