The Equilibria’s building shown here in three parts: body, wiring, outputs.
Body
We first defined the real dimensions, materials and sensor location using 3D modeling and sketches. For the pressure input we finally adoped a digtal pressure sensor (a lever switch) and a couple of LEDs for every step sensor, mounted in a way that allowed us to keep all the mechanical part on the base.
Then we started prototyping the steps, to figure out the best way to implement the pressure sensor and lighting mechanism.
Wiring
We figured out a way to install in the prototype a bigger but more optimized version of the same circuit created for the Arduino prototype, then, during the construction, we connected the wooden prototype circuit as an extension to the Arduino prototype to check for bad soldering or wiring.
Outputs
To avoid the need to build by hand the LED arrays necessary to obtain enough power, we hacked some low-cost battery-powered LED mini-torches.
The column output consists of one white LED array glued to a digital servomotor for the inclination control and to an Arduino pin through a 33 ohm resistor for the power.
A paper cone with 2 filters creates the shape of the light on the column, avoiding the multiple shadows generated by the LED matrix.
Gobbo
For the Gobbo output we used two LED torch lamps directly connected to Arduino digital pins through a 33 ohm resistor. To color the light we used specific color filters.
Equilibria | Context | How it works | Prototyping | Credits | Downloads