Physical Computing

Project 1 Process Documentation

Ruqaiyah Naqvi

Module 1

Activity Research

In this module, I explored Arduino, ProtoPie Connect, and TouchDesigner to understand how physical inputs can affect digital experiences.

Activity 1

Here is the LED blinking after I uploaded the sketch.

I used the class example to understand how the circuit should be connected.

I sketched the circuit to help myself understand the connections.

This angle shows the LED lighting up on the breadboard.

Activity 2

I ran into a problem when the baud rate did not match.

I kept checking the sketch while trying to figure out why it was not working.

With my professor’s help, I got the sketch working.

I tested how changing the Arduino input affected the displayed number.

This shows the working result of my ProtoPie Connect activity.

I tested the sensor by breathing near it to see the humidity change.

Activity 3

This is the Arduino code we used to explore the TouchDesigner connection.

This helped me understand how data moves between Arduino and TouchDesigner.

I experimented with operators to create and change these circular visuals.

I explored how a physical control could connect to TouchDesigner.

Doing the example in class helped me see how Arduino input can affect a digital output. — This example helped me see how Arduino input can affect a digital output.

Research Activity

Consumer Trend Research

I looked at participatory experiences, immersive art, and physical interfaces to explore how people connect with interactive visuals.

Immersive art inspired me to explore visuals that react to sound and movement.

Participatory experiences made me think about giving viewers some control over what they see.

Physical interfaces inspired the idea of using a knob instead of only watching a screen.

Personas Research

I created two research-informed personas to think about people who enjoy music experiences and people who like trying interactive technology.

The Music Experience Seeker cares about how visuals match the feeling of a song.

The Curious Explorer enjoys trying interactive technology and seeing what happens.

Both personas helped me think about combining expressive visuals with simple controls.

HMI Research

I explored how music and physical controls could work together to make a visual experience feel expressive and easy to understand.

A physical knob could give someone a simple way to adjust the visuals.

TouchDesigner could process the music and the knob input together.

The output could change in colour, shape, or movement as the inputs change.

Project Path

I chose the Art Path to experiment with music and visuals, and I would prefer to collaborate while staying open to working independently.

I chose the Art Path because I want room to experiment before settling on a final result.

TouchDesigner is the tool I want to use to explore audio reactive visuals.

Arduino could let someone interact with the visuals through a physical knob.

Project 1 Concept

I want to experiment with a music visualizer in TouchDesigner that reacts to sound while an Arduino knob lets someone adjust a visual effect; this illustration shows my proposed concept, not a finished prototype.

My Figma concept shows music and an Arduino knob influencing a proposed TouchDesigner visualizer.