Concept & Progress
I’ve decided to change my initial idea with “physicalizing” my midterm project, cause I didn’t really think thoroughly of how would I completely change my initial workings. Therefore, I thought it would make more sense and it would give me more freedom and creativity, if I hit a fresh start.
I’ve stopped on the idea of recreating Kazakh cultural experience of sitting at the Dastarkhan (feast in Kazakh). Being a way from home, you naturally miss the traditions and rituals that your family used to follow for many years. Therefore, I wanted to somehow transfer this experience in physical and digital settings. I will create a physical model of the room with a Dastarkhan to inform people about our culture. This project will take not only emotional experience, but most importantly informative educational one. People of other nationalities will be able to learn about different table traditions and norms by interacting with a physical model of the Dastarkhan and also with the screen in p5, which will guide the user through these interactions and will complete them.
Here are the sketches that I’ve made to outline my project:
I’m going to be using cardboard to build the walls of the room. The main focus of this room is the table or Dastarkhan at the center, which I will laser cut from acrylic sheet and then cover with the texture of wood material, or I will use wood itself.
As you can see in physical model sketch, there are many components, let me explain all of them, which will be modes of interactions:
- Around the Dastarkhan there will be cloths, which will represent Korpe (Kazakh blankets). I’m planning to put buttons among those at specific points around the table to show different seatings and their meanings in Kazakh culture. So, by pressing at specific buttons, there will be a tab with explanation of specific seating appearing in p5.js
- I want to create a chandelier from LED lights. I want the turning on and off of the lights to be controlled with the Generic PIR Motion Sensor. In that way I want to signify that most importantly person’s presence highlights the Dastarkhan.
- Then, I will use flex sensors to introduce users to Kazakh musical instrument – Dombyra (You can see it hanging on the left wall). By flexing the strings of the Dombyra, users will initiate a video on p5 with prerecorded Dombyra performance, hence the sound will be introduced to this experience.
- There is also an LCD. I am going to ask the user to choose one of the offered holidays in the p5, which then will translated to LCD in physical model. In that way I want to encourage user’s awareness of different Kazakh holidays and overall appreciation of the feasts in Kazakh culture.
- And there is also a pulse sensor. I introduced it to reflect how important this culture of sitting at the Dastarkhan with a family is important to me. When the sensor will start tracking the values and sending it to p5, I want photos of my family and how we meet up on Dastarkhan to show up on the screen, so it would create a warm feeling in users (hopefully)
- Lastly, all of this will be connected by the p5 screen that will guide the user through this journey step by step by having 5 levels to complete the full experience. P5 will give specific directions to the user, like press the buttons and it will provide user with educational content on culture. There would be a progress bar in p5 to have a gamification element to this experience.
To summarize inputs an outputs
Arduino to P5:
- Buttons: Low or High
- Flex Sensors: 0 to 1023
- Pulse sensor: ~60 bpm
P5 to Arduino:
- LCD: string value (holiday name)