E-motional Fountain

Design Engineering Major Project PDE 3400

Eduardo Abend M00375571

edu.abend@gmail.com

Dr Aleksandar Zivanovic
May 2014

Table of Contents
1. Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 3
2. Background Research ..................................................................................................................................... 4
2.1 Fountains of Bellagio and Dubai Fountain ................................................................................................ 5
2.2 William Pye ............................................................................................................................................. 6
2.3 Rain Room ............................................................................................................................................... 6
2.4 Giles Rayner ............................................................................................................................................ 7
2.5 The Quad ................................................................................................................................................. 8
3. Project Development ...................................................................................................................................... 8
3.1January ..................................................................................................................................................... 8
3.2February.................................................................................................................................................... 9
3.2.1. Laminar Flow versus Turbulent Flow ............................................................................................ 10
3.2.2 Design process................................................................................................................................ 13
3.2.3 Base of the Fountain ....................................................................................................................... 14
3.2.4 Development of the flexible cover .................................................................................................. 15
3.2.5 Laser scanner stand ......................................................................................................................... 17
3.3 March .................................................................................................................................................... 18
3.3.1 DMX .............................................................................................................................................. 18
3.4 April ...................................................................................................................................................... 21
3.4.1 LEDs .............................................................................................................................................. 23
3.4.2 Teensy 3.1 microcontroller ............................................................................................................. 24
3.4.3 LM317T voltage regulator .............................................................................................................. 25
3.5 May ....................................................................................................................................................... 27
3.5.1 LabVIEW ....................................................................................................................................... 27
3.5.2 Aluminium Base Plate .................................................................................................................... 29
3.5.3 Health and Safety ........................................................................................................................... 30
4. Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................... 31
5. Future Work ................................................................................................................................................. 32
6. References .................................................................................................................................................... 32

Abstract
This report describes the stages and decision-making in the development of an
interactive water fountain from a Design Engineers perspective. Furthermore, this document
showcases the varied areas and skills used to build the E-motional Fountain, such as
Solidworks for designing, Labview for data processing and Arduino. In addition, the use of
DMX protocol is made for the communication of the separate modules, allowing future
adaptations. Herein, a tutor with a role of a client provides real-life scenarios experience
throughout the stages of the project. Finally, the journey taken in the development of the Emotional Fountain has been a strong learning tool and a personal professional development.

1. Introduction
The following report consists of the different stages followed in order to design the Emotional Fountain. This project was born out of an opportunity of designing an interactive
water fountain working with a tutor having a role of a client. The report has been divided in a
chronological manner following the various stages of the realization development. The aim of
this report is to illustrate both the decision making process and how the obstacles have been
overcome through a Design Engineers perspective. This project provides an opportunity to
showcase many skills learned throughout the BEng undergraduate degree.
The background research herein presented contains inspirations from various artists
and designers that helped shape the outcome of the E-motional Fountain project. It details to
the reader how the different features from each of the artists or organizations researched have
been chosen and adapted to the specific needs of this project. Furthermore it intends to make
the reader aware that the researched projects differ considerably from each other and many
are the result of several professional skills combined in larger budgets and time frames. This
provides a perspective and understanding of the design limitations within the given time
scale. Being the E-motional Fountain an artistic open-ended project, the research conducted
helped with the understanding of the realistic expectations within the constrained time frame.
Following the research background, the report is divided into five different sections,
labelled by their chronological corresponding month in which stages of the project has been
developed. Furthermore, this paper details the components herein implemented and the
obstacles and decisions taken regarding each developmental phase. Additionally the report
3

covers the health and safety aspects to be considered since it is a project that involves the use
of water and electricity. On the first hand, the use of water in an indoor space as a potential
health risk; on the other hand the use of electricity in an aquatic environment as a potential
safety concern.
To conclude, the report provides available set-up possibilities using the existing
hardware, since the use of a standard protocol of communication DMX has been
implemented. As part of working closely with a client, his desire of having the existent
system to be malleable has been adhered.

2. Background Research
The aim of this research is to explore some of the utilities, functions and uses of
various water fountains in order to obtain inspiration for the development of the E-motional
Fountain in which this project has been based. Shakerin (2005) observes that for thousands
of years, water fountains have been utilized for diverse purposes such as climate control,
entertainment, embellishment and for their pleasant relaxing effect.
Throughout this project, the research process regarding to existing academic written
materials has been difficult. Scarce academic papers have been found in the health and safety
aspect of this project, i.e., bacterial infection and diseases caused mainly due to poor
ventilated areas as well as untreated water use in a fountain environment. In order to get help
with that, the use of the Shepherd Library has been made where a helpful librarian attempted
to find more materials on the subject of this venture. Encountering difficulties in finding
further materials about the subject, the librarian gave the advice to book an appointment with
a colleague librarian that has an engineering background. Following such advice, a meeting
with an engineering-based librarian was made. Despite the efforts, no further academic
written materials have been found. Therefore, this project makes references to existing
similar or artistic work. Following this statement there are a number of very interesting
fountain designs which have been explored in order to gain inspiration for this project.

2.1 Fountains of Bellagio and Dubai Fountain

The first fountain that has been chosen
and analysed is the Fountains of Bellagio (Fig.
1), as it combines performances set with lights
and music with a choreographed water feature.
Located in front of the Bellagio Hotel in Las
Vegas, the Bellagios Fountain is programmed to
run a set of movements in line with a chosen
song. An article published by Kitty Bean Yancey

Figure 1 - The Fountains of Bellagio in a

(2011) points out that to the designers nocturne show in Las Vegas
satisfaction it may take about a week to get only
two minutes of such choreography done. This is to show the
limitations to be considered within a given short time frame
and to provide background reference in terms of realistic
expectations in relation to the available time. In the brief of
this project, our class has been advised to double the amount
of time a particular activity would be expected to last.
Throughout the project such advice has proven very helpful.
Although the Fountain of Bellagio is a major scale project, a
key feature has been considered for the designing of the Emotional fountain. This element is the use of a water nozzle
mounted on top of a pan-and-tilt servo system (Fig. 2). The
Figure 2 - A nozzle mounted on a
pan-and-tilt servo system

attractiveness towards such a water fountain in the scope of

this project was due to the control over and movement of the

water jets providing a sense of

dancing aliveness to it.
The worlds largest dancing
fountain, the Dubai Fountain (Fig. 3)
follows the same structure and pattern
as the Fountains of Bellagio. Located
at the capital of the United Arab
Emirates, the Dubai Fountain has Figure 3 - The worlds largest fountains, the Dubai
Fountain
been designed by the same company
5

that has engineered the Bellagio ones, namely WET. Being a newer build compared to the
Fountains of Bellagio, the Dubai Fountain makes use of more powerful lighting equipment
and has Arabic music in its repertoire. Both fountains served as inspiration for the
development of this project.

