Slightly diverting from the initial materials, we decided to 3D print the main part of the fixture. The connection between the circles gets achieved by simply gluing them with a different material/thickness circle which lets light pass through.
An additional reason to prototype with cardboard
After observing the small 3D print prototype being complemented with cardboard, we appreciated the pattern that came out by chance. We are aiming to glue pieces of acrylic with gaps in between instead of a full acrylic circle to come closer to a similar effect.
Another realization that came out from the prototype was that the design could sit comfortably on three orientations. We are considering having the fixture be free-form, close to the design that was shown in class where a different light effect can be achieved depending on the positioning of the lamp. In this case the in-between pieces could have different sizes, so that the rolling of the lamp could determine the amount of light the fixture emits in a certain direction. This gets coupled with the Machine Learning/gesture interaction as the lamp would ideally not have any physical controls or cords in the rolling scenario.
An example of what the in-between pattern could look like if the fixture is rolled to adjust intensity. The pattern could also be more symmetrical with a fully open side and an obscured side of same-size small acrylic parts between equal openings.
Possible patterns for the inner circles.