Author: Jheel Thanki

p5.js Sketch   |   GitHub URL   |   Schematic Diagram

Inspiration

For all my assignments so far, I’ve tried to do something that’s personal and meaningful to me in some way, and this project is no different. My favorite hobby, without a doubt, is reading—it’s something I’ve loved for as long as I can remember. So, when I started brainstorming for this project, I decided I wanted to create something that revolves around the joy of books and the experience of reading as a whole.

Now, of course I’ve always thought there was something magical about getting lost in a story and exploring new worlds through words. But as much as I love reading, it can sometimes feel like a solitary experience, especially when I come across a thought or idea I want to share but no one’s around to talk to. That’s what inspired me to create a book buddy robot—something that could bring a sense of companionship to reading, making it feel a little less lonely while still keeping the focus on the stories I love so much.

Concept

The concept behind my book buddy robot, B.L.U.R.B. i s to create a small, interactive companion that enhances your reading experience. Made using p5.js and Arduino, B.L.U.R.B. is designed to be there with you as you dive into a good book, offering a few fun features along the way.

• Flip Pages (Arduino): Using Arduino, B.L.U.R.B. has the ability to automatically flip the pages of your book. This page-flipping function helps keep the flow going without having to pause and turn the page yourself. It gives the feeling of having a personal assistant to handle the mundane task, allowing you to stay immersed in your story.
• Play Ambient Music (p5.js): B.L.U.R.B. uses p5.js to play soft, ambient music tailored to enhance your reading experience. Whether it’s a gentle instrumental tune or nature sounds, the music helps set the atmosphere, making it easier to focus and get lost in your book. You can choose different genres or moods depending on the type of book you’re reading, helping you stay engaged and relaxed.
• Track Reading Time (p5.js): With p5.js, B.L.U.R.B. can track how much time you’ve spent reading, giving you a sense of accomplishment as you progress through your book. It can display a timer on the screen, helping you set reading goals or simply monitor how long you’ve been immersed in the story. It’s a subtle way to keep track of time without taking away from the reading experience.
• Give Break Suggestions (p5.js): Sometimes, reading for too long can leave you feeling drained. When you take a break, B.L.U.R.B. suggests helpful activities that could refresh your mind. These suggestions might include stretching, taking a short walk, drinking water, or even doodling on a piece of paper. It’s a fun way to make sure you’re taking care of yourself while you dive into your books.
• Display Messages (Arduino): B.L.U.R.B. features an Arduino powered LCD screen that displays small, personalized messages. These messages could tell you when B.L.U.R.B. says “Hello” and also display whether you’re currently reading or on break. The idea is to add a little more interaction to the reading process, keeping you engaged and providing a sense of companionship while reading.
• Move Head (Arduino): B.L.U.R.B.’s head movement is controlled by Arduino, reacting to your actions. Whenever you switch between reading and break modes,  B.L.U.R.B. moves his head from side to side. It’s a fun way to make him feel more like a real companion that’s in tune with your reading habits.
• Light Up Reading Lamp (Arduino): B.L.U.R.B. has a small reading lamp that can be activated by tapping its foot. This feature adds a practical element to your reading experience. When the lights are dim or you need a little extra light, a simple tap on B.L.U.R.B.’s foot will turn on the lamp, giving you the perfect amount of illumination to read comfortably.

Implementation

B.L.U.R.B’s Design

B.L.U.R.B.’s design started with a cute 3D model found on Thingiverse. However, 3D printing issues led to the need to split the model into multiple parts, which were then glued together later. After printing and assembling the pieces, I spray-painted all the components in a soft pastel blue, matching B.L.U.R.B.’s calming design.

