Rose Enchanted
Rose Enchanted brings the iconic flower from Beauty and the Beast to life through an Arduino-powered mechanism with synchronized visual and auditory cues.
Conceptualization
Iteration & Process
This project was proposed as a sort of passion project, culimnating everythng we have learned throughout our time in ICAM at UCSD. That being said, I knew I wanted to create some sort of interactive installation, based on the Enchanted Rose from Beauty and the Beast. I wanted my piece to sort of act as an ode to my childhood, bringing something magical to life, in a way that utilized the technical skills I've come to be familiar with.
With that in mind, I created a sketch, where I would use an Arduino to essentially power and spin a motor-driven rose, making it look as though it were spinning, just like the rose from the movie.
I started by getting all my materials ordered, soldering my Arduino and 3d modeling my rose. For the Arduino, I used the Teensy 4.1, along with the Audio Shield, since I was planning on incorporating music alongside the physical rose. I also had to mill the bottom of my glass case, as I wanted the servo motor to sit flat with the base.
Programming & Construction
Once I had some of the parts moving, I began working on coding the servo motor, as well as printing the actual rose, as the first black one was just a test. After that, things moved pretty quickly. I got the servo motor up and running, and managed to sync the rotating movement with the music of my choosing, connected to a small speaker through the headphone jack. I brainstomed for a while trying to figure out how to best blend the motor with the rest of the piece, finally deciding on using fake rose petals to cover it up, making the piece look more natural.
I also chose to laser cut and engrave a small wooden box to conceal the electrical components, for a cleaner look. I included designs from the movie, specifically the telling of how the prince was cursed to become a beast.
Final Thoughts & Demo
All-in-all, I had a really fun time working on this project. Although debugging the code was difficult at times, I definitely felt more at ease than the first time I had done a project similar to this one. I am happy with the way it turned out, and I am glad that I was able to incorporate most of the elements I had hoped for.