Final Project

Final Project - Glowing Garden

February 27 - March 10, 2022

We've got to the last stretch of the course and now the final project is upon us, me, and the tech gods.

Our goal was to create a device/project that uses input and gives out output in an interactive way with the user. Last week, everyone in the class gave their 90 second pitches to their idea.

I originally wanted to make a device that could help make the Harry Styles fans happy since there is a need to fulfill their y/n dreams (I'm not a big Harry Styles fan but did watch Disney movies growing up... if that wasn't very upfront on my theme. Mitski please notice me). I had wanted to create a flower crown that would react to sound from the singer on stage and light up to get their attention to the fan who is reading a book on the crowd. If the device works out, the performer would notice them and make the y/n dream true.

However, that was not what my pitch was because there is a great needed to be addressed than becoming the main character– not waking up the dorm you live in.

As I mentioned, this device is created from personal experience of giving the craziest laughter at 3 am from a meme or a funny part in a book. I feel bad for my dorm-mates when I don't know whether my emotional outbursts are loud enough to go through the walls. This device could also help my own door-mates be more respectful when they are having their parties and get togethers.

Nevertheless, the device I plan to make is a "Glowing Garden" whose main purpose is to incentivize loud emotional reactions. Whether they are loud or quiet, sad or happy, the garden will glow up with colorful lights in its flowers and give a pretty light show to the sounds. In my pitch I said, "this is perfect for emotionally constipated people like me," and it's true! As someone who grew up learning to be quiet, told to be quieter, to not make the house already louder than it already was with so many kids, I grew up holding back loud laughter, loud crying, angry yelling, and having a softer voice. Self-learning that laughing, crying, and making noise and taking up space is not bad is something I've been developing. I think this project would be a nice idea to validate and encourage "louder" than usual reactions and reminding the person that they can be heard probably around their dorm.

Wouldn't that be contradicting? Making sound is the purpose but also a warning not to make too much sound?

Well, my goal is to program the circuit board to react to a certain loudness level. Let's say if 100 is the "level" of what it takes for the noise to travel through walls, the flowers will light up in a certain specific color or pattern. If it is under that range, it will have a different pattern or color.

As an art-loving person, everything I create I hope to make as a work of art and given a meaning to.

The "Glowing Garden" should look pretty enough to hang as a decoration on the wall and make space for all those feelings inside you which all beautiful like the flowers and lights. "Grow a garden, light up the room!"

(Shipping and handling not included. Circuit Board and parts sold separately. All rights reserved to Swagitarrius and Co. We are not liable to any emotional damage the Glowing Garden may cause.)

Design

Materials:

• Arduino Playground Express Board

• Rotating Drill

• Copper wire

• Felt Fabric

• LED lights

• Battery

• Ply Wood board 3.7 in x 5.7 in (demo size)

• Wire tools

February 28, 2022

I went to Fimble to search for the materials I would need and gathered a few things I could collect to work on the project in my own dorm room in my own time. After asking the Director of Fimble if I could take little amounts of the pretty colors I saw in a corner, he said yes and I was able to collect the felt for my flowers.

Then like my favorite fictional character, I went to look for scraps in bins or shelves that were free to take. I managed to find a few large pieces of scraps of wood that were originally used for laser cutting. In my good luck, unlike my favorite character, one of the pieces was already cut in an oval shape that looked really nice to be the base for my garden. I had originally planned to cut some wood until a rectangular shape of a pocket journal because I thought I wouldn't be able to find large enough scraps. However, even if one side was drawn in with Sharpie, the oval-shaped wood was perfect to create what I wanted.

With my felt and wooden base, I left Fimble pretty happy to have 1/4 of my materials. I still didn't know what I was going to do with the lights, but we'll figure it out.

March 3, 2022

Time to make the flowers!

So my first plan was to cut out a ton of individual petals and later glue a certain number together to create a flower. After seeing how much time it took me to cut one petal and seeing how crooked it came out, I knew I had to come up with a different plan.

Therefore, I went back in time to 1st grade and remember something my mom taught me. One day my mom had sat next to me and showed my how to make a paper flower. Fold the paper in half, then again, make one of the folded corners align to the other one, keep folding in the same direction two more times. Take some scissors and make a curved cut a the top of the cone shape. Open the paper back up and you got a flower. Back then, I was 7 and didn't have strength in my hands to cut through the think layers of paper and I would get frustrated because I wasn't strong enough. Mom told be to make less folds on the paper instead, and keep practicing.

