Inspiration: This past summer a cardinal nested in the tree outside my living room window. As we waited anxiously for her eggs to hatch, we refrained from sticking our heads too close to the window so as to not disturb our avian visitor. We finally figured out her eggs had hatched one early morning when we woke up to tiny chirps.
When designing the nature orb, I wanted to create something that could provide a nature lover such as myself with a noninvasive way to interact with the environment. I ended up with a hanging orb attached to a controlling base that can clip onto a tree branch. When it's clipped next to a bird's nest or area of common bird activity, the microphone will pick up the bird chirping and light up the orb. Imagine attaching it to a tree in your back yard and observing its light up over your morning coffee as the birds wake up. Or, envision multiple orbs attached to different trees in a nature sanctuary, alerting visitors to the rich wildlife in the area.
The majority of this project was new to me. It was my first time working with an Arduino, microphone sensors, and LEDs. I do, however, have experience in creating public art installations using basic arts and crafts materials, so I combined that knowledge with the small amount of tech know-how that I learned within the first few weeks at CMU.
The ornamental aspect of my project, the orb, was made with a simple styrofoam ball covered in attractive translucent paper and layered with modge podge.
