lukeemmerson.co.uk
design@lukeemmerson.co.uk
‘A calm technology will move easily from the periphery of our attention, to the center, and back.’ – Mark Weiser
Wind Visualiser is an Arduino and Processing project that harnesses the concept of Calm Technology in order to notify homeowners of incoming dangerous weather. Depending on different meteorological variables, an abstract visualisation will move in and out of the user’s peripheral vision, aiming to prevent accidents on the road and inform people when it is unsafe to go outside.
As you can imagine, Wind Visualiser would be situated in homes located in areas such as ‘Tornado Alley’ where severe weather is commonplace. It has a dual purpose: to be an organic, flowing, beautiful art piece that can be situated in the home, but also a device that could potentially save people from getting injured in extreme weather situations.
The Arduino circuitry is made up of an anemometer and a DHT sensor that monitors temperature and humidity. Temperature affects the colour of the visualisation and humidity determines the opacity of the piece. The anemometer controls particle density and particle flow speed. If the weather were humid, hot, and extremely windy, then the visualisation would be an intense red flow of particles, becoming very noticeable in the user’s periphery.