Interaction - Bachelors

TabLED – The Interactive LED Table

TabLED is an interactive LED table and digital interface, featuring a 240-LED grid designed to enhance the ambiance in social venues like clubs, bars, restaurants, and events. With its intuitive interface, guests can "draw" patterns, adjust brightness, and control colors and animations in real time, creating custom light displays. This engaging, hands-on feature transforms any environment, inviting guests to interact creatively and elevating the overall social experience.

Sabrina Dragani

design concept video

target audience

TabLED is designed for owners and managers of social venues—restaurants, bars, and clubs—who seek to add a standout feature that enhances guest engagement and creates a memorable, immersive experience. By transforming tables into interactive digital canvases, TabLED offers venues a unique way to foster social interaction and captivate guests through dynamic, hands-on lighting control.

the interface

The TabLED digital interface is designed for intuitive, real-time control of the LED setup. With a 20×12 grid mirroring the physical layout, users can select individual LEDs, adjusting colours, brightness, and patterns seamlessly. The interface encourages quick, creative interaction, making it easy for guests to personalize lighting displays to suit the atmosphere of any space.

the Technology

TabLED combines electronics with intuitive design, using JavaScript, Node.js, and the FastLED library to deliver real-time, responsive lighting experiences. Each interaction is powered by an Arduino microcontroller, ensuring a smooth connection between the digital interface and physical LEDs.

User Testing

During class, I conducted user testing for my TabLED interface. Each participant presented their own project, and I got valuable feedback on mine. This setup allowed me to observe real-time interactions and responses to the interface.

github repo

Here are the links to my Github Repositories, where I have uploaded the files for the main TabLED web server (including Node.js files and Arduino C++ files).

The Node.js server handles both the front-end and back-end of the app, serving as the bridge between the Arduino and the local web interface. It communicates with the Arduino to relay instructions to the LEDs based on user interactions.

The Arduino code defines the animations and controls how the LEDs should respond, activating specific effects when users interact with the interface.

Node.js Web Server Code
https://github.com/s4brina/TabLED

Arduino IDE Code (c++)
https://github.com/s4brina/ArduinoIDE-TabLED

Sabrina Dragani

Sabrina is an Interaction Designer who is passionate about creating immersive, user-centered experiences that blend technology and aesthetics.