2.2 William Pye

William Pyes work with water sculpture has been thoroughly complied in a short
biography provided by the Cass Foundation. His work represents a combination of working
with abstract forms and the use of traditional materials such as metal and stone. As a result
his structures present the viewer with
sophisticated yet simple concepts of
great beauty (Cass Foundation, 2014).
A particularly inspirational project
developed by Pye is the famous Delos
sculpture, which was shown at Oca
exhibition in Brazil in 2011 (Fig. 4).
This water feature consists of a set of
Figure 4 - Delos Sculpture shown at Oca exhibition in So
Paulo, Brazil in 2011

valves adjusted to open and close

with

particular

motion.

Furthermore, in this exhibition, Pye makes use of laminar flow jets, which are jets that have
had their water molecules aligned, creating an effect that behaves similar to an optic fibre,
carrying light along its shape. Another interesting implementation of William Pyes work, but
that deviates from the scope of this project is the use of water vortexes, in projects such as the
Aquabar and Caribdis.

2.3 Rain Room

Random International opened on the 4th of October 2012 a large and very ambitious
installation known as the Rain Room, at the Barbican Centre in London (Fig. 5). According
6

to the designers, this exhibition aimed to explore the

behaviour of the viewers by throwing people out of their
comfort zones and playing with their intuition, using a
display which allowed visitors to experience the feeling
similar to the one of controlling the rain. This was
achieved by a combination of moisture in the air together
with the sound of water that responded to the visitors
presence by the use of eight 3D cameras (Barbican,
2013).
Being able to surprise the audience has been a
feature integrated into the E-motional Fountain, although
produced in a different manner. By using different
colours and the movement of the water jet, the
interaction aspect has been explored. In order to sense the Figure 5 - Rain Room installation at
the Barbican Centre

audience the E-motional Fountain made use of a laser

scanner instead the 3D cameras implemented in the Rain Room.

In order to put this

successful installation in a time frame perspective, Meg Carter (2012) observes that it took
two years to develop the mechanism and system implemented in the Rain Room by the
Random International art collective.

2.4 Giles Rayner

Giles Rayner has been an inspirational artist for
this project thanks to his ability to combine both
outstanding sculptures with water feature (Fig. 6).
Although very visually stimulating, Rayners sculptures
seemed to lack the use of Mechatronics devices in his
work. Furthermore, Rayners idea of using visually
stimulating sculptures opened a direct path into
understanding and applying the Chinese philosophy of
Feng Shui, literally meaning wind water, within the Figure 6 Lasso sculpture designed
by Giles Rayner

design of the E-motional Fountain, the focus of this research. Feng Shuis central believe is
that of water providing a sense of infinity; the ever-flowing movement of water is the key
element to express the desired balance in ones life (Ferguson, 2005). Thanks to the
combining ideas of Rayners designs and some of the basic Feng Shui principles, the Emotional Fountain pays particular attention to both the physical aspect and implemented
location in order to achieve a well balanced and harmonical feeling towards its audience.

2.5 The Quad

In order to familiarize myself with the physical space where the installation of the Emotional Fountain takes place, a brief overview about the College Building, the Quad, has
been researched. The College Building has been remodelled in 2006 on top of the 1930s
Quadrangle building. Its glazed courtyard covers the inner room and the inverted pyramid
arrangement used allows the structural columns to be far from each other providing a larger
open space area (London Open House, 2011). The water feature already existent in the Quad
has been designed to be in symmetry with the new build and occupies the very centre of the
wide space room.

3. Project Development
3.1January
The twenty-forth day of the month presented itself with the brief of the design
engineering final major project to the third year students class. The week that followed was
replete with research in the areas of interest. Several ideas such as smart furniture, artistic
installations, infinity mirrors, optical illusions, self-balancing unicycle and solar stove were
explored. As a result of these extended research, conclusions were made in terms of realistic
timeframes, accessibility to materials and the feasibility of the proposed ideas.

3.2February
Week

on

week,

idea

proposals have been met with

helpful feedback from tutors and
technical staff, shaping then the
outcome of this project. Funnelling
to the idea of a self-balancing
mobility vehicle, the feeling that
something was missing followed.
The idea of why not just buy one?
What is special about it? made me
pursue a different path. Asking for
support in how to proceed opened

Figure 7 - Existent water feature in the centre of the College

Building, the Quad, at Middlesex University

an unexpected opportunity: to base the final year project in a water fountain installation
located in the centre of the College Building (the Quad) (Fig. 7), an open-ended artistic
project with scope for some quite sophisticated control. Besides being an engineering
challenge it also provided the opportunity of working with a second tutor, having the role of a
client. The experience of working with a client has been a great opportunity to learn about
some of the intricacies of a real-life working scenario. The understanding that the project
now is not of a sole proprietorship anymore imposes that decision making has to be approved
and moulded by both parts. The implications of such working environment can at times be
challenging and difficult, but are easily offset by the amount of learning involved.
The

water

fountain

installation has some given

constrains, such as the size and
place of its location. Bearing
these factors in mind, full
measurements of the location
were taken, and a model of the
space was created using the
CAD

software

Solidworks

(Fig. 8). The area in blue

Figure 8 - CAD model of the available space in the Quad

represents the water of the

9

fountain already existent prior to the start of this project. Given the requirement of the client,
which aims to preserve the original features of the fountain, the new design will be
implemented without the need of re-designing the architectural structure. The current
situation with the existing fountain implied not having it switched on, since it was out of use,
however, as a requirement for the functionality for the new project, it is now a must to have
full operational functionality of the existing power, since the E-motional fountain aims to
recycle the water contained in the above mentioned space. In order to provide perspective, the
larger circle has a diameter of 7 metres.

