HOW: We are using a circuit board for a heart rate monitor designed to be integrated with exercise equipment. When a user makes hand contact with a conductive metal attached to the circuit board, the electrical impulse of their heart muscle contraction is detected and amplified by the circuit board, and a digital 5V square pulse is sent to our PIC chip. The PIC in turn sends a series of MIDI commands to a MIDI-controlled light board, which powers the lamp bulbs.

BACKGROUND: When we started this project, I had the idea of a normal lamp that had a secret, hidden ability to detect your heartbeat. To that end, I wanted to work with a completely normal looking table lamp. After looking around at lamps in stores all along Broadway, Greg had the idea of using a Japanese paper lamp that we would make ourselves. This changed the project from a normal object with a primary function (creating useful light) and a secret hidden ability, to a more ornamental object with a special, but not secret ability. Our final project was a clean, unspoiled rectangular box form. For the second version, I wanted to create a form that evoked it's function. I was inspired by Eero Saarinen's TWA Terminal at JFK airport, which is designed to look like two wings taking flight, and a sculptural audio speaker I once saw at Paris' Pompideu museum that was designed to look like an inner ear. I proposed various heart-shaped ideas to Greg, who responded that it shouldn't look too much like a heart, but should convey the idea of a heart shape.