This is a video I took after the initial 3d printing stages, while trying to work on making his head move from side to side:

On the p5 side, B.L.U.R.B. is seen sitting on a cozy sofa in a softly lit library room. The setting is designed to create a comfortable atmosphere, enhancing the user’s reading experience. B.L.U.R.B. interacts with the user through animated speech bubbles, where the text appears in a typewriter effect, adding a dynamic element to the conversation. This combination of design and animation gives B.L.U.R.B. a friendly, approachable personality while keeping the focus on a relaxing, cozy environment.

Flipping Pages

To figure out how to flip pages mechanically, I watched a few videos online for inspiration. My initial idea was to use two servo motors and a temporary adhesive, like Blu Tack, that doesn’t dry out too easily. I built several prototypes and tested different adhesives, but none worked perfectly. Strong adhesives stuck too firmly to the paper and couldn’t unstick, while weaker ones didn’t have enough grip to flip a page.

The adheseive would be stuck on the lower end of the shorter stick of the prototype below:

Eventually, I decided to try a different approach. This involved using a combination of a wheel and a stick attached to a servo motor. The wheel made contact with the page to be flipped, rotating clockwise for some time to lift the page. Then, the stick would get into the gap that was created by this page lift and swing 180 degrees to complete the flip, before returning to its original position. To ensure the next page lay flat, the wheel briefly rotated counterclockwise to smooth it down.

The wheels available in the lab didn’t work well for this setup, so I had a custom wheel 3D printed. This improved the mechanism somewhat, but it still wasn’t perfect. The main issue was that the wheel would sometimes lift multiple pages at once, causing the system to lack the power to flip them all successfully. This happened because the wheel’s motion often lifted more than one page during its run.

It took a lot of iterations to figure this out but the mechanism worked much better at the end with a small change: in the initial few seconds of the wheel running (when it is likely to have slightly lifted the first page), the stick moves slightly inward to fill this gap. The wheel then runs a little more and the servo motion happens as it did before. This ensures that the stick (more likely than not) gets into the right spot (under just one page) and the servo motion causes the page above it to flip.

Playing Ambient Music

Potential Improvements

There are a few areas where I could improve the project to make it even more engaging. One idea is to increase interaction with B.L.U.R.B. by having him move his head randomly to keep the user engaged. Additionally, if the screen in p5 is left idle for a while, I could make everything except the timer disappear, creating a more minimalistic and focused reading environment. Lastly, positioning the reading lamp above the book would provide better coverage of light across the pages, improving the overall reading experience. These changes would enhance both the functionality and the user experience, making the project even more dynamic and enjoyable :))

Reflections

I’m really proud and happy with how this project turned out! When I first decided on the idea, I had no clue whether it would be possible to bring everything together and make it all work. But I was determined to give it my best and worked on it every day, tackling one challenge at a time. The most difficult part, of course, was the page-flipping mechanism—I spent several days experimenting and testing different approaches before I finally got it to work.

In the end, seeing all the different components come together felt incredibly rewarding. Presenting it at the showcase was a really proud moment for me. Watching people interact with B.L.U.R.B. and enjoy the experience I had created made all the effort worth it. I’m happy with how the project reflects my passion for reading and combines functionality with a cute, thoughtful design. It’s been a journey full of challenges, but the result really does feel like an accomplishment :))

Inspiration

I’ve always tried making most of my projects personal/unique to me in some way,  and really I wanted to do the same for the final project! When I tried thinking about things I love, the first thing that came to mind was books and reading in general. Reading has always been one of my favorite activities and for this project, I tried to think of creating something that could make the experience of reading even more enjoyable and interactive.

I then remembered how a few years ago, I had stumbled upon a video of an automatic page turning mechanism and while it was cool, I couldn’t help but think: What if this was more interactive, more human-like? That’s when the concept of a reading buddy robot began to take shape in my mind. I envisioned a small, friendly robot sitting across from me, holding my book as I read. Not just flipping pages mechanically, but responding to my actions—like looking at the left or right page when I’m reading—and maybe even bringing some humor or companionship to the reading experience. The idea of combining robotics with interactivity felt like a perfect challenge that merges both technical and creative elements.

