Nanoleaf Hackathon
project / March 2nd, 2024
GitHub • Video Demonstration 1 • Video Demonstration 2
Background
This is a Python script that connects to a set of Nanoleaf panels on the 2nd floor of the ICT Building using the Nanoleaf API, and creates a visual display of the current weather by using the Python-Weather API and assigning colours to different panels. The script is uploaded onto a Raspberry Pi controlling the Nanoleaf wall.
Built in a team of four with fellow Software Engineering students Jash Dubal, Ameen Yarkhan, and Hannah D'Souza over a two-day period, this project was our submission for the inaugural Nanoleaf Hackathon organized by the Digital Engineering Students' Society in 2022 and was awarded the 1st place prize by the event judges.
Teams in the Nanoleaf Hackathon expressed their creativity by using code to create a visual on the Nanoleaf panels, and each visual was judged by the following criteria: Visual Story, Data Driven Visual, Visual Appeal, and Code Development.
The script first pulls weather data from the Python-Weather API. Based on the current forecast, the script will display a visual corresponding to the current weather, followed by the current temperature. This process repeats. Additionally, there is also a Night Mode feature where a dark purple background is used during evening hours.
Concepts and Tools Used
Python
Python-Weather API
Nanoleaf API
Outcome and Takeaways
This was the first Hackathon I had participated in, and was very pleased that our visual and the data used to create that visual was recognized by the judges. Although there were difficulties at the start of the hackathon in deciding what visual our team wanted, we were able work well as a team and execute our vision. Because the hackathon was held at the start of our Software Engineering Masters program, it gave us confidence that we could produce interesting projects through programming, despite our limited experience with coding at the time.
It was also very satisfying to see the weather on display whenever I walked by the Nanoleaf panels throughout the school year, and that our program was still being used long after the Hackathon was finished.