Project overview
Inspired by a popular kid's nightlight, Starry Night projects a colorful star map on the ceiling of a dark room. This design provides a fully interactive experience in which the user can change the orientation, color, and brightness of the star pattern and create shooting star effects. The device also provides audio feedback to the user through headphones for each interaction.
Starry Night is composed of two boxes: the main projection box and the control panel.
The main box contains a high power RGB light emitting diode (LED) that is pointed through a star map at the ceiling. The star map is a set of holes cut in the center of a large gear. The gear is driven inside the box by a DC motor to rotate the projection. The top of the box also has three slots for the shooting star effects. Inside each slot, a laser pointer is mounted to a servo motor and pointed at the ceiling.
The control panel is connected to the main box by two long ribbon cables. The top face of the control panel has five user interactions along with displays to provide the user with visual feedback. Also, the front face of the control panel has a hole to accept a headphone cable.
User interactions:
Visual feedback:
The main box contains a high power RGB light emitting diode (LED) that is pointed through a star map at the ceiling. The star map is a set of holes cut in the center of a large gear. The gear is driven inside the box by a DC motor to rotate the projection. The top of the box also has three slots for the shooting star effects. Inside each slot, a laser pointer is mounted to a servo motor and pointed at the ceiling.
The control panel is connected to the main box by two long ribbon cables. The top face of the control panel has five user interactions along with displays to provide the user with visual feedback. Also, the front face of the control panel has a hole to accept a headphone cable.
User interactions:
- The joystick allows the user to rotate the star map.
- The left knob allows the user to change the brightness of the projected sky.
- The right knob allows the user the change the color of the projected sky.
- The two infrared (IR) distance sensors allow the user to create shooting star effects in the projected sky.
Visual feedback:
- Nine yellow LEDs in shape of the little dipper constellation act as a timer for the user interaction.
- Four white LEDs illuminate acrylic hand and shooting star symbols.
- A yellow LED next to the brightness knob mirrors the brightness of the projected sky.
- An RGB LED next to the color knob mirrors the color of the projected sky.
Operation
Starry Night steps through three modes of operation after powering on. Initially, it runs a welcoming mode that invites the user to begin interacting with the art piece. The welcome mode features the star map rotating and changing colors steadily and periodic shooting star effects. On the control panel, the little dipper timer module lights up sequentially and the color and brightness indicator LEDs mirror the projected sky. Throughout welcome mode, the headphones play a peaceful piano piece to create calming atmosphere. Once the user interacts with the joystick or either knob on the control panel, Starry Night exits its welcoming mode, stopping all automated effects and only responding to user interactions.
The user interaction phase lasts 45 seconds. The little dipper timing module on the control panel displays the time elapsed to the user with one LED lighting every five seconds. Any user interaction during this phase with the joystick, brightness knob, or color knob will change the projection orientation, brightness, or color, respectively. The headphones play a joystick or knob space-inspired sound effect whenever a change occurs. Additionally, the user is able to create shooting star effects by waving his or her hand above either of the IR distance sensors on the control panel. When an IR sensor is tripped, the LEDs for the hand and shooting star symbols next to that sensor briefly turn off. To create the shooting star effect, a random laser pointer is turned on and its corresponding servo rotates to swing the laser across the projected sky. The laser then turns off. The servo remains in its final position and rotates back to its original position the next time it is activated. The shooting star visual effects are also accompanied by a set of shooting star sound effects. If 30 seconds pass without any user interaction during this phase, the piece returns to welcome mode.
After 45 seconds, the art piece stops accepting user inputs and creates a celebration display to signal the end of the interaction period. All of the LEDs in the little dipper timing module begin to flash on and off as the star map display spins and changes color rapidly. Shooting star effects now cross the projected sky frequently with all three lasers activated at once. The sound output during celebration mode is the climax of the piano piece that played during welcome mode. Excerpts from a few different pieces are loaded onto the sound board to reduce repetition. After 15 seconds, the celebration mode completes and the device begins welcome mode once more.
The user interaction phase lasts 45 seconds. The little dipper timing module on the control panel displays the time elapsed to the user with one LED lighting every five seconds. Any user interaction during this phase with the joystick, brightness knob, or color knob will change the projection orientation, brightness, or color, respectively. The headphones play a joystick or knob space-inspired sound effect whenever a change occurs. Additionally, the user is able to create shooting star effects by waving his or her hand above either of the IR distance sensors on the control panel. When an IR sensor is tripped, the LEDs for the hand and shooting star symbols next to that sensor briefly turn off. To create the shooting star effect, a random laser pointer is turned on and its corresponding servo rotates to swing the laser across the projected sky. The laser then turns off. The servo remains in its final position and rotates back to its original position the next time it is activated. The shooting star visual effects are also accompanied by a set of shooting star sound effects. If 30 seconds pass without any user interaction during this phase, the piece returns to welcome mode.
After 45 seconds, the art piece stops accepting user inputs and creates a celebration display to signal the end of the interaction period. All of the LEDs in the little dipper timing module begin to flash on and off as the star map display spins and changes color rapidly. Shooting star effects now cross the projected sky frequently with all three lasers activated at once. The sound output during celebration mode is the climax of the piano piece that played during welcome mode. Excerpts from a few different pieces are loaded onto the sound board to reduce repetition. After 15 seconds, the celebration mode completes and the device begins welcome mode once more.
photos
Our Team
Team members from left to right: Evan Yiwei Zhao, Scott Hemley, Negin Heravi, and Joel Torres Diaz