Whomping Dum-Dum is an interactive sculptural metal-wired tree. The tree branch moves unexpectedly and clumsily when an audience approaches closely. The movements of the tree branches can sometimes be aggressive but sometimes too slow to be noticed. While trees are naturally stiff, they actually have a lot of movements that were not noticed by humans. Through this project, I hope my audiences can discover the liveliness of the tree.

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Arduino Coding

#include <Servo.h>
//Servos
Servo servo[10];
// the number of the push button pin
int buttonPin[] = {22, 26, 30, 34, 38};
int buttonState[5];
int pos[5];
boolean moving[5];
boolean directions[5];
void setup() {
// initialize the push button pin as an input:
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
pinMode(buttonPin[i], INPUT);
}
for (int j = 0; j < 10; j++) {
servo[j].attach(j + 2);
}
}
void loop() {
// read the state of the push button value:
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
buttonState[i] = digitalRead(buttonPin[i]);
}
for(int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
if(moving[i]) {
if(directions[i]) {
pos[i] = pos[i] + 1;
} else {
pos[i] = pos[i] - 1;
}
servo[i*2].write(pos[i]); delay(15); servo[i*2+1].write(pos[i]);
if(pos[i] == 0) {
moving[i] = false;
}
if(pos[i] == 180) {
directions[i] = false;
}
} else {
if(buttonState[i] == HIGH) {
moving[i] = true;
pos[i] = 0;
directions[i] = true;
}
}
delay(15);
}
}

First Review

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I used the cylinder of a floor lamp to be the backbone of my sculpture. I have installed ten servo motors and five PIR sensors: each sensor will control two motors. I still need to solder more electronic wires and add more metal wires to the sculpture.

First Test

This is a small prototype of an interactive tree made with PIR sensor and servo motors. When people approach the tree branch, the PIR sensor can sense the movement and then servo motors will be triggered to turn around the tree branch. In this prototype, I only used one PIR sensor controlling three servo sensors, but for the final project, I may need at least ten PIR sensors, each controlling 2-3 servo motors. In the final project, I may also use plaster and much stronger wires to keep the tree heavy enough.

For the software part, I used the Button function in Arduino so the PIR sensor is like the button: when there is no movement, the button is off so branches do not move; otherwise, when movement is detected, the button is on so branches move.

Visualization

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I was inspired by the whomping willow in Harry Potter so I want to create a movable tree whose branches move when something pass around it. The tree can be tangled by many wires and wires are connected to several controllers. The hardest part of this project might be how motions can be sensed by the tree.