Project Concept
What Will it Do?
The project is a lighting system that will be adapted for the dressing table in my room for use while watching tutorial videos on hair or makeup preparation. The idea is to network an embedded screen or a mobile device to a board that will then control the intensity and hue of the lights around the mirror. There are two current methods that I am considering to use, one is a hanging phone-holder that will be attached to the mirror and the other is an embedded screen.
Who Has Done What Beforehand?
Through my search I have found a few projects that use the ides of mirrors along with lighting.
- SMIRROR by Edwin Motte Sauter is a responsive device that directs by a rotational device that is triggered by motion sensors. This project is very interesting and I might adopt from it the mounting of the electronics, however, I do not intend to have motion.
- Smart Mirror by Elena Chong Loo is a project inspired by Magic Mirror. It is a mirror with a built in interface that displays information you program it to. If I decide to go with the embedded screen in my project I might need to study the way that Smart(Magic) Mirror works to understand how I could adopt it. However, my knowledge at this stage is not up to this projects standards and so I would like to see what method I am capable of working with.
- Magic Mirror is the open source modular smart mirror platform where you can easily download the interface.
Some References for myself to understand better
What is Different?
For my project I would like to keep it simple to fulfill one need in my household. The lighting in our house is not great and when I am sitting in front of my vanity I am always covering one of the light sources, no matter where it is placed. For that reason the function of the mirror is to light up when it is going to be in use.
Project Development
What Will I Design?
- Body: the body will be enclosures and a clasping mechanism to place the lights and the phone holder on my existing vanity mirror. Or in the case of the embedded screen, the body will be the enclosure of the electronics, embedded screen, and the lights. In both methods I will be using 3D printing for the light enclosures and clasping method. I will use the laser cutter to cut a frame for the mirror. The CNC will be used to engrave the backingso the electronic components and wiring can sit neatly in it.
- Eelctronics: *NEED TO ASK*
- Network: to connect my iPhone to the board *CHECK IF CORRECT* I might need to upload a code to an ESP32 that can detect key words and then trigger the lighting system
What Materials and Components will be Used?
The table below will outline the materials/components, where they will be found, how much they will cost, and which coresponding processes will be used to make them.
| Material |
Buy/Existing/Make |
Link to Material/Component |
Corresponding Week |
| Mirror |
Existing - At Home |
N/A |
N/A |
| Clasping Method |
Buy + Make |
Black PLA |
Computer-Controlled Cutting - 3D Printing |
| Acrylic |
Buy |
Clear 1/4" |
Computer-Controlled Cutting - Laser Cutting |
| Plywood |
Existing - Warehouse |
N/A |
Computer-Controlled Machining - Engraving |
| PCB Board |
Existing + Make - FabLab Barcelona |
Provided by the Lab |
Electronics Design and Production |
| NeoPixels |
Buy |
Adafruit NeoPixels 1m |
Embedded Programming + Outputs |
*prices to be added once available*
What Parts Will Be Made?
As mentioned above, the parts to be made include the boards, housing container for the components, and the clasping method for the lights to sit on the mirror.
What Processes Will Be Used?
- Laser Cutting - for the cover
- 3D Printing - for the connection between the NeoPixel Strips and the mirror
- CNC Engraving - for the housing of the components
- PCB Milling + Soldering + Programming - for the board detecting key words and triggering the lights
What Questions Need To Be Answered?
- The first question that needs to be answered to define the project's aesthetic and final function is whether I should work with an embedded touch screen or to continue with making an addition to existing mirror.
- the benefit of the embedded screen is that I will not need to rely on the existing furniture piece
- the benefit of the addition is that it can be added and removed, used on different dressing table's, and can be transported
- How can the board detect a video played from my phone and search for key words?
How Will It Be Evaluated?
As this is a personal project to start with, the evaluation will be based on a first-person perspective. If the lights are turned on with the correct settings with a large range of videos then it would have worked in the basic method it was programmed to. For later steps, I would also like to have an interface on my phone to control the light when the videos are not playing. I also would like to use a Magic Mirror so as to allow the screen to play the videos from within and to use as a projection screen for movie nights