Past Student Work

Final Project: Inside E’s Mind (An Introspective Mirror)

Posted by Sabrina on
Eunice Melara
Final Project
Materials used:
Two Dotstars
1 ultrasonic sensor
1 mirror
LCD screen
Bunch of wires
Arduino
                                                        Inside E”s Mind
With my final project, I decided to make an interactive mirror. The viewer is expected to become me when facing the mirror (being in my shoes) and experience the things I tell myself when facing a mirror (through the LCD). In other words, an examination of my own conscious thoughts and feelings (introspection).
So let’s get started. I included the two dotstar strips because every time I walk past a mirror, it’s like the mirror is flashing to get my attention, hence I always stop and look at the mirror. So the lights will be flashing when no one is around until someone is in close proximity.  I decided to make the LCD screen attached to the top of the mirror with the Dotstar lights wrapping around it, so when the ultrasonic sensor (which is attached to the thing that holds the mirror) senses someone, the LCD screen will print if the viewer is 60-50 cm away, “You always look tired”, if 49-40cm, it will print “You need more makeup”, if 39-20cm, “U have ugly hair today”, and finally, if 19-1cm, it will print “That’s one nasty pimple”.
With this in mind, I connected the LCD and Ultrasonic sensor to the breadboard and the Arduino circuit board. Note, LCD,  and the Ultrasonic sensor will share the same GND and 5V!
·         For the LCD, I connected SDA to A5 and SCL to A4 on the circuit board.
·         For the Ultrasonic sensor, I connected the trig to pin 2 and Echo to pin 3
·         For the Dot stars, I connected the datapin to 4 and clockpin to 5, Gnd to Gnd. (it will share the same 5V to the LCD and Ultrasonic sensor)
( Using the breadboard, I connected the LCD GND to the same GND to the 
Ultrasonic (same with the 5V)). Then I expanded the wires connected to the LCD by adding more wires! Then I soldered the wires that were on the breadboard onto the “mini” breadboard.

 Once done, I attached the LCD, sensor, and dot star lights to the mirror. And you are set! Now you are able to know what goes on in E’s Mind when she looks at the mirror.