Stone, Richard

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Thomas Jefferson UniversityJefferson Digital CommonsProgram of Industrial Design Capstones Kanbar College of Design, Engineering andCommerce5-1-2018Light PlayRichard StoneThomas Jefferson University, RichardStoneDesign@gmail.comLet us know how access to this document benefits youFollow this and additional works at: https://jdc.jefferson.edu/idcapstonesPart of the Industrial and Product Design CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Jefferson Digital Commons. The Jefferson Digital Commons is a service of ThomasJefferson University's Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). The Commons is a showcase for Jefferson books and journals, peer-reviewed scholarlypublications, unique historical collections from the University archives, and teaching tools. The Jefferson Digital Commons allows researchers andinterested readers anywhere in the world to learn about and keep up to date with Jefferson scholarship. This article has been accepted for inclusion inProgram of Industrial Design Capstones by an authorized administrator of the Jefferson Digital Commons. For more information, please contact:JeffersonDigitalCommons@jefferson.edu.Recommended CitationStone, Richard, "Light Play" (2018). Program of Industrial Design Capstones. Paper 31.https://jdc.jefferson.edu/idcapstones/31LightPLayAlex Marino & Richard Stone1Table of Contents2ResearchDesign Criteria Design Development Light Play4 - 2324 - 2728 - 4546 - 633ResearchChildren and PlayPlaygroundsCurrent MarketThe Problem45kids spend less than one hour outside a dayChildren + Play6Children + Play | Benefits of playTeaches Socialization Develops creativity Promotes physical activity“Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them.” (American Academy of Pediatrics)7Children + play | SpecialistDavid CohenDirector of Early Childhood EducationDavid works at Selma Maisel Nursery school in Connecticut. David personally chooses all of the playground equipment that is bought and installed by the school.David is in charge of purchasing all new playground equipment8David Developed a stem learning program that teaches children problem solvingFrom David Cohen, we learned that children are much more capable of cognitive thought, problem solving, and responsibility than we gave them credit for. To back up his point he showed us a special sciences program that he developed that teaches children skills such as biology, woodworking, and even basic programing. This gave us the confidence to create a more complex platform to develop Light Play without worrying that we needed directions or special indicators. Additional, he stressed the importance of a concept called “open play”. He talked in great length about giving children the ability to be creative with their play as well as in-control. That new research is finding that allowing children to create and play without strict or binding rules can be extremely beneficial for early development. This influenced us greatly, and eventually became a main design criteria that we feel is a defining characteristic of Light Play.9Children + play | affective Play spaceA space that pays attention to and supports the variety of feelings and moods that children bring with them or have during play. The space has particular areas, materials and/or props that at different times stimulate or encourage the expression, experience or experimentation with a range of emotions10Children + play | affective Play space Children + play | open-ended PlayOpen-ended play allows children to express themselves in play freely and creatively, not bound by preset limitations. There are no rules to follow, no expectations, no specific problems to solve, and no pressure to produce a finished product when engaging freely in open-ended play.1112playgrounds offer an open space for every kid to playPlaygrounds were chosen as the ideal location for our project because they are the most common, most effective, most efficient, most applicable, and most conducive setting for stimulating creativity and play. It’s all in the name.13playgrounds | public•Owned and maintained by city/township•Paid for by taxes and/or donation •Open to almost everyone •Used by the largest age range•Total footprint area can range from small to large, usually has the most access to free space•Equipment is the most industrial in construction quality due to less frequent maintenance•Still most likely to have broken equipment (Dependent on location)•Usually from the same manufacturer and aesthetic•Less constant and Larger equipment additions 14playgrounds | Private•Owned and maintained by private owner, typically a private school or company•Paid for by membership fees and/or donation •Open only to members or one time attendees•Used by the smallest age range•Total footprint area is usually small, has the greatest value on and least accessible free space•Equipment can range from typical to highend to even custom•More constant and smaller equipment additions •Least likely to have broken equipment (due to budgets, )15•Does not directly fit in the other two categories•Owned and maintained by private owner or non-for profit•Can be free or require payment•Used by a large age range (depends on place and type of equipment)•Total footprint area can range from small to large•Equipment is almost always custom, unique, or from uncommon manufacturers which is  what causes it to be an outlier from the other two categoriesplaygrounds | Special16Smith Memorial Playground has 6 1/2 acres of land and playgrounds17Playgrounds | SpecialistRebecca DhondtCommunity Programs ManagerRebecca works at Smith Memorial Playground and oversees the playground on a day to day basis. She helps develop and produce new children playspaces at Smith Memorial Playground. Rebecca oversees the playground equipment and programs run at Smith Memorial Playgorund18Rebecca gave us a personal tour explainging the good and back of playgroundsFrom Rebecca we learned about the longevity of different types of playground equipment, the maintenance of different types of playground equipment, how children of different age ranges interact, play, and “abuse” playground, and the process of purchasing and installing new equipment. She was generous enough to give us a tour around the Smith Memorial Playground facilities in Philadelphia. She pointed out what equipment she liked and kids played the