This is the layout I had used when presenting my final project. The funny looking rectangle patterns in the backround are the projections of the the images that appear when you interact with the boxes.

This digital information is then sent to a MacBook Pro computer using the firmata software uploaded to the arduino board. When the data reaches the computer it is converted by another program,serproxy, so that it can be interpreted by Adobe Flash. Flash then interprets the data using a library class known as AS3 Glue.

The flash actionscript code I used:

stop();
import flash.utils.*;
import net.eriksjodin.arduino.Arduino;
import net.eriksjodin.arduino.events.ArduinoEvent;
import net.eriksjodin.arduino.events.ArduinoSysExEvent;
import flash.utils.ByteArray;
import flash.events.Event;
var a:Arduino;
var numEvents:Number=0;
var leaf:uint=0;
var frame:uint=1;
var myTimer:Timer=new Timer(200);
myTimer.addEventListener("timer", checkLeaves);
myTimer.start();

// connect to a serial proxy on port 5331
a=new Arduino("127.0.0.1",5331);

// listen for connection
a.addEventListener(Event.CONNECT,onSocketConnect);
a.addEventListener(Event.CLOSE,onSocketClose);

// listen for firmware (sent on startup)
a.addEventListener(ArduinoEvent.FIRMWARE_VERSION, onReceiveFirmwareVersion);

// listen for data
a.addEventListener(ArduinoEvent.ANALOG_DATA, onReceiveAnalogData);
a.addEventListener(ArduinoEvent.DIGITAL_DATA, onReceiveDigitalData);

//listen for sysex messages
a.addEventListener(ArduinoSysExEvent.SYSEX_MESSAGE, onReceiveSysExMessage);

// triggered when a serial socket connection has been established
function onSocketConnect(e:Object):void {
trace("Socket connected!");
// request the firmware version
a.requestFirmwareVersion();

}

// triggered when a serial socket connection has been closed
function onSocketClose(e:Object):void {
trace("Socket closed!");
}

// trace out data when it arrives...
function onReceiveAnalogData(e:ArduinoEvent):void {
trace((numEvents++) +" Analog pin " + e.pin + " on port: " + e.port +" = " + e.value);
}

// trace out data when it arrives...
function onReceiveDigitalData(e:ArduinoEvent):void {
trace((numEvents++) +" Digital pin " + e.pin + " on port: " + e.port +" = " + e.value);
leaf=leaf+1;
}

// trace incoming sysex messages
function onReceiveSysExMessage(e:ArduinoSysExEvent) {
trace((numEvents++) +"Received SysExMessage. Command:"+e.data[0]);
}

// the firmware version is requested when the Arduino class has made a socket connection.
// when we receive this event we know that the Arduino has been successfully connected.
function onReceiveFirmwareVersion(e:ArduinoEvent):void {
trace("Firmware version: " + e.value);
if (int(e.value)!=2) {
trace("Unexpected Firmware version encountered! This Version of as3glue was written for Firmata2.");
}
// the port value of an event can be used to determine which board the event was dispatched from
// this is one way of dealing with multiple boards, another is to add different listener methods
trace("Port: " + e.port);

// do some stuff on the Arduino...
initArduino();
}

function initArduino():void {
trace("Initializing Arduino");

// set a pin to output
a.setPinMode(13, Arduino.OUTPUT);

// set a pin to high
a.writeDigitalPin(13, Arduino.HIGH);

// turn on pull up on pin 4
a.writeDigitalPin(4, Arduino.HIGH);

// set digital pin 4 to input
a.setPinMode(4, Arduino.INPUT);

// enable reporting for digital pins
a.enableDigitalPinReporting();

// disable reporting for digital pins
//a.disableDigitalPinReporting();

// enable reporting for an analog pin
a.setAnalogPinReporting(3, Arduino.ON);

// disable reporting for an analog pin
//a.setAnalogPinReporting(3, Arduino.OFF);