Concept

The reading buddy robot will be designed to face me while holding a book flat out on a  table, almost like a tiny librarian or companion. Its main features will include:

1. Page Flipping: With a simple gesture or button press, the robot will flip the book’s pages one at a time. I want this mechanism to be smooth and reliable, even for thinner pages.
2. Interactive Movements: The robot will “look” at the left page when I’m reading on the left side and the right page when I’m reading on the right. This can be achieved using a combination of servo motors and sensors or even a webcam paired with eye-tracking software. It could also give some sort of indication to about my distance from the book, so that I don’t strain my eyes too much.
3. Personality Through Interaction: The robot won’t just be functional; it will have a personality! For example, if I take too long on one page, it could nod or tilt its “head” as if it’s waiting for me to move on. I’m thinking of adding some sound effects or p5.js animations to make it feel like the robot is alive.

To add a modern twist, I want to connect the robot to a digital interface using p5.js, allowing it to display fun visuals or stats about my reading progress. Maybe it could track how long I’ve been reading and cheer me on, or even throw a playful tantrum if I ignore it for too long!

Parts I’m Uncertain About

While I’m excited about this project, there are a few areas that I’m still figuring out:

1. The Page Flipping Mechanism:
   I’ve seen examples of flat arm page-turners, but adapting this mechanism to hold the book upright and flip pages smoothly is going to be tricky.  Thin book pages might make this more challenging, so I’ll need to experiment with different designs and materials.
2. Making It Human-Like:
   The goal is to make the robot feel interactive and expressive, but that’s easier said than done. I can imagine using servos to give it a moving “head,” but what if it feels too mechanical? Adding personality through sounds, lights, or p5.js animations could help, but I’m still brainstorming the best way to tie all of this together.

Final Thoughts

This project is still in its early stages, but I’m really excited about where it’s heading. The idea of combining robotics, interactivity, and reading feels like a perfect way to push myself creatively and technically. I know there will be challenge but I look forward to working on it and seeing how it turns out!

For this assignment, our task was to create a musical instrument using Arduino (involving at least one digital and one analog sensor).

Inspiration

While initially brainstorming ideas for this project I thought a lot about conventional musical instruments (like the piano and guitar) and about recreating them in some way. But in the end, I decided that I wanted to do something more personal and unique. I suddenly remembered how I’ve always loved music boxes (since I was a kid) and found them really cute. If you don’t know what a music box is, it’s basically a small, nicely decorated box that plays music when you open it. Many of them also involve twisting a handle multiple times in order to get the music to play. Also, the resulting music is usually just a soft and soothing instrumental song.

So, for this project, we decided to make a simple version of a music box!

Concept

 The basic concept of this project is that the music box will play music when exposed to light and pause when it’s dark. To achieve this, we used a photoresistor as the analog sensor to detect light and a button as the digital sensor to be able to switch between songs. For simplicity, we used three tracks that keep rotating among each other every time the button is pressed.

Implementation

Components and Setup

To bring this vision to life, we used:

• Adafruit Arduino Music Maker Shield: This allows us to play music files from an SD card, controlled via the Arduino. By downloading the corresponding library and integrating the shield on the Arduino, we ensured smooth playback of direct mp3 files.
• Speaker Attachment: We initially thought we could use a buzzer, but we realized it produced a harsh, mechanical sound that didn’t match our desired soothing effect. We then switched to a consumable speaker from the IM lab, which provided a richer and more pleasant sound. We connected the speaker to the Music Maker Shield for optimal sound quality.
• Circuit with Photoresistor: We programmed the photoresistor to detect light levels, pausing music playback when it’s dark and resuming when light is detected.
• Push Button: We added a push button to switch between multiple music files, allowing users to vary their listening experience.
• Prototyping Shield and Battery: To make the setup compact enough to fit inside the box, we transitioned from a breadboard to a prototyping shield. Adding a battery also made the setup portable, enhancing usability.

