Thursday the 11 of March I’ll give a little hands on sewing and electronics workshop in the Media & Design Academy in Genk. Here’s the puntkom_04_flyer.
You are welcome to join – you have to enroll. There is also another more brainstormy workshop by Berit Greinke, which I would follow if I were not giving a workshop (it’s a loop).
“In the 1930’s, American folk singer Woody Guthrie printed his songbooks with the following remark:
This song is Copyrighted in U.S., under Seal of Copyright #154085, for a period of 28 years, and anybody caught singin it without our permission, will be mighty good friends of ourn, cause we don’t give a dern. Publish it. Write it. Sing it. Swing to it. Yodel it. We wrote it, that’s all we wanted to do.
Quoted from HMKV, Anna Kournikova Deleted By Memeright Trusted System, p66 -> which is a quoted from Dmytri Kleiner, The Creative Anti-Commons and the Poverty of Networks,
Tomorrow there is the opening of Zennestraat 17 Rue de la Senne, and I was asked to show a bit of Softwearables in one of the Constant rooms in the building. I decided to work on the project I presented at The Ever Mass land in July – and to add sound to it plus to make it standalone – without a computer. The excercise is presented in a workroom, ready for soldering, coding and reading.
From the moment I started the project Softwearables, the ideas I worked with have to do with proximity, social conventions.
How do you greet a person, how strong/soft/close should a handshake be? This chapter of Softwearables is about the invisible zones you have around you (of course, all of this in a European context – I’m fully aware of that!). When you talk to someone, you are inclined to stand at a certain distance from them. Being too close is only permitted when you know someone very well. Standing too far will influence your communication. In a tram, festival, crowded area, this notion of zone gets scrambled. In a packed metro you are like tuna in a can – yet you do kind of try to keep your personal space in a certain way. In a city your personal space has different proportions than in a large field – logical – and you deal with it differently.
With these personal observations/ideas in mind I started working on a wearable in two forms: “Do stand so close to me” & “Don’t stand so close to me”. Because sometimes you want proximity and sometimes it is very important to have your personal space. You can chose what version to wear. I determined 4 zones – these are open for discussion and they are easy to change in the Arduino code-
- very close: less than 30 cm
- close: between 30 and 70 cm
- futher: between 70 and 2 m
- far: 2m and beyond
If you are in a specific perimeter of the wearable, a certain led will light up – and some distances will be heard through the speaker, enabling you to really feel these invisible boundaries. The visitor can decide to interact with some – and really see how close is still comfortable and when is it beyond.
In the periphery of this physical space, I did think about virtual proximity as well: on certain social platforms, the term “friend” is thrown about like a piece of confetti during carnival. What if you want to accept someone as a stranger, or an acquaintance? Can you be so explicit in tagging someone as a non-friend? There is a possibility that part 3 will go more in this direction.
Technical specifications: A Sonar with Arduino detects the physical proximity of someone, which triggers four leds in a certain perimeter (very close, close, further and far). Voice(s) – Waveshield on top of the Arduino – tell you at certain distances how many centimeters there is in between you and the person (mostly a mannequin) measuring. The public can wear the detection “sheet”, but often people are not inclined to do this…
In order to get this set-up working, you need to programme the Arduino, flash some code onto it’s little chip through usb, in order for it to translate the signal it gets from the Sonar, which converts this into signals for the leds (into light) and into pulses which start a sound.
Here I publish the code in order to make this set-up work. It is not the cleanest code in the world – but it was made through cooperation. The first part of the code – to make the leds work – I got a massive amount of help from Johannes Taelman (through the code31 malinglist – and some conversational proprietary software). The second part, making the sound work with the Waveshield could not have been possible without the excellent tutorials from Limor Fried aka Ladyada. She develops the waveshield (physical object) + explains on how to work with them, providing code examples and forum support. The Forum helped me debug some of my code, but in the end I had to get “live” help – from two Pieters @ Hackerspace Brussels. Hereby thanks to everyone, including Kurt from Timelab where I could do the vinylcut iron-able letters.
//Final Frankenscript code from a Waveshield working with 4 leds and a Sonar
#define RLED1 14 //testled on the duino
#define RLED2 15 //testled on the duino
#define RLED3 16 //testled on the duino
#define RLED4 17 //testled on the duino
#include
#include
#include "util.h"
#include "wave.h"
#define one "01.WAV"
#define two "02.WAV"
#define three "03.WAV"
#define four "04.WAV"
#define five "05.WAV"
#define six "06.WAV"
#define seven "07.WAV"
#define eight "08.WAV"
#define nine "09.WAV"
#define nine "10.WAV"
#define redled 9
AF_Wave card;
File f;
boolean file_is_open=false; // kan twee waarden hebben, false of true
Wavefile wave; // only one!
int wasplaying = 0;
int rVal;
int pingPin = 7;
void setup()
{
Serial.begin(9600);
Serial.println("Wave test!");
pinMode(RLED1, OUTPUT);
pinMode(RLED2, OUTPUT);
pinMode(RLED3, OUTPUT);
pinMode(RLED4, OUTPUT);
pinMode(2, OUTPUT);
pinMode(3, OUTPUT);
pinMode(4, OUTPUT);
pinMode(5, OUTPUT);
pinMode(redled, OUTPUT);
if (!card.init_card()) {
putstring_nl("Card init. failed!"); return;
}
if (!card.open_partition()) {
putstring_nl("No partition!"); return;
}
if (!card.open_filesys()) {
putstring_nl("Couldn't open filesys"); return;
}
if (!card.open_rootdir()) {
putstring_nl("Couldn't open dir"); return;
}
putstring_nl("Files found:");
ls();
}
void loop()
{
long duration, inches, cm;
// The PING))) is triggered by a HIGH pulse of 2 or more microseconds.
