Getting my idea

November 16, 2017

All I knew at first is that I wanted to do something new and challenging. So I thought about what I most enjoyed in this class and how I could take it a step further. I really liked working with electronics and circuits. It was a fun struggle for me, and I knew there was so much potential to take it further. But where exactly do I take it?

When I first learned about conductive paint, it excited me, and I wanted to give it a try, so that became my starting point.

I have spent the last two days exploring things I can do with conductive paint. Right now, I still don't know exactly what I want to make, but I do have three take-a-ways.

1. It works on any surface. I should take advantage of this and not simply paint on paper.

2. It replaces wires, so can I make something completely wireless? ... As I think about this further, I know that I want to either create something without wires, or if I use the wires, I want to hide them from sight.

3. The capacitive sensor seems like a use of conductive paint that is unique - not many other materials can create this.

I guess I am leaning towards two different projects:

• an interactive book with both sound and LEDs

• an object of some sort that uses a capacitive sensor

I think I just need another day or two to think about ideas. Hopefully the inspiration will hit with just a little more time!

After about 20 more minutes of exploring, I may have come up with my idea...

• an interactive box (with wires inside) that makes different sounds using capacitive sensors

Will that work? I'll have to dwell on it a bit. ...

Another 10 minutes later and I am thinking building an LED house would also be really cool! Link to this idea is on my Resources page.

Maybe my final project could be a variety of small projects, all using conductive paint.