most on and what was constantly requiring repair. From this we knew that our design would have to either be incredibly overbuilt or foster play without intense physical interaction from multiple children. We also learned about the process through which playground owners and managers research and buy new equipment. She also gave us a list of playground manufacturers that we used to try and foster more contacts and as design inspiration19Playgrounds | interactive•Limited in                     Creativity•One way to play•Exclusive play•Limited users20Playgrounds | Effective•Open Creativity•Open Play•Lack Durability•Lack Structure21Children should be given more control of their environment22Playgrounds | The problem It’s true, kids are spending less and less time outdoors, but why? There are a plethora of benefits to kids playing in the outdoors. Playgrounds design has slowly evolved into more and more complex and interactive systems but playgrounds have yet to address their biggest competitor. Computers and gaming consoles have captured the attention of kids all ages the immersive environments allow children to be whoever they want and play however they want. Parents also enjoy all of the new media available for their children and staying inside gives parents control of the environment. While some new playground equipment introduces Light-up components, none of the new equipment puts the kids in control of their environment. Children benefit when they can creatively change the environment around and make their own rules .23Design Criteria | InteractivelyHas input output (i.e. for every input command, action, etc. there is some sort of output function)Utilizes haptic, visual, or auditory controls and feedback24Design Criteria | Area IlluminationEffectively lights an areaAble to add any amount of playtime that was currently unavailable25Design Criteria | Unstructured Requires no rules or instructionsPromotes (but doesn’t limit) group playPushes game creation and general   creativity 26Design Criteria | Integration“Playable” playground equipmentIntended for playgrounds only to force aesthetic assimilationDoes not hide behind or distract from current equipment27DevelopmentVersion IVersion IIVersion IIIBlossom IBlossom IILight Play I2829Development | Version I30We talk to parents we talked to teachers, we went to every local playground to start understanding what playground equipment is, how does it live in its environment. We started to develop sketches that featured large controllable flood lights and interactive motion elements. The sketches also featured music making devices that would add another layer of developmental interaction. The first model was made to a 12th scale which allowed for the first testing of the RGB LED to be conducted with a simple Arduino and joystick.31Development | Version IIVersion II featured Jar-Jar our half-scale working model. The model was an LED flood light mounted to two high powered servos that were controlled by Arduino. The Arduino allowed us to use a joystick to control 2 axis of motion32Development | Version IIModel 2 (lovingly named Jar Jar) was a half scale prototype that we built to test functionality of multiple aspects. We designed and built our own custom servo mounts that gave us pan and tilt functionality and taught us what the load bearing limits of the servos was. Additionally we mounted a wide angle high intensity flood light to gain an understanding of how bright our light needed to be, and to learn how much the light itself spread out from the prototype.33Development | FeedbackJeanlouise HornbergerDesigner at BCI Burke•Designer at BCI Burke, a playground manufacturer in Wisconsin. Develops playground equipment from brief to manufacturingFrom Jeanlouise we learned a lot about the playground industry, and how to take our project to the next level. We learned about the different demographics that our design should accommodate for. We learned about how playground equipment is brought from an idea to a final product and we learned about the new hot equipment being developed right now. Jeanlouise told us about how colored acrylic is going to be the next big thing in the playground industry. She also warned about how late night lighting can attract the wrong people and to focus on the daylight features. From this we made the decision to re-evaluate our current design criteria.34Criteria update | effect on area From here, we had to decide if we should continue in the direction of area illumination to offset low light hours or to completely alter our criteria to address how our illumination effects an area. Using our previous prototypes and testing coupled with feedback from our experts and professors, we decided to change our design criteria. Our focus would from now on be to give children even more control of their play and play space, using light as the catalyst.35Development | Version iIIFor the next round of development we had to upgrade to professional DJ Lighting.36Development | Version iIIDevelopment | AcrylicVersion three was set to include acrylic as an important daytime feature. Acrylic would allow for a great interactive element that would have a nonpermanent effect on the environment. Version three also required a new way to interact with the light, a joystick would not provide the right amount of control. The new button layout would be tested and evolve into our final model. With the new RGB LED we also had the opportunity to design our own shadow projections that could shape the light. These would  give children more control of their environment.We tested multiple colors of clear acrylic on different surfaces to ensure the color of the acrylic would be transferred to the ground.37Development | Version iII38Thus because of our design criteria change, we had to go back a few step and do more hand and computer sketching. By this time had already developed a solid understanding the basic structure and features that addressed our other design criteria. So, with these sketches we wanted to focus solely on the new criteria. Thus we wanted to see how we could implement colored acrylic as a way to add functionality during times of direct sunlight. We also felt that the acrylic would add a secondary benefit of creating a much more relatable and purposeful form. We also played with the ideas of a button layout and graphic wraps for the pole.39Development | Blossom I40This all culminated into