Presentation Day Model

Pictures of my model just before my presentation.... if only the lights worked during my pressy :( not to matter, i have a video of it working underneath this post. Enjoy!

The Interactive Garden Path - Designed by Paul Street N6857965

This is my "Interactive Garden Path" design [Design = Scenario, Object, Behavior]. It's design intent is to replace the disruptive flood lights that flash on at 3 am in the morning when someone is simply trying to enter from the side and back of the house as silently as possible not to disturb someone sleeping. Floodlights and the blind startled person or people are now more susceptible to making noise by tripping over obstacles and slipping in unfamiliar terrain of the side path at night. But without the Interactive Garden Path, entering your property silently, efficiently, safely and clearly and uneventfully is almost impossible as you combat the elements or blinding lights potentially waking up the neighbors, obstacles make path finding at night potentially very dangerous and new or uneven grounds make the Interactive Garden Path so applicable.

The Interactive Garden Path solves this by utilizing multiple sensors, timers and dim glow faerie lights to represent the safest path to be guided by that turn on as you near the sensors and turn off when you pass them. This allows you to silently enter the back of your house, in the early hours of the morning without hurting yourself, blinding the neighbors with driveway security lights and it also saves on energy.

The lights also have the capability to be further developed to have different coloured lights along the path to represent differences in the path, like yellow lights may represent warning spots along the path and red lights may represent precarious or new obstacles or dangerous places or perhaps when you have strayed off the path the lights go red. the green lights may represent safe segments along the path.

Further possibilities also include the possibility that the final set of low dim guiding lights may also trigger a flashing light in a persons bedroom or in the main bedroom/living room to show that the Interactive Garden Path has been used and either a flatmate, partner, friend or spouse may now be home or entering so that if any noises were heard there would not be any need to panic or be startled/scared. This would make the design a human to human interactive communication interface that is silent, hands-free and intuitive.

I configured the wiring so that it is essentially an extension lead with a sensor adapted in the middle of it so that everything connected to the extension lead will be on a sensor, so the faerie lights were modified to only nine working lights using solder and thin wires and then plugged into the end of my modified sensor extension lead which is then reactive to the motion and light sensors.

This design saves money, energy, efficiency and makes life more simple and stress free. The design allows people or the users to behave in a stress free, well guided and intuitive manner when dazed and confused and just wanting to get into bed at home without any dramas while walking in the dark of night - down the side of the house. There should probably be an override switch at both ends of the lighting system but for the sake of a model mock up and preliminary designs it hasn't been implemented yet.

Design Evolution: + Magnetic Pendulum ---> Luck ---> Fortune Telling
+ Cyborg Eye ---> Notifying Warning Light ---> Safety and Education
+ Duck Hunting Toy ---> Educational Game
+ Lizard Heat Pad ---> Only heats where the lizard lays and glows red.
+ Boat Warning Light ---> Night Fishing ---> Safety
+ Interactive Garden Pathway ---> Path Lighting and Finding ---> Safety, Way Finding and Leading, Directional Lighting, Energy Saving, Increased Awareness, Effortless, intuitive, seamless and simple.

Model Materials: Foam-core, Copper- Insulated Wires, terminal blocks, plugs, connections and tape, motion sensors, LED and faerie lights.


Helping midnight decision making, way finding/path finding and increased guidance and notification, safety, intuitive interfaces, info lighting capabilities and furthered human to human interactions. This is particularly applicable to notify the person already at home that you are home or entering without the flood lights waking them and ruining a nights sleep or scaring them into thinking someone random is entering your property. ENJOY!!!

Model Construction Video: The Interactive Garden Path

This video shows how i have applied my learning in electronics utilizing terminal blocks, modifying faerie lights connections, soldering joins, and adapting an extension lead with an electric sensor. I have crafted the model out of foam core, sensors, lights and a foam ramp. I put the wires between 2 sheets of foam core to seamlessly represent my model best it can. Essentially the "Interactive Garden Path" will have numerous sensors placed accordingly and so that once a set of lights have been passed they turn off and turn on the next set of lights. its intended to be a low glow not a blinding flood light. the design also has further interactive capabilities with sensors capable of lighting or informing people inside that you are home safe and sound. Perhaps a light in the main room will flash once the person is inside (and has passed the final sensor) to let them know (the people or person inside the house) they have arrived home safe and sound and that if they hear noises at night they can just look to the flashing light and realize it was just someone coming home down the "Interactive Garden Path", they don't have to disrupt their sleep or have to worry about someone getting home safe and sound or become scared or paranoid that someone may have entered their property.

Project 1: Mock Up Model

Constructing the model with all my best efforts. it is not perfect but it portrays enough of my message to be able to get the entire idea across.

Mock Up Model

Circuit Diagramming - working out how to convert a sensor onto faerie lights wires that have had prior modification.

Week 4: Scenario Building and Idea Generating

This is pretty much the hierarchy or evolution of ideas, thought, practicality, acceptability and model expectations towards the mock up interactive model.
There was firstly the idea of the duck, then the lizards heat mapping and tracking, then the boat safety lights--- to the path way lights to help people enter the back of their house at 3 am without wasting energy on massive floodlights going off waking up the neighbors in the middle of the night.
Here are the rest of the drawings:

Week 4: Scenario Building

This was an idea i started to develop in week 2 but only really understood its evolving design potential this week. Its a toy duck essentially. however the aim of the game is to kill it = braking neck, wings, tail and legs by unhinging bent wire through pre fab lops in the structure of the toy. however if the users attempt to be kind and love it by patting it - there is a battery hooked up to copper spurs on patting zones (on the back) to 'taser' the user in understanding/learning that the point of the game is to kill not love ahahaha. a bit extreme but kinda interesting ... just in development stages, the real focus is on education and perhaps this will sway some ideas towards next week.

Tim's Electronic Worksheet - Understanding the Fundamentals

Paul and Brad: Understanding our objects inside and out. this is our worksheet which we successfully filled out with correct answers and observations on electronics - YAY!!!

Week 3: Lecture Fundementals and Awareness Issues

Paul and Brad Developing Tangible Interactions by experimenting and exploring different materials, textures, properties and more. Issues such as lighting, textures, weights, sounds and safety was taken into consideration. Being able to let people know if things are on or off, working or not working and conveying this connectivity and interaction in a socially acceptable and universal way.

Lecture 3 notes and developing tangible interactions using magnets, electronics, batteries and exploring the electronics of a web-cam and a LED light for a bicycle AND of coarse lots lots more (soldering and what not).