TL;DR:

I ideated, designed, and built a fully-working prototype of a smart lamp, which provides weather information in an intuitive and pleasing way.

When/Where

2017 / South Bend, IN

Role

Product Designer, Sole Contributor

Duration

2 Months

Background

My professor was describing our final project for the semester, to create a physical “widget”, or interactive product over the course of two months, and for whatever reason, I couldn't bring myself anywhere near an idea. I must've been upset, about something that I've long since forgotten, one of those days that feels like nothing good could happen.

And what'll you know, but I leave the classroom to find a torrential downpour to greet me outside. And, I forgot my jacket that day. Great.

Why'd I forget my jacket? Because I couldn't have been bothered to check my phone while getting ready in the morning (I was probably already late to class), and Siri creeped me out. Or maybe I just forgot and blamed it on Siri being creepy.

Dripping wet and cursing under my breath, I lumbered into my room, and flip the lightswitch...

That's it!

I had my idea. What if the light in my room WAS my weather report?

Suddenly my day didn't seem so bad.

Research

After my "lightbulb moment", I started to research and sketch different ideas and potential form factors for a bedroom lamp. Much of this work was aesthetic, but also because I kept in mind the idea that there needed to be at least a dual purpose to the interface - I needed to know if it was going to rain, but also how much cold to prepare for.

At the same time, I started to experiment and learn how to use the Arduino Platform approaching a technical prototype. I used the standard Arduino LED's for indicators, and also used a Wifi Shield to connect to a weather service API to pull the appropriate weather information.

This was actually one of the most enjoyable parts to the whole process, as it served a welcome application for my computer science skills I was developing for my degree.

Design Iterations

I settled on a Box-like form factor, with the intention of having a flat face upon which to build an informative interface. I then iterated on potential layouts for the front panel, with custom iconography and some visual iteration as well.

As I had some experience with 3D Modeling, I decided to model the product in SolidWorks and render in Keyshot once I had the design and other specifications finalized.

Final Product

Much soldering, laser-cutting, and woodworking later, I had a working prototype.

The color of the main body of the lamp indicated the overall temperature for each day, a range I set based on my personal taste and as a spectrum between blue and orange.

On the front panel, there would be another LED that would shine behind and illuminate an icon to show what kind of weather conditions were expected that day.

So what's next?

I added a "Mode" button that didn't end up getting used. The intention there was to expand the unit's functionality, to be able to set timed routines to turn on/off, to adjust the brightness, etc.

Speaking of brightness, as this was primarily a prototype, the LED's that came with the Arduino kit did not shine bright enough to provide the level of illumination that I would want.

If I were to expand on this project I would expand on both of these features, as well as find a way to connect wired power to the unit, as the prototype worked off battery power.