Keeping the steam up
Created for Brændstof — The Long Journey from Black to Green Transport at the Danish Railway Museum, Coal Shovelling Simulator makes the physical labour behind a coal-fired locomotive understandable through a full-body interaction. Visitors use a suspended shovel to keep the engine supplied with coal while a red counter counts down and a green counter records every successful shovelful.
A screen plays video throughout the experience, connecting the visitor’s repeated movement to the work of keeping a steam locomotive running. The installation transforms a numerical fact into a felt, physical task: how much coal had to be moved to maintain steam?
I designed and built the interaction, electronics and software. The technical system combines a micro:bit, relay boards, four D80NK infrared distance sensors that register the shovelling motion, and WS2811 addressable LEDs controlled through an Arduino library. The shovel was suspended as a durable physical interface for museum use.
Focus · Tangible interaction · micro:bit · Sensors · Relay control · Addressable LEDs · Embedded programming · Mechanical prototyping · Museum storytelling
