Assignment 8 Looking Outwards – Sarah Anderson
Arduino Parking Lot Attendant
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u8XtnU97Xo]
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mJC-9UPDFw]
Using an arduino, this automatic parking gate for toy cars can sense that there is a car approaching the gate and can also verify if the parking lot is already full or not. Due to layers of heavy paper and aluminum foil,a circuit is completed when pressure is put on the incoming car and the gate is raised if the lot is not full. This type of technology and use is now widely used by many artists working in the creation of miniature worlds. A project like this would be a great tiny, yet impressive, aspect of any miniature setting.
Disco Planet
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-bGqV5o_bE]
After a failed attempt at creating a massive matrix of RGBW LEDs arranged on a 6ft metal globe, Jesse Congdon reworked the project with an Arduino Pro Mini, a bunch of cheap LED drivers from China, and some other technological changes. The globe is now better than ever and features hundreds of glowing, blinking LEDs that have a great ambiance with music. This is a great example of how even just the smallest of Arduino boards can be used to control a large sculpture piece for the public eye.
Hacking Beer Cans
[vimeo 51526148 w=400 h=300]
40 Steropramen beer cans were arranged in a keyboard fashion for an interactive art display that was also an advertisement and a prize raffle. Participants would enter their e-mail addresses via the beer can keyboard and have a chance at winning a trip to Prague. The beer cans were controlled by an arduino and their input was connected to a plasma screen by a Rasberry Pi. Sparkfun touchpads and sensors were used to detect the pressing of the beer keys and sounds of beer cans opening were played every time a can was pressed. This project is cool because not only is it an interactive gallery piece, but it also advertises the brand of beer and it offers visitors a raffle prize. I actually appreciate it when companies, for their advertisements, actually make an art piece for the public to appreciate on a higher level than most ads and interact with. I wish that more advertisements were like this one.