The Grow Getter is a project designed for two specific plants to grow during various times of the day/night. It is created to show the time span of two flowers' lives, and for the user to determine how much their plant has grown. 

This product is intended to help the user be able to know how long and how much their plant has grown over time. The Grow Getter's main function is the motors connected to the flower, demonstrating its growth, along with its LEDs connected to the petals, representing the time it grows throughout the day. One flower grows during the daytime, while the other flower grows in the course of the nighttime. The motors spin at a continuous time, which makes the flower petals go up and down, displaying the growth time for each flower. 

Caroline Verdi:

The Spin-Rise is a purposeful spinning lamp that provides users with a sunlight alternative during the darker months. According to UC Health, the lack of exposure to sunlight in the winter is a direct cause of seasonal affective disorder. Sunlight increases the production of serotonin which is a hormone that can affect mood balance in humans. In the winter, the days are shorter and the presence of sun much lower, resulting in a sizable decrease in serotonin levels. The Spin-Rise is designed to bring sunlight and warm colors to users during the cold and dark winters. It also aids consumers in the process of waking up in the morning.

Seasonal affective disorder impacts around 10 million Americans. The Spin-Rise helps individuals suffering from SAD wake up happier by radiating a hue of warm and joyful colors. Additionally, the Spin-Rise can be powered on and off whenever the user needs, making sunlight available at all points of the day. The Spin-Rise utilizes colored LED lights to create a sunrise-like effect. A high-density polyethylene shell diffuses the lights, combining the various colors into a pleasing spectrum of hues. The sphere of lights hangs from the ceiling and spins thanks to a motor that is fastened to it.

Alex Cebula:

The Spin-Rise makes waking up in the winter easier. The Spin-Rise fill the user’s room with colors of a sunrise on dark mornings. According to UC Health, serotonin is the hormone that affects mood balance and sunlight increases levels of serotonin. Winter months have both shorter amount of hours of sunlight and darker mornings. This causes the number of individuals with depression to increase. The Spin-Rise will bright light into dark bedrooms, simulating sunlight in the mornings.

A study from Boston University found that about 10 million Americans suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD); a type of depression caused by the changing of seasons. The Spin-Rise will aid those who are affected by SAD when it comes to starting their day during the winter months. It will bring light into the users’ mornings which will help give them serotonin right at the beginning of the day. The Spin-Rise is made by an intentional hue of colored LED lights mimicking a sunrise. The lights are diffused by a high-density polyethylene exterior which blends individual LEDs into a harmonious mix of colors. A motor inside a box attached to the ceiling is connected to the sphere, allowing for the ball of lights to spin.

Amedeo: 

Over 7 million people have dementia in the United States, and it’s only going up. ‘Light Up Your Day’ is a wall installation that uses color, music, and scents to help people with dementia understand what time it is. One of the many impacts of dementia is that it can be confusing what time it is. People can wake up in the middle of the night thinking it’s noon. This can also mean behaviors that relate to the time, like sleep, can be impacted. ‘Light Up Your Day’ seeks to solve this.

‘Light Up Your Day’ is an acrylic-based abstract form to display color, music, and scents that can help solve these problems. ‘Light Up Your Day’ uses science-backed research to synchronize the clock and behavior. For example, in the evening, it might have a blue color, classical music, and a lavender smell to induce sleep. Future capabilities include a smart assistant and motion sensor for reminders and help. Overall, ‘Light Up Your Day’ is a smart, research-backed way to help with at least one impact of dementia.

Emma Gundersheimer's Breif

Rolling Tasks is a machine that rewards an individual with a gumball for completing a number of tasks. It is extremely hard for individuals, especially teens, to complete homework after a long day of school and work. Research has found that when the brain expects to receive a reward, it releases dopamine, which enhances reward-related memories. The hippocampus is also strengthened, which is the brain’s learning and memory center resulting in a more productive learning environment. The machine targets an individual’s productiveness while making it an enjoyable experience for the user. 

As stated earlier, it can be difficult for teens to complete homework after a long day. Rolling tasks was created keeping in mind those hardships of completing tasks. Although teens are the main reason this product was created, an individual can utilize the machine in any way they see fit. From homework to even rewarding dogs for learning a new skill, Rolling Tasks creates a fun and productive way to complete tasks. To use Rolling Tasks, all one needs to do is write their tasks on the top part of the machine, and spin the knob to release a gumball onto the track. Once they are done with each task, they will press the corresponding button to the task they completed. A light will turn on, signifying that the task has been completed, and the flap preventing the gumball from rolling further will go down. For each task, the user will complete these steps until everything is complete and the gumball has reached the bottom.

Project Description

Rolling Tasks is a machine that rewards an individual with a gumball for completing several tasks. It is extremely hard for individuals, especially teens, to complete homework after a long day of school and work. Research has found that when the brain expects to receive a reward, it releases dopamine, which enhances reward-related memories. The hippocampus is also strengthened, the brain’s learning and memory center, resulting in a more productive learning environment. The machine targets an individual’s productiveness while making it an enjoyable experience for the user.

Gabe Murray:

Rupture in Time is a device that helps the user recognize the importance of living in the present. For half of their lives humans focus on the future or past without noticing what is fully going on in the present time. Not focusing on the present causes unhappiness and can make people uneasy or stressed. Rupture in Time is focused on calming the human brain and helps people of all ages live in the moment. Additionally, Rupture in Time has gears showing which adds on to the feeling of time passing. 

Rupture in Time is a shape that slowly is taken apart and put back together. A motor spins some gears that pull in and out sticks. These sticks create the illusion that the shape is exploding and coming back together. However, the shape is only together for a quick second and during this time the user will have a higher chance of noticing the moment. If our user is very anxious or unfocused they can look at this shape and calm down. This allows the user to then go back to their work less stressed.   

