True North is an art piece uniting design, software development, and electrical engineering. Inspired primarily by the loneliness of isolation during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, this project is intended to provoke thought surrounding connection and relationships over distance.
The focus of this project was to create a pair of technology-augmented jackets that act as compasses towards each other, each using the other as their figurative magnetic North. Each jacket had six flexible LED strips placed approximately equidistant around the torso, and the light from the LEDs acted as a compass needle, with one LED lighting up at a time to indicate the direction of the other jacket. That is, if the user turned in place, the lit LED would switch such that the direction indicated would remain constant. This was accomplished using a magnetometer-accelerometer pair to give local orientation data, a cellular module with GPS capability to acquire and send location information, and a single-board computer running custom software.
These jackets were tested over a half mile of distance and successfully helped users find their way to each other. Given the specifications of the cellular module used, it is expected that they can accurately point towards each other regardless of distance, provided they are in North America and within range of cell service.
This deeply personal project is meant to give the user fodder to consider their own relationships within space, where their own true North lies, and what it means to be pointing in the direction of home.
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