MINI Fan The Flame
Arduino Burn Unit
Arduino Burn Unit
Ever since I first heard about the Arduino project in 2008, I was waiting for a challenging project with this cool piece of hardware. That challenge finally came in December of 2011.
I was riding on my bike trough Mechelen one sunny afternoon in November when I got a call from my friends at Agency.com. “We have an idea that we want to check with you. We have this car attached to a rope on a ramp and there’s a burner under the rope. People can push a button online and the flame ignites. Can you make this?” For this I had to step of my bicycle for a minute.
“hm, sure…“
1. Technical study
The location of this installation was to be the parking of the bi-annual car trade show in Brussels. The location is very relevant, with more then 30.000 visitors of the trade show potentially walking past the installation every day. That also meant the deadline was only 4 weeks away. At this stage the people of TBWA still needed to convince MINI and the organizers of the trade show, this installation could be build, and preferably, be safe to operate for everybody. So first I did a technical study of this setup.
We needed:
I was riding on my bike trough Mechelen one sunny afternoon in November when I got a call from my friends at Agency.com. “We have an idea that we want to check with you. We have this car attached to a rope on a ramp and there’s a burner under the rope. People can push a button online and the flame ignites. Can you make this?” For this I had to step of my bicycle for a minute.
“hm, sure…“
1. Technical study
The location of this installation was to be the parking of the bi-annual car trade show in Brussels. The location is very relevant, with more then 30.000 visitors of the trade show potentially walking past the installation every day. That also meant the deadline was only 4 weeks away. At this stage the people of TBWA still needed to convince MINI and the organizers of the trade show, this installation could be build, and preferably, be safe to operate for everybody. So first I did a technical study of this setup.
We needed:
The height of the rope or flame can be adjusted, depending on the number of fans. The burner unit should be protected from the burning rope.
And a few extra’s: The installation is in open air, in the middle of winter. It has to stay operational for at least 14 days with minimal intervention or maintenance.
Luckily this plan got the approval from everybody involved so we could get to work.
I became responsible for the production of the burn-unit and the construction of the rope. Both these elements are closely linked since we didn’t want the contest to be over after the first few burns. We needed a visibly powerful flame, and a rope strong enough to endure the fire for long enough.
2. Electronics
It was clear Arduino was the way to go. It is connected to the internet. The unit receives burn-commands and ignites the flame. It also sends back info on the status of the unit. (is the car still connected? is there fire or water in the unit? )
So my Arduino gets an ethernet shield, a thermocouple and connections to the other in- and outputs.
And a few extra’s: The installation is in open air, in the middle of winter. It has to stay operational for at least 14 days with minimal intervention or maintenance.
Luckily this plan got the approval from everybody involved so we could get to work.
I became responsible for the production of the burn-unit and the construction of the rope. Both these elements are closely linked since we didn’t want the contest to be over after the first few burns. We needed a visibly powerful flame, and a rope strong enough to endure the fire for long enough.
2. Electronics
It was clear Arduino was the way to go. It is connected to the internet. The unit receives burn-commands and ignites the flame. It also sends back info on the status of the unit. (is the car still connected? is there fire or water in the unit? )
So my Arduino gets an ethernet shield, a thermocouple and connections to the other in- and outputs.
It helps to plan the layout of different buttons and switches.
3. Burn unit construction
Next the unit needed protection from the winter elements.
Next the unit needed protection from the winter elements.
And finally putting everything together.
The electronics are protected by a flame deflector, with a gutter to gather burning pieces of rope. On top you can see the electronic Bunsen burner that was rigged to be operated by the Arduino. In front the gas container, which was later replaced by a larger container.
In the meantime all of 2011 was almost over, and it was new years eve. So it was time to reassure the clients that everything was on schedule and we would have an operating installation in 7 days. (although there were still many sleepless nights ahead)
Below you can watch the video I sent to the clients on 31/12/2011 17:00 pm. (dutch)
In the meantime all of 2011 was almost over, and it was new years eve. So it was time to reassure the clients that everything was on schedule and we would have an operating installation in 7 days. (although there were still many sleepless nights ahead)
Below you can watch the video I sent to the clients on 31/12/2011 17:00 pm. (dutch)
Below a video by Agency.com/TBWA to explain the concept.
