Monday, September 30, 2013

What Does it Mean?


//
/*
resistor
LED
setup function
loop function
)
;
}
=
==
Red
Black
digitalRead
digitalWrite
HIGH
LOW
long wire
short wire
AC
DC
actuator
INT
FLOAT
start of a one line comment
start of a multi-line comment
insert in the breadboard either direction only
insert in the breadboard one direction only
function that runs one in every sketch
function that runs infinitely in every sketch
punctuation that ends a parameter
punctuation that ends a line of code
punctuation that ends a function
symbol for assignment operator – Make X become Y.
symbol for comparison operator – Is X the same as Y?
SA 383 class standard for positive lead
SA 383 class standard for negative lead
send input to pin
send output to pin
set pin to ON
set pin to OFF
length of positive lead wire
length of negative lead wire
power from wall
power from battery or power adaptor
output device
whole number
number with decimal point

Drip and Liquid Switches

Using Bare Conductive Paint these switches were made.



Syringe Switch from Bare Conductive on Vimeo.




Liquid Switches from Bare Conductive on Vimeo.

Monday, September 23, 2013

What Can I Make?

Here is are two examples of physical computing, using an Arduino board, in art/design that uses digital output in an elegant or interesting way.





Monday, September 16, 2013

The Electronics Maker Community

When identifying with the community, I found that many artist are attempting to push the limits of the technologies. I find it very interesting when experimenting with the medium that I am working with, particularly a new medium that I know little to nothing about. I enjoy breaking all of the “rules” put in place for specific medium areas, and one way I find this works well to do is to play with the medium before I know anything about it or what others say about it. I am excited to be working with this new medium and the possibilities that it offers. Looking at the examples of projects done using these sorts of electronics, I feel that I have an idea in what ways I could explore for a project. Though this particular area seems tedious with the code in particular. The community does seem to share a great deal of information on not only what they are working on, but also and importantly so, on how they are doing these projects. I feel that the communication in the community is very important and helpful, especially being new to this area. The community seems have very knowledgeable participants and very new and inexperienced participants though. There certainly are those in between, however when I was reading through forums on how to learn or fix something, the more knowledgeable participants seemed to look down upon those who show ignorance and misunderstandings in the replies with a sort of “this is obvious” attitude. This would be my only known criticism of the community however.

Sunday, September 15, 2013

Online Resources

BARE CONDUCTIVE POSSIBILITIES:

Connecting: http://www.bareconductive.com/connecting

Drip Switch: http://vimeo.com/32072067

Capacitance Sensor: http://vimeo.com/29831907

Liquid Switches: http://vimeo.com/31968200


PARTICIPANT BLOGS

Alex Schwalbe Blog: http://alexschwalbe.blogspot.com/

Alex Schwalbe Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/user13738697

Meghan O'Bryan Blog: http://meghan-physical-computing-art.blogspot.com/

Meghan O'Bryan Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/meghanobryan

Cristina Iacopelli Blog: http://ciacopelli17.wordpress.com/

Cristina Iacopelli Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user10885936

Joseph Laskowski Blog: http://jrlaskowsa383.blogspot.com/


RESOURCES ORGANIZED BY TOPIC

Arduino Learning:

About IDE: http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/Environment

Main Language Reference: http://arduino.cc/en/Reference/HomePage

SparkFun Resources:

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials

https://learn.sparkfun.com/curriculum

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/redboard-vs-uno

About Arduino RedBoard Kit: https://www.sparkfun.com/wish_lists/66794

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/redboard-vs-uno

About Arduino Lilypad: http://arduino.cc/en/Guide/LilyPadMacOSX

About Power: https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/battery-technologies

Abpit Bare Conductive Paint: http://www.bareconductive.com/tutorials

Good Tutorial on Basic Switches: http://www.bareconductive.com/electro-card

About Pulse Sensor Amped: http://makezine.com/2013/03/22/voice-of-christopher-walken-gets-you-started-with-the-pulse-sensor/

About Wearables: http://makezine.com/2013/04/25/the-future-of-wearable-technology/

http://learn.adafruit.com/users/6

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/dungeons-and-dragons-dice-gauntlet

http://makezine.com/2013/04/25/wearable-tech-smart-fabrics-2013/

http://makezine.com/2011/06/21/is-the-rise-of-wearable-electronics-finally-here/

MIT High/Low Tech: http://hlt.media.mit.edu/?cat=5

Copyright / Creative Commons License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

More Sophisticated Art Projects: http://www.bareconductive.com/community

http://www.bareconductive.com/consumed-interactive-melodic-installation

http://makezine.com/2013/05/06/conductive-paint-liquidity-lamps/

http://playground.arduino.cc/Projects/ArduinoUsers


Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Physical Computing By Tom Igoe

Physical Computing: Sensing and Controlling the Physical World with Computers
By: Tom Igoe
Published May 28, 2004
http://www.tigoe.net/pcomp/

"Physical computing is all around us-from interactive displays at museums to "puff sensors" that aid the physically challenged. With a multiple book buying audience, this book doesn't require a specific background or technical experience. It is designed to help make a more interesting connection between the physical world and the computer world. The audience size is comparable to that of the Robot builder market. In addition to this audience, physical computing is also taught at several universities across the US. This book is a great source of information and knowledge for anyone interested in bridging the gap between the physical and the virtual."-Source

New Media Physical Computing Intro

"[SA 383] Physical Computing [course] is an interdisciplinary class that introduces students to basic concepts of electrical and electronic circuitry, simple programming and kinetic sculpture to create objects, installations and performances using the Arduino microprocessor. Arduino allows you to control input from switches, knobs and various sensors to activate light, sound and motion in your art projects."
- Course Objectives in Syllabus for Oakland University's SA 383

"Physical computing, in the broadest sense, means building interactive physical systems by the use of software and hardware that can sense and respond to the analog world. While this definition is broad enough to encompass things such as smart automotive traffic control systems or factory automation processes, it is not commonly used to describe them. In the broad sense, physical computing is a creative framework for understanding human beings' relationship to the digital world. In practical use, the term most often describes handmade art, design or DIY hobby projects that use sensors and microcontrollers to translate analog input to a software system, and/or control electro-mechanical devices such as motors, servos, lighting or other hardware."




