Four Seasons Snow Globe
For the third project in IGME-470, we were tasked with creating a work of art. There have been numerous occasions during class presentations where we were exposed to art installations made with an Arduino, and I even gave a presentation about a sand-art coffee table I had discovered on the internet. However, now that it was time to come up with an idea of our own, I was drawing a blank. It was difficult for me to think of something I was happy with that also fit within the allotted two-week period. In the end, I considered objects that personally resonated with me. I always thought that snow globes had a way of transporting the viewer to a distant place or time, so I aimed to capture that feeling with the "Four Seasons Snow Globe".
The Idea
The "Four Seasons Snow Globe" is a digital application made with the p5.js library. The app will display one of four different seasons, with the season being determined by the temperature of the Arduino. For instance, if the Arduino is in an area below 32 degrees Fahrenheit, then a winter scene will be displayed on the screen. Additionally, shaking the Arduino will cause something to happen within the scene. During winter, snow will fall from the sky. During a hot summer night, fireworks will fire off in the distance.
Development
Now that this course is nearing its end, I'm beginning to see the fruits of my labor. The development of this project went smoothly and quickly thanks to the experience I've gained from my prior projects. Similarly to those projects, I began by drafting the circuit in TinkerCad (check out the schematic and parts list). It features a temperature sensor and a tilt sensor like Homeworks 3 and 8, respectively. The LED will activate when it senses violent shaking (it's a good thing, don't worry). Due to my experience with serial communication from Project 2, it was very simple to implement this time around. Lastly, the p5.js application was the most time-consuming component of this project. It wasn't very difficult to create, but drawing the assets took up a decent portion of my development time.
In Retrospect
I welcome you to view the two showcase videos - I'm very proud of how this project turned out. I think the Snow Globes are pleasant to look at, and the "shake" effects look convincing enough. I'm especially happy with the fireworks, since their implementation features a tiny amount of trigonometry. As you can see in the videos, I had some difficultly with manipulating the temperature to change the season - if this were an actual product, it would probably feature a potentiometer to select the desired season instead of basing it off the sensed temperature. My biggest regret with this project is not using it as an opportunity to experiment with new ideas and sensors - I'm still using the components provided in the starter kit. This project plays it very safe, and as a result, I can't say I learned too much from its completion. Instead, it provided me with a fantastic opportunity to strengthen my familiarity with the fundamentals, and I believe there's some worth in that. Anyways, I think the quality of my writing is beginning to falter, so I'll give my brain a rest and end it here.
References
Fitzgerald, Scott, and Michael Shiloh. Arduino Projects Book: Everything You Need for Your First Arduino® Projects. Arduino, 2015.