3.2.1. Laminar Flow versus Turbulent Flow

Research

has

been

intensive

resulting in a decisive bifurcation: one

path to follow would be to construct a
laminar flow water jet; the second would
be to construct a turbulent water jet (Fig.
9). The scope of this project encompasses
the later one. In order to clarify the
decision taken, a brief summary of both
paths is explored. The laminar water jet is
achieved by a process of aligning the
Figure 9 - Laminar and Turbulent Flow of water

water molecules. A common technique

encountered is to get water to fill a small reservoir, then to pass this water through a series of
drinking straws. Next, the water that has its molecules aligned is passed to a second reservoir
to finally be shot out through a nozzle. The end effect given a good quality device is a
pleasant looking flow of water which could be compared in looks to an acrylic rod.
Furthermore, due to the alignment of the water molecules, such good laminar flow has the
behaviour similar to an optic fibre and effects with light can be quite impressive. However,
the process of achieving a good quality laminar flow seems to be quite challenging (The
Laminar Project Forum, 2014). Furthermore, the opinion of an extremely competent technical
staff has been obtained. Not surprisingly, the advice of the skilful hands-on staff was in line
with previously researched materials. The idea that precious time would be spend not only in

10

the construction of a laminar flow device, but mainly in the fine tuning process to achieve a
good quality laminar flow was not pleasant.
Furthermore, although a good laminar flow water jet is visually appealing, it has
limitations in terms of movement, as side movements to the base of the water jet device affect
the quality of the laminar jet. As mentioned before, William Pye makes use of such a jet in
one of his piece Delos. In such occasion, Pye makes use of a stationary laminar jet, where
the control is solely based on the water pressure, controlling the size of the arc displayed by
the laminar jet. Further research made aware the fact that the laminar flow water jet is an
already

available

commercial

product

(Swallow Aquatics, 2012). Therefore, a

decision has been made not to follow the
laminar flow path, and instead opt for the
turbulent one.
The turbulent flow does not require
any alignment to its water molecules and is
the type of jet we tend to be more familiar
with such as the quality of jet coming out of a
garden hose, a drinking fountain and most

Figure 10 - Wet areas by the Grove building

kitchen tabs. In order to increase the dynamism

of the presentation, this project makes use of a
key feature implemented in the researched
Fountains of Bellagio. Although not similar in
size, this characteristic is alike in functionality
to the dancing waters. It includes the control
over the water jets by fixing the jet nozzles on
two servos mounted on a pan-and-tilt fashion,
increasing thus the movement and flexibility
of the water effects. This very movement is
what gives the impression the E-motional Figure 11 - Testing different water nozzles
Fountain is somehow alive.
The next stage in the process was to get things wet. While still in the end of winter, a
place that could deal with water spillages and at the same time be warm indoors was
preferred. Luckily, the university has such facilities. With the help of a technical staff, access
to the wet areas in the Grove building mainly used by Art students has been granted (Fig. 10).
11

In order to get the ball rolling and

accelerate the process and not wait
for particular components to be
delivered, experiments with already
available university equipment have
been performed to have a feel for
the size of the water pump needed
Figure 12 - On/off solenoid valve and 17L/min 12V water
pump with accumulator

as well as the different types of

nozzles and effects caused on the

water jets (Fig. 11). Such equipment include a 17 L/min 12V water pump attached to an
accumulator and an on/off 12V solenoid valve (Fig. 12). Not being previously familiar with
such water related projects and in order
to better understand what 17 litres of
water per minute really mean in a water
pump context, a simple yet clever
experiment has been advised by my
main tutor. The experiment consist of
timing and measuring a chosen source
of water one is familiar with, in this
case, my kitchens water tab (Fig. 13).
Figure 13 - Kitchen's tab water flow rate experiment

This experiment resulted in a one litre running at 5L/min

water jug being filled in exactly twelve

seconds. Converting to the above mentioned flow rate of litres per minute (L/min), my
kitchens tab has a flow rate of
5L/min.

better

understanding now that the

water pump employed in the
early stages of the project has
over three times the flow rate
my kitchens tab has.
Figure 14 - Design choice trade-off: a small 12V 11.3 L/min versus
a larger 12V 17L/min

At this stage, in terms

of the control mechanism, a

solenoid valve has been used (Fig. 14). A conventional solenoid valve provides only an
12

on/off switching mode. This factor alone limits the control one can have over the water jet
and its pressure. To overcome this issue, other types of solenoid valves have been researched
such as proportional solenoid valves and servo assisted valves. Another solution to the above
mentioned obstacle would be to make use of smaller water pumps that could be controlled by
Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) signal. In this case, the need for the use of solenoid valves is
totally eliminated. To paint an overall picture of the decision making on which system to go
for, additional details need to be mentioned. In the first instance, the system would require a
larger central water pump and additional proportional solenoid valves for each water jet. The
second system eliminates the need of separate solenoid valves and makes use of smaller
individual water pumps. The former system containing the bigger central water pump is much
louder when functioning. The advantage, though, is that by having a central water pump, it
can be located away from the water jets and be acoustically isolated. The later system
implements the smaller water pumps and although individually louder with noise level of
up to 35dB it has an increase of flexibility since each jet can be considered a small system
on its own, allowing each individual system an increase of mobility. Having a word about the
mentioned trade-offs (Fig. 14) with the second tutor herein, the client a larger importance
on flexibility of the system over its noise level has been settled. Furthermore, a clear
objective of the client is to make the system as open architecture as possible, pointing out the
importance of reusability.

3.2.2 Design process

The overall E-motional Fountain can be divided into three parts: the base structure
encapsulating all electronic circuitry and water pump; the flexible cover mounted on top of
the base hiding and waterproofing the pan-and-tilt servos and finally the stand where the laser
scanner has been mounted. The original idea regarding the structure of the E-motional
Fountain was to be build making use of the 3D printer available at the university. This 3D
printer is able to mix and match materials in order to obtain the desired flexibility on a
particular piece. The full range from a plastic hard to a more flexible rubbery material can be
achieved. Due to costs involved, not all parts were able to follow the intended plans of 3D
printing and alternatives had to be addressed. Although the built was not carried out as
originally thought, the beauty and challenges of this project lay on the adaptations and
changes that have to be carried out throughout its development, especially when the project is

13

involving more than one mind behind the decisions. The following paragraphs describe the
process involved in the development of the three above mentioned parts.

