For my final project, I want to create a digital candle that responds to natural interaction. The idea is that the candle appears on screen, flickers like a real flame, and the user can blow toward a microphone sensor to turn it off. After a few seconds, the flame slowly comes back. I chose this idea because it is familiar and calming, and it uses a very natural gesture that people already understand.
Technically, I will use a microphone sensor connected to Arduino to detect blowing. The Arduino will send this data to p5.js, where the visuals are created. The flame will be drawn using simple shapes and animation, with small changes in size and movement to simulate flickering. When the system detects a strong breath, the flame will fade out smoothly. I may also add a soft ambient sound to make the experience feel more immersive.
Sounds good (get it?). To use a microphone with the Arduino you need an amplified microphone and the processing can be a bit tricky. Here’s an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMs5J4bJOD0
We have suitable microphones available for checkout from Connect2 if you’re in the UAE (but I believe checkout is only starting on Monday) or you could order something from Amazon depending where you are.
A more realistic option given our situation would be to read from the microphone on your laptop directly from your p5 sketch. Have a look here for how to get the microphone amplitude https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2IDNkUws-A&list=PLRqwX-V7Uu6aFcVjlDAkkGIixw70s7jpW&index=8