At wonderMakr, I worked as a core member of the engineering team to bring a variety of machines and displays to life. I designed and built projects to create immersive digital experiences through the creative use of technology. Below are a few examples of the projects I completed over the course of my 4 month co-op term.
The Hendrick's Cucumber Organ is exactly what it sounds like: an organ played on cucumbers! This was my favourite project I worked on during my time at wonderMakr, since I led the project as the main technologist. I handled the system design and implementation of technology from start to finish, using capacitive touch sensors along with Arduino. The organ was showcased at the Toronto Eaton Centre as part of a Hendrick's Gin promotion.
I was heavily involved in the software development for this project: an interactive wall of LED strips that react to incoming tweets. Controlled by a Raspberry Pi, the LED Wall is able to listen for tweets containing a certain hashtag, identify emojis in the tweet, and display the emoji using LEDs. It is also capable of processing and displaying images (including animated GIFs) that are uploaded to the Pi via a local webpage.
This arcade-style machine features a virtual slots game. The goal of the game is to match the colours of cars traveling down three highway lanes, simulating a round of slots. For this project, I was tasked with circuit building and programming the microcontrollers.
I was responsible for the hardware integration of WestJet's "Virtual Baggage", which was the focus of the above commercial. The unique baggage allows WestJetters to communicate with a traveling family through live-streaming suitcases and golf bags.
I led the circuit design and prototyping for an LG V20 phone display. Users would be able to compare the audio quality of LG's V20 phone with a competitor's phone by turning a rotary switch. The switch controlled the sound output through headphones as well as LED light strips. Above is a photo of the work in progress.