3.2.3 Base of the Fountain

The base part has been designed to be of a
hard translucent material, creating a captivating
effect once colourful LEDs shine through. Designs
for such structure can be seen in Fig. 15. Mounted
on top of the base and made from a rubbery
material, the flexible cover on the other hand has
one of its attributes on the name: to be flexible.
This piece will be looked in more detail in the
following section. The combination of both base
and flexible cover can be observed in Fig. 16.
While the 3D printer has the capability of printing
both different materials translucent hard and
rubbery in one Figure 15 - Base part originally designed to
single piece, both

be 3D printed

parts have been developed separate to facilitate the building

process and the setting up of wirings and electronic
components in tight places.
Although the 3D printer has impressive capabilities,
and would be able to do the job, the costs involved in
materials are also impressive. Due to high cost of materials
including support material while printing alternatives in
terms of design and materials have been implemented in the
base part. Back to the CAD software, the base structure has
been re-designed.
The new design was created making use of
professional looking acrylic material. The centre piece of
Figure 16 Base and flexible
cover attached together

the base part is comprised of a frosted acrylic cylinder. This

14

allows light from the LEDs to be more evenly

distributed

across

the

cylinders

surface.

Following on the visual aspect, the re-design of

the bottom part allowed some space for further
creative touch. Around the centre cylinder,
eight unique individually designed pieces
represent water splashes (Fig. 17). The bottom
part represents the hearth of the overall
design since it contains the 8 channels DMX to
servo controller, the simple motor controller
board, a support for the two pan-and-tilt servos,
the teensy 3.1, the Neopixel LEDs stripe, the Figure 17 - Eight individually designed pieces
LM317T voltage regulator circuit and the 12V

representing water splashes

water pump. The location of the water pump within the design is important. It has to be on
top of the base plate since it is a submersible water pump, and recycles the water available in
the existent water feature. Since the depth of the water available to be used in the structure at
the centre of the Quad is of mere 50mm, the location of the water pump has been designed as
low as possible.

3.2.4 Development of the flexible cover

The flexible part is a structure that demands
not only a bending movement, but also a twisting
one. Being a kinetic structure, this part allows the
movement of both pan-and-tilt servos to direct the
water jet to a desired location. In addition, due to be
dealing with water jets, it has to be waterproof since
it conceals the water nozzle, a hose attached to it
and the two servos mounted in a pan-and-tilt way.
Inspirations for the design of the flexible structure
Figure 18 - Accordion shape for inspiration

started with a brainstorm of pictures. Fond of

music, the first idea that came to mind was of an
15

accordion-like shape (Fig. 18). Such a shape allows

plenty of bend movement, but seems to be somewhat
restricted in the twisting motion. Further research lands
on another shape, the buckling diamond one (Fig. 19).
With such inspirations in mind, and considering both the
aesthetic and movement requirements needed for this
project, considerable time has been spent experimenting
with the computer aided design software Solidworks to
reach the final desired shape (Fig. 20). Once happy with
the outcome of the designed piece, it was time to
Figure 19 - Buckling diamond
shape

experiment with the functionality of it by printing a

reduced scaled-down version of the part. Using a simple
tool within the Solidworks
software, the structure has
been

scaled-down

to

25

percent of its full size. Next,

in order for the 3D printer to
understand the designed file,
it had to be converted into
.stl format. Once the file is

Figure 20 Flexible cover designed using the Solidworks CAD

software

loaded to the 3D printer, the

machine itself calculates the
best orientation the piece will
be layer printed in
order to minimize
the use of support
material throughout
the print job. Three
scaled-down

Figure 21 Three scaled-down versions of the flexible cover. Left, the pieces
filled with support material, and right, stages of the cleaning process

versions of the piece

have

been

3D

printed, each using a different rubber material composition (Fig. 21). As it can be seen in Fig.
16

21, the pieces that have just come out of the 3D printer are full with support material. The
process of total removal of the residual support material from the printed parts without
damaging the structure has been difficult and caused delays. The technical staff department at
the university has not yet found a soluble solution that the 3D printed designs can be inserted
into to remove all the unwanted support material without corroding the internal walls of the
3D printed objects. Hence, a lot of care and patience is needed while removing the excess
superfluous material.
Although all the designs for the flexible cover were made and ready to be 3D print,
due to unforeseen technical problems, the piece has not been 3D printed and an alternative
has been implemented. Although not on the same functional and aesthetic level of the
designed structure, the option implemented was a ready manufactured drive shaft gaiter.
Considering that the gaiters are already of a set size, it was difficult to find a true match to the
flexible cover. The implemented gaiter has the same diameter as the flexible cover, although
much shorter. The gaiter has been able to provide the minimum requirements to run the
fountain, although limiting the visual aspect.

3.2.5 Laser scanner stand

The stand the laser scanner is mounted on
has been designed in 3mm transparent acrylic
sheets (Fig. 22). It was planned to be connected to
both the base and flexible parts, resulting in a
single overall unit. Considering that the base plate
where all parts of the project are mounted on is
located at the centre of the existing fountain, the
height at which it is located is 510mm below floor
level, due to four steps in the architectural design.
The laser scanner stand has an overall height of
1850mm. The laser scanner operates at the
1393mm height in relation to the common ground
floor where people circulate (1340mm plus the Figure 22 Laser scanner stand
53mm of the height of the laser scanner sensor). constructed in 3mm transparent acrylic
Although desirably lower height would be preferred reducing the use of materials and
17

facilitating transportation, it is important to mention a limitation in which the water jet itself
may not be in the laser scanners capturing field hindering the data intake.
Due to its height and difficulties working with a full
size sheet of acrylic, the arc shape has been divided in three
parts. They have been connected with a piece shown in Fig.
23. As it can be seen, the upper part has a narrower width.
This arrangement has been followed in both connecting
pieces throughout the stands arc in order to increase the
overall stability of the structure. Furthermore, since the
stand is quite tall, small acrylic pieces have been added to
the original design supporting further the stability of the
tower (Fig. 24). The task of assembling and gluing the
acrylic parts of the laser scanner stand proved to be Figure 23 Connecting piece
uniting separate parts making a
challenging since the polychloride adhesive used needs single consistent arc
about twenty minutes to settle before it can take a load on
it. For a full settling of
the glue, the stand has
been

left

overnight.

to

dry

Being

an

aggressive adhesive, it
partially dissolves

the

connected pieces creating Figure 24 - Extra support acrylic pieces to aid overall stand's stability
a strong bond.