Growing up, that was when my love for flowers came from. That single moment of creating paper flowers with my mom. I used to make them all the time to the point it was how I give birthday or holiday cards every year in the shape of a flower.

How could I have forgotten?!!

Trying the method on felt was difficult because it was thicker material, and you couldn't make straight folds. However, this time I was older, had more strength in my hands and experience. So, with some careful cutting, I made so many misshaped flowers that brought a smile to my face.

I was on a video call with my younger sister when I started cutting. She laughed at my satisfactory smile as I held up a shape that vaguely resembled a flower. Then I proved her wrong when I folded the shape to look like a pretty rose. "Why are you laughing at genius?"

My plan was to somehow create some stems that I could wrap the flower-shaped felt around and add an LED in the middle. In my head, I already knew this was going to look so cute. I give thanks to my mom for making this project so much more efficient and less time consuming.

March 6, 2022

Back at the Lab!

Lots of things happened that day. I came in with the intentions to finish the whole project since I was betting on the coding process to just take a couple of hours...

Suddenly, when I start running Arduino to upload a basic Blink sketch in my board, I get the error that the board is not found. This error had only happened at the start of when we first got the boards, so I tried to fix it the same way we did back then. Still nothing. This process of troubleshooting of my own computer lasted an hour. Then I borrowed another computer in Fimble, it had the same problem, so I tried to fix the problem again in that one since at least a port was showing but not the right one. It was another hour later when my friend who finished uploading their code, that I could use they Fimble laptop and start working. That was until I signed on to my user, and it stopped working again.

There goes my walk of shame to ask for help to the Fimble Staff. Good news, it was my CS mentor from the past!

Another hour of trying to fixing the issue and then get the code to work and not succeeding. In the end, we were able to create a sketch we believed should be working properly but it wasn't. Looking back, it made sense as to why once it was explained. However, at that moment we thought the calibrating of sound was needed. It was not.

I definitely had in mind that this was a great opportunity to practice cognitive flexibility and resilience. So towards the end, I just shook the nerves and frustration as much as I could and spun around on a chair. My CS mentor helped understand a bit more of the sketch I was trying to modify which helped me a lot. We wished each other luck and dropped that part of the project for now. I needed to see if I could advance in some other thing while the computers

However, before I got into the building part, I had to take a deep breath.

I looked out the window and saw someone splashing in puddles. This made time stop for me and reminded me of what matters.

Another deep breath and I opened my email. Time to ask to look for guidance again, this time in my professor. I wrote her an email and explained my code and what I wanted it to do. Hopefully, she would be able to guide me as to why the code wasn't working.

She did! Back then I didn't know that and my fear was I disappointed my Intro into CS professor, so I practically ran away from my laptop.

Into the woodwork shop! Moving forward!

Knowing I needed to create a support for the flowers, I was thinking I would need at least some strong stems. In the crafts storage shelf, I found some strong styrofoam sticks that looked perfect for what I needed. "Let me take that!" The sticks didn't respond back.

With that idea in mind, I estimated half of the LEDs of each set would be lost to the arrangement I was going to do. 10 flowers for each color. 20 holes to drill. Let's go.

Prior to setting up the lights, I got a response back from my Professor. She had helped me fix the done and sent me the sketch I would need for this project. In her email, she explained where it was that the logic went wrong, which was the calibration of sound. The sketch I was modifying had used sound levels to change the colors of neopixels. What I wanted my code to do was just to turn on the lights at a certain sound level. My logic had been that maybe I had to code the board to calibrate sound to find that specific base sound. It was not needed. Arduino already got me. I just had trust issues. Nothing new here.

I was super relieved and thankful for the feedback I got from Professor Audrey.

Back to the building aspect!

After weaving the yellow lights through the holes, I started the complicated green carpet process. You see, felt can't be taped down. Nor, I could have drilled it in to the board since I needed to see make the model above first. So, I "traced" the holes of the board on the felt by stabbing the felt with scissors to mark the place. After, with Sharpie I made clearer marks, and cut small cuts on the dots. Now, I had the carpet with the holes and board with already weaved through lights. Sigh, there went the complicated process of figuring how to make the light pass through the felt in the correct places.

Once that was done, I continued on to the sticks, or rather stems. Since the sticks were white, and I didn't want them to show much, I wrapped them with thin strips of green felt. At the bottom, I would wrap them twice to make that part not be narrow enough to go through the drilled hole. Like a makeshift screw, the sticks would hold up by the thicker end. After getting all 20 stems through the same holes the strings were standing in, I had the ability to curl the lights around them.