Arduino

"Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for artists, designers, hobbyists and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments.

Arduino can sense the environment by receiving input from a variety of sensors and can affect its surroundings by controlling lights, motors, and other actuators. The microcontroller on the board is programmed using the Arduino programming language (based on Wiring) and the Arduino development environment (based on Processing). Arduino projects can be stand-alone or they can communicate with software running on a computer (e.g. Flash, Processing, MaxMSP).

The boards can be built by hand or purchased preassembled; the software can be downloaded for free. The hardware reference designs (CAD files) are available under an open-source license, you are free to adapt them to your needs."


-http://arduino.cc/




RedBoard (above) aprox. $25

"At SparkFun we use many Arduinos and we're always looking for the simplest, most stable one. Each board is a bit different and no one board has everything we want, so we decided to make our own version that combines all our favorite features.

The RedBoard combines the simplicity of the UNO's Optiboot bootloader (which is used in the Pro series), the stability of the FTDI (which we all missed after the Duemilanove was discontinued) and the R3 shield compatibility of the latest Arduino UNO R3."

-https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11575


ATmega328 microcontroller with Optiboot (UNO) Bootloader
USB Programming Facilitated by the Ubiquitous FTDI FT232RL
Input voltage - 7-15V
0-5V outputs with 3.3V compatible inputs
14 Digital I/O Pins (6 PWM outputs)
6 Analog Inputs
32k Flash Memory
16MHz Clock Speed
All SMD Construction
R3 Shield Compatible
Red PCB



Arduino LilyPad (above)
Arduino LilyPad USB - ATmega32U4, aprox. $29

"The LilyPad Arduino is a microcontroller board designed for wearables and e-textiles. It can be sewn to fabric and similarly mounted power supplies, sensors and actuators with conductive thread.

The board is based on the ATmega168V(the low-power version of the ATmega168) or the ATmega328V. The LilyPad Arduino was designed and developed by Leah Buechley and SparkFun Electronics."

-http://arduino.cc/en/Main/arduinoBoardLilyPad


ATmega168V or ATmega328V Microcontroller
2.7-5.5 V Operating Voltage
2.7-5.5 V Input Voltage
14 Digital I/O Pins (of which 6 provide PWM output)
6 Analog Input Pins
40 mA DC Current per I/O Pin
16 KB Flash Memory (of which 2 KB used by bootloader)
1 KB SRAM
512 bytes EEPROM
8 MHz Clock Speed



PulseSensor Amped (below) aprox.$25
http://pulsesensor.myshopify.com/

Pulse Sensor Amped!


Diameter = 0.625" (~16mm)
Overall thickness = 0.125" (~3mm)
Cable length = 24" (~609mm)
Voltage = 3V to 5V
Current consumption = ~4mA at 5V




Pulse Sensor Getting Started Guide
Yury G
3:20.00
Demonstration Tutorial Video



Bare Conductive Paint Pen (below) aprox. $10

"Bare Conductive Paint is a multipurpose electrically conductive material perfect for all of your DIY projects! Bare Paint is water based, nontoxic and dries at room temperature.

Bare Paint is the first non-toxic electrically conductive paint available to consumers today. This unique child-friendly material is designed for people of all ages to explore and learn about electronics with an inclusive, easy-to-use material. 

Bare Paint provides a dramatically different method of interacting with electronics as it can be applied to almost any surface, including cardboard, paper, wood, wallpaper, walls, textiles, and some plastics. 

Bare paint can be used to replace conventional acid etching, making it a great electronics prototyping tool. Nontoxic and water-soluble, Bare Paint can be used without gloves or mask. The paint dries quickly at room temperature, and can be removed with soap and water. This means it's also not water-proof or weather-resistant! 

Application Methods Include: painting, screen printing & spray painting among others. Despite being called "Bare" conductive, it's meant not for use on bare skin."

-http://www.adafruit.com/products/1306?gclid=CPnF8cHcwbkCFYFhMgodjkkAxw

Bare Conductive Paint Pen - 10mL



Bare Conductive Paint (2013)
Adafruit Industries, Becky Stern
1:30.00
Demonstration Video



"Kinetic art is art from any medium that contains movement perceivable by the viewer or depends on motion for its effect. Canvas paintings that extend the viewer's perspective of the artwork and incorporate multidimensional movement are the earliest examples of kinetic art."

-Popper, Frank. The Origins and Development of Kinetic Art.


High-Low Tech

http://hlt.media.mit.edu/

"High-Low Tech, a research group at the MIT Media Lab, integrates high and low technological materials, processes, and cultures. Our primary aim is to engage diverse audiences in designing and building their own technologies by situating computation in new cultural and material contexts, and by developing tools that democratize engineering. We believe that the future of technology will be largely determined by end-users who will design, build, and hack their own devices, and our goal is to inspire, shape, support, and study these communities. To this end, we explore the intersection of computation, physical materials, manufacturing processes, traditional crafts, and design."





Dandelion Painting (2012)
Pu Bong Ying Tu
3:30.00
Interactive Physical Computing Installation
More information