Whiteboards and blackboards, symbolic in representing education, were my inspiration to enhance teaching and learning not just in the classroom but outside of the classroom. I envisioned the Alphabet Board to be able to communicate ideas and concepts to users. I hope that the Alphabet Board’s concept educates the public about the different ways in which people communicate. I am working towards building the Alphabet Board so that it can educate the public on social issues and communication methods, for example, the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). I hope that this interactive art piece can have a positive and educational impact on society when it is shown. This project was published in the Made at Berkeley Showcase Book Issue 04.

about alphabet board

The Alphabet Board works as an automated sliding art puzzle that utilizes polargraphs to move letters and numbers on a whiteboard to create a sequence. Each letter or number block moves around the surface of a whiteboard by attaching onto a gondola with 2 electromagnets. Users interact with it by pressing a button and giving it an input. Letters and numbers will be arranged in a specific format that coordinates to a specific location on the XY axis. The Alphabet Board then rearranges itself to spell a word or time.

Product Shot: Latest iteration of the Alphabet Board on a whiteboard in Jacobs Hall.

Gondola: Holds 2 electromagnets and is made of clear acrylic with flower-shaped patterns. The electromagnets trigger each letter black to glow.

Electromagnets: The electromagnets trigger each letter block to glow.

Electronics:

The electronics rest on a marker holder tray. The video on the right shows some of our process photos.

Lights: I wanted each block to light up whenever a magnet was nearby. I had originally tried using a circuit board, which was heavy and time consuming. However, I discovered my fairylights in my room could be utilized by including a reed sensor.

Motors: I built a removable mount for the NEMA motors.

Block Design:

Latest block iterations are made of unwanted cardboard from the Amazon Hub Locker, acrylic, watercolor paper, aluminum foil, wood, and magnets.

Alphabet Board Iterations: Alphabet Board started with low-fidelity prototypes with markers before integrating electronics and electromagnets.

future steps

The first thing I would like to do is redesign each letter block. I would like each block to be easily customizable to allow users to swap out letters, numbers, and pictures easily. Some letter blocks also failed to stay on the whiteboard without dragging down. This is due to its weight and the strength of the magnetic whiteboard. During the summer of 2019, I experimented with different types of metals and magnets I could work with. I learned that the electromagnets work better with blocks that use steel sheets instead of rare earth magnets. For future iterations, I will need to utilize a camera so that users may move each block freely while maintaining the ability to track the block’s location. In addition I would like to debug the electronics and the code, implement Bluetooth, and utillilze a Raspberry Pi. Lastly, I envision the Alphabet Board to be an educational and interactive art installation that educates the public about social issues and the different ways in which living things communicate.

my contribution

Ideating and designing the Alphabet Board
Designing each letter and number block. It took over 15 iterations before I decided to work with light cardboard, fairy lights, acrylic, wood, and a stencil font.
Fabricating, designing, and prototyping the polargraph machine and its gondola
Constructing the electronics for the electromagnets and NEMA stepper motors
Arranging the Alphabet Board's power source
Photographing the project during the showcase