Concept

When your partner sits down, stands up, shifts, or spins in their chair, your wind chimes spin and jingle to communicate their ambient presence. If your chimes are jingling a lot, maybe your partner is spinning in their chair or shifting a lot, indicating restlessness. By attaching the Bluefruit to a chair, we can use the accelerometer on the Bluefruit to sense movements, jolts, etc. in the chair.

We want this set up to provide a sense of presence and connection between two people that are separated. Helen and I were drawn to the idea of providing both an auditory and visual presence by listening and watching the wind chime move and create sound – especially in regards to creating an atmosphere of ambient awareness.

Conceptual Drawings

System layout
Servo motor stand
Top view of acrylic stand that holds the servo motor
Photoshop rendering of wind chime set up based on images of sourced materials
Photoshop rendering demonstrating (a somewhat to scale) table top setting for the wind chime set up

Materials & Sourcing for Wind Chime Parts

  1. Bluefruit
  2. Alligator Clips
  3. Servo motor
  4. Elastic or tape to securely attach bluefruit to the chair
  5. 1/8″ Acrylic or wood
  6. Attachable bells
  7. Chain/hook attachments
  8. Circular metal ring for top base of wind chime
  9. Clear hanging wire for tying/reinforcement
Wind-Chime-Materials-ListDownload

Technology

  1. Accelerometer on the Bluefruit to detect movement
  2. Lasercut stands for the servo motor to hang upside down
  3. Sinusoidal movement in the servo motor for smooth movements