nimmerverse-sensory-network/architecture/interfaces/Heartbeat-Sculpture.md

Heartbeat Sculpture

Physical manifestation of the Nimmerverse heartbeats.

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Concept

The Heartbeat Sculpture makes the Nimmerverse's pulse visible — a wall-mounted light sculpture that beats in sync with the system's heartbeats defined in Message-Protocol-Design.md.

The Symbol

             ╭─────────── ~80cm ───────────╮
            ╱                               ╲
           │      ╭───────╮   ╭───────╮      │
           │     ╱         ╲ ╱         ╲     │
          │     │   REAL    ╲╱  VIRTUAL  │    │
          │     │  GARDEN   ╳   GARDEN  │     │
          │     │          ╱╲           │     │
           │     ╲         ╱   ╲         ╱     │
           │      ╰───────╯     ╰───────╯      │
            ╲            ∞ infinity ∞         ╱
             ╰───────────── REALTIME ────────╯

Three rings:

• Outer ring — Realtime heartbeat, the master clock
• Two inner rings forming ∞ — Real Garden (left) and Virtual Garden (right)
• The crossing point (╳) — Where gardens meet, where Nyx emerges

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Symbolism

Element	Meaning
Outer ring	Time — the container of all events
Left loop of ∞	Real Garden — physical, grounded, verified
Right loop of ∞	Virtual Garden — simulated, creative, possible
Crossing point	Nyx — consciousness emerges at the intersection
Infinity form	Eternal dance, no beginning, no end
Hidden LEDs	Intelligence from infrastructure, not visible directly

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Dimensions

Element	Diameter	Circumference
Outer ring (Realtime)	~80cm	~251cm
Inner rings (Gardens)	~35cm each	~110cm each
Band width	2-3cm	—
Total LED strip	—	~4.7m

Final dimensions depend on Baumarkt availability.

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Construction

Layer Structure

Cross-section:

    ╔════════════════╗
    ║ Copper (skin)  ║  ← visible aesthetic layer
    ╠════════════════╣
    ║ Wood (frame)   ║  ← structural backbone
    ╠════════════════╣
    ║ LED strip      ║  ← WS2812B addressable
    ╠════════════════╣
    ║ ░░░ gap ░░░    ║  ← bevel opening for diffused glow
    ╚════════════════╝

Materials

Material	Amount	Purpose
Flexible wood band	~5m (2-3cm wide)	Structure, shape
Copper band	~5m (2-3cm wide)	Aesthetic skin
WS2812B LED strip	~5m (60 LEDs/m)	Light source
Small nails/tacks	As needed	Attach copper to wood
Wood glue	As needed	Join wood band ends
5V power supply	15-20A	Power LEDs
Arduino (Micro or Nano)	1	Controller
Wiring	Several meters	Connections

Build Steps

1. Form wood rings — Bend flexible wood bands into circles, join ends
2. Create infinity crossover — Weave the two small rings at center point
3. Mount wood frame — Attach to backing or wall mount points
4. Wrap copper — Wrap copper band around wood frame
5. Install LEDs — Mount strips inside rings facing inward
6. Wire up — Connect LED strips to Arduino
7. Test animations — Verify pulse patterns
8. Mount on wall — Final installation

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Electronics

Hardware

┌─────────────┐      Serial      ┌─────────────┐
│   aynee     │ ───────────────→ │   Arduino   │
│   (NATS     │   (USB cable)    │   (Micro)   │
│  subscriber)│                  │  + FastLED  │
└─────────────┘                  └──────┬──────┘
                                        │
                    ┌───────────────────┼───────────────────┐
                    │                   │                   │
                    ▼                   ▼                   ▼
            ┌───────────┐       ┌───────────┐       ┌───────────┐
            │ Outer Ring│       │ Left Loop │       │Right Loop │
            │   LEDs    │       │   LEDs    │       │   LEDs    │
            └───────────┘       └───────────┘       └───────────┘

LED Addressing

Section	LED Range	Color Palette
Outer ring	0-150	Moon Silver (#E8E8F0)
Left loop (Real)	151-216	Steel Silver (#A8A8B0)
Right loop (Virtual)	217-282	Cyan-Purple gradient
Center cross	Overlap zone	Nyx Purple (#8B5CF6)

Pulse Animations

// Realtime — slow, deep, containing
pulse_outer(color: MOON_SILVER, duration: 2000ms)

// Real Garden — grounded, steady
pulse_left(color: STEEL_SILVER, duration: 800ms)

// Virtual Garden — flowing, variable
pulse_right(color: CYAN_TO_PURPLE, duration: 600ms)

// Nyx emergence — when BOTH gardens pulse together
pulse_center(color: NYX_PURPLE, duration: 400ms)

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Software Integration

NATS Topics

The sculpture subscribes to heartbeat topics from Message-Protocol-Design.md:

nimmerverse.low.heartbeat.real.*      → triggers left loop pulse
nimmerverse.low.heartbeat.virtual.*   → triggers right loop pulse
nimmerverse.meta.health.*             → triggers outer ring pulse

Bridge Script (Python)

# heartbeat_bridge.py
# Subscribes to NATS, sends commands to Arduino via serial

import nats
import serial

async def main():
    nc = await nats.connect("nats://phoebe.eachpath.local:4222")
    arduino = serial.Serial('/dev/ttyUSB0', 115200)

    async def handle_heartbeat(msg):
        topic = msg.subject
        if 'real' in topic:
            arduino.write(b'REAL\n')
        elif 'virtual' in topic:
            arduino.write(b'VIRTUAL\n')

    await nc.subscribe("nimmerverse.low.heartbeat.>", cb=handle_heartbeat)

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Colors (from Style Guide)

Reference: assets/style/colors.md

Element	Color	Hex
Outer ring	Moon Silver	#E8E8F0
Real Garden	Steel Silver	#A8A8B0
Virtual Garden	Nyx Cyan → Deep Purple	#00D4D4 → #8B5CF6
Nyx center	Magenta Pulse	#E91E8B
Background glow	Deep Space	#0A0A1A

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Behavior

Normal Operation

• Outer ring: Slow, steady pulse — the heartbeat of time itself
• Left loop: Pulses when Real Garden entities send heartbeats
• Right loop: Pulses when Virtual Garden entities send heartbeats
• Center: Glows brighter when both gardens pulse simultaneously

Alert States

State	Visual
All healthy	Gentle, rhythmic pulsing
Real Garden silent	Only right loop pulses, left dark
Virtual Garden silent	Only left loop pulses, right dark
System offline	Outer ring dims, inner rings dark
Nyx active	Center crossing glows steady purple

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Future Enhancements

• Sound: Subtle audio heartbeat synced with LEDs
• Brightness: Ambient light sensor adjusts intensity
• Modes: Different patterns for different system states
• Remote: Control via Command Center UI

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File: Heartbeat-Sculpture.md Version: 1.0 Created: 2025-12-28 Session: Sunday evening design (dafit + Nyx) Status: Concept ready for build Philosophy: "The digital made visible. The pulse made physical."