Simple narrative description-

A wooden box with a tic-tac-toe board set up. It has pressure sensors and LEDs on the top side. When the user presses against the sensor it lights up the LEDs: soft touches turn blue and hard ones turn red. As the users get three same-colored LEDs on the board all of the LEDs go out, signifying the end. 

Final product- 

Detail photos-

Working Video - 

Progress Images-

Process Reflection - 

The journey of creating the Illusionary Tic Tac Glow was as illuminating as the LEDs that adorn it. Conceptually, my endeavor was to bridge the familiar comfort of nostalgia with the thrill of innovation. At the outset, I believed that merging these elements would be seamless. After all, tic tac toe is a universally recognized game, and modernizing its mechanics with LEDs seemed straightforward. Yet, the challenges lay elsewhere.

One of the pivotal moments was choosing the pressure sensors. The tactile interaction was paramount, and I wanted the users to feel they were in a dialogue with the game. The gradient from blue to red was meant to mimic the varying intensities of our daily pressures. However, translating this vision into a tangible experience was challenging. Calibration and fine-tuning were essential to ensure that the sensors responded with precision to diverse pressures. There were instances when the LEDs responded unexpectedly, either too dimly or too brightly. Striking the right balance was a meticulous endeavor.

Retrospectively, a small change in my perception reshaped the project's trajectory entirely. The initial prototype aimed to determine a clear winner or loser. However, upon introspection, I realized that the very essence of the game I was trying to redefine was collaboration, shared experiences, and the subtle dance between pressure and outcome. Abandoning the conventional win-lose result in favor of a collective triumph emphasized the project's core philosophy.

As I reflect upon the entirety of the process, it becomes evident that this project wasn't just about creating an interactive game. It was a lesson in adaptation, in allowing one's vision to evolve, and in understanding the nuances of tactile interactions. I've grown not just technically, but also philosophically. And as I move forward, I intend to be more receptive to the organic evolution of ideas, ensuring that every project becomes a meaningful conversation between me, the creation, and its audience.

Code- 

/*Project Title: Illusionary Tic Tac Glow

Author: Juhi Kedia

This code is for the "Illusionary Tic Tac Glow" project, an interactive game setup

that blends the nostalgia of tic tac toe with innovative tactile and visual feedback.

At its core, the code reads pressure values from FSR sensors and adjusts the LED colors

on strips and rings based on the intensity of the pressure applied. The colors vary from

blue (light pressure) to red (strong pressure). When any three strips or rings have the

same color, all the LEDs are turned off, indicating a collaborative triumph in the game.

Pin Mapping:

- Strips' Pins: 2, 3, 4, 5

- Rings' Pins: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

- FSR Pins for Strips: A0, A3, A5, A9

- FSR Pins for Rings: A1, A2, A6, A7, A8

Credits:

The code leverages the Adafruit NeoPixel library for LED control.

*/

#include <Adafruit_NeoPixel.h>

// Define the pins for the LED strips

#define PIN_STRIP1 2

#define PIN_STRIP2 3

#define PIN_STRIP3 4

#define PIN_STRIP4 5

// Define the pins for the LED rings

#define PIN_RING1 7

#define PIN_RING2 8

#define PIN_RING3 9

#define PIN_RING4 10

#define PIN_RING5 11

// Define number of LEDs per strip and per ring

#define NUMPIXELS 6        // Number of NeoPixels per strip

#define NUMPIXELS_RING 16  // Number of LEDs per ring

// Define pins for pressure sensors (FSRs) associated with strips

#define FSR_PIN_STRIP1 A0

#define FSR_PIN_STRIP2 A3

#define FSR_PIN_STRIP3 A5

#define FSR_PIN_STRIP4 A9

// Define pins for pressure sensors (FSRs) associated with rings

#define FSR_PIN_RING1 A1

#define FSR_PIN_RING2 A2

#define FSR_PIN_RING3 A6

#define FSR_PIN_RING4 A7

#define FSR_PIN_RING5 A8

#define MIN_THRESHOLD 100 // Minimum pressure to register

#define MAX_READING 1023 // Max analog reading from FSR

// Create arrays of NeoPixel objects for strips and rings

Adafruit_NeoPixel strips[4] = {

  Adafruit_NeoPixel(NUMPIXELS, PIN_STRIP1, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800),

  Adafruit_NeoPixel(NUMPIXELS, PIN_STRIP2, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800),

  Adafruit_NeoPixel(NUMPIXELS, PIN_STRIP3, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800),

