HeartSync

A split high-tech pendant that mirrors your love: LEDs sync your moods, proximity triggers rising patterns, and magnetic snaps reveal your bond—or repel if tensions spark.

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Inspiration

What it does

How we built it## Inspiration

Long‑distance relationships are tough, and we wanted to build something that makes emotional connection feel physical again. The idea came from imagining a pendant that doesn’t just sit there — it reacts, responds, and reflects the bond between two people.

We were also inspired by the idea of forces in physics representing emotional forces. The magnetic attraction between pendants became a metaphor for the “pull” between partners. In fact, we even joked that love follows an inverse‑square law:

𝐹

𝑘 ⋅ love 𝑑 2 This playful idea helped shape the engineering behind the project.

What We Learned

Throughout the build, we learned how to integrate mechanical design, electronics, and emotional storytelling into a single device. Key takeaways included:

How to drive LEDs with smooth, expressive animations

How to control electromagnets safely

How to design a compact mechanical enclosure

How to use sensors to detect proximity and alignment

How to translate abstract emotions into physical interactions

We also learned a lot about rapid prototyping and how to iterate quickly under time pressure.

How We Built It

Our pendant system consists of two halves that communicate wirelessly and react to each other’s state.

Electronics Microcontroller (ESP32) for wireless communication

RGB LEDs for mood and “love intensity” visualization

Hall‑effect sensors to detect proximity

Electromagnets for attraction/repulsion

Small Li‑ion battery + charging module

Mechanical Design 3D‑printed pendant shells

Snap‑fit internal frame

Magnetic mounting points

A hinge‑like mechanism that allows the two halves to “click” together

Software LED animations mapped to emotional states

Wireless sync protocol

Proximity‑based behavior logic

Safety limits for electromagnet activation

When the pendants approach each other, the LEDs shift into a rising pattern. If the emotional “sync” is strong, the electromagnets pull the pendants together. If the system detects a mismatch (our playful metaphor for conflict), the magnets briefly repel.

Challenges We Faced

Every part of the project pushed us in different ways:

  1. Electromagnet Tuning We had to balance strength and safety. Too weak, and the pendants wouldn’t snap together. Too strong, and they’d become dangerous. Finding the right current and duty cycle took a lot of testing.

  2. Wireless Sync Issues Interference caused mismatched LED patterns early on. We had to implement a more robust communication protocol with retries and timestamping.

  3. Mechanical Fit Designing a pendant that was both aesthetic and functional was harder than expected. Internal components kept colliding, so we redesigned the shell multiple times.

  4. Battery Life LEDs + magnets drain power fast. We optimized animations and added sleep modes to extend runtime.

Final Thoughts

This project let us blend engineering with emotion — a rare and rewarding combination. We built something that isn’t just a gadget, but a symbol of connection. And along the way, we learned how to turn abstract feelings into mechanical motion, electrical signals, and expressive light.

Challenges we ran into

Accomplishments that we're proud of

What we learned

What's next for HeartSync

Built With

  • aruduino
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