Timezone World Lamp

Introduction:

"I don't understand time zones!

How is it possible that in Europe it is today.

In Australia it is tomorrow. And in Alabama it is 1890?"

Since it's a different time all around the world, it gets very difficult to track down what time to call my parents or what time to watch the soccer game live from the UK. With this timezone clock- you are able to press on a specific country, and it will display the time in that country.

Living in the U.S has made me realize how many of my shows and soccer games I was missing so I designed this timezone world lamp to help me know what time it is in another country.

Bill of Materials:

• Arduino Uno and solderless breadboard
• ESP8266 dev Board - Huzzah board
• Copper Foil Tape with Conductive Adhesive - 6mm x 15 meter roll Adafruit
• CAP1188 - 8 Key Capacitive Touch Sensor Breakout - 12C or SPI Adafruit
• Standard LCD 16x2 + extras - white on blue Adafruit
• i2c / SPI character LCD backpack Adafruit
• 7-15/16 in. White Acrylic Globe with 4 in. Fitter from Home Depot
• Laser cutter
• Vinyl printer
• Soldering iron
• Solder Wire strippers
• Conductive tape
• Neopixel from adafruit
• 3 female-female jumper wires.

Tools:

• X-Acto Knife
• Ruler
• Sharpie
• Printer
• Cutting mat
• Masking tape
• USB cable

By comparing a map and a globe, I realized that a 2D pattern would not make sense in a 3D globe. The geography looks totally different between the two because spheres are deceptively simple. I tried multiple spheres patterns to test out how it would fit on a globe.

Essentially, it's mathematically impossible to get the visuals from a globe to lie distortion free in a rectangular 2D pattern. To calculate the size of the print, i sized the circumference of the globe to match longitudinally to the size of the pattern.

To replicate this pattern onto any spheres, measure the diameter of the globe and then scale the length of the pattern to match the diameter.

For the capacitive touch sensor, I used the 8-Key Capacitive Touch Sensor Breakout. Using the instructions from the Adafruit website, I was able to wire up and use the test code instructions. For the screen display, I used the Standard LCD 16x2. Test both the

Because I am using two i2c devices, I had to change the address for one of them. We do this to connect a bridge to the solder pads. The diagram on Adafruit shows how to perform this carefully. The code also needs to match so we need to adjust it accordingly.

Now we can connect the data and clock lines in parallel. The diagram shows it with two different i2c devices but with a different microcontroller board.

Upload the code. If you get an error where the LCD screen is lit up but there's no text showing. There's no reason to worry. First try to adjust the contrast on the back, if this does not work, check the soldering pads. There needs to be complete bridging between the two so it looks like one solder pad. If this does not work, Try to re-tighten the screws on the terminal blocks. Re-test the code and that should do the trick. Thank you to Becky Stern for being so patient with this.

Adding fluff inside the globe creates more depth and texture to the globe when it is lit up. This helps to create the illusion of water and volume to the globe. It also provides structure so the globe is more stable.

Secure the Neopixel onto a solid frame or carved wood piece so it can light up from the center of the globe.

Use the template that we created earlier to stitch the globe pattern onto the sphere and start stitching it piece by piece onto the globe. This is a crucial step because you don't want the countries to look distorted.

Because we're applying the pattern onto a 3D globe, it's a good idea to place all of your stencil, and then peel off the landmasses later. Slowly and meticulously align and place your masks all the way around the ball, making sure that the top corners and the continent outlines all touch. This was an extremely tedious process.

Use a laser cutter to make the base for the globe. Measure the opening of the globe so it fits inside of the base. Insert the breadboard on the inside and secure it so it does not move. Place the LCD display screen on the opening.

This is how the final project turned out in the dark. I really enjoyed making this design. It took a total of 3 weeks from ideation to execution to final product.