Crafting the Wooden Box

Since traditional music boxes are often crafted from wood, we decided to make an elegant wooden enclosure for the circuit. We sourced templates for the box online and used a laser cutter (with the help of lab assistants of course) to neatly cut the different pieces of the box, which could then be glued together to create a polished exterior.

 After a few rounds of trial and error with different templates, we arrived at a design that worked well for housing the components. To personalize it further, we designed a music-themed engraving for the top using Adobe Illustrator and laser-cut the design, adding a refined aesthetic touch.

Code

Github URL

Here’s some of the code that’s responsible for switching between songs:

// Check if button was pressed
  int buttonState = digitalRead(buttonPin);
  Serial.println(buttonState); // Prints the button state for debugging
  Serial.println(songs[songIndex]);

  if (buttonState == 1 && lastButtonState == 0) {  // Button press detected
    // musicPlayer.pausePlaying(true);
    musicPlayer.stopPlaying();
    delay(50);  // Debounce delay
    songIndex = (songIndex + 1) % 3;  // Move to the next song in the array
    musicPlayer.startPlayingFile(songs[songIndex]);  // Play the next song
    // Serial.println(songs[songIndex]);
    
  }
  lastButtonState = buttonState;

  // File is playing in the background
  if (musicPlayer.stopped()) {
    musicPlayer.startPlayingFile(songs[songIndex]);
  }

 

Challenges

One major challenge was achieving the desired sound quality. As tested in class, the initial buzzer didn’t deliver the calm, melodic experience we wanted, so switching to a consumable speaker improved the overall audio quality. We occasionally encountered malfunctions, likely due to wiring or compatibility issues with the speaker, and are continuing to troubleshoot these.

Final Assembly

After laser-cutting the box and engraving the design, we assembled all the components inside. The transition from breadboard to prototyping shield and the compact battery setup allowed everything to fit neatly within the box.

Reflections and Further Improvements

In the end, we were pretty happy with the modernized feel of the music box that combines traditional charm with interactive technology. By responding to light, the music box offers a unique, customizable listening experience that blends classic design with new-age tech.

Further improvements could include adding more sound files and testing different speakers to improve sound quality. We could even attempt to make it like a traditional music box with a rotating handle on the side and maybe even some visual rotating elements.

I found Bret Victor’s A Brief Rant on the Future of Interaction Design really interesting because of how it critiques the touchscreen-focused “pictures under glass” model that limits our physical interaction with technology. This definitely changed my perspective on the direction technology is taking. Earlier, I thought that touchscreens are revolutionary and easy-to-use but I am now thinking about why we are willing to settle for such a limited interaction, devoid of the tactile feedback that has been essential to human experience for thousands of years. Shouldn’t we be designing technology that truly connects with the way we physically engage with the world?

I was also interested in Victor’s thoughts about the stagnation of interaction design. Instead of visionary advancements, we get small incremental changes that feel innovative but don’t really use the full potential of human capabilities. For example, I often find myself reading on my Kindle or jotting down notes on my iPad for the sake of convenience, even though I’m sacrificing the tactile feel of a physical book or the natural flow of writing on paper. This makes me further question: Are we sacrificing sensory richness for convenience? What would it take for the tech industry to prioritize deeper, more meaningful interactions over merely efficient or visually impressive ones? His argument has led me to reevaluate my own ideas about technology and wonder whether our devices could one day feel like a natural extension of our bodies, rather than just tools for quick tasks.

For this pr0ject, the task was to get information from at least one analog sensor and at least one digital sensor (switch), and use this information to control at least two LEDs, one in a digital fashion and the other in an analog fashion, in some creative way.