  Adafruit_NeoPixel(NUMPIXELS, PIN_STRIP4, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800)

};

Adafruit_NeoPixel rings[5] = {

  Adafruit_NeoPixel(NUMPIXELS_RING, PIN_RING1, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800),

  Adafruit_NeoPixel(NUMPIXELS_RING, PIN_RING2, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800),

  Adafruit_NeoPixel(NUMPIXELS_RING, PIN_RING3, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800),

  Adafruit_NeoPixel(NUMPIXELS_RING, PIN_RING4, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800),

  Adafruit_NeoPixel(NUMPIXELS_RING, PIN_RING5, NEO_GRB + NEO_KHZ800)

};

void setup() {

// Initialize all LED strips and rings

  for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {

    strips[i].begin();

    strips[i].show();

  }

  for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {

    rings[i].begin();

    rings[i].show();

  }

// Set all FSR pins as INPUT

  pinMode(FSR_PIN_STRIP1, INPUT);

  pinMode(FSR_PIN_STRIP2, INPUT);

  pinMode(FSR_PIN_STRIP3, INPUT);

  pinMode(FSR_PIN_STRIP4, INPUT);

  pinMode(FSR_PIN_RING1, INPUT);

  pinMode(FSR_PIN_RING2, INPUT);

  pinMode(FSR_PIN_RING3, INPUT);

  pinMode(FSR_PIN_RING4, INPUT);

  pinMode(FSR_PIN_RING5, INPUT);

}

void loop() {

// Check each FSR and adjust corresponding LEDs accordingly

  checkFSRAndAdjustLight(FSR_PIN_STRIP1, strips[0]);

  checkFSRAndAdjustLight(FSR_PIN_STRIP2, strips[1]);

  checkFSRAndAdjustLight(FSR_PIN_STRIP3, strips[2]);

  checkFSRAndAdjustLight(FSR_PIN_STRIP4, strips[3]);

  checkFSRAndAdjustLight(FSR_PIN_RING1, rings[0]);

  checkFSRAndAdjustLight(FSR_PIN_RING2, rings[1]);

  checkFSRAndAdjustLight(FSR_PIN_RING3, rings[2]);

  checkFSRAndAdjustLight(FSR_PIN_RING4, rings[3]);

  checkFSRAndAdjustLight(FSR_PIN_RING5, rings[4]);

  // Check if any three strips or any three rings have the same color

  if (areThreeColorsSame(strips, 4) || areThreeColorsSame(rings, 5)) {

    turnOffAllLEDs();

  }

  delay(50);  // Small delay

}

// Function to check if three devices (strips/rings) have the same color

bool areThreeColorsSame(Adafruit_NeoPixel* devices, int count) {

  for (int i = 0; i < count - 2; i++) {

    for (int j = i + 1; j < count - 1; j++) {

      for (int k = j + 1; k < count; k++) {

        uint32_t color_i = devices[i].getPixelColor(0);

        uint32_t color_j = devices[j].getPixelColor(0);

        uint32_t color_k = devices[k].getPixelColor(0);

        if (color_i != 0 && color_i == color_j && color_j == color_k) {

          return true;

        }

      }

    }

  }

  return false;

}

// Function to turn off all LEDs on all strips and rings

void turnOffAllLEDs() {

  for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {

    for (int j = 0; j < strips[i].numPixels(); j++) {

      strips[i].setPixelColor(j, 0);

    }

    strips[i].show();

  }

  for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {

    for (int j = 0; j < rings[i].numPixels(); j++) {

      rings[i].setPixelColor(j, 0);

    }

    rings[i].show();

  }

}

// Function to read the FSR value and adjust the LED colors accordingly

void checkFSRAndAdjustLight(int fsrPin, Adafruit_NeoPixel& neoPixel) {

  int fsrValue = analogRead(fsrPin);

  if (fsrValue > MIN_THRESHOLD) {

    setLEDColorBasedOnPressure(neoPixel, fsrValue);

  }

}

// Function to set LED color based on the pressure value read from FSR

void setLEDColorBasedOnPressure(Adafruit_NeoPixel& neoPixel, int pressure) {

  int redIntensity = map(pressure, MIN_THRESHOLD, MAX_READING, 0, 255);

  int blueIntensity = 255 - redIntensity;

  for (int i = 0; i < neoPixel.numPixels(); i++) {

    neoPixel.setPixelColor(i, neoPixel.Color(redIntensity, 0, blueIntensity));

  }

  neoPixel.show();

}