Tommy Nordahl:

Rupture in Time is an exploding timepiece, constantly being torn asunder and reassembling. This project attempts to solve the problem of regret and anxiety, helping people to live peacefully and focus on the present moment. This project was inspired by a visit to the MIT Museum, where a multitude of pieces by Arthur Ganson were on display. The piece Cory’s Yellow Chair was especially impactful, inspiring the incorporation of a complex system using one motor and the infinite “explosion” of an object. In turn, Rupture in Time poignantly conveys the importance of the present moment. 

This project can be used by anyone, but it is intended to be especially impactful among youths and those who struggle with anxiety. Rupture in Time had many iterations, but it settled on a more complex mechanical project based on the idea of the chair’s explosion. Rather than the object exploding on a flat 2D plane, it would explode in 3D. We prototyped a variety of different objects, i.e. an exploding lightbulb and a broken kintsugi pot. The project ended up as a complex geometric 3d printed object constructed of triangles and pentagons. A system of wooden gears was developed, using an Arduino to control the motor. This system allowed one DC motor to move panels on all three axes with the use of actuators. The wooden gears weren’t sturdy enough, but they were very conceptually strong and they still functioned properly, though not consistently. The code and circuitry worked, the object printed smoothly, and the gears spun, there was no more time to finish the design.

Audrey

Mr. Harmless is a tool that helps students battle procrastination. The research from American Psychological Association (APA) reveals that 80- 90 percent of students suffer from procrastination. Mr. Harmless will help students stay on task and relieve stress. According to research from Dominic J. Voge, The Mac Grey Center for Teaching and Learning, procrastination can often be traced to more complex psychological reasons. And it's repeatedly made worse by the pressure from schools and families. 

With Mr. Harmless, Any students can plan their day beforehand by setting a deadline for their tasks. He is laser cutted in the form of a triangle representing strength, silently supporting and encouraging the students. The students will be able to relax by customizing their favorite colors in the LED lights and his 3D printed accessories depending on their mood or celebrations. The LED lights inside Mr. Harmless will darken as time goes by, which reminds the students of their deadlines. Now students don't need to worry about working under the deadline or worsening their procrastination with stress and pressure.  

Noelle

Mr. Harmless is a project focusing on aiding the user with completing deadlines on time and managing their time and priorities. This is done by utilizing a reminder system in the form of a lamp, which changes color over time. The color of the lamp will aid the user by acting as a daily reminder to signify the status of certain goals or tasks. The user would input a color and amount of time the lamp runs for, which will then run until it finishes the gradient, where it will stay on the last color in the gradient until turned off or restarted.

This lamp hopes to help people with time management. 82% of the world’s population suffers from not having a definite structure in their schedule, this can lead to failed deadlines and extreme stress. 

Emma Thiebault - 

Sunny Side is a light that shows where the sun is shining over the earth, essentially demonstrating the different time zones of the world, and where the sun is shining. The idea behind this design is to show how the whole world is connected by the sun, and when one person is experiencing nighttime, that just means that another person is getting a bit of sunlight. Feeling connected is vital, especially during periods of time that are harder for some people, but it can be difficult, especially with different time zones, so Sunny Side is used to remind people of their connection to the world and the sun. 

Research shows that sunlight is beneficial to humans, and it's known that human beings cannot live without sunlight. Although Sunny Side is not real sunlight, it mimics the rotation and shine of the sun. Light therapy is becoming more and more popular, and it's often used for those with seasonal depression, anxiety, and other issues, and Sunny Side has the same essential idea. It reinstates a feeling of connection and belonging, as well as proves that the connection one feels with those around them is very strong. 

Anyone can benefit from Sunny Side, whether a person has a relation to someone in another place or just wants to see how everyone fits together in this world. Because Sunny Side is a versatile tool for consumers, one can plug in only the light of the earth, and manually adjust the location of the map over the light. However, the user can also activate a motor that electronically moves the light according to approximately how the sun shines over the earth.

Jake Soroff -

Sunny Side is a desk lamp in the form of a globe that represents where the sun is on the planet where it is currently daytime and follows the rotation of the planet on a 24 hour cycle. The essential goal of the Sunny Side is, while only using a small desk lamp, connecting humans together by showing that while one may be experiencing nighttime, the people on the opposite side of the planet are in the sun. As an example, one child afraid of the dark could take comfort in using the Sunny Side as a nightlight, always knowing that the sun is shining somewhere. People can connect with the globe in knowing throughout the day that during the day people around the world will be asleep and during night people opposite will be busy in their days. Sunny Side helps make the world seem a little smaller and makes one feel connected with other humans around the world.

Sunny Side is a 7x7x4in wood box with an 8in globe resting on the top. Inside the box is a smaller platform made from wood with a motor resting on top. The motor is connected to an arduino board that is programmed to make one full rotation using 24 individual short movements, with a one hour delay between each turn, one full rotation is 24 hours long. The arduino is then connected to a 9v battery which rests in a small container on the outside side of the box. Resting on the top of the motor is a circular wood platform with a small wood board standing up holding a semi circular piece of wood. On the semi circle of wood there is an LED strip connected to a smaller arduino board, this arduino is connected to the side of this semi circular wood, on the other side is small wood container which holds another 9v battery that connects to the arduino.

The most common response to 'How are you?' is 'Busy'. In some cultures, this phrase appears to be a badge of honor or status. People think about the future so much that they never think about the present. So, our piece aims to help individuals live in the moment. The display looks like a camera shutter, but when it opens, there will be an eye-capturing art piece. Our project will be a spectacle that people will gather to see. It will roughly take one hour to open and one hour to close, repeating each day throughout the hours.