Maker Spotlight: Cynthia Cho

Name: Cynthia Cho
Home: Seoul
Makerspace: Makewith
Day Job: I’m a kit developer. I usually make kit related to Arduino projects for DIY products and education.

Makewith | Behance | Instagram

How did you get started making?
I took a physical computing class, and I just started making from there. In class, I used Arduino to solve problems of our world. At first, I controlled LED digitally by using a button. It was so interesting. After that, I learned to complete a mini hardware project step by step. I began to do digital fabrication to make enclosures of hardware projects and made PCB to improve the hardware’s quality. Eventually, I made my own artwork and IoT products like a robot, musical instrument, dust checker, and smart gardener. It gave me awesome experience.

What type of maker would you classify yourself as?
I usually make with Arduino. I like to make interactive things with Sensor and Actuator.

What’s your favorite thing you’ve made?

I like Character Alarm Mood Light. It helps you safely go to bed, have a nice morning, and do all of this with your favorite character.

It turns on automatically when the mood light senses the sudden difference in brightness. So you can go to bed with this light, even if the main light is off. It is best when you put it near the head side of your bed. You can also use the switch to turn the lights on and off. If turned on automatically, it will turn off after 30 minutes in case the light accidentally turns on or you fall asleep without turning it off. You can choose the color of the light with the exclusive mobile app.

You can get up easily in a good mood with this light. If you set the time with the app, the light will turn on slowly at the set time. Normal alarms suddenly wake you up, so sometimes you open your eyes in an annoyed mood. This alarm light turns on slowly so you can get up naturally as if you were in the sun.

You can own your favorite character, which is 3D-printed. There are many open source modeling files on web. If you choose the model, then you can easily change the file to make it a part of Character Alarm Mood Light.

You can make the character shake its head or arm. After you modify the 3D modeling file, you can use the servo motor to move the character. This movement can also be manipulated by the app.

When two or more characters are together, they can communicate with each other. When one character starts to shine, the other character(s) will automatically respond.

What’s something you’d like to make next?
I’d like to make a social robot that talks and interacts with people emotionally. It’s gonna be a pet that swells up when pet owners feel happy or angry.

Any advice for people reading this?
Try making anything you can think of. Many people and communities will help your making activities. Archiving is very important. Take a photo, write about your making process, draw diagrams, and arrange those sources in your computer memory. AND SHARE! Have fun!

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