Inspiration

My project was inspired by a few of my favorite things. Firstly, I’ve always loved butterflies and origami, and I often find myself folding little origami butterflies from random bits of paper I find lying around. Adding on to that, my all time favorite chocolate is Ferrero Rocher, and sometimes, after enjoying one, I fold the shiny gold wrapper into a butterfly. They look beautiful, with the gold and shimmer giving them an extra touch.

I wanted this project to feel personal, so I thought, why not bring these gold butterflies to life? It’s a fun “best out of waste” idea that lets me reuse something in a creative way. I was also inspired by the 2023 Abu Dhabi art installation Pulse Island by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. It basically consists of an array of over 4,000 Edison lightbulbs that illuminate the plant life of Lulu Island. Each lightbulb glimmers to the rhythm of the heartbeat of a different participant. The way this piece interacts with people’s heartbeats was fascinating and sparked the idea of making something that reacts to simple sensor inputs.

Concept

For this project, I created three butterflies from Ferrero Rocher wrappers. I placed a yellow LED on each butterfly, intending to bring them to life in a way that responds to a person’s heartbeat. Using a pulse sensor, the setup detects the person’s heart rate, sending analog input to the LEDs. This means the yellow lights on each butterfly will pulse in sync with the person’s heartbeat, with the intensity of the lights varying based on the heart rate’s intensity (BPM value). Also, a blue LED is used to indicate when the setup is active, turning on and off with a button that acts as a digital switch. When the button is pressed, the blue LED lights up, showing that the butterflies are ready to respond to the heartbeat input.

The overall blinking effect of the LEDs  gives each butterfly a sense of “life,” as if they are fluttering gently in time with the person’s pulse.

Here’s what the butterflies and pulse sensor looked like:

 

 

 

 

 

Implementation

For this project, I used an Arduino UNO board, a pulse sensor, three yellow LEDs (connected in parallel), one blue LED, one push button, two 330-ohm resistors, and one 10K-ohm resistor. The setup is designed to illuminate the yellow LEDs in sync with a person’s heartbeat and control the blue LED as an indicator of the system’s state.

The push button acts as a digital input, turning the setup on or off. When the button is pressed, the blue LED is activated (handled through digitalWrite) to indicate that the system is running. Meanwhile, the pulse sensor detects the user’s heart rate, sending the analog data to control the brightness of the yellow LEDs. The brightness/intensity is mapped to the person’s beats per minute (BPM). Also, the yellow LEDs pulse in sync with the heart rate (they glow every time a heartbeat is detected), creating a visual heartbeat effect. The code initializes and configures the pulse sensor to read the heartbeat, and then it uses a map function to translate the BPM into a suitable brightness level for the LEDs.  The analogWrite function is used to control the intensity of the yellow LEDs based on the BPM.

For the pulse sensor, I used the PulseSensorPlayground library, which simplifies the integration of heart rate monitoring by providing functions to read and interpret heartbeat data easily.

I also created a custom delay function to avoid the blocking nature of the regular delay() function. Normally, delay() pauses all processes in the Arduino, which would prevent the button presses from being detected during the delay period. My custom delay function allows for non-blocking delays, so the button state can still be read while waiting.

GitHub URL

Here’s some of the code (which controls the mapping of pulse rate to LED brightness and makes the LEDs beat in sync with the person’s heartbeat) that I am proud of:

// Checks if the setup is active
  if (flag == true){ 
    digitalWrite(digitalLED, HIGH); // Turns on the blue LED to indicate active state
    if (pulseSensor.sawStartOfBeat()) {            // Constantly test to see if "a beat happened".
      int myBPM = pulseSensor.getBeatsPerMinute();  // Calls function on our pulseSensor object that returns BPM as an "int".
                                                    // "myBPM" hold this BPM value now. 
      Serial.println("♥  A HeartBeat Happened ! "); // If test is "true", print a message "a heartbeat happened".
      Serial.print("BPM: ");                        // Print phrase "BPM: " 
      Serial.println(myBPM);                        // Print the value inside of myBPM. 
      int val = map(myBPM, 0, 180,0, 255);          // Maps the BPM value to an LED brightness level
      Serial.print("val:");
      Serial.println(val);                          // Prints the mapped brightness value
      analogWrite(LED, val);                        // Sets the brightness of the yellow LED based on the BPM
      myDelay(100);                                 // Waits for 100 milliseconds
      analogWrite(LED, 0);                          // Turns off the yellow LED to create a pulsing effect
    }
  }

