MAA01 Introduction to Programming & Physical Computing
The Loss and the Call
Human activity has caused the loss of nearly one-third of the world’s forests since the end of the last Ice Age, an area almost twice the size of the United States. Our World in Data+1 Faced with this immense absence, Echoes of Presence aims not to plant new trees, but to revive the memory of forests through sound, light, and touch.
Concept & Inspiration
When you enter the space, you become the forest’s guest and co-creator. Ambient noise triggers dancing lights. Your movement draws poetic whispers from an unseen canopy. A gentle touch invites reflection. Inspired by installations such as VOID by Sergio Mora-Díaz — where light, sound and movement form a transcendent spatial experience — this prototype turns a threshold into a responsive environment. The goal is architectural: make invisible nature loss perceptible and invite a new way of being present with nature.
Technical Architecture
Three sensor-actuator loops power the experience.
A tactile button acts as a threshold. When pressed, the lights pause, the sound quiets, and the LCD displays “STOP!” — reminding us that we cannot simply take from nature.
Each cycle follows input → processing → output, inviting physical, emotional and cognitive interaction with the environment.
A sound sensor listens to ambient noise or a visitor’s voice and maps that to an array of eight LEDs and a central OLED visualization — the forest breathes and glows.
An ultrasonic ranger tracks approach: as you move closer, a 16×2 LCD displays a sequence of poetic quotes, as if nature itself is speaking.
Prototype & Bill of Materials
Built on a Seeedino Lotus board with Grove modules, the key components include: sound sensor (A2), ultrasonic ranger (D7), eight LEDs (pins 2,3,4,13,8,9,10,11), an I²C OLED and LCD display, and a buzzer (D5). The wiring remains compact yet scalable. The layout of LEDs and the OLED pattern deliver a tangible sense of the forest’s pulse. The LCD quotes and button input add narrative depth and invite behavior.
Experience Flow & Next Steps
Picture this installation in a gallery lobby or campaign foyer. As you walk in, the lights flow and patterns breathe. Nature speaks. With further development, the system could scale: LED strips wrapped around architectural elements, full ambient-sound recordings from forests, extra proximity and light sensors, even a façade version for outdoor spaces. Through this work, Echoes of Presence becomes more than code and circuits — it becomes a gentle reminder of the silence we must listen to, the forests we once had, and the presence we can still share.
