Nien Lam

Completed 12/2009

Using your breath, you can remotely control the 3 elemental forces of nature (wind, fire and water) through a 6 foot bamboo cane.
 

The idea is based on the Chilean rainsticks that recreate the sound of rain when they are flipped over. The Elemental Stick allows for control of the forces of nature by the use of your breath. Mother Nature or God would perhaps use this type of interface to control the elemental forces. As you blow into the remote (shorter bamboo cane) the sounds of wind, fire, or water coming from the long bamboo cane will grow louder and the lights will become brighter in addition to changing color based on the element selected. Twisting the remote, ie. altering the tilt, will change the control between the 3 different elemental forces.

 
Elemental Stick and Remote Demo

Construction and Testing
- Arduino Pro Mini’s are used for the microcontrollers
- Wireless communication is done via the Xbee’s
- A thermistor is used for the breath sensor
- The BlinkM MaxM, available on Sparkfun, is used to light the fiber optics
- The MP3 Trigger, also available on Sparkfun, is used for audio playback and storage

Testing Elemental Stick

After getting feedback from class, I’ve changed my idea a bit. So instead of a device that tells you the weather, I created a device where you can control the elemental forces of nature. Using your breath, you will remotely control wind, fire and water. Mother nature or God would perhaps use this type of interface to control the elemental forces. The project is made of a 6 foot bamboo cane that houses the electronics(w/ Xbee), a speaker and fiber optic cables. The remote is a shorter bamboo cane you blow into. It houses a Xbee, a thermistor and an accelerometer. As you blow into the remote, the sounds from the long bamboo cane will become louder and the fiber optics will become brighter. Twisting the remote will allow you to change between the 3 different elemental forces.
 
Testing Electronics

 
Testing Elemental Stick

 
Elemental Stick and Remote Demo

For my project I’m creating a device that tells you the weather forecast. Using sound, and possibly visuals, I plan to create a wireless device which will get the latest weather report. Based on the report, it will translate this into sounds.  For example, if it is sunny out it will play sounds of the beach, or if it is cold it would play the sounds of wind blowing. My idea and interface is based on the rainsticks that come from Chile or Peru. These sticks are normally made from cactus filled with pebbles. When flipped over, the pebbles bouncing to the bottom generate what sounds like rain. Instead of cactus I will be using bamboo, which is easier to find and work with then cactus, and embed it with speakers to create sounds of different types of weather. An accelerometer inside the stick will detect the motion and play the tracks when the stick is flipped over. I may also add a visual element using fiber optic cables that change colors/brightness in correspondence with the weather/temperature. The general goal of my project is to create something that tells you the weather in a more interesting and visceral way.