Light Up Your Day

Ryan Ferguson and Amedeo Bettauer

Light Up Your Day

Amedeo and Victoria

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.

Rupture in Time

Ryan Ferguson and 3 OthersGabe Murray
Tommy Nordahl
Munther Elsayed

Rupture in Time

Kaboom!

Munther Elsayed, Gabe Murray, and Tommy Nordahl

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.

Mr. Harmless

Audrey Ha and Noelle Aminoff

Mr. Harmless

"The Moral Support Light"

Noelle + Audrey

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. 

The HERE and NOW

Ryan Ferguson and 2 OthersPatrick Tibbetts
Chloe Goodman

The HERE and NOW

Live In The Now

By Patrick Tibbetts and Chloe Goodman

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.

The Ticking Tree

Ryan Ferguson and 3 OthersWyatt Gold
Benny Armstrong
Jasmine Horowitz

The Ticking Tree

"Tick Tock Birches"

Wyatt, Jasmine, and Bean


Wyatt 

The Ticking Tree is an abstract representation of time as an object. The project was made because trees show the passing of time in many different ways, for example, the rings ingrained into the wood showing different years. The Ticking Tree is also loosely based on a scene from the popular Tim Burton movie “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” This design was inspired by the art piece “The Whale”, by Andy Cavatorta.


 The user will benefit because of this beautiful and eccentric decorative clock. The Ticking Tree can change the aesthetic of the entire room, and will definitely catch every visitor's eye.  The Ticking Tree is a model of a large wooden tree built on a slowly spinning base with neopixel lights for aesthetics. Under the base is a DC motor and an Arduino board to control everything. 



Jasmine

The Ticking Tree is a piece of abstract art representing time and how the user views it in day-to-day life. Tim Burton's Nightmare before Christmas inspired The Ticking Tree. The project was heavily inspired by a scene with portals inside trees. The Ticking Tree was also inspired by the Salvador Dali painting “The Persistence of Memory”, as well as “The Whale” by Andy Cavatorta The project was designed to show a unique perspective of time in a fresh new way. The Ticking Tree can be used by anyone, as it is a passive piece of art


This project is an art piece possibly used as a reminder of time in addition to being a relaxation device for the user. The Ticking Tree is a painted tree that rests atop a base holding electronics. The Ticking Tree has a spinning wooden top powered by a dc motor as well as strips of neopixel lights for aesthetics, said components are all controlled by an Arduino inside of the base. In a finalized version there would be a solenoid or buzzer ticking every second. It was designed to offer a unique perspective on time and provide a fresh take on the concept