Flower Masks

Our project is an automated artistic expression of disease masks that connects the masks worn in the 1700’s to prevent the spread of disease to the masks worn now during the pandemic. Essentially, we will be creating these masks that have a beak-like shape, mimicking the masks worn in the 1700s as seen below. This will be a wireframe structure and within that mask will be flowers, representing the herbs and nice-smelling things put in those masks in the 1700s, since they originally believed that by avoiding the bad smell, they could avoid catching the disease all together. We will automate the opening of the mask using a button (hand-controlled) and servo motors that will open the “beak” to release the flowers. That is meant to represent how although masks back then were thought to prevent the wearer from catching the disease, nowadays wearing a mask mostly enables you to protect others. Functionally, the hope is for the mask to open at the press of a button, releasing flowers from the “beak”. The ultimate goal is for the wearer of the mask to appreciate the connection between mask-wearers today and mask-wearers from generations ago.

In terms of our technical structure, we are trying to keep the wireframe as simple (and light) as possible so that 1 or more servo motors can drop and lift the bottom of the beak to release flowers. These servo motors will probably be situated at the top of the head and connect to the bottom of the beak with string. The only sensing we will have is a button that can be clicked to open and close the “beak”. The key technical challenges are going to be building the wireframe (especially if we are only using unfolded paperclips) and getting the servo motor(s) to drop and lift the bottom of the beak far enough to actually let flowers out.