Our most recent realization of our interactive sound sculpture incorporates aesthetic additions to the object itself (namely the white "canvas" paint job) as well as improved software design and an immersive 6-channel speaker array.
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Our most recent realization of our interactive sound sculpture incorporates aesthetic additions to the object itself (namely the white "canvas" paint job) as well as improved software design and an immersive 6-channel speaker array.
]]>Technical details:
This is the code I used to test the switches by using the serial monitor to read a high or low signal. Pulled from Ladyada's Tutorial #5:
switch_test.pde
This is the code I used to test the relays to make sure they were wired correctly. Set the pin number that the relay is connected to and it will turn it on for 10 seconds upon reset.
relay_test.pde
And this is the diagram that I used (mostly) for wiring the relays:
relay.pdf
But the information on this website helped with the wiring also:
Relay
This is the final code that we used in the presentation:
collab_audioandrelay_final.pde
Most of the Waveshield code was pulled from examples that Ladyada had posted here:
Use Waveshield
Using the example to play once through but allow other buttons to interrupt, we were able to add on code from the switch tutorials for the relays.
A (mostly) accurate wiring diagram was posted on our project update post a while ago, so I'll skip that here. But here are the images of the wiring setups. We had two breadboards: one hooked up to switches and the analog pins on the waveshield, the other for transistors and going to the relays through the digital pins.
Essentially my project involves the audience walking into a completely empty room, with each one of them triggering a sound as they enter. There would be 30 PIR Motion Sensors set around the room: 10 along the baseboard, 2 on each wall, and the rest hanging from the ceiling. By controlling the ranges of the motion sensor to only react to small areas, I can control the amount of movement necessary to trigger specific noises in certain spaces. This way, when people move in the space they can either create a cacophony of percussive noises or they can explore the space slowly and build a musical composition out of their movement. Each noise set off by the motion sensor would comprise of different samples.
This project would explore the dynamics of forced interactivity in an audience, as when there's a strong trust built amongst the members they can create beautiful moments. This project would be great to set up in a large room, where the sensors can be spaced out. Each participant becomes a part of the space and can interact with the others and the space itself by testing out what each sensor triggers.
]]>After researching the Flip-Flap, I figured out that I could disrupt the flow of electricity by using a relay switch in-between the wire connecting the solar panel to the capacitor. I used a PIR Motion Detector to control the flow of energy, making it so that when you waved at the Flip Flap, it would wave back at you. I'm pretty happy with how this turned out, as it reacted as I hoped it would.
This is the Arduino program that I used to control the Motion Sensor:
/////////////////////////////
//VARS
//the time we give the sensor to calibrate (10-60 secs according to the datasheet)
int calibrationTime = 30;
//the time when the sensor outputs a low impulse
long unsigned int lowIn;
//the amount of milliseconds the sensor has to be low
//before we assume all motion has stopped
long unsigned int pause = 5000;
boolean lockLow = true;
boolean takeLowTime;
int pirPin = 3; //the digital pin connected to the PIR sensor's output
int ledPin = 13;
/////////////////////////////
//SETUP
void setup(){
Serial.begin(9600);
pinMode(pirPin, INPUT);
pinMode(ledPin, OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(pirPin, LOW);
//give the sensor some time to calibrate
Serial.print("calibrating sensor ");
for(int i = 0; i < calibrationTime; i++){
Serial.print(".");
delay(1000);
}
Serial.println(" done");
Serial.println("SENSOR ACTIVE");
delay(50);
}
////////////////////////////
//LOOP
void loop(){
if(digitalRead(pirPin) == HIGH){
digitalWrite(ledPin, HIGH); //the led visualizes the sensors output pin state
if(lockLow){
//makes sure we wait for a transition to LOW before any further output is made:
lockLow = false;
Serial.println("---");
Serial.print("motion detected at ");
Serial.print(millis()/1000);
Serial.println(" sec");
delay(50);
}
takeLowTime = true;
}
if(digitalRead(pirPin) == LOW){
digitalWrite(ledPin, LOW); //the led visualizes the sensors output pin state
if(takeLowTime){
lowIn = millis(); //save the time of the transition from high to LOW
takeLowTime = false; //make sure this is only done at the start of a LOW phase
}
//if the sensor is low for more than the given pause,
//we assume that no more motion is going to happen
if(!lockLow && millis() - lowIn > pause){
//makes sure this block of code is only executed again after
//a new motion sequence has been detected
lockLow = true;
Serial.print("motion ended at "); //output
Serial.print((millis() - pause)/1000);
Serial.println(" sec");
delay(200);
}
}
}
This wasn't a flashy project as my other ones turned out, but I'm very happy to have explored a softer approach to interactive art by bringing in the use of gesture and interaction with a mechanical object. This is an extremely interesting relationship for me, as I'm still struggling with the extremely reactive role that objects play in our lives today.
