Creative Hardware
Embedded systems lab: Custom MIDI controllers, IoT, and kinetic art.
Experimental Engineering Lab – Physical–Digital Interface R & D
I established and led an experimental engineering lab focused on bridging physical and digital worlds through rapid prototyping, embedded systems, and novel user interfaces.The lab functioned as a hands - on R & D environment for exploring how hardware, sensors, and software can be combined to create intuitive, ambient, and expressive ways for humans to interact with data and systems.
Hardware Platforms & Embedded Systems
Projects in the lab leveraged a range of microcontroller and embedded platforms, selected for flexibility and rapid iteration: • Arduino(C / C++) for real - time control, MIDI devices, and sensor - driven interactions • ESP32 for Wi - Fi–enabled embedded systems and low - power IoT experiments • Custom electronics integrating buttons, encoders, LEDs, touch sensors, and environmental sensors
These platforms enabled tight feedback loops between physical input and digital response.
Interactive Devices & Installations
Key project areas included: • Custom MIDI controllers Hardware instruments built with Arduino and C++ to translate physical gestures into musical and control signals for digital audio workstations and performance software. • Interactive light installations LED - based systems responding to user presence, sound, or live data feeds, designed as ambient visualizations rather than explicit dashboards. • Embedded thin - client kiosks Purpose - built kiosks using lightweight clients to surface targeted digital experiences in physical spaces.
Each project emphasized responsiveness, durability, and clarity of interaction.
Novel Interfaces & Ambient Data Visualization
A central theme of the lab was exploring non - traditional user interfaces, including: • Sensor - driven interactions(motion, proximity, light, sound) • Gesture and physical - state–based input models • Ambient visual cues that convey system state without demanding attention • Physical representations of digital data for glanceable understanding
These experiments pushed beyond screens and keyboards to explore more human - centric interaction patterns.
Outcomes & Innovation Impact
The lab: • Produced working prototypes demonstrating new interaction paradigms • Informed product and platform ideas through hands - on experimentation • Served as a creative outlet for cross - disciplinary engineering skills • Reinforced rapid prototyping as a tool for innovation and learning
By blending embedded systems, software engineering, and design, the lab explored how technology can communicate information more intuitively through the physical world.