Lotus Light Sculpture

This Lotus is based on the Lotus I created for the course Sensors for Physiology: https://www.vectorious.nl/lotus/.

I really like the aesthetic of the first Lotus, but I wanted to make the electronics inside part of the sculpture. The base became a PCB that contains most of the components. The flower petals I kept the same: they are still pre-shaped wires sporting 0805 SMD LEDs on the ends.

The Lotus is able to pulsate because of the ATTiny85 at its centre. This chip is the brains of the Lotus and can be reprogrammed through the connectors to the left of it. The 3 concentric rings of the Lotus can be addressed by 3 ATTiny pins that are pwm (pulse width modulation) enabled. Another pin is connected to the flat pushbutton which enables cycling through different programs.

As a soldering workshop, this Lotus combines knowledge of electrical engineering and programming. It is quite interesting to code aesthetically pleasing light sequences. The sequence in the video below was achieved using a sine function, but an easing function might also be interesting in this context.

This project helped me develop my skills in Technology & Realisation and Creativity & Aesthetics.