Time is more illusory than we tend to believe. We assume time is concrete and arrange our lives around marking it. My work challenges the notion of “keeping time.” I built an unconventional clock that has unexpected properties to reject the time pestered modern life. This clock gives control over how we interpret the passage of our lives. “On my own terms” is also about rage against time, growing old and inevitable death.

The clock in my project has three distinct behaviours that change the pace or direction of the time indicator LEDs:

1. Smelling the rose pauses the timer as a way to freeze a moment in the most delightful flashes of life.
2. Lighting up the candle slows down the movement of the clock to imitate how we hope time stretches when having a romantic/therapeutic experience.
3. And the last feature is to make time go back by looking at an old photo. This feature tickles nostalgia to realize an impossible dream of going back in time.

For the output LEDs I chose green and red to reference traffic lights and how timers also dictate us to go/stop at specific points in life and how demanding they are.

Sensor and Actuators:

I am using three sensors in total for this project (LDR, thermal, Ultrasonic), and each sensor drives one form of response:

1. Take a rest from a long day/Freeze the moment – I attached a light sensor to a rose petal so that when you move your nose closer to smell it, the shadow from the user’s face is detected. This sensor could also be mounted on a pillow as a form to freeze time while you are sleeping. I have used an LDR for this part, and the threshold is 100 for detecting the closeness of the face. Link to the video!     

2. Cozy up and have a romantic dinner – In the setting, we have a candle beside the flower. The candle jar has a thermal sensor attached to its top (an inch higher than where the flame goes). Once the candle lits (indicating a romantic or attentive experience), the timer starts running slower to relax the user and encourage them not to rush out of it. The temperature highly relies on the exact place one mounts the sensor in the jar. But for my purpose, I chose the reading of 700 and higher as an indicator for the candle being inflamed. Link to the video!

       

3. An old map of Toronto hung at the back of my setting that has a proximity sensor attached to the bottom of it. Once the user goes close to the frame and reads the map, the clock runs backward. This behaviour is to entertain the nostalgia we feel gazing at old photos. Link to the video!                                                     

For the actuator, I am using single LEDs mounted on a circular plate to act as a timer. The LEDs are assigned to pins in an array and get turned on in turns. I got the most out of the single LED light by using the reflection from aluminum foil and the defusing effect of tissue papers. I am using 8 LEDs and pairing them with 200-ohm resistors.

Material: For the whole setup, I reused and recycled a lot of household objects. I reused a candle jar, a flower stem, and a photo I already had around for the input. I used a couple of paper straws, aluminum foil, and an aluminum pie plate for the clock (output). In terms of soldering and putting the circuit together, I tried to be mindful of the following usages and attach parts to disassemble them later. The only waste produced in this process is some tape and labels.

Calm Design Discussion:

1. A user’s primary task should not be computing but being human: The interactions for this project are rational and not newly introduced. Lighting up a candle, smelling a flower, and looking at a photo are good old human actions that do not need any computing or machine-like performances.
2. Technology should work even when it fails: The timer in this project is running even when the user does not interact with it. Also, the operation does not change drastically or fail in case of a misconnection or wrong reading.
3. Technology can communicate but doesn’t need to speak: The clock is a familiar day-to-day object, so choosing a visual timer output does not disturb the environment and can run in the background.

Reflection: Using the experience from Exp1, I started with the sensors to make sure they do detect what I think they should. This practice saved me a lot of time in the beginning. For example, I intended to catch the user walking using the proximity sensor. Still, I soon realized the line of sight is essential for the ultrasonic sensor, and it has a smaller range for the maximum distance detectable. This realization shifted my design towards a more stable form of proximity (standing in front of a picture). Another challenge I faced was that the temperature sensor reading did not come down quickly, so I had to bend my design around that characteristic. With the LDR, the measurements were more real-time and reliable; I will link more diverse actions to light and shadow in my future projects. Furthermore, for the number of LEDs in the clock, I realized that too many would complicate the wiring while not adding much visual value. I will also be more mindful of pauses in the system, like how I pause the clock if the input is not reliable and reads the wrong number once, then the break in the system goes on for a few seconds while it is not supposed to.

