Abstract

Electric Paint is a type of paint that can be used to create circuit boards in a process known as "painting" a circuit. This involves applying the paint to a non-conductive surface, such as a piece of paper or fabric, in the desired pattern for the circuit. Once the paint has dried, it can be connected to other electronic components, such as resistors and capacitors, to create a functioning circuit. Since it can be painted on non-conductive surfaces such as walls and paintings, the appliances look camouflaged which makes the interface simple and neat. The interaction is done with touch or gesture by the users, so the interaction is not too difficult to learn, making the appliance easy to use and understand.

The main goal of this research is to study Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) with a focus on Electric Paint. The work studies HCI principles and implements them into the 2D musical instruments created with Electric Paint on a canvas, with the aim of making the product usable for the users. In particular, the paper investigates the applications of Electric Paint and how it can be implemented in users' day-to-day lives. The appliance was made with Electric Paint, Raspberry Pi, PiCap, canvas, wires, and conduct tapes. The software is developed using Python on the Raspberry Pi OS (also called Raspbian). The PiCap has capacitive sensors to read the touch signals and send them to the Raspberry Pi. Hence, the PiCap becomes a bridge between Electric Paint and Raspberry Pi. The touch or gesture signals are conducted through Electric Paint, sensed by the PiCap, and converted into input data signals triggering the Raspberry Pi to send output signals. Next, a survey was conducted on around 110 respondents to inquire about the usability of the product. As per the design, Figma was used to design the interface digitally. The design of the canvas was modified according to the feedback to enhance the usability of the product. The final design is two canvases combined together where the top side has five 2D musical instruments which can produce musical tones with taps on the areas painted in black, the bottom side has a music playlist where users can tap on whichever genre of music they want to listen to, and the bottom right includes 'Animals for Kids' which says "I am a *animal name*" when tapped on the animals.

Advisor

Guarnera, Heather

Department

Computer Science

Disciplines

Graphics and Human Computer Interfaces

Keywords

Electric Paint, Raspberry Pi, PiCap, user interface, user experience, usability, capacitive sensors

Publication Date

2023

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis

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