Water Surface Lamp

Duration

6 Weeks

Dec. 2021 - May. 2022

Roles

Product design
Arduino programming

Link

Water Surface is a DIY atmosphere lamp that creates hypnotic ripples of light when touched.

It can be placed on your table, shelf, or bedside to create a harmonious atmosphere, bringing an absorbing experience to the user. Indeed, the lamp simulates the relaxing sensation of watching ripples appear on a placid lake.

outcome

Over 10,000 users have already visited the Water Surface Instructables.com project page, where shares detailed step-by-step directions of how to build your own lamp. It is now a featured project on the Instructables website. This project has inspired other Arduino enthusiasts to build their own Water Surface Lamps, including this variation by Wilko Lunenburg.

Materials & Structure

This project used a range of materials, including an Arduino Uno, a Capacitive touch sensor, and an assortment of Neopixel rings. Check out this short video that shows the assembly testing phase of the project, revealing the inner-workings of the Water Surface Lamp:

thoughts & Takeaways

Turning from simulated animation to a truly usable lamp was the greatest success, and ultimately, they looked almost the same. This idea can also be developed with a lot of different water ripple effects. For example, the effect of the water texture will be different from the strength of the touch. Or it can also create interference of waves when two people touch it at the same time.

This project started from a small but interesting idea, but the whole making process was full of uncertainty, especially the diffusion of light. How should the LEDs change? What is used to diffuse light? How to diffuse lights? In the making process, it went through a series of trial and error to produce the final outcome.