MoodMosaic
An interactive sculpture that visualizes your emotions.
ContextGroup project, 3 team members
skillsRapid Prototyping, Physical Computing
TimelineAugust to December 2022
A mirror-based sculpture that translates your selected emotion into dynamic movements, music, and lighting via the sculpture.
What is MoodMosaic?
This installation seeks to provoke awareness of the importance of facing our feelings, regardless of expectations from the society.
Why we built this?
We are often expected to keep our feelings, especially our vulnerabilities, inside ourselves, as if it is the only way to show that we’re strong and mature.
While it’s tempting to mask our emotions, it could result in mental health problems like anxiety and depression, as all the repressed pain has nowhere to go.
It is, therefore, necessary to face our genuine feelings, communicate them with people we trust and work through them together.
Our Initial Idea
Our initial design consists of 16 mirror blocks, LED lights, stabilizing structures, and a graphical user interface on the computer.
We aim to create two types of movements: Horizontal rotation of individual blocks and up and down movement of blocks.
Workflow…
Low-fi prototyping our idea.
Designing in Fusion 360.
Build
Assemble and test
3D printing, fabrication.
Iterating the physical structure.
Wiring sensors and circuits.
Programming with Arduino.
Design components
Ideate
Programming
Wiring
How we built it
01
The mirror block
The unit of this installation consists of a 3d-printed wooden box layered with mirror surfaces, a servo motor that powers horizontal rotation, and an internal structure paired with arc rack and gear.
The reflective surfaces compel viewers to confront their own reflections, symbolizing a mirror that illuminates our emotions.
02
Base and connecting structures
3D-printed mounts for the stepper motor are mounted onto the wood board to provide stability for block movement along the vertical axis.
Extrusions and wooden boards are incorporated at the base and the top to reinforce the rods and stepper motor, creating a stable stand for the entire installation.
Prototyping & Iterating
01
Before: Linear rack and gear
After: Arc rack and gear
We conducted tests using the linear rack and gear system within the internal structure to facilitate horizontal mirror block rotation. During testing, the linear rack didn't yield the desired rotation angle. It was too limited in its range of motion.
To achieve smoother horizontal motion with larger angles, we redesigned the rack system, changing it to an arc rack. We’ve also optimized the internal structure to accommodate this new rack design effectively, while ensuring it remains lightweight.
02
Before: Constrained vertical movement due to unstable linear rod
The vertical rotation is constrained due to the linear rod's unintended movement as the stepper motor rotates. We need to find a way to stabilize the linear rod.
After: Adding a mount for the stepper motor and a base for the installation
We designed a base structure with extrusions and thick plywood as a foundation for the installation.
We incorporated a stepper motor mount within the stabilized structure to secure it with the base, thereby preventing any unintended lateral movement.
Lastly, wire them up! 👷♀️
Wiring up a component…
Connecting more wires…
AND…MORE 😵💫
Movement Patterns
Emotion
Happy
Awakening
Mad
LED
Yellow, Blinking
Blue, Breathing
Red, Blinking
…
Snippets of our code 👀
Movement
Random movement at a fast speed
Slow rotation following a diagonal sequence
Back-and-forth rotation at a fast speed
Our final installation
Full demo (PS Please turn the sound on🔊)
Video credit to Joy Shen
Moving forward…
While the current installation only uses controlled inputs from the graphical user interface, moving forward, I aim to make the input more dynamic by using an Arduino heartbeat sensor as input.
Once we touch the sensor, our heart rate will detected and matched with a pre-coded type of emotion. The interactive sculpture will reflect this emotion with its corresponding movements, lighting, and sound. The sensor will allow for more intimate and personal interactions with our users.
Arduino heartbeat sensor
We also played around with rendering how MoodMosaic would look on display.
We look forward to scaling it up and bringing it to a gallery space one day ;)