Students in Jack Gumaer's ET420 Microcontroller Applications class assisted NMU Art and Design student Zachary Smith to automate his kinetic sculpture, titled Evanescent, that is being displayed in April at the 2011 Salone Satellite international design show in Milan, Italy. The Salone Satellite is a showcase of select young international designers that are given the opportunity to exhibit to a large audience of manufacturers, press and design professionals.

The sculpture highlights the passage of time with more rapid needle movement and increasing blue light intensity as time progresses. To accomplish this, the ET420 students used a PIC 16F684 microcontroller to control the timed movement of a clock needle, regulate the intensity of blue lighting, and simulate the ticking sound of a clock. Students worked in small teams to design and test the hardware and software and to construct the electronic hardware. For many students it was their first microcontroller development experience.