The Anti-Mirror
An art installation that starts distorting your reflection when you get close to it.
Tools/Skills:
Fabrication, sensing + actuation, microcontrollers, interaction design
Timeline:
Fall 2024
Collaborators:
Sylvie Weintraub, Kaden Levitt
I am fascinated by highly interactive and high-tech art such as…
…Danny Rozin’s work on responsive tile grids…
…and Neil Mendoza’s work on a shifting mirror that runs away from you.
The goal of the Anti-Mirror was to understand the principles of designing highly interactive and technical art pieces.
Making Process
The Anti-Mirror is made of a 4x4 grid of moveable mirrored tiles actuated by 16 servo motors, powered by an Arduino. Each tile can move independently.
CAD and rapid prototyping
I designed and fabricated each of the individual tiles in the 4x4 grid such that they could be connected to servo motors wired to a microcontroller. Getting a “tilting” motion of the tile, actuated by the servo motor, was tricky and took several iterations to perfect. I went through a few iterations of the concept of a 3D printed hinge, and ultimately decided on a hinge mechanism held together with screws.
Modular design
My teammates started with designing and laser-cutting a 2x2 concept grid. After this proof-of-concept was complete, they focused on wiring up 16 servo motors to the Arduino and replicating the 2x2 frame three more times, to house a total of 16 tiles and motors.
Interaction design and tech
In the meantime, I used the proof of concept to experiment with what types of interactions worked best with The Anti-Mirror. After some experimentation with infrared sensors, ultrasonic sensors, and proximity sensors, I decided that The Anti-Mirror would work best using an ultrasonic sensor to gauge whether someone was near it, and continuously distort itself using various patterns. I wanted to showcase the fact that the tiles could move individually and within a relatively large grid.
I also wrote the Arduino code (assisted by ChatGPT) to move the tiles in individual patterns.
Lessons in exhibition design
We decided to display the Anti-Mirror on a window sill rather than mounting it on a wall or whiteboard because we wanted to minimize the chance of it being knocked off. Though most people were able to see themselves in the Anti-Mirror without bending down, it added an element of intrigue to those who needed to stoop down to see it. We also decided to display the wires and hardware without a casing to add a futuristic feel to the installation.
Through the Anti-Mirror, I discovered a love for new media art, interaction design, and experience design!
This project has been the most involved version of the Ideate -> Design -> Test -> Iterate process that I’ve ever practiced.