Project Overview

Synesthetic Lighting

Over the next ten weeks, our group has to accomplish a number of smaller tasks in order to complete our final product. Chiefly, the team must acquire the relevant knowledge to properly understand both the technical process as well as the underlying science behind the project. More specifically, we first must learn about the inherent connections between light and sound as well as the psychology of music and light. Once that is complete, the group must learn how to program in arduino and MATLAB to take in a sound input and produce a light output. 

For thousands of years, light has been used synonymously with good, justice, and truth. Before the advent of the lightbulb, the length of our days were solely determined by the sun, with days ending when it became dark. Thankfully, we have come a long way since then and artificial light (Image 1) is a necessity for our society to function. For our project we intend to take light one step further and create a device that will take an input of sound and simultaneously produce a certain color light that will complement the sound enhancing the complete sensory experience.

Image 1: Artificial vs. Natural Light

The theme of our lab section is biophelia and sustainability which focuses on how to ameliorate our society through imitation of nature. The biophilia hypothesis was first introduced by Edward Wilson in 1984 in book Biophelia (Image 2). The idea is that there is an instinctive bond between human beings and living systems in nature. There is a myriad of evidence that supports this hypothesis--contact with nature enhances healing and recovery, reduces stress, and promotes healthy children. Being in this section, our group was tasked with finding a project that is not only creative and feasible, but also one that will enhance people's lives through the inherent connection that humans have with light and nature. Our group decided that over the next ten weeks, we will attempt to create a module that, given a sound input, will display a light whose color matches the sound. Such a device would enhance the user's experience by presenting to the user the inherent connections between light and sound, triggering an emotional response in the user. 

Image 2: Biophilia by Edward Wilson

Our preliminary design was broken down into four main parts: input from MIDI controller, taking the sound and turning it into usable data using a spectrum shield, programming the arduino to take sound and produce certain color lights, and lastly connecting the LEDs to the arduino. An early sketch of this system can be seen below (Figure 1). 

There are several challenges that we can see facing us over the next few weeks, the main one being knowledge. None of the group members have serious experience with the psychology of light and sound or with microcontrollers so to make the project possible, extensive research must be conducted. Aside from online resources we also intend to get help from older students who have done similar projects in the past as well as our lab instructors. Through their guidance and our hard work, we believe that we will have a working prototype by week ten. A flowchart of our entire design process can be seen below (Figure 2).

Figure 2: Design Process Flowchart

The applications of this module are extraordinarily practical. Nearly all concerts performances are accompanied by sound to enhance the viewer experience. The same principles that are used at concerts and shows are what we are using to create our module. In many ways, we intend to capture the mesmerizing effect that lights at concerts have on the audience; experience enhancement and emotional intensification. 

Our Budget
The budget mostly consists of the MIDI controller, Arduino Leonardo board (micro-controller), spectrum shield (sound processor), and an array of lights. The budget is subject to items breaking, and needing more supplies; most likely more LED lights if needed.

               Table 1. Budget

Category	Projected Costs
MIDI Controller	$110.00
Sound Processor	$30.00
Microcontroller	$24.95
LED Lights	$15.00
TOTAL	169.9