Malia Kuo | Creative Embedded Systems

Ubiquitous computing is creating new canvases and opportunities for creative ideas. Explored the use of microprocessors, distributed sensor networks, IoT, and intermedia systems for the purposes of creative expression.

Enchanted Book Nooks, Dec 2023

arduino ESP32, LEDs (5 mm & 10mm), touch sensors, stepper motor, servo motor, buttons, shrinky dinks, wire, tissue paper, Processing, Procreate

A “book nook” is a shadow box meant to fit into a bookshelf and depicts any scene from civilization to nature or fantasy. Our project is a series of three interactive book nooks combined to create an escape room experience. The user acts as the fated hero meant to restore light and beauty to a cursed land. In the first book nook, a portal, the user has to decode the riddle provided by a Processing program to open the door to the next book nook, a magical forest scene. Here, the user must interact with the box in order to restore life to the land. Once all touch sensors are triggered, the final box will light up and the hero has saved the land.

click here to read my full write up of the project

M&M City, Nov 2023

arduino ESP32, LEDs (5 mm & 10mm), touch sensors, stepper motor, servo motor, light sensors, legos

We built a city street in Legos using Arduino ESP32s, 2 stepper motors, and 2 servo motors. We created photoresistor responsive LED lights. At the press of the green button, the barrier (controlled by a servo motor) will open, the red stoplight will turn off, the green stoplight will turn on, and a servo motor will propel the car forward. The barrier will close behind it and the stoplight will turn red. At the press of the yellow button, everything resets. The barrier opens, and a pulley system attached to a stepper motor will pull the car back to the start position. The entire time, the LEDs are sensitive to light and a separate stepper motor constantly rotates to display a sign that welcomes you to M&M city.

click here to read my full write up of the project

Fractal Flowers, Oct 2023

arduino ESP32, light sensor, touch sensors, Processing

Fractal Flowers is an interactive piece of installation art, which displays changing fractal trees based on ambient light and touch. When going into this project, I really liked the idea of a piece that could kind of show the passage of time/was affected by the environment. It exchanges data via UDP and displays the fractals in Processing.

click here to read my full write up of the project

Memory Mania, Sept 2023

arduino ESP32, buttons, LEDs, Processing

Memory Mania is a two-person, ESP32-controlled Processing game which tests the strength of your memory! When going into this project, we wanted to make something that was a collaborative effort between two people but was also somewhat competitive (so it can be extra fun).

click here to read my full write up of the project

Color Connections, Aug 2023

Processing

I created an application that creates randomly colored, randomly positioned circles of randomly varying transparency which expand and contract based on different sine calculations. Based on screen size, the number and size of the circles will change.

click here to read my full write up of the project