Distribution.

Working as part of the exhibit design team at FifeX Ltd, I played a pivotal role in the functionality and user experience of this interactive, installed at the SSE Visitor Centre in Pitlochry.

The client — one of the largest energy suppliers in the UK — wanted an interactive to demonstrate how electrical energy is correctly managed as it travels from a hydro dam to a house. The model guides visitors through the journey that electricity takes, and the critical role transformers play along the way.

I designed and built the control system using custom PCBs to daisy-chain multiple RFID readers over I2C, managing three states for each transformer position: correct, wrong, and not detected. If the sequence is right, the house illuminates green. If a transformer is in the wrong position, the house glows red — indicating it has been blown up by a surge. Reed switches with magnets were used to detect pylon positions, as their order doesn't matter, making magnetic detection the cleanest solution.

The success of the first installation led to requests from several other SSE sites for similar interactives. Later versions used flexible LED noodles embedded in 3D printed pylons to show power travelling along them, and offered a choice of energy source — wind or hydro.