// We give a short LOW pulse beforehand to ensure a clean HIGH pulse.
pinMode(pingPin, OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(pingPin, LOW);
delayMicroseconds(2);
digitalWrite(pingPin, HIGH);
delayMicroseconds(5);
digitalWrite(pingPin, LOW);
// The same pin is used to read the signal from the PING))): a HIGH
// pulse whose duration is the time (in microseconds) from the sending
// of the ping to the reception of its echo off of an object.
pinMode(pingPin, INPUT);
duration = pulseIn(pingPin, HIGH);
// convert the time into a distance
inches = microsecondsToInches(duration);
cm = microsecondsToCentimeters(duration);
Serial.print(cm);
Serial.print("cm ");
Serial.println();
if (cm<25) {
digitalWrite(RLED1, LOW);
digitalWrite(RLED2, LOW);
digitalWrite(RLED3, LOW);
digitalWrite(RLED4, HIGH);
}
else if ((cm>26) && (cm<90)) {
digitalWrite(RLED1, LOW);
digitalWrite(RLED2, LOW);
digitalWrite(RLED3, HIGH);
digitalWrite(RLED4, LOW);
}
else if ((cm>91) && (cm<200)) {
digitalWrite(RLED1, LOW);
digitalWrite(RLED2, HIGH);
digitalWrite(RLED3, LOW);
digitalWrite(RLED4, LOW);
}
else if ((cm>201) && (cm<300)) {
digitalWrite(RLED1, HIGH);
digitalWrite(RLED2, LOW);
digitalWrite(RLED3, LOW);
digitalWrite(RLED4, LOW);
}
if ((cm>2) && (cm<4)) {
if (!wave.isplaying) {
playfile(one);
}
}
if ((cm>4) && (cm<6)) {
if (!wave.isplaying) {
playfile(two);
}
}
if ((cm>19) && (cm<21)) {
if (!wave.isplaying) {
playfile(three);
}
}
if ((cm>28) && (cm<32)) {
if (!wave.isplaying) {
playfile(four);
}
}
if ((cm>47) && (cm<52)) {
if (!wave.isplaying) {
playfile(five);
}
}
if ((cm>66) && (cm<73)) {
if (!wave.isplaying) {
playfile(six);
}
}
if ((cm>96) && (cm<105)) {
if (!wave.isplaying) {
playfile(seven);
}
}
if ((cm>196) && (cm<205)) {
if (!wave.isplaying) {
playfile(eight);
}
}
if ((cm>246) && (cm<255)) {
if (!wave.isplaying) {
playfile(nine);
}
}
if ((cm>295) && (cm<306)) {
if (!wave.isplaying) {
playfile(six);
}
}
delay(100);
}
long microsecondsToInches(long microseconds)
{
// According to Parallax's datasheet for the PING))), there are
// 73.746 microseconds per inch (i.e. sound travels at 1130 feet per
// second). This gives the distance travelled by the ping, outbound
// and return, so we divide by 2 to get the distance of the obstacle.
// See: http://www.parallax.com/dl/docs/prod/acc/28015-PING-v1.3.pdf
return microseconds / 74 / 2;
}
long microsecondsToCentimeters(long microseconds)
{
// The speed of sound is 340 m/s or 29 microseconds per centimeter.
// The ping travels out and back, so to find the distance of the
// object we take half of the distance travelled.
return microseconds / 29 / 2;
}
void ls() {
char name[13];
card.reset_dir();
putstring_nl("Files found:");
while (1) {
if (!card.get_next_name_in_dir(name)) {
card.reset_dir();
return;
}
Serial.println(name);
}
}
void playfile(char *name) {
if (wave.isplaying) {// already playing something, so stop it!
wave.stop(); // stop it
}
if (file_is_open) {
card.close_file(f);
file_is_open = false;
}
f = card.open_file(name);
file_is_open = true;
if (!f) {
putstring_nl("Couldn't open file"); return;
}
if (!wave.create(f)) {
putstring_nl("Not a valid WAV"); return;
}
// ok time to play!
wave.play();
}
This project was made with free software (Arduino, Processing - in an earlier stage - , Ardour, Jack, Sox) and is under a Free Art License. Softwearables - do(n't) stand so close to me part 2 - is a moment in my research on physical computing, wearables and sound.
** Note: This Wordpress Theme does not handle code very well - I can send a better version if you want to.. **
Today I got a phone call by two ladies who are part of De geuzen, asking me : “hey Wendy, we want to start with sewing electronics into something wearable, where do we start?”