Development images:

Main circuit (placed inside the gift box)

Github link: https://github.com/ZhinoTheCoder/CC_Exp2/blob/main/SesitiveObject

Circuit diagram:

Video links:

Rose – https://www.dropbox.com/s/7qctddh46mudbg8/Timer%20stops.MOV?dl=0

Candle – https://www.dropbox.com/s/smf57qunq9agroj/Timer%20slows%20down.MOV?dl=0

Picture – https://www.dropbox.com/s/hzix3642lceqnq5/Going%20back%20in%20time.mov?dl=0

References:

Ultrasonic sensor – https://www.maxbotix.com/articles/how-ultrasonic-sensors-work.htm

Artworks about time – https://www.studioarts.pitt.edu/sites/default/files/LL18_TickTockCat_F3_WEB.pdf

Cyborg Botany – https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/cyborg-botany/overview/

I have been interested in exploring intersection of two worlds; more so two worlds talking to each other. I have tried to bring the world of Start Trek into mine in this experiment. Being a Trekkie and an ardent follower of the Star Trek Original Series, I wanted to transform my workspace into making me feel I am in the USS Enterprise starship whenever I come to my desk. A computer that belongs to Captain Kirk in his quarters called the Replicator, is capable of materialising anything one wants in the starship. I wanted to bring that affordance into the object. I thought up a scenario where Captain Kirk asks, “Computer, I would like a cigaretter please” and the replicator 3d prints one for him. So similarly the object I was trying to make was going to offer me a cigarette when I ask for one. Being intelligent it would also bring in the layer of nudging me into quitting smoking if it could. So the object will ask me, “Are you sure?”. This may not be much but if you ever really take a moment on that you may actually consider that suggestion and just drop the urge of lighting one up. I smoke occasionally but when code doesn’t work, I am lighting one after the other as though nicotine seems to help with the debugging. To help me quit smoking I thought this was a perfect sensitive object to get augmented into my environment in a playful way.

Calm Technology Principles Used

It should amplify the best of technology and the best of humanity. Like a Kettle that user can switch it on, forget about it and once it is done heating, you are free to pick it up, make use of it or not, etc., this dispenser aims to live in your environment in a similar mode.

Technology can communicate, but doesn’t need to speak. So the mode in which it shares information or its status with you ought to be inconsequential versus the actual information. I was looking at using LEDs to light up a simple cutout of PU foam from behind so that the letters “Sure?” are visible and the message comes to visually. User replies ‘Yes!’ as a confirmation to receive a cigarette handed to them by the device (more of popping one out for you to pick up from the stack).

The Process

The design started with a concept sketch of making LEDs emulate the sonar array scanning the starfield (shown in the image below) inside what looks like a computer from the starship as shown in the image on the right. I wanted it to have the old-style duotronic sensor array sound which appears in the bridge of Starship and has a scanning cycle of three seconds with a pinging sound. As it would have required a lot more of components including an SD card reader, that approach was dropped but the LEDS were retained to show the Prompt of “Sure?” from the system to the user. I ran into a lot of USB cable issue because I thought my house grounding seems to be faulty. So each time I would have something working, the next moment it was not the case; ended up using two separate Arduinos. Used the first, Arduino Uno, for distance detection and lighting the LEDs.

The second,Nano BLE 33 Sense, uses TinyML library to read “yes” or “no” from the user. I have modified the microspeech example and tied include the servo motor actuation inside the detected ‘y’ routine in arduino_command_responder tab. The challenge was even though global variables were defined in the main tab/page, it was not being picked up inside arduino_command_responder tab/page. Defining it again and modified it to use values directly there in the particular page was a learning step.

Also found that HC-SR04-Ultrasonic Range Finder was delivering better results than the proximity sensor in Nano 33 BLE Sense. A range of 0 – 400 ensures if someone sat down in front of a work desk and the system activates the LEDs.

