Memory Box

Overview

How do we represent and capture a particular memory that's meaningful to us? How can we use media and computational technology to bring back certain memory that are particularly meaningful to us, possibly engage all five sense? Memory box is an Internet of Things project that incorporates image, objects, sound (music), light and smell to recreate the scenario that happened in your past. When you open the box, you hear the sound, smell the smell, and look at the objects in front you, and the goal is go preserve the memory but also enable new understanding of yourself. It makes people more willing to engage in growth-oriented behaviors and encourages them to view themselves as growth-oriented people.

Process

I started this project by interviewing one of my childhood best friend. I noticed that a lot of objects in her house, that is meaningful to her, has a story behind that. Objects preserve memory, and people tend to attach to these objects oftentimes because of the meaning, or memory attached to it. We started to discuss the idea of using IoT object to evoke the sentimentality of the past, and how that can help us view ourselves from a different perspective. The idea of memory box was born as a result of the conversation.

Memory was composed of all of the senses, so I decided to engage 4 senses: sight, hearing, smell and touch. After learned all the sensors, I immediately recognized that sound can be played by buzzer, and the circuit will be switched on with Tilt sensor which acts as a switch.

The box contains a picture, an object, and the box is scented, light (represented by LED) and sound (buzzer) that mimic a past situation. (see below image)

IoT Circuit and Outcome

LED light to represent the light effect of the memory, Tilt sensor to attach to the cap of the box, and buzzer to represent an audio to play the background sound in the situation which the memory took place.

The following is a list of components that I incorporated in this project:

Particle ARGON
Tilt Sensor
Buzzer
LEDs
Resistor(1k ohm)
Jumper Cables
USB wire
Breadboard
Power Source (5V, PC)

I tested the tilt señsor and figured out that it acts as a switch. After I wired it to the circuit, I tested out the tilt sensor by placing it vertically and horizontally. When it's positioned horizontally, LED light up and buzzer starts to buzz; when it's positioned vertically, LED turned down and buzzer stops.

// Define a pin we'll place an LED on
int ledPin = D2;

// Our button wired to D0
int buttonPin = D3;

int speaker = D4;

int melody[] = {1908,2551,2551,2273,2551,0,2024,1908};

int noteDurations[] = {4,8,8,4,4,4,4,4 };

void setup()
{
  // Set up the LED for output
  pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);

  // For input, we define the
  // pushbutton as an input-pullup
  // this uses an internal pullup resistor
  // to manage consistent reads from the device
  
  pinMode( buttonPin , INPUT_PULLUP); // sets pin as input
  
  pinMode(speaker, OUTPUT);
}

void loop()
{
    // find out if the button is pushed
    // or not by reading from it.
    int buttonState = digitalRead( buttonPin );

    if( buttonState == LOW )
    {
     // turn the LED On
     digitalWrite( ledPin, HIGH);
     for (int thisNote = 0; thisNote < 8; thisNote++) {

      int noteDuration = 1000/noteDurations[thisNote];
      tone(speaker, melody[thisNote],noteDuration);

      int pauseBetweenNotes = noteDuration * 1.30;
      delay(pauseBetweenNotes);
      
      noTone(speaker);
     }
      
    }else{
     // otherwise
     // turn the LED Off
     digitalWrite( ledPin, LOW);
     noTone(speaker);

    }

}

Click to Expand

Reflection & Next Steps

This is definitely a meaningful project to me. Seeing ideas (capture memory and evoke nostalgia feelings) that are dear to my heart turned into my first IoT project is very rewarding. I hope the next step of this project is to find ways to scale this type of project, and explore other ways or methods that can be implemented into this type of projects.

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Found In

DioT 2019: Augmented Objects

Courses

49713 Designing for the Internet of Things

· 18 members
A hands-on introductory course exploring the Internet of Things and connected product experiences.

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About

The goal of this IoT design project is to create a memory box that evokes the nostalgia feeling when you open the box. The music, light and the objects in the box engage your five senses to bring you back to a memory that's meaningful to you.

Created

January 31st, 2019

Made by Jo Zhouzheng