our first fully 3D modeled and rendered images. All our research, insights, prototypes, testing results, and feedback was taken into account when creating this version of Light Play. This iteration (codenamed Blossom), replaced our flood light and custom servo setup with an RGB LED DMX controlled spotlight. This new spot light also allowed for the addition of custom gobos, which are projected light shapes and are an industry standard for concert and stage lighting. We also added both static and dynamic acrylic panels to the structure in a way that created form, and in a location that would be safely out of reach of children.41Development | Blossom II42Taking into account the feedback we received and additional research and testing we conducted, we created the updated version of Blossom. Here we addressed mounting concerns for the acrylic and used Game Time’s Shadow Play as inspiration and created an improved mounting system. Each piece of quarter inch acrylic would be surrounded by bent aluminum tubing and bolted to multiple brackets. Additionally, there is a eighth inch gap between the acrylic and the tubing to allow air to better flow through the panels and prevent them from becoming large wind sails. Furthermore, we increased the scale of the panels so a larger effect can be achieved on the play area.43Development | in-ContextAfter Creating an in-context image we sent it out to our industry experts to get their feedback.44Development | Feedback“Is there a button they can press that will just do a ‘light show’ for them so a solo child can dance around in it for a few minutes?”“I’m still not getting how this lets kids use it during the day.  Do they move, or just that it will color the light and reflect on the ground?”“I think if you tied that aesthetic to the shapes of the lights you’ll be on the right track.”45LIGHt Play4647Light Play | Form48By taking advantage of simple geometric patterns, Light Play balances style with functionality. Inspired natural objects and caricatures, Light Play creates a simple and familiar style that children can easily relate to and imprint their own imagination upon. This form also functions as a platform to mount acrylic that alters sunlight in unique and colorful ways.49Light Play | FamilyLight Play takes advantage of the simplicity of it’s geometric aesthetic to create multiple forms. These varying designs allow for easy integration into different themes and environments. From a garden to a castle or from the moon to underground, Light Play can adapt to just about and playground and any play style.5051Light Play | Design CriteriaInteractiveControllable colored acrylic panels and a high powered spotlight are mounted to the top of Light PlayMotorized pole topper mount allows for continuous 360 rotation and up 90 degrees of tilt controlIndustrial weatherproof momentary buttons gives control of multiple functions to playing children, which include; The direction (pan) of the acrylic and spotlight The angle (tilt) of the acrylic and spotlight which as a result affects the   size and distance of the colored projections and light shapes The color of the spotlight projections The shape of the spotlight projectionsParty mode (an activated randomized mode that allows for an individual to play by themselves without the need to be constantly controlling Light Play)5253Light Play | Design CriteriaEffect on AreaStatic colored acrylic interacts and filters sunlight to throw colored shapes around the playgroundThe location of these shapes is constantly changing hour to hour and week to week, due to the angle of the sun through the acrylicDynamic colored acrylic also interacts and filters sunlight to throw colored shapes around the playgroundThe location of these shapes is determined by the direction and angle of the pole topper mount and the angle of the sun High powered spot light allows for illuminated effects during mid to low light hours and during cloudy and overcast daysSpot light can produce different colors that can interact with the ground, other structure, and children5455Light Play | Design CriteriaUnstructured PlayNo Rules or specific games are programed inMultiple colors and Gobo shapes give Light Play the ability to change and adapt to different games or play stylesUnlabeled controls promotes experimentation and creative learningForms are generic and allow children to imprint their own characters onto the structureSmall footprint allows for the use of open space or other structures in the area5657Light Play | Design CriteriaSpace IntegrationHas small footprint so easily integrates into locations where space is in high demandMultiple forms and aesthetics allow for implementation into playgrounds with varying themesLighting effects can work injunction with or even add to surrounding environment and other playground equipmentUser interaction (Buttons) is set at a specified height that allows for use by almost any person over the age of 45859Light Play | Construction9 gauge Steel Tube makes up the main body tube. Industry standard 5 inch diameter. Overall 148” length3M 1080 Vinyl Wrap allows for different aesthetics to supplement each form design.½ diameter aluminum tube makes up the acrylic frame. Aluminum is used over steel to reduce weight and for its corrosion properties.¼ inch thick Colored Acrylic is laser cut to shape and bolted to the tube frameRotatable light mount pole cap60Light Play | ElectronicsMinimum IP rating of 553 HW24-108 - IP65 Rated, NEMA 24 Stepper motors. 2 are used in a belt drive system to control head tilt while 1 is used to control pan.Belt drive and gearsST5-Si-NN - DC Advanced Microstep DriverAC6310 COMPACT SLIP RINGCustom pcb boardIP 55 rated pcb EnclosurePVC jacketed 22 awg gauge wire 6 IP 65 Metal push buttonsHigh Powered Adjustable Light61Light Play | Installation-9’ Above Ground Level light-Controls Are at 2.5’ above ground-3.5’ of the structure is buried below ground level Ground installation2 ft diameter hole is dug down 3.5 ft at location of installation.Electrical conduit is run to and out of the hole.The pole is then inserted into the hole and electrical is inserted and connected into structureConcrete is poured around the pole Once cured grass/turf/etc can added to the base of the pole6263Thank YouMartinson FundDavid CohenRebecca DhondtJeanlouise HornbergerIndustrial Design FacultyFamilyClassmates64

Light Play

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