3.3 March
3.3.1 DMX
The DMX512 digital signal protocol, or more commonly known simply by DMX, has
become the foundation of lighting-control systems currently used in soundstages (Bergery,
2013). This protocol can have up to 512 channels running in a single DMX cable. Each data
channel has the capability of 8 bits, meaning a value between 0 and 255. Furthermore, 512
channels represent a universe in the DMX protocol. Although very sophisticated applications

18

may require multiple universes, and DMX

is capable of dealing with them, for the
purpose of this project one universe is
sufficient.
Given such widespread use, DMX
has been implemented with the clients
strong

idea

of

reusability

and

re-

adaptation resulting in a system that

allows sophisticated programming at later
stages. This project makes use of DMX
signals to control the positioning of both

Figure 25 - DMX 8 channels servo driver

servos directing thus the water jet. Also, it

is used to control the voltage going into the water pump and the red, green and blue values
sent to the LEDs implemented. Researching about methods of converting such signals, no
such direct approach has been found. Therefore, DMX to servo controller boards have been
used. Considering cost, production location, operational voltage and amount of output
channels available, a DMX 8 channels servo driver has been implemented in this project (Fig.
25). This board takes the DMX signal and converts it into 1-2ms PWM servo signals. From
the 8 channels
available

on

board, two are

being used for
the

positioning

of the pan-andtilt servos, one is

being used to run
the water pump, Figure 26 - Standard and Servo PWM signals
and three are being used for controlling the RGB LEDs one to each colour: red, green and
blue. After all channels have been utilized by the system, simple maths indicates that two
spare channels are available. Although these spare channels are not currently being used in
this project, they allow future further development to be made keeping the presently
implemented hardware.

19

Both the servos and the water

pump use PWM signals. They do not
use the same type of PWM signals,
though. The water pump uses the
standard PWM signal, ranging the
duty cycle from 0 to 100 percent. On
Figure 27 - Pololu Simple Motor Controller

the other hand, servos use a slightly

different PWM signal, ranging from

1ms to 2ms, meaning a range from 0 to 10 percent of the duty cycle (Fig. 26). In order to
accommodate such difference, a separate control board has been implemented. The Pololu
Simple Motor Controller (Fig. 27) takes the servo motor PWM signal and transforms it into a
standard PWM signal that can be
used by the 12V water pump. This
particular controller has a mini-B
USB port
connected

that
to

can

easily be

computer.

By

utilizing the software provided by

the manufacturer, namely Pololu
Simple Motor Control Center (Fig.
28), it is possible to configure and
calibrate

the

settings

of

the

controller such as PWM frequency,

to set minimum and maximum
speeds, and can also be used for
real-time

troubleshooting.

problem encountered while setting up Figure 28 - Pololu Simple Motor Control Center. Notice the
and testing the motor controller was red arrow indicating the box to be ticked, inverting the
motor direction

found when the 12V water pump

20

attached to it did not seem to be responding to the PWM signal. In order to troubleshoot such
problem, a multimeter has been attached to the motor controller and the DMX signals sent
from a standard DMX controller table. As it can be seen on Fig. 29, the voltage was in
inverse proportion to the DMX controller. Having the DMX controller set to its maximum
value in a particular
channel, the voltage
obtained

was

of

12.07V. In order to
resolve such issue, by
opening the Control
Center software, it is
possible to invert the Figure 29 - Troubleshooting the motor controller. Notice the red arrow
indicating the negative sign next to the voltage

motor direction simply

by ticking the relevant box (Fig. 28). Although such problem might seem trivial, the
knowledge of it and the time saved involved might be appreciated by someone trying to
replicate this project.

3.4 April

Figure 30 - The two main stages of the project

21

The project is basically divided in two parts; the first deals with the data being sent
from the laser scanner, passing through a program written in Labview which makes sense of
this data, and sends desired commands through a serial port. Such commands are then sent to
an arduino uno with a DMX arduino shield mounted on it which translates these instructions
into the required DMX protocol. The second part of the project deals with an input of the
DMX signal which is sent to the DMX to servo controller board. From there, three separate
routes are taken. First, a servo signal is sent to the Pololu Motor Controller which translates
into usable standard PWM signal to be used by the 12V water pump controlling the inflow of
water. Second, two servo
signals are sent straight to
the pan-and-tilt servo setup, controlling the angle
of the water nozzle. Both
the signals sent to the
water pump and the servos
control

together

the

pressure and direction of Figure 31 Table comprising eight DMX channels and their
the water jet, respectively.

respective use within this project

Third, three servo signals representing values for the colours red, green and blue are sent to
the Teensy 3.0 microcontroller which runs a program that interprets such commands and
outputs in a single data cable a signal to the NeoPixel LED stripe with the desired
combination of such three colours, ranging anywhere within the whole visible colour
spectrum.
This clear separation was intended to be in line with the clients goal of reusability
and adaptation. The possibility of unplugging the current set-up cables allows other DMX
controllers to take over and being in charge of the E-motional Fountain. Furthermore,
additional of-the-shelf DMX components such as stage lights can be added to the current setup enriching the overall experience. With the purpose of assisting the interchange of DMX
devices and the re-programming of the current water feature, a DMX table including all the
relevant channels can be observed in Fig. 31. As it can be seen, and earlier already
mentioned, both DMX channel numbers 7 and 8 are not in current use by the E-motional

22

Fountain set-up, but they are fully functional and can be implemented in a future adaptation
of this project.