Schematic Circuit Diagram

Reflections and Further Improvements

I’m really happy with how this project turned out and how the concept came to life. It was really rewarding to incorporate elements that are personally meaningful to me, like the origami butterflies, and also to successfully learn how to use a new type of sensor.

In the future, I’d love to add sound to enhance the interactive aspect, maybe syncing gentle tones with the heartbeat to make the experience more immersive. I’d also like to expand the setup visually, adding more butterflies and refining the aesthetics to make the project even more captivating.

Resources

Pulse Island

PulseSensorPlayGround

When I read Physical Computing’s Greatest Hits (and misses), I was struck by the balance it finds between tradition and innovation. As someone interested in interactive art, I often struggle with the feeling that certain concepts have been “done to death,” especially in areas like musical interaction or video mirrors. Yet, this reading challenges the idea that originality is a prerequisite for value. It made me realize that even revisited ideas can be unique, with room for personal touches and new approaches. When I reflect on my own creative process, I realize I’ve often dismissed ideas early-on because they felt unoriginal. This piece has shifted my perspective, encouraging me to see repeating themes as opportunities to explore, rather than limitations on creativity. The drum glove and theremin examples showed me how familiar frameworks can offer endless variation, with each design shaped by subtle gestures and intent. This makes me question: how can I bring my own voice to recurring ideas, perhaps through unexpected input methods or reimagining context?

Reading Making Interactive Art: Set the Stage, Then Shut Up and Listen made me rethink people’s approaches to interactive art, especially around how much control artists should exert over the audience’s experience. It suggests that by interpreting or guiding responses too directly, they might be limiting the unique, personal interactions that make interactive art powerful. Instead of letting the work speak for itself, artists might be imposing an idea that restricts the audience’s freedom to find their own meaning. The idea of “setting the stage” but leaving the experience open-ended raises questions about artists’ role as the creator. Can they trust the audience to interpret without their input? How do they balance giving enough context with allowing space for exploration? This reading reframes interactive art as a conversation, where the audience has the final word, and I think it challenges people to think about designing more for discovery than direction.

Reflecting on Donald Norman’s Emotion and Design: Attractive Things Work Better, an important takeaway was the idea of balancing beauty with usability. For example, in a high-stress setting like healthcare, should a designer prioritize simplicity over aesthetics, or is there value in making things look good too? Norman’s argument that beautiful things “work better” because they make users more forgiving of small flaws is intriguing, but this could also lead designers to mask deeper usability problems with aesthetics. We also see this often in consumer tech, where sleek design sometimes hides complex interfaces. Could a beautifully designed device make users miss important issues if they assume it’s as reliable as it looks? And in general, does an attractive design make people more likely to trust or value a product, even if it has flaws? How do designers keep things both beautiful and easy to use across all types of situations, from routine tasks to high-stress ones?

The article on Margaret Hamilton’s journey was definitely inspiring and got me thinking about how often we overlook the contributions of people who don’t fit the traditional expectations of an industry. What struck me most was her foresight about potential astronaut errors (that had initially been dismissed). She saw risks that others didn’t, not because she knew more, but because she questioned the assumption of perfection in human operators. This made me think about the ways might current technology still rely on assumptions that could lead to serious errors. Are we relying too heavily on “perfect” tech and “infallible” systems, overlooking potential risks just because they seem unlikely?

Overall, I think these readings emphasize the need to balance beauty and function in design while staying aware of human error, showing that technology works best when it adapts to real, everyday challenges.