What is a Zoetrope ?

It is an animation device that produces the illusion of motion by displaying a sequence of drawings showing progressive phases of that motion. In our case, it is a sculpture that displays a sequence of shapes showing a progression of that motion. The sculpture rotates at 10 revolutions per second and LEDs blink every 137.5 degrees to create the animation. The pattern follows a spiral phyllotaxy, common in nature.

task: to design a fun present for clients including assembly instructions, shipping packaging and user manual.

I designed the sculpture using Rhino+Grasshopper. The box is made of laser cut acrylic and hold the PCB+motor assembly in place. There is a laser cut cardboard tray in the off the shelf shipping box that I designed as well. The user manual was done in Adobe Illustrator. We first produced 200 units and more afterwards.

Electrical Engineering by Kenneth MacCallum and Luke Mills.