3.4.1 LEDs
From the inspirations previously mentioned, the use of light with water seemed
apparent from the very beginning. The original idea was to use RGB LEDs that contain 4 legs
each: one for each of the red, green and blue colours and a common cathode. Further research
opened another possibility which is herein implemented. The employed LEDs are the
NeoPixel ring containing 24 LEDs in a 66mm diameter stripe (Fig. 32). Unlike the RGB
LEDs, the NeoPixel stripe has only 3 legs: one for power (5v), one for ground and one for
signal. The way these LEDs are controlled is
through a microcontroller that sends a very
timing-specific protocol. This means the
LEDs that

were

implemented can be

programmed to perform in many different

ways. This flexibility on the usage of the
NeoPixel stripe conforms to the clients wish
of re-usability and open-architecture of the
Figure 32 - NeoPixel stripe containing 24 individual
LEDs

implemented

hardware.

Apart

from

controlling the LEDs stripe from the DMX

signal, they can also be controlled by a completely separate program running in the
microcontroller alone.
By controlling the NeoPixel stripe from the DMX signals, a common command used
by the microcontroller is pulseIn() which reads a pulse and returns the length of that same
pulse in microseconds. The way it works is that the microcontroller waits for the pulse to go
HIGH, starts the internal clock timing it and as soon as the pulse goes back to LOW, the
timing is stopped and a value in microseconds is obtained. An obstacle encountered while
experimenting with the LEDs stripe here is that the library that comes with the NeoPixel
stripe designed for use with an arduino periodically disables interrupts (Burgess, 2014a),
much needed by the pulseIn() command in the microcontroller used. In order to overcome
this barrier, and still benefit from the added flexibility and versatility that the LEDs stripe
provides, the use of another library has been made. The OctoWS2811 library, although not
23

developed by the manufacturers of the NeoPixel stripe, is still compatible with it. This thirdparty library has been developed to be used with the Teensy 3.1 microcontroller, the one used
in conjunction with the LEDs in this project. A point worth mentioning is that the Teensy 3.1
microcontroller runs at 3.3V and it is important to have the voltage going to the LEDs stripe
to be similar to that voltage, since the 3.3V signal from the microcontroller pin may not be
register if using higher voltage to power the LEDs stripe, say 5V (Burgess, 2014b).
A problem using the LED stripe was observed once running for a prolonged time. It
presented an abnormal behaviour fluctuating between different colours. Future further
attention in this detail would be required.

3.4.2 Teensy 3.1 microcontroller

The

Teensy

3.1

is

small

yet

powerful

microcontroller. It has a 32 bit ARM processor, 21 analog

in pins and 12 PWM ones. Compact in size, it measures
1.77mm x 3.55mm and runs on 3.3V.
This project planned to implement the Teensy 3.0
(Fig. 33) microcontroller, but encountered the following
obstacle. The task of the microcontroller within this Emotional Fountain is to read three PWM servo signals coming Figure 33 Top, Teensy 3.0
from
DMX

microcontroller and, bottom, its

the updated 3.1 version.

to

servo board and translate that to a single

signal to be used by the LEDs stripe. By
measuring the voltage of such PWM signals
with a multimeter, the readings between 0.3
and 0.5 volts has been obtained. Such
readings can be misleading, since the
Figure 34 Oscilloscope measuring the PWM
signals coming from the DMX to servo board

multimeter is not able to update the voltage

at the same 50Hz pace of the PWM signal.

Therefore, an oscilloscope has been used (Fig 34). It can be seen on the square wave in Fig.
34, that the voltage obtained, although for a very short period of the PWM signal, is 5.12V.
24

As mentioned before, since the microcontroller runs on 3.3V, this higher voltage spike is the
obstacle to be overcome, since the Teensy 3.0 pins can only deal with voltages as high as
3.3V. The way around it has been found in the subsequent version of the microcontroller, the
herein implemented Teensy 3.1. An added feature paramount to the resolution of the above
mentioned problem is the capability of dealing with such higher voltages, as all the Teensy
3.1s digital inputs are 5V tolerant.
The Teensy 3.1 can easily be programmed using a standard mini-B USB cable. The
pins used in this project to measure the length of the pulse in microseconds and translate that
to the LEDs stripe are 9, 22 and 23. They are receiving corresponding values from the DMX
to servo controller board representing red, green and blue respectively. The code running on
the microcontroller makes use of the pulseIn() command. As mentioned before, the pulseIn()
returns a value in microseconds of the length of the pulse. Three values are obtained; one for
each colour. Next, these values are mapped to a number between 0 and 255. Then, a
command that the OctoWS2811 library understands is used to set the colour to a particular
pixel. The command is leds.setPixel(Pixel #, Red colour value, Green colour value, Blue
colour value). Lastly, the command leds.show() is implemented which is self-explanatory and
the desired colour is obtained.

3.4.3 LM317T voltage regulator

Bearing in mind the health and safety
of this project, mains electricity has been
avoided and instead a 12V lead-acid battery
has been used. In order to standardize the
voltage throughout the whole circuit, the use
of LM317T voltage regulators have been
made. These voltage regulators can take input
voltages anywhere from 3 to 40V DC. The
DMX 8 channels servo driver has two power
inputs: one of 9-12V to power the board
electronics and another one of 5-6V to power Figure 35 - LM317T voltage regulator circuit
the servo motors. In order to step the voltage
down from 12V (battery) to the input to the servo motors, a very simple circuit has been used
25

(Fig. 35). A simple equation determines

the values of both resistors (R1 and R2);
Vout = 1.25*(1+R2/R1). Therefore the
values of the resistors R1 and R2 used to
step the voltage down to half, using
common off-the-shelf components, are
180 and 680 respectively. Following
the above equation, an output voltage of
5.97V is obtained. Another instance where
a slightly different circuit is used,
Figure 36 Left, the machine while working and
right, the ready milled PCB boards

changing only the values of the resistors is

the

powering

of

the

Teensy

3.0

microcontroller. Although it functions at 3.3V, the power

supply from the communal battery has to be reduced from
12V to 5V since the Teensy 3.0 has already an inbuilt
voltage regulator that does the job of reducing the voltage
of a commonly used USB connection of 5V to its desired
operational one. Again, applying the same formula, but
with different required voltage, the values for the resistors
R1 and R2 are 330 and 1000 respectively. These
values result in an output voltage of 5.03V.
Although both circuits are quite simple and strip
Figure 37 - Using the ProtoMat,
a circuit board plotter machine

used

while

testing

boards
have been

components,

the

attention to details taken throughout this

project resulted in the development of a
custom made PCB board (Fig. 36) for the
E-motional Fountain. It was a great exercise
to reawaken previously learned PCB design Figure 38 Screenshot of the PCB design in the
techniques such as the use of the circuit Fritzing software