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As a way to experiment and start prototyping physically responsive spatial elements, I developed a simple "windwall" incorporating a passive infra-red (PIR) sensor, an actuated switch, and a number of ordinary house fans controlled by an arduino microcontroller.
As was evidenced by my class demo, the arrangement of the motion sensor to the zone of activity caused the relay to be consistently triggered. I programmed the sensor with 30 seconds of calibration time to create a baseline with a relatively high amount of motion, but it was ineffective at creating the response I wanted. Repositioning the sensor, creating a smaller view cone for the fresnel lens, or using a PIR with a manually controlled sensitivity would have made the interaction more satisfactory.
One very helpful tool was the PowerStripTail, available here for less than $20. It is essentially an independently powered relay that allows for the conversion of electricity between the 5v microcontroller and up to 120v AC. I powered three house fans on an ordinary powerstrip plugged into the PowerStripTail. This greatly reduced the time and circuitry required for this experiment.
]]>I would use microphones to track the sonic profiles of multiple distinct environments, preferably public spaces--libraries, hallways, cafes, playgrounds, etc. Using custom software, I would extract frequency and amplitude information from these signals in realtime and transform them into a series of data streams. These fluctuating data streams would be structurally coupled to various sound parameters of the audio signals being tracked, as well as video of the environments. This would form a "net" of data connections among the various spaces. This "net" of data couplings would enable the characteristic sounds events of each respective environment to induce change in the audio and video signals of the others, thus informing the overall audiovisual output of the piece. (The audiovisual output would include multiple realtime video projections as well as a multichannel speaker array.) In effect, the composite audiovisual output would represent the interactive intersection of multiple spaces in a single environment.
]]>However, for purposes of this class, I will define
Interactive Art : "a performance or installation created by one or more humans, created for and dependent upon a second party of humans to experience in a personal and engaging manner."
Boom.
]]>I was pleased with how the shadow light box turned out, even though it wasn't working perfectly. The piece is meant to be explored on both sides and call attention to the relationship between the show and the actor--the actors in this sense, are not necessarily performing, but they are exploring. That explorer cannot fully enjoy their show, because the lights that their shadow creates are displayed on the the other side of the board. The use of the lense helped add a mysterious quality to the contraption, and helped create a window effect, which almost surprisingly for me, conceptually realted to another idea of a window I had been thinkinking about for a different project. I was pleased when I discovered that connection!
All in all I think i would play more with the lighting of this piece. I probably would have had a more angled effect to produce a more strinking shadow, and also would have had a smaller slit of directed light, rather than it be so much like a spotlight.
I am interested in playing more with shadows and light--
Emily and I submitted a proposal to an upcoming local art festival with this idea, and the limited budget encouraged us to look at other solutions besides the Arduino. I am interested in using RF for this project, as wireless access may be spotty and RF options are low-cost. I came across the JeeNode as one potential option: it uses the same chip and programming environment as Arduino, but has a smaller footprint, requires only one AA battery, and has an on-board RF transmitter (so it can send and receive messages).
For this project, I focused on getting two JeeNodes to talk to one another. It is still fairly basic, but (as in the images below) one JeeNode sends a message every second and the second blinks when it gets that message.
The messages can be up to 66 packets in length. The interesting thing is that when the JeeNodes are far apart, not all of the packets are received. I realized that this could be utilized as a de facto proximity sensor: the LED's brightness could be determined by how many packets are received, so that it would be brighter if the transmission was strong (the two JeeNodes are close together) and dimmer if the transmission was weak (they are farther apart). I haven't been able to get this part of the programming working yet, and there will most certainly be problems with my logic about the proximity sensor thing, but I'm excited to keep playing with this idea over the summer with the goal of installing it, if only temporarily, in a bus shelter some evening.
My code is in the files below, which require additional libraries for the JeeNode.
bus_shelter_sender.pde
bus_shelter_receiver.pde