This week, I visited the National Museum of Mathematics. The museum features many different types of installations, and my main purpose in going was to gather inspiration on how to provide visual feedback for my own installation. Since many of the interactions there are designed for children, the museum serves as an excellent reference point, especially as an extreme use case. I observed that many of the installations use lighting as a form of feedback, particularly using different colored lights. This takeaway will be incorporated into the next iteration of my project.

The next step I took was modifying the circuit and code. Overall, I made changes because I replaced the sensor — switching from an ultrasonic distance sensor to a button-like structure. As a result, the signal Arduino sends to P5.js changed from distance values to boolean data. Building on this, I added a new light logic system: when a button is pressed during video playback, a red light turns on; when the button is pressed while the video is not playing (i.e., in a triggerable state), a green light turns on. However, based on the feedback I received, I plan to revise this so that the light is constantly on when the system is idle (ready to be triggered) and dims after being triggered — a more natural and less abrupt interaction.

This week, I also continued working on the animation. I completed most of the animation for the “Market Scenes,” particularly the part where the protagonist meets the merchant.

Another thing that made me happy this week was finally casted the touchable sample for Chapter 2 into metal. My next step is to treat the surface and fill in color on the rightmost third of it.