26

board plotter ProtoMat machine and its accompanying software (Fig. 37) and refresh some
Fritzing (PCB design software) skills (Fig. 38).
After carefully tracing each track on the copper board, ensuring no mistakes and no
copper filings is closing an undesired connection the custom made PCB board was ready to
be soldered. After all components were soldered
and its voltages being checked with a multimeter,
the end result can be seen in Fig. 39, which is
ready to be implemented in the E-motional
Fountain design. Simplifying what was earlier
mentioned, the common input voltage to the
designed PCB board is supplied by the main 12V
battery. Next, this voltage is divided into two
Figure 39 - Custom made PCB design
implementing both voltage regulator
circuits with different voltages in a single
board

different ones: one of about 6V to power the servo

voltage input of the DMX to servo controller
board and another voltage of around 5V powering

the Teensy 3.0 microcontroller.

3.5 May

3.5.1 LabVIEW
For the purpose of this project, Labview needs to process the values received by the
laser scanner, and
communicate the
final usable data
to

the

output

DMX
cable,

which will later

be used to actuate
the servos, LEDs Figure 40 Labview trying to communicate to the external world through two
different USB/MIDI and MIDI/DMX modules

27

and water pump. In order to make Labview communicate with the external world, two
connections have been tried using hardware already available. The first makes use of a
USB/MIDI adaptor connected to a MIDI/DMX adaptor. In this first connection (Fig. 40, left)
the Virtual Instrument Software Architecture, or NI-VISA for short, does not recognize any
USB device connected to the PC. The NI-VISA is the software that does the bridge between
the software and hardware interfaces. On the second connection, a different USB/MIDI
module has been tried, but still the counter-intuitive connection persisted. On this instance,
although NI-VISA was able to recognize an USB device attached to the computer, the setting
up of the RAW USB protocol did
not seem a trivial matter. In order
to

overcome

challenge,

this

connection

an

alternative

resolution to the problem has

been pursued. The implemented
solution was the use of a DMX
arduino shield mounted on top of
an arduino uno board (Fig. 41).
The arduino board runs a Serial to
DMX program contained in the
Figure 41 - Testing the DMX arduino shield with the serial port
on an arduino sketch

DMX

Library

downloaded

on

that
the

can

be

arduino

website (Arduino, 2014). Tests have been performed with the arduino code by typing the
desired values on the serial port terminal, and observing the movement on the servos. Having
that working, the communication between the Labview program and the DMX arduino shield
has been tested by using a serial example code running in Labview. After spending some time
getting all the parameters and settings right, the communication between Labview and the
arduino shield has been successful.
The function of Labview herein is to read the hokuyo laser scanner sensor values,
process them, and output to DMX through the serial port. An already existing code developed
by Alex Thomas does the laser scanner reading part of the program (Thomas, 2013). This
project implements such code, and does all the processing of the data. The approach taken to
translate the readings from the laser scanner into usable DMX value is as follows. The laser
scanner provides an array of elements. The size of this array is dependent on the area used by
the laser scanner. Being designed to fit the existent water feature in its semi-circular
28

architectural
built

the

E-

motional
Fountain makes
use of only 180
from the - 240
capable

-laser

scanner.

This

results
array
values.
Figure 42 - Screenshot of part of Labview program

in
of

an
500
The

approach taken
was to search

this array, looking for a value that is within the range expected to be walked by a person
surrounding the fountain. Furthermore, the same array is inverted and searched again,
providing the positions for both the first and last values that interrupted the search. These
positions are fed to the x coordinate servo and through a written code, oscillating once a
second between such locations. By measuring how far these locations are from each other, it
is possible to deduct whether a single person is surrounding the fountain or several.
The fountain behaves according to the amount of people surrounding it. The larger the
difference between both locations, larger the fountains response, meaning stronger water jet,
more vibrant colours - tending to red and the servo oscillating a larger distance.
In order to obtain corresponding values that differ in scale, the use of mathematical
equations has been used throughout the program (Fig. 42). Such equations include kx+n=y
and kx+n=y where the values for x and x belong to the same scale and the values of y
and y to the desired one.

3.5.2 Aluminium Base Plate

In order to improve the overall stability and enhance the visual aspect of the Emotional Fountain, an aluminium base plate has been designed and water jet cut. In order to
attach such plate to the acrylic base of the water feature, a few possibilities have been
29

observed. The first was to use an available glue that can do the
job of uniting both materials. The problem there is the
appearance of the glue on the transparent acrylic sheet. A
second option visited was to sandwich the acrylic base with
two aluminium ones, and bolt them together. That resulted in
unnecessary material wastage. The final option, and the one
implemented here was to use an inexpensive industrial-strength
double side adhesive, commonly used to secure car plates
without the need of screws. Furthermore, there was the
Figure 43 Aluminium plate
water jet cut

possibility of incorporating the shape of such adhesive in the

overall drawing of the aluminium plate.

3.5.3 Health and Safety

The E-motional Fountain is a project that uses both electricity and water. A lot of care
has been taken in making sure the connections are well insulated and a rubber structure has
been implemented to cover the electronic components. In addition, the use of water in a space
where people will be circulating possesses the risk of water spillages that is potentially
dangerous if ignored.
Throughout this project, due to the risks involved dealing with 240V, the use of mains
electricity has been discouraged as much as possible by tutors and technical staff. Thus the
use of extra-low voltage equipment has been implemented. Alternative components on the
much lower voltage range have been accounted for from the very beginning of this project.
The highest voltage in use throughout the system is 12 Volts provided by a lead-acid battery.
Water fountain installations may present a risk of contamination, such as Legionnaires
disease which is a potentially fatal form of pneumonia. A study performed by Haupt et al.
(2012) suggests a close link between a Legionnaires disease outbreak and a wall water feature
within a hospital environment. Furthermore, the report states that the bacteria that may cause
Legionnaires disease Legionella is found at low levels in most water features and that
under certain conditions it can be multiplied to dangerous levels. Such conditions include
temperatures between 25 and 42C, water systems containing stagnant water, and the
30

presence of biofilms in the water feature. Hoebe et al. (2004) propose a link of gastroenteritis
outbreak with a recreational water fountain. In addition, the strain of the norovirus found in
the infected children was identical to the one encountered in the water feature. In addition an
indoor water installation presents an increase of this risk, due to diminished overall
ventilation. In order to overcome such contaminations the study suggests the monitoring of
the levels of chlorine in the water.