The next day of course arrived. In the video below, you can see my live reaction to see the lights actually light up after all the gluing and messing around them. They are stronger than they look! My biggest fear at that point was the LEDs melting or not functioning to the hot glue that they had to experience very near at as I glued the flowers around them.

In summary, they lit up! Which means I hadn't failed my project yet.

With this worry out of my mind, I went ahead to get from strong wire cutters to cut the rest of the stems to clean up the flowers.

After putting everything together, my Glowing Garden was complete! I finished just in time before Fimble closed.

Reflections:

It was a whole journey to create this project which probably more innocent that the blood, sweat, and tears it required. I'm just exaggerating on the last part. I loved the opportunity to that we were given to create something we were passionate about and that could make us put in practice everything we have learned through out the whole course.

There were moments were I had to plan, and re-plan, and re-re-plan. There where I acknowledged I had to let go of things that wouldn't serve me. Move on from original ideas. Focus on having a learning mindset, seeking for feedback, and appreciating the resilience it requires to complete a project that tests one's analytical or creative skills. Having that moment of emotional intelligence where I named my feelings and then stopped to re-evaluate what would help ease them. All the mental skills we reflected upon in this class were present. Belonging showed up more during the showcase.

The showcase brought the class together one more time to celebrate our accomplishments with each other. At first, I felt maybe my efforts of not coding the final program myself didn't give much right to stand there. However, the more people presented their projects as the skills of sewing, the skills of laser cutting, using the circuit board in a way we hadn't seen, the skills of design, I felt more and more like I belonged. I am working on the imposter syndrome I promise.

"Tell me more about your project." I never had seen my ability to make flowers as a skill, but rather something my mom showed me how to do. This was the first time, one of my designs that had an important symbolism in my life, was appreciated more than an accessory I wore or a birthday card I made. A technological design doesn't give it more value than the others, however, I was able to see it myself in a different perspective as people said they would love to have my garden in my dorm for themselves or that everyone in campus should have it so they control their sound levels.

Seeing everyone's projects and creativity was such a wonderful experience. It gives me a sense of wonder all the genius ideas everyone has and how we all had the same resources but came up with wildly different things. I hope to find an environment as supportive and enriching as this one was. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone since the course was done but a lot of "It was nice to meet you and be the same class as you," were given.

As I write this, I got a notification for a job I'd love to apply for.

Here's the thing, as a woman, we are raised by society that we need to be perfect or meet certain requirements to qualify for whatever thing. This project I can connect to the overcoming the initial hesitation to not thinking the level of knowledge I had was enough just like my level of Spanish is not enough for the job I want to apply for.

I am literally a native Spanish speaker from Mexico. From two Mexican born parents. Living in Mexico. You get the point.

"Requires 3 years of professionally translating..." Blah blah blah

I literally switched the language I think in my head to English. It took my sister to get my head out of the idea I don't know enough to just apply. I might not get the job since I'm a freshman in college, teehee. But I can apply! Going to my sister for feedback is the same as to when I went to my friend, Fimble staff and Professor for guidance.

When I started the project I was freaking out to how I would be able to connect so many LEDs to the circuit, this was before the string lights. Boom, string lights.

Parts of this project can relate to even other past projects were I've had to keep switching materials, or plans on how it would turn out in the end. There's a book I am currently writing and having been working on since 2020. Yup, not even close to finishing but its in the works. Do you now how many times the plot has changes?! The character's backstories and making them fit has been ever changing. The only thing that hasn't been changed a hundred times is the name of the main character. Adding, erasing, leaving things that don't serve the novel anymore but was the main idea from the start has been a constant theme. When I look back at the original outline I had back to that random night when I said, "Fudge this, I'm writing this story even if it's the last thing I do," versus the outline I have today I won't be able to recognize them.

So when a future assignment is given and it sucks from its difficulty, or when another plothole comes along, something I don't believe I am qualified I know, or I don't think I can't learn a new skill, I'll look back to this project. To this class and what it made me recognize with all its reflections and activities.

Maybe in two years, I won't recognize myself in terms of goals or trajectory in life. However, I am perfectly alright with that. Now. Because, plans change, the planet goes around, and people grow with time.

Like in a glowing garden we call Earth, people grow and glow in their own different ways.

Fin.