// set a pin to PWM
a.setPinMode(11, Arduino.PWM);

// write to PWM (0..255)
a.writeAnalogPin(11, 255);

// trace out the most recently received data
//trace("Analog pin 3 is: " + a.getAnalogData(3));
//trace("Digital pin 4 is: " + a.getDigitalData(4));

}

function checkLeaves(eventArgs:TimerEvent):void {
if (leaf>=10) {
nextFrame();
trace("increase");
if (leaf>1000) {
leaf=leaf-100;}
if (leaf>100) {
leaf=leaf-10;}
if (leaf>10) {leaf=leaf-1;}
leaf=leaf-1;

} else {prevFrame();
trace("decrease");
if (leaf>1000) {
leaf=leaf-100;}
if (leaf>100) {
leaf=leaf-10;}
if (leaf>10) {leaf=leaf-1;}
}

}

This code is a modified version of the "simpleIO.fla" example included in the AS3 Glue Class Package. I modified it in several ways:

1. added "stop();" to the first line of code in order to stop any flash movieclips from running without input from the arduino.


2. Imported the timer class so that I could use the timer functions


3. Created a timer that would run a specific function every 2000 milliseconds


4. Added and defined the variables "leaf" and "frame" to track the input received from the arduino. I later decided not to use the variable "frame" for its original purposes.


5. Modified the "onRecieveDigitalData" to add 1 to the variable leaf


6. created the "checkLeaves" function in which the amount of digital input is checked. If the leaf function is higher than a certain threshold the function advances the timeline to the next frame and reduces the amount of the variable "leaf". If the threshold has not been met and the frame is more than 1, the function will advance the timeline to the previous frame and reduce the amount of the variable "leaf".

This diagram shows how the information travels from the physical tree to the digital tree.

When Diane showed me the slit scan program in processing, I almost immediately knew what I was going to do. Taking a little bit of my inspiration Maurice Benayouns identity stealing worms, I wanted to create a structure that could take the interaction of the subject and project it for them to see and change in real time.

I think my idea for making the boxes as the source for one to interact with was that the box as an object is something simple and universally recognized as being something a person is not really afraid to interact with. The construction of the boxes was key to realizing my project and it became quite frustrating in the end when I found my self being held up by their construction. I eventually decided that I would have to build them myself, something I knew I was not proficient in doing, but must be done in order to get there. I had a solid plan that I was sure would work, but with out the boxes complete, I had no way to test it and make sure.

The plan itself was to have three boxes which had openings at the top where individuals could put and move around blocks with fabric patterns on the bottom side. Camera's inside the box would capture the footage and run it through the slit scan program which would take these patterns and their movements and elongate them through time. These images would be projected on the wall for the individuals to see and react with. Lights would also have to be placed inside the box pointing up at the patterns in order for the fabric to be seen by the camera.

A complication arose when I realized I would have to use 3 separate computers to run the slit scan because I did not want them to be part of the presentation. The solution came when I found a white display box that I could stash the computers in as well as set my main display up on top of the box. The boxes themselves were obviously not constructed with the most talented of hands so I used lighting to hide or distract from their defects. As it turned out, once the boxes were completed and I had found a way to install the lights and cameras, the plan had worked out pretty much exactly the way I had envisioned, which doesn't usually happen. I think this had to do a lot with the experience I had in the previous group project, where I learned a sort of method of work which was to start out simple and keep building on that concept. In the end I believe I had a successful project.

The main concept of the presentation from the start was to evolve around the idea of identity, time, and choice. The people interacting with the project have many patterns (identities) to choose from and each one they will effect in their own way. They make their decision and they use the boxes to form (recycle) that pattern the way they wish. As they do, their patterns are mixing with the patterns of those around them and each pattern is connected to one another. These patterns are all effected and tied together by the passage of time.

Most of my other documentation for this project has been lost to the trash can (sketches, blueprints, etc.