Finalized Concept: “The Snail’s Journey to School”
Project Summary
The Snail’s Journey to School is an interactive physical–digital storytelling installation.
The player controls a small snail robot navigating a handmade obstacle course, helping it reach “school.” As the player moves the snail using physical buttons, a connected p5.js sketch narrates the adventure, updates animations, and reacts to the snail’s progress in real time through serial communication with Arduino.
1. Finalized Detailed Concept
Physical World (Arduino + Snail Robot)
The snail robot sits on a small motorized base (the base will be the robot that can be built from Arduino Uno kit). The user controls the snail with three buttons:
- FORWARD
- LEFT
- RIGHT
A “finish line” sensor (photoresistor or IR distance sensor) detects when the snail reaches the school.
The obstacle course includes:
- A puddle (painted blue)
- Small pebbles
- A small cardboard ramp
- A school gate with the sensor hidden inside
Digital World (p5.js Storytelling Screen)
The p5 screen visually tells the story through 4 scenes:
- Intro Scene
“The snail is late for school! Guide it through the obstacle course.” - Instructions Scene
Shows button directions + images. - Live Story Mode
Reacts to every button press and displays animations such as:
- “Snail moves forward!”
- “Turning left…”
- Little movement animations or sound effects.
- Ending Scene
When the sensor triggers finish, p5 displays:
“You made it! The snail is in class now!” with a cute animation. - If the player doesn’t make it on time, which is 2.5 minutes, or fails to cross more than 1 obstacle the screen shows “oh no, you’re late to school!”
Project Interaction Loop (Final Version)
- Player presses physical button
- Arduino moves snail robot + sends message to p5
- p5 receives message and updates story animation
- Snail reaches sensor
- Arduino sends “finish” to p5 -> p5 plays ending
Arduino Program Design