The Experience | How it Works  | Arduino Code

The Circuit

References

Star trek Computer 1. https://hapgood.us/2015/02/20/people-have-the-star-trek-computer-backwards/

Star trek Computer 2. https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Computer_core?file=Engineering_computer_core_and_hatch.jpg

 “9”

“9” is the ninth Stitch-Punk from the 2009 Shane Acker movie of the same name taking place in a dystopian future where the split soul of a scientist lives on through burlap-sack dolls known as Stitch-Punks. I decided to create a replica of the protagonist some time ago as decoration and given Halloween is approaching I decided to recreate some of his known actions from within the movie consisting of his eyes flickering when the microphone picks up sound in order to simulate blinking, his torch lighting up once the lights are turned off to guide him through the darkness and flickering when the lights are on (flame/light going out), and lastly his “soul/heart” lighting up when something is near. All of these interactions may use both passive and active interaction as he can simply react to the environment he’s in without intervention or one can directly interact with the character. I thought this character as the perfect vessel for this experiment as it can utilize the functions explored using the Arduino, sensors and LEDs while staying somewhat true to the character as he is seen within the movie. 

In relation to the calm technology principles this project utilizes the following:

• Technology should require the smallest possible amount of attention. It does not need to be directly interacted with in order to work, it can completely react to the environment around it while keeping me company atop my desk.
• Technology should inform and create calm. As a desk companion it provides an ascribed sense of emotional support.
• Technology can communicate, but doesn’t need to speak. The data used by the sensors can relay the message of several different things given context, for example why did the eyes light up? Was there a loud noise? Why is the soul getting brighter? Is something approaching? Why is the torch going out? How much light is in the room.

Experience Video | How it Works | Github Code

    . 

Official “9” Merch & Poster

References

**Please note that I do not own any rights to the design of the Stitch-Punks/9 Doll or any rights to the movie 9

9. Acker, Shane. Focus Features, 2009.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9_(2009_animated_film)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0472033/

https://nine.fandom.com/wiki/9_(Character)

Unknown. “1.jpeg”, Pinterest, Uploaded by Edward Lee

https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/9710955425539515/

Unknown. “2.jpeg”, Pinterest, Uploaded by IMDB 

https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/208502657722995483/

Re-Cactus is a sensitive object designed and built using waste materials from households that don’t have any value to them but are transformed into something meaningful. It’s like shaping your trash into something meaningful creating a sustainable object from the countless cardboards of amazon orders and the ice cream tubs. Re-Cactus depicts a cactus plant that has been upcycled from the things we call trash to change the perspective of people that trash can be upcycled into different things like an interactive object in this case. The cactus blooms and withers a flower during the day as it sits on your desk reacting to the sunlight. 

This project came to life seeing a lot of trash cardboard in my house that had just come in from a big order from amazon and I felt like this should be turned into something that is not trash. So I decided to make a cardboard cactus out of it which bear a flower on the top that blooms when the LDR sensor gets value above a certain level the blooming happens over a period of time depicting the natural way of blooming a flower and there is a reverse state wherein the flower closes in depicting a withering state which also happens over time. The last state is a honey bee state wherein a honey bee comes on the flower which is a very rare state and doesn’t last long.

Calm Technology Principles Used

• “Technology should require the smallest possible amount of attention”. The cactus just sits on the desk like a plant needing no interaction the flower starts to bloom when a certain LDR value is achieved, it closes/withers when the light is below a certain level.
• “Technology should respect social norms”. The flower blooms in a very subtle way over a period of time slowly showing the blooming process.
• “Technology should work even when it fails”. Even if the technology fails it is a cactus plant sitting on a table and the plant does not even require frequent watering and has a flower on top.
• “Technology should make use of the periphery”. The cactus moves from background to foreground as it blooms and then again to the background as the flower blooms completely.

