6/11/2018

Where we are now

A simple monochrome 3/6 channel display. view on YouTube

The code is very simple at this point. Math drives the PWM to fade the outputs. I have 3 and 6 channel setups running. I’m also testing a solar battery. The control box consists of:

  • 1 CPU
  • 3/6 pwm mosfet power boards
  • 1 photo relay
  • 1 power regulator

I’ve run this on several Arduino boards including Sun Founder brand and generic class Uno, Mega, and Nano, which is used in current production. 3 & 6 PWM outputs are used in two versions. I believe that with some code, we can make all I/O on the board addressable PWM, which would provide for use of the board’s maximum I/O. There are expander boards available to scale the I/O. 

RGB – It’s more. More hardware, more energy, more code, more dollars, more show, more awesomeness.  This RGB ring product has some real possibilities to create new designs with the same goal of scalable, interactive, light sculpture. 

IoT – This Particle board gives us a new level of function due to the reach. It’s easy to flash new software to the unit(s). This gives opportunity to sell custom displays, upgrade software and meet other goals defined in the roadmap.  Integration with Raspberry Pi seems legit. 

Interactivity – I’ve always envisioned creating light sculpture installations which have elements of user instruction. There are many sensors available to inject variables. Sound, proximity, touch come to mind right away. 

Static Display – I’ve tested Vixen and it works well for driving custom, events/timeline based shows. I’d be interested in creating lots of custom shows which can be displayed in “multi-clip loops” or “on demand custom or stock” shows. Imagine a hill-side installation of 5000 pixels.  

Code

Current 6ch code

Road Map

The road map is a “choose your own adventure”. Creativity in story and crowdsourcing will payoff.  Here are some factors:

  • Cost to deploy and support
  • Hardware
  • Environment
  • Function

So, here’s my current thinking.

Important functions:

  • Provide channel output variance via app. or code flash equivalent to the iTunes store experience. 6 channels to start. Develop from a Photon.

The Big picture

Potential integration with marketing and trade shows.