Here is my effort to build a model to show how my global shoe size machine would look and function.
I started off by cutting a round platform and cutting a hold in the centre for the feet to step into. This part went fairly well, though i would love to be able to have gotten my hand on some sheet metal or some nice wood. That would have to come on the later prototype.
Next came the soldering. I connected 5 LEDs I did want at least 10 but Maplin was sold out. So for the time being Im stuck with just 5. This part also went smoothly as Ive had experience with soldering electronic components.
And I put everything all together including a switch to control the lights it look rather stunning.
In my opinion most things look better when they are lit up.
I then struct a dilemma where I needed an appropriate base.
Im tried different bases, one that is matt and one that is glossy.
I tried cutting the base so that it is round, just like the platform but i felt that the hovering platform effect was lost.
Glossy base is nice but it was very reflective and brought out the horrible wiring underneath. This meant that if I wanted to use a glossy base I would need to tidy up the wiring so that the reflection wouldn’t look scary for customers.
But overall I am happy with the red illumination in the centre of the scanner area and also around the edges. Maybe it would be even better if I had more LED lights installed.
While this experiment was much about exploring light to enhance the machine and make it inviting for users, i thought of making the lights flash in a circular sequence, so that one light flashes after the other and this could indicate tot he user that the machine is scanning. And then all lights on or blinking could mean scanning complete.
I still need to add more detail to the model as it came across to other people as too basic. So really its back to the drawing board to design some innovative new features to supplement the machine.