Experience Video   |    How it Works Video

Final Project Images

Development Images

Arduino code

Circuit Diagram

IT COMES IN WAVES
ARJUN DUTT
Since I was a child, I’ve always been a lover and an appreciator of music. For Experiment 2, I wanted to try and channel my love for music into something tangible that could perhaps have me engage with music in a way that I haven’t been able to before. The idea that proceeded to formulate in my head was to make a lamp with multiple-coloured LED’s that would react (strobe/flicker) to sound. The idea of an LED lamp that reacts to sound probably isn’t a novel one but being able to make interactive objects like this has been a long standing dream of mine, and one I’m happy to be able to fulfil. I have connected three colours of LED lights- Red, Yellow and Blue. If there is no music in the room, only the Yellow LED’s will remain on. If there is moderate volume of music in the room, the Red LED’s will start flashing. And if the music is loud, all the LED’s will start flashing.
• Discussion of Calm Technology Principles :

My LED lamp is engaging with 3 Principles of Calm Technology, namely:
1. Technology should require the smallest possible amount of attention: The speaker is in a dormant state when there is no/less ambient sound. But if someone decides to have a party and play loud music, then the speaker will reflect the same ‘mood’ and react accordingly.
2. Technology should make use of the periphery: What looks like an otherwise unassuming, everyday origami lamp at first glance, quickly attracts our attention as the LED’s light up. Something that is just part of the furniture is made to stand out by its state changes.
3. Technology should work even when it fails: If all else fails and my music reactive code doesn’t run, it will still work perfectly as a regular lamp.

Experience Video:
https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/639168677

How It Works Video:
https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/639169990

• Arduino Code (I couldn’t figure how to upload it on GitHub):

int soundsensor = A0;
int led1 = D12; // yellow
int led2 = D11; // yellow
int led3 = D10; // red
int led4 = D9; // red
int led5 = D8; // blue
int led6 = D7; // blue

void setup() {

Serial.begin (9600);
pinMode (soundsensor, INPUT);
pinMode (led1, OUTPUT);
pinMode (led2, OUTPUT);
pinMode (led3, OUTPUT);
pinMode (led4, OUTPUT);
pinMode (led5, OUTPUT);
pinMode (led6, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {

int sensorvalue = analogRead (soundsensor);
Serial.println (sensorvalue);

if (sensorvalue >= 200)
{
digitalWrite (led1, HIGH);
digitalWrite (led2, HIGH);
}

if (sensorvalue >= 430)
{
digitalWrite (led3, HIGH);
digitalWrite (led4, HIGH);
}

if (sensorvalue >= 500)
{
digitalWrite (led5, HIGH);
digitalWrite (led6, HIGH);
}

else {

digitalWrite (led3, LOW);
digitalWrite (led4, LOW);
digitalWrite (led5, LOW);
digitalWrite (led6, LOW);
}}

• Circuit diagram:

Christmas in a Box
-Merel and Preeti

Project Description:

As holidays are around the corner, we both wanted to bring festivity to the experiment. Christmas is all about lights, music, and presents. So we’ve tried to get together the essence of Christmas through LED lights and deliver them in a box! Also, since most of us are away from our families, we wanted to celebrate this occasion with a touch of technology.

Function 1:
We have used a dark box to mimic the night as that’s when we see the stars and the Christmas lights at their best. The blue LEDs on the top of the box are connected to the LDR; as it becomes dark, the lights become brighter, and as the surrounding lights brighten up, the LEDs get dimmer.

Function 2:
The LEDs that are placed under the snow are connected to the audio sensor. They respond to the intensity of the music that is playing. Thus, the brightness of the LEDs fluctuates according to the decibel of the song.

we did not find the audio sensor on Tinkercad, therefore had to use a distance sensor

Function 3:
The star on the top of the Christmas tree is one of the most iconic ornaments in the decoration. We have used a LED light to represent it and can be easily turned on and off with the help of a push-button.

Experience video: https://ocadu.techsmithrelay.com/MbXY

How it works video: https://ocadu.techsmithrelay.com/GBWY

Our project uses two principles of Calm Technology:

Design for people first:
Our project conveys joy in the most straightforward matter, without it being dominant or overwhelming with technology. It invites the user to interact and immerse themselves in the experience of Christmas.

