Tweetlite is a visual commentary on our relationship with online social networks. It is an ambient light that represents a pixel – the smallest unit of visual digital information.

This is represented in the form of a minimalist, 4″ white, plexiglass, cube that reads messages from a Twitter feed and displays them in Morse code.

Each message is displayed in a different color and makes for a great mood light. It has USB and power connectivity and comes with a program that is used to enter Twitter credentials to enable the data feed visualization. It needs to be connected to a computer with an Internet connection, via USB. The patterns and colors can be customized. Needless to say, it can be of great use to someone who can read, interpret or even want to learn Morse code.

It is powered by Arduino and Python. The code is based off of example found here. If anyone is interested in building one I can post a tutorial, let me know.

Sales sheet – long

Sales sheet – short

Videos

Photos

I added switches to the fourth iteration of the passage of time. 1 rocker switch for on/off, 1 toggle switch which switches between 2 patterns, 1 momentary pushbutton switch that changes the pattern when the toggle switch is up. The switches are mounted on a separate short box with holes drilled using the dremel tool and attached to the bottom of the taller box. All the switches are hooked up to the Arduino using a breadboard.

Passage of time with switches from Bruce Drummond on Vimeo.

The third iteration of the LED passage of time. This is a much higher fidelity construction than the last version and a lot of time was spent on the outer body construction. The inside of the container is sandpapered and an additional sand papered plastic layer is added on the inside to diffuse the light. Strips of black paper are stuck on to the outside of the container to block out light in specific areas and create a slat like effect. The top and bottom of the container are painted black to avoid leaking any light. The code is also modified for a different pattern.

Passage of time v0.2 from Bruce Drummond on Vimeo.

My second iteration of the LED time piece. This prototype is a much higher fidelity and uses a tallish container I got from the container store. I’m using the container upside down with a hole cut at the bottom end for the USB cable and the Arduino stuck on the lid of the container. The LED’s are mounted around a tall cardboard structure, in 3 rows, which sits tight once stuck inside the container. The LED’s light up one row at a time and the light appears to move up and down the container. Row 1 and 3 are blue LED’s while row 2 is green LED’s. Kitchen towels doubled and nicely tucked into the container are used to diffuse the light.