Immediately I see a lot of links flashing before my eyes, books, tutorials, manuals, all with their specific qualities and specifications. So here is an attempt to give an analysis/review of all these manuals/books/tutorials…
Electronics
- If you don’t know much about electronics, I find Fashioning Technology a good book to start with. It explains quite elegantly how you can integrate leds, headphones… in what you make, also explaining how to add a number of leds (serial versus parallel) and how they need a resistor to function – all of this without even mentioning programming (so no Arduino’s here!). They also give a nice overview of what types of leds exist, what a resistor actually looks like and a little overview on all types of switches. The projects in the book I find that they can give good ideas, but they are not great – Interesting though, for the techniques which are used.
Arduino
- The best tutorial to get some leds blinking with Arduino comes from Ladyada. Just gor from lesson one to five and all that code stuff – together with hooking it all up (including resistors) will start making a lot more sense. (ladyada also has a tutorial online on how to use a multimeter 
)
- Linking textile, electronics and Arduino is the free (both moneywise – and with a creative commons license) book called Open Softwear. A very nice buildup – linking the code to the textile stuff, looking at zippers as buttons. Give me more!
- On the Arduino website, in the playground part there is a great list of dowloadable books, booklets…
At this moment I’m looking at two in particular, both published under a creative commons license. They do drift away from the subject of electronics and textile, but they are handy if you want to delve more into the code, and tweak Arduino and all kinds of sensors into something you want to get working on.
- The complete beginners guide to the Arduino says what it is. It starts of with blinking leds, but at the end there are some more funky projects, including dc motors. This one is definitely next on my reading list.
- Book two from the playground is dry. Code. Arduino. Called Arduino programming notebook. Great (sweat)!
It’s a lot of info – I know. My advice is to check out the images, because you probably already have something in mind. The next post will be more hands-on.
At this moment I am trying to make an interactive distance measuring excercise, with a sonar, 4 leds and a waveshield working together with an arduino. As I’m not a coder (yet?) I rely heavily on tutorials and the generosity of other coders that decide to put a correct piece of code online.
What I then do is use the code of project A – and I try to stretch it to the point that the code does what I want it to do (mostly until it breaks).
Then you go look for code for another part of a project – and there again, you fiddle, trial and error.
Then it is time to mash-up, or as a person writing on the Adafruit forum called it “Frankenscript”.
At this moment my particular Frankenscript is not working (oohh) so it is time for plan B and C ->
B: e-mail the list of Hackerspace Brussels and go there this Tuesday evening
C: post on the Adafruit-Waveshield Forum
(in the meantime also adding some answers and asking some questions elswhere on that Forum: about using Sox to convert audio on Linux and on the new structure of the libraries of the new Arduino (17).
My desk at this moment:
Today the theme with Nicolas Collins is toy hacking. Some people really took off and made a lot of hacked toys. Some got frustrated, because the toys die, or they cannot be hacked or they just had enough – which is fine of course.
Some people did put the challenge quite high. We started the morning with a massive furby skinning session in front of the camera for T.E. who is also in St-Erme.
Afterwards we wanted to circuit bend these furbies – but that appeared to be harder than we thought. Quite some time a few people tried to bend the furby without a tutorial, but in the end we cracked and looked on the interweb.
Here’s a selection of websites:
These two are for regular furbies
- http://www.fizzpop.org.uk/blog/circuit-bending-a-furby/
- http://circuit-bent.net/furby-bending-tutorial.html
This cryptic one is for a furby baby:
- http://patchwrangler.net/2008/05/10/furby-update/
The nicest hack is glitch – where the furby goes through it’s whole vocabulary in a fragmented babel-esque way…
And then for some furby behaviour analysis: when they say they are hungry, you need to press their tongue!! Check out some furby behaviour.
These two furbies don’t want to wake up.
I’ll try this tutorial and see what it gives..
Here is a general overview of day two:
Everyone made great electret microphones – and we all put our fantom power setup in a small box – which we found lying around in Paf.
Two workshop participants spent almost the whole afternoon and evening under the pingpong table – attaching their freshly made contact microphones (from day one) to the pingpong paddles and underneath the table.
This is the workspace space. All looks quite clean at the beginning…
We started on a little solar explanation in the sun.
For five days I am in Paf in St-Erme, in a workshop organized by Nadine. I’m going to go over the events day by day.
It’s the third time I’m in St-Erme on a hardware hacking workshop and each time it was a truly amazing experience. As you are isolated in a village, and a lot of day to day drag is not where you are, you can really concentrate very well. The hacking has begone..
In 2005, Fo.am organized a series of workshops – and one of them was entitled Softwear. I chose the name Softwearables to refer to their work – a kind of attribution. In this workshop series a lot of new materials were looked at: conductive thread and textiles, but also thermochromatic stuff (reacting to heat), UV-sensitive material (for example changing colour) at a moment where it was not so easy to get all this stuff. Unfortunately I was not present during this workshop session in 2005 – but I decided to have a dig in the archive. Here you see some pictures.
In the summer I’m giving a hand in putting some order in this material library – which enables me to have a good insight in what is available.
It’s a super archive!