So for my final project, I initially brainstormed with a classmate to possibly incorporate something that has to do with the arduino wifi board, a sort of multi-player, but tactile game, like Among us. However, I sort of branched out a bit after thinking about it a bit more.
So, I’m planning to build something a little… revealing. Inspired by those classic lie detector tests you see in movies (minus the intense interrogation lol), I want to create a physical system that reacts to some basic physiological signs – specifically, changes in skin conductivity and heart rate.
The core idea is to use copper tape on a surface connecting a circuit when a user’s two fingers touch. When a person places their fingers on the tape, they’ll complete a circuit. Now, the “lie detector” part comes in because, supposedly, when people are stressed or nervous (like when they’re lying!), their palms tend to get a little sweatier. This increased moisture actually makes their skin more conductive, which the arduino can sense as a change in the electrical signal going through the copper tape. I’m not too sure how accurate this might be so I’ll have to test it on a prototype before building it properly.
In addition to that, I want to incorporate a pulse sensor (as recommended by my classmate Ali) to get a reading on the user’s heart rate. This is another classic indicator that can fluctuate under stress.
In terms of the p5, I envision a game or visualization on the screen that reacts to these physiological inputs. The p5 sketch will be listening for data from the arduino about skin conductivity (how “connected” you are to the copper tape) and your pulse. The game aspect is still a bit in development, but I’m thinking of something where your “truthfulness” (based on the sensor readings) influences the outcome. Maybe there’s a visual element that changes based on how conductive your skin is, or a character that reacts to your heart rate. I’m thinking a cheesy romance game or one of those truth or dare type scenarios. I’m not too sure yet. I’m planning to build a prototype to test the sensor readings this weekend.
My goal is to make the interaction engaging and the responses clear and timely. I want the person interacting with it to feel like the system is really “listening” to them, even if it’s just through these simple sensor inputs. Looking forward to diving deeper into this and seeing how it evolves.