Twisty,
The Lamp

An interactive lamp designed for people with ADHD, that communicates the passage of time through motion.





Duration
October- December 2025 (2 months)

Skills
Mechanical Prototyping, CAD modeling (SolidWorks) , Arduino Prototyping, 3D printing (Bambu Lab)

Materials
Arduino Nano & electronic components (full list below), PLA & PETG (3D printing), screws, LED light bulb







Our everyday environments are filled with functional objects that make our lives work. But for someone with ADHD, inattention makes it hard to stay aware of time — attention drifts, or narrows into hyperfocus, and hours disappear before you notice. The objects around us stay emotionally and perceptually invisible until the moment they're needed, offering no cue that time is passing at all (NIMH, 2024).

This made me wonder:
What if a static object in the room could quietly keep track of time for you? A presence that signals through behavior, something you notice the way you'd notice a person shifting in the corner of your eye.
"Objects With Life" was my master's thesis at the Rhode Island School of Design, exploring what happens when the static objects in our domestic spaces begin to move. My work looks at how movement can suggest intention, emotion, or personality — becoming a form of communication that creates cues through behavior rather than demand.
How It Works


Twisty is a desk buddy, a companion that intervenes when a user is lost in hyperfocus. Unlike traditional notification tools that merely alert the user, the lamp gently nudges them to ensure they transition to the next task, much like a friend tapping on one's shoulder. 

The lamp searches for the user when the user is not around. When the user sits down and starts working, the lamp sits quietly besides them.
If the user continues to ignore it, the lamp starts to wonder why the user isn’t  moving on. It turns towards the user, almost as if it’s in confusion.
Sensors in the base sense the user's position and let the lamp respond accordingly.
The lamp in motion, in its final form.
Testing and programming the lamp's motion.
Background & Research


I was inspired by my own desk lamp. Sitting there late at night, I'd look up and see the whole apartment dark. Only my desk lit, bright and quiet beside me. I realized how much lights shape my daily life: without that lamp, I couldn't work, I couldn't even see what I was doing. While I'm technically in control of it, where it sits, when it turns on, it also holds a kind of control over me. It might "refuse" to turn on when the bulb burns out. I wanted to physicalize that relationship, maybe even exaggerate it. 

What does it look like when a lamp can communicate with its user?


To understand what motions would feel meaningful for a lamp, I interviewed adults with ADHD. I focused on ADHD because what helps this group tends to help everyone, most people lose track of time at some point.


Interviewee M
“When I lived in the dorm during college, every night at 11:30, the overhead lights cut off automatically, leaving only desk lamps glowing, a shared signal that it was time for bed. Seeing what her five dormmates were doing reminded her of what she should be doing. “

“When I moved into my own apartment, with no one around, I'd end up in bed at 4 a.m. and miss her 8 a.m. classes. It was never the plan, just time slipping away unnoticed.”


People with ADHD often rely on external cues — alarms, timers, or others' visible routines — to stay oriented in time (Mette, 2023). Living alone, those human cues disappear, and objects take on a greater role as time-signaling companions.
Body Doubling: another person's presence boosting focus and follow-through, shown to help people with ADHD sustain attention. (Ara et al., 2025). It doesn't even require being in the same room — their presence alone is enough.



Electronics & Prototyping


The most iconic moving lamp is Luxo Jr., by Pixar. I deliberately didn't want people drawing that comparison. Pixar's work is brilliant, but I wanted my lamp to move in a completely different way, with its own vocabulary of motion.

The basic movements I wanted the lamp to have:
Head — nodding and shaking, for yes/no and simple acknowledgment.
Body — turning to face or turn away, and leaning closer or further to signal engagement or retreat.

With the motion vocabulary set, I moved into SolidWorks to design the placement of the motors and gears, then 3D printed parts to prototype quickly and iterate on the fit.


More details coming soon...
Form Sketches


Since I began with the lamp's motion, the placement of motors, gears, and electronics came first. The form followed — shaped by one question: how do I house all of it and still make the lamp feel like a companion?




I ended up going with an overall rounded design. It housed the mechanical parts comfortably, maintain well-stability, while giving the lamp a soft, approachable character, more companion than machine.

CMF


3D Printed inner components
Final Prototype

From my interviews, I learned that many adults with ADHD mask to fit into society. From the outside they may look "normal," but inside — in the brain — a lot is going on. I wanted to translate that observation into the lamp's visual design: an almost-transparent outer casing revealing colorful components within.
Color
Bright, colorful, saturated inner components, frosty/almost transparent outter casings.
Material
For the prototype, mainly everything is 3D printed with PETG or PLA.
For the manufactured version: Internal structural components would be injection-molded in ABS. Gears and moving drive parts in acetal (POM) for wear resistance and low friction. The almost clear casing in Polycarbonate.

Finish
Matte finish gives the object a soft, non-clinical character, distancing it from medical or assistive-device.


Twisty, The Lamp          /          How It Works          /           Background & Research          /           Electronics & Prototyping          /           Form Sketches          /           CMF