What do you get when you combine 12 solenoid valves, water, roofing materials and an Arduino?

Before seeing this project, If I were asked the above question I would probably still be scratching my head or say “a great big mess on the floor” ! 😃

Well, quite the contrary! The folks over at Jelly and Marshmallows have taken those ingredients and made a scrolling bubble display. Why? Because why not, eh? This project is very much a prototype and proof of concept but it does bring some seemingly disparate materials together into a really cool display.

Here’s what the creators (Simon Jelley & Mark Mellors) have to say about how the scrolling bubble display works:

12 solenoid valves selectively inject compressed air into channels of twin-wall (polycarbonate roofing sheet) filled with water. An arduino accepts strings of ascii characters over serial, and using the solenoid valves, writes the text in bubbles.

http://jellyandmarshmallows.co.uk/blog/projects/scrolling-bubble-display/

Let’s take a look at the results in real-time and then in slow-motion:

Were you able to read the bubble display? HINT: its in the title of this post!

Are you ready to install a scrolling bubble display in your submarine yet 😃 ?

What do you think about this creative use of materials? Do you have any questions about how this works? Please let us know in the comments below.

As always, we hope the weekly current will spark a little inspiration for your next project!

Speaking of which: we have lots of great Arduino focused lessons and projects in the ever-growing Ohmify Trainings Library.

With these courses, even if you have never done any programming or worked with an Arduino, these lessons will get you up and going in no time!

Have fun everyone 😃 !