Technology should work even when it fails (Think about what happens if your technology fails):
If the technology fails in our case, it can still be used as a decorative piece. It will continue to spread the joy and soul of Christmas.

Link to the code: https://github.com/pm111111111/Christmas-in-a-box/blob/450771d0a76dd7b19e2280b2dac2059f4c5cf9e4/Complied

Desk Buddy helps one keep track of time and keep the body moving when sitting at the desk for a long time. It comprises of 3 main interactions –

1. A color changing sun at the background that mimics real sunrise and sunset times
2. A dog that sticks its tongue out when the ball is not picked up in the past hour, and starts running as soon as the ball is picked up. This happens so that one gets up from the desk every now and then.
3. Indication lights that help maintain neck flexibility by guiding one to look left, right and above.

Calm technologies

1. Technology should require the smallest possible amount of attention
2. Technology should make use of the periphery
3. Technology should respect social norms

Circuit-

Code – https://github.com/ichangimathprayag/Exp2_DeskBuddy

Videos –

1. Dog moving – https://youtu.be/FQluAat2xcg

Pictures of build here – https://imgur.com/a/dm2u4J8

My design includes the light sensor and the buzzer. When the light sensor senses light, the buzzer sounds and the LEDs flash. This piece can exist just fine on its own as long as it is put in a place with light and darkness. I was inspired when I was rewatching the Vampire Diaries. If there is vampire in the world, they might like my work. Does this count as inclusive design?

Experience Video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sna13wl42cbu9pu/experiment%20video.mp4?dl=0

To make the change of state obvious, I intentionally use my finger to block the light from reaching the sensor to show that the buzzer and LEDs stop instantly without light input. But it works independent from human interaction as well.

How it works Video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ru3tb9jvugvuqbz/How%20it%20works%20Video.mp4?dl=0

with light:

without light:

Arduino Code:

Code Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkGmtsA69ts

Title: Illusion

Size of group: 1

Created by: Mehdi Farahani

Light Sensor (1) + Servo (1) / Arduino nano / Bread board, Wires, Resistor, and …  / transparent films, and …

Project description: This is an interactive and immersive installation. The main idea of this experiment was to create an interactive design and interactive lighting. I wanted to create an optical illusion atmosphere through the interaction of people and my painting. I had to use the ultrasonic sensor. But I only had a light sensor available. So I used the light sensor (instead of the ultrasonic sensor) just for showing my idea in a limited way. When the light comes on, the servo stops working. When the light goes off, the servo starts moving one of the transparent films over the other. Using the light source behind the transparent film, an illusory atmosphere will be created on the front wall.

In terms of the principle of calm technology, I used the phrase: “Technology can communicate, but it does not need to speak.”
In my opinion, artworks such as a painting, a sculpture, or an installation do not need to speak up or do not necessarily need to be in a large format or complicated to communicate with their audience. Rather, the interaction and interrelation between an artwork and the audience should be considered.

Fabrication Process:

One of my biggest challenges in doing this experiment was my limited access to electronic equipment in London. Creating a sensitive object with a light sensor and a Servo and fabrication at home was no easy task. But sometimes simple tools can create a tremendous visual impact. One of the most important problem I encountered in my work was 1/4w Resistors. I ordered 10k ohm and 220-ohm resistors, but Creatron company sent me the wrong Resistors. As I am new to electronics, I did not know why my circuit was not working properly. By the suggestion of a friend, I used a 10k Trimmer Potentiometer instead of a resistor, and my problem was almost solved. I decided to focus on visual impact with these tools, even if I do not have suitable resistor and sensor to write the best code. All the construction of this work has been done at home and with very limited facilities. This will be a lasting memory of the COVID Pandemic period.

Video:

1- https://ocadu.techsmithrelay.com/2qvT

2- https://ocadu.techsmithrelay.com/fPqm

3- https://ocadu.techsmithrelay.com/nwoq

Circuit diagram:

Code:

https://github.com/farahanidesign?tab=projects