Concept:

The Magnetic Membrane is a structural facade that utilizes the Ultrasonic sensor and a Hall Magnetic sensor from Arduino to create a responsive skin that allows individuals to interact and engage with technology. As individuals move closer to the wall, sensors pick up the distance from the facade that shows different colored lights. As individuals activate the Ultrasonic sensor, a signal is sent to a Servo Motor with a magnet attached to it to activate a Hall Senor, which turns on a light depending on how far away an individual is to the wall. As more sensors are activated, the facade comes to life, creating a hot spot for learning and engaging with technology. This facade represents life, creating a technological membrane that responds to the city’s environment.

Activation:

The wall is activated by the number of people close to the wall. The closer an individual is, the light will become blue. The further away an individual is, the light will become Green. If they are anywhere in between, the light will become orange. The result is that the wall will be an indicator of the vibrancy life of the city. The more people there are, the more light will show through the perforated wall. The wall acts as a static membrane that illuminates when life is present.

Conclusion: 

In conclusion, The Magnetic Membrane is an installation piece that can fit into any city to represent the people that live there. When creating this project, I wanted to create something that brings people together with technology in a fun way and allows them to have self-awareness of what their presence means to a city. A negative aspect of a city is that people lose touch with who they are and often get lost in the massive scale of it. This project will allow people to be brought back to reality and know that their living there has meaning and contextual value. In the end, I wanted to utilize what I have learned in Physical computing with a real project with real-world potential.