Nien's ITP Blog

Using your breath, you will remotely control the 3 elemental forces of nature, wind, fire and water, through a 6 foot bamboo cane.
 
The idea is based on the Chilean rainsticks that recreate the sound of rain when they are flipped over. The Elemental Stick allows for control of the sounds of wind, fire and water by the use of your breath. Mother Nature or God would perhaps use this type of interface to control the elemental forces. As you blow into the remote (shorter bamboo cane) the sounds of wind, fire, or water coming from the long bamboo cane will grow louder and the lights will become brighter. Twisting the remote, ie. altering the tilt, will change the control between the 3 different elemental forces.

After getting feedback from class, I’ve changed my idea a bit. So instead of a device that tells you the weather, I created a device where you can control the elemental forces of nature acting like God or Mother Nature. Using your breath, you will remotely control wind, fire and water. The project is made of a 6 foot bamboo cane that houses the electronics(w/ Xbee), a speaker and fiber optic cables. The remote is a shorter bamboo cane you blow into. It houses a Xbee, a thermistor and an accelerometer. As you blow into the remote, the sounds from the long bamboo cane will become louder and the fiber optics will become brighter. Twisting the remote will allow you to change between the 3 different elemental forces.
 
Testing Electronics

 
Testing Elemental Stick

 
Elemental Stick and Remote Demo