2019-02-06
Brian’s Shell project is an adaptation of a product currently existing for “Long distance family lamps” (the real name being similar). Brian made this project having his family of 6 being spread across the United States and USVI. Having a Long distance lamp he thought would make each family member remember the other.
The concept is quite simple, in that each member, partner or friend is assigned his or her own color. Once they touch or press their lamp’s button / housing, they will change every other shell in their shell network that person’s color. This color will stay that way for a full hour, or unless someone else in their shell network presses or touches their shell button or housing. If no one touches their shell for an hour, it will default to it’s white light (great for the side of the bed or living room!) Having a family or friend touch their lamps at or around the same time recreates the feeling of having those or that people(s) feel closer to you as they’re also interacting with their shells and can see your color show in theirs.
Hello there. This is the first version of the “shell” made by Brian Kinney. The setup is quite easy, as you’ll see in the below steps. There are just a few requirements.
- An Android or iPhone (used to configure WiFi settings, after which is not needed unless you change your SSID Network name / password.
- A WiFi connection.
- Your WiFi password.
First plug in your Shell to a wall outlet with the supplied Micro USB cord and power brick. It should turn on and start blinking. Once the shell starts blinking quickly, it is in WiFi configuration mode. Proceed with the following:
- With your iPhone or Android phone, go into your WiFi settings and look for an open network named “Shell”. Connect to it.
- A WiFi configuration portal will open and will display a few options to you. One is “Configure WiFi”, which after selected, you should see your home / business wifi SSID Network name listed. Select it and enter your WiFi password.
- If successful, you will receive a message that it was configured successfully. Your Shell should switch to showing a solid color.
- Press / touch your shell’s button / housing once and you should be connected to your other Shells for your family / friends / partner.
- If you have any issues, repeat steps 1 – 4. If step 4 is not working, reboot the Shell and let it connect again. It will blink momentarily (connecting to WiFi) and should connect and show a solid color.
- Enjoy! Be sure to keep track of the color for each person you have in your Shell network ☺