After collecting the items that have memories with me, for the second part, this assignment is to create a time capsule.

Tasks:

Since I wrote poems for each item I selected in the first part, I want to make a time capsule that can also collect the poems as part of it, for my future self to hear about those memories again. I then thought of the vinyl record. Vinyl records seem like vintage items, but they’re still alive. When I look at a vinyl record, I sense a feeling of time and story, from its movement and sound.

So, I sketched some ideas on my note. There were three versions of my vinyl-player time capsule. I decided to go with the simple design that will allow me to interact with and gives me the feeling of going back through time, through the sound it plays.

I used a recycled box and cut it to make a circle shape, both on the box and for creating a vinyl record.

As I wanted to make the vinyl actually revolve when the sound is played, I attached a servo motor with my vinyl record, and a hidden Arduino inside the box.

The next step was to make the sound. I was deciding whether to record my own voice or use an AI text-to-speech. Eventually, I went with the first one because these items kept the memories of myself, and I want it to reflect the current me.

After that, I wrote some codes in Arduino to make the vinyl record turn around when the sound is played. Below are the videos of how the time capsule works!

I love all of it, from the start to the end of the design process. Although there were some problems during the prototyping phase, when I had to deal with the revolving angle, the speed, and the sound, the final result is exactly what I had in mind. This assignment allows me to redefine the meaning of “time capsule” to actually reflect myself from the objects I own. It also allows me to be creative and go beyond a simple box. This vinyl-player time capsule works just like a memories player, turning around, and turning back to the precious time I had with each object inside.