Final-year high-school project · 2022 — 2023
SAVIAnimated Shop Window System
I developed the electronics for an animated window-display project installed in a shop in Le Mans for two months.
I completed this final-year project at Saint-Joseph La Salle high school for my STI2D baccalaureate (Sciences and Technologies of Industry and Sustainable Development). It took me from a school prototype to a real installation that had to run autonomously for several hours each day in front of the public.
Project context
A final-year project turned into a real installation
As part of my STI2D baccalaureate at Saint-Joseph La Salle high school, our teachers invited us to design a window display for a real shop after an initial Christmas prototype. I then had to design my code and electronics for autonomous, durable operation that people outside the project could understand.
Christmas prototype
The team builds an initial animated display that is complete, functional and carefully finished.
Finding a partner
After approaching several shops, the team meets Céline Bougard, manager of Le Diablotin in Le Mans.
Eight months of design
Students in the STD2A programme (Sciences and Technologies of Design and Applied Arts) imagine the scenery, while the STI2D team develops mechanics, electronics and software.
Easter 2023 installation
The display is installed and runs automatically for two months in front of the public.
Control constraints
Synchronise four movements with two motors
The mechanics shared two motors across four animations. My software therefore had to respect travel, speed and initial positions without causing mechanical lock-ups.
The stork
It travels back and forth across the window to create the impression of flight.
The egg
A steady pendulum motion animates the suspended egg.
The rabbit
The character rotates in the centre of the scenery.
The wave
The rabbit’s hand moves to welcome passers-by.
My role
Reliable autonomous control
Together with Alix Corbin, I developed the electronics and software. I mainly worked on the object-oriented C++ architecture, motor control and limit-switch management.
Validating my work
Two months of operation in real conditions
The installation at Le Diablotin validated software autonomy, limit-switch handling and long-term electronic reliability. It also taught me that a successful prototype must remain maintainable once it leaves the workshop.
The display in operation
The final sequence brings the characters, mechanical transmissions and lighting together within the scenery.
Egg · swinging↗Stork · back and forth→Rabbit · rotation↖Hand · waving↙
Teamwork
Integrate my work into a multidisciplinary project
Lessons learned
One identified limitation
Prototype limitation
Stepper-motor vibrations generated noticeable noise. The schedule did not allow this issue to be fully resolved before installation.
Potential improvement
A future version would use silent microstepping drivers, smoother speed profiles and mechanical motor isolation to reduce vibration transmission.
This final-year project became the central subject of my STI2D baccalaureate oral examination.