4. Conclusion
The journey experienced through the development of the E-motional Fountain
concludes in two great aspects which can be explained as follows. On the one hand, this
project showcases a great number of skills learned throughout the length of the BEng Design
Engineering undergraduate course. Such skills include the use of the CAD package
Solidworks for the designing phase, Labview to process sensor data values and Arduino
implemented as a serial communication bridge. On top of further developing the skills
learned throughout the course, this project opened the possibility of learning a new skill by
using the DMX protocol. The use of different machinery from the universitys workshop such
as the 3D printer, laser cutter and water jet cutter was also included in the development of the
E-motional Fountain.
On the other hand, as part of building the E-motional Fountain, some limitations have
been encountered. Although the LED stripe responds to the RGB colours, after a prolonged
use, the LED stripe flickers into random colour selection. This problem has not been resolved
and requires further attention. Furthermore, the inability of running the prototype with water
in its previously designated space (centre of the Quad, at Middlesex University) could be
considered as a hindrance as it limited its expected final trials. However, looking from a
different perspective this hindrance can be though as a learning area with regards to
accessibility of the space being scheduled at an earlier stage. This is to show that engineers
require the capability of adapting to unplanned situations at any given step of the projects
development.
The E-motional Fountain provided the experience of dealing with a tutor representing
a client. Such situation, although difficult at times, strengthened the ability to deal with real
customer/client scenario enhancing the communication of ones ideas. Furthermore it added
professionalism to the project and the realization that approaches and ideas to be pursued
31

need to be more malleable. As a final conclusion, the open-ended path taken by the Emotional Fountain has served as a learning tool as well as an engineering journey towards
personal development.

5. Future Work
In terms of future work, the E-motional Fountain has the advantage of being
developed over a widely used protocol, allowing it to be controlled essentially by any device
outputting DMX. As a future development, an interesting approach mentioned by the
tutor/client might be to create floating fountains that could be movable, having all the
necessary components including batteries on board of a tiny boat. Furthermore, it would
be great to scale the project up, having stronger and larger number of pumps allowing the
possibility of synchronicity of movement between them.

6. References
Arduino

(2014)

Tinkerkit

DMX

Master

Shield

[WWW]

Available

from:

http://store.arduino.cc/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=16_18&products_id=255
[Accessed 05/04/14]

Barbican

(2013)

Rain

Room.

Random

International

[WWW]

Available

from:

http://www.barbican.org.uk/news/artformnews/art/visual-art-2012-random-internati
[Accessed 15/03/14].

Bergery, B. (2013) The ABCs of DMX. American Cinematographer - The International

Journal of Film & Digital Production Techniques, 94(5), pp. 66-70.

Burgess,

P.

(2014a)

Advanced

Coding.

[WWW]

Available

from:

https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neopixel-uberguide/advanced-coding [Accessed 02/04/14].

Burgess,

P.

(2014b)

Powering

NeoPixels.

[WWW]

Available

from:

https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neopixel-uberguide/power [Accessed 04/04/14].

32

Carter, M. (2012) How do You Enjoy a Downpour Without Getting Wet? Welcome to the
Rain Room. [WWW] Available from: http://www.fastcocreate.com/1681730/how-do-youenjoy-a-downpour-without-getting-wet-welcome-to-the-rain-room [Accessed 16/03/14].

Cass

Foundation

(2014)

William

Pye

Biography.

[WWW]

Available

from:

http://www.sculpture.org.uk/artist/133/william-pye [Accessed 12/02/14].

Ferguson,

B.

(2005)

Working

With

Water.

[WWW]

Available

http://www.forresidentialpros.com/article/10425702/working-with-water

from:

[Accessed

12/03/14].

Haupt, T.E. et al. (2012) An Outbreak of Legionnaires Disease Associated with a Decorative
Water Wall Fountain in a Hospital. Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, vol. 33, no.
2, pp. 185-191.

Hoebe, C.J.P.A. et al. (2004) Norovirus Outbreak among Primary Schoolchildren Who Had
Played in a Recreational Water Fountain. The Journal of infectious diseases, vol. 189, no. 4,
pp. 699-705.

Shakerin, S. (2005) Water Fountains with Special Effects. American Scientist Magazine,
Sep/Oct, Vol. 93(5), pp. 444.

Swallow Aquatics (2012) Oase Jumping Jet Rainbow Star Set [WWW] Available from:
http://www.swallowaquatics.co.uk/oase-jumping-jet-rainbow-starset.html?utm_source=googlebase&gclid=CJbZt6TOkL4CFccSwwodUFsA9A

[Accessed

10/03/14]

The Laminar Project Forum (2014) Laminar Nozzle Talk And Pictures. [WWW] Available
from:

http://laminar.forumotion.com/f1-laminar-nozzle-talk-and-pictures

[Accessed

03/03/14].

Thomas, A. (2013) Using LabVIEW and the Hokuyo URG-04LX-UG01 Laser Range Finder.
National Instruments. [WWW] Available from: https://decibel.ni.com/content/docs/DOC32172 [Accessed 15/04/14]
33

Yancey, K. (2011) Las Vegas' Bellagio Fountains Learn New Dances. USA Today, 15th Dec.
Available

from

http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/story/2011-12-15/Las-Vegas-

Bellagio-fountains-learn-new-dances/51989654/1
Open House London (2014) Middlesex University Hendon Campus. [WWW]. Available
from: http://www.londonopenhouse.org/public/london/find/detail.asp?loh_id=18511
[Accessed 08/04/14].

34