Leap Art

Physical device
SolidWorks model

Inspiration

We wanted to create an interactive user experience that allows people to create hand-written notes and drawings over long distances.

What it does

The user draws something in midair, and the user's hand position is tracked by Leap Motion. This motion is then mapped onto the x-y plane, and drawn onto a physical piece of paper.

How I built it

The mechanism to draw the lines was designed using Solidworks, laser cut out of particle board, and assembled. The movements are controlled using an Arduino and three servos - one for x-axis movement, one for y-axis movement, and one for lifting the pen. The input data is taken from the Leap Motion, and then processed and sent to the Arduino using cylon.js.

Challenges I ran into

The servo motions were limited to 180 degrees; in addition, servos cannot safely reach the endpoints. This limits the span of our motion and drawing. The Leap Motion is somewhat imprecise, and the input must be processed to reduce jitter. We did not have any previous experience using JavaScript or cylon.js, so this had to be learned along the way.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

The completed project is able to successfully move and track hand motions. We are able to create simple drawings using this device, and the drawing process is incredibly entertaining. We were able to incorporate Leap Motion with an Arduino, which we have never done before.