An Interactive LED Circuit!

Hello! I am sharing an interactive circuit I made using an Arduino and a breadboard circuit. 

This circuit allows the user to activate 2 different LED lights at a time out of 6 total lights. To turn on the lights, the user must press the button. To switch the pair of lights, the user must turn the dial of the potentiometer.

I created the code for the Arduino by modifying a demo code shown in the last MADT 304 class. 

This is the code:

//Interactive Circuit: Potentiometer LED selector void setup() { // put your setup code here, to run once: //add serial communication Serial.begin(9600); //declaring digital outputs for leds pinMode(3, OUTPUT); pinMode(5, OUTPUT); pinMode(6, OUTPUT); pinMode(9, OUTPUT); pinMode(10, OUTPUT); pinMode(11, OUTPUT); //setting up a digital input (push button) pinMode(12, INPUT); digitalWrite(12, HIGH); } void loop() { // put your main code here, to run repeatedly: //is button being pressed? if (digitalRead(12) == 0) { //if so, is potentiometer in first third? if (analogRead(A0) < 350) { //if so, write high on 11, low on 9 and 10 digitalWrite(3, HIGH); digitalWrite(5, LOW); digitalWrite(6, LOW); digitalWrite(9, LOW); digitalWrite(10, LOW); digitalWrite(11, HIGH); } //in 2nd 3rd? if (analogRead(A0) > 350 && analogRead(A0) < 700) { digitalWrite(3, LOW); digitalWrite(5, HIGH); digitalWrite(6, LOW); digitalWrite(9, LOW); digitalWrite(10, HIGH); digitalWrite(11, LOW); } //in 3rd 3rd? if (analogRead(A0) > 700) { digitalWrite(3, LOW); digitalWrite(5, LOW); digitalWrite(6, HIGH); digitalWrite(9, HIGH); digitalWrite(10, LOW); digitalWrite(11, LOW); } } else { //if button isnt pressed, set everything to LOW instead digitalWrite(3, LOW); digitalWrite(5, LOW); digitalWrite(6, LOW); digitalWrite(9, LOW); digitalWrite(10, LOW); digitalWrite(11, LOW); } }

Successes & Challenges

I consider this project to be successful because I was able to complete it despite the fact that my electronics kit got stolen on the C-Train. Fortunately, Peter, the Media Arts technician, got me a replacement kit in time for me to complete the work. Since I had less time, and wanted to ensure the circuit would work, I spent extra time checking all the components before using them. I checked each jumper wire, resistor, and push button with the multimeter. I am glad I did this because I found a jumper wire that was internally broken. Checking these things paid off because my circuit worked within the first couple tries and there were no unexpected errors.

One of the challenges I faced was creating a tidy circuit. For one, the cable that connects the Arduino to the computer is so short that the Arduino hangs midair. On the other hand, the jumper wires I have are so long that they get tangled with one another. In future projects, I would like to find components that will allow me to assemble neater circuits.  

 

Brainstorming Ideas for a Future Project

Last school year, in my 2nd year of university, I created an interactive piece using an Arduino and addressable LEDs. The piece, Filter, consisted of a backlit printed artwork which changed appearance when the viewer clicked a button. Each button click caused the LEDs to switch between emitting red light or green light. The change in LED colour filtered parts of the image to conceal or reveal features. The colors of the paintings were reacting to the changing LED light colors, creating the illusion of movement in a static image. 

Daniela Szeoke. Filter. 2022. Backlit illustrated print (green view).

Daniela Szeoke. Filter. 2022. Backlit illustrated print (red view).

 

Below is a video of the piece. Please forgive me for the bad quality of the footage and shaky camera movements! I lost the good quality footage when my phone broke :'(

When I made that piece, I was very new to Arduino and only explored a few methods of incorporating user interactivity. Now that I have the opportunity to take a deeper dive with Arduino, I would like to continue developing the concept from that piece. Perhaps, I can make new colour changing works about new topics that involve the viewers in an alternate way. Instead of incorporating a button click, I could use a dimmer potentiometer to give viewers control over the speed of colour changes as well as the types of colours selected. I could alternatively incorporate an infrared sensor setup that uses the viewers proximity to determine the colour changes. I look forward to exploring these ideas further.