Planet Arduino

Interactive kinetic installations are always incredible to see in action, but they become even more awesome when they’re part of a performance. As in the case of Infinite Delta, which is the result of Boris Chimp 504 + Alma D’ Arame’s artistic residency at Montemor-o-Novo in Portugal.

Using Arduino boards, they built a physical structure comprised of triangular planes that swing back and forth like a pendulum, controlled by a series of servo motors. Light is projected onto the moving structures, creating patterns that are then reflected onto a nearby wall. Infinite Delta also modifies its shape in response to the movement and sound of the audience.

In Euclidean geometry any three points, when non-collinear, form a unique triangle and determine a unique plane. Nevertheless, in quantum physics the string theory proposes that fundamental particles may also have similarities with a string. It also states that the universe is infinite and in it all matter is contained. In this “multiverse”, our universe would be just one of many parallel existent universes. What would happen then if we multiply triangles infinitely? Could or would we have access to those parallel universes?

The performers augmented the physical world by overlaying it into the digital world to produce a new alternative, magic and hyper-sensorial landscape.

Red is an optic-sound electronic object that uses simple light sources and optical elements to create audiovisual performance. The machine was named as a color because at the center of the work there is a red glass crystal and a flexible Fresnel lens. Dmitry Morozov aka :: vtol: : created it using Arduino with pure data and python scripts:

The project includes many reworked electronic devices – a CD-rom, an old scanner, reused electric motors. Multiple moving elements provide wide variability for rather primitive optical elements. It is accomplished by constant change of focal length between the light source, crystal and lens, as well as by changing the crystal’s tilt angle and mechanical distortion of the lens. The object works autonomously, by algorithm with many accidental events tied to feedback, with sensors defining the position of various mechanical elements in relation to the range of their movement. The sound part has up to 4 voices which depend on the activity of various elements. The sound is also in direct interaction with actual position of those elements, and basically is voicing the process of movement, brightness of light, and intensity of the piece.

Watch how it works in this hypnotic video:

ANGLE project is a Florence-based duo and also the name of the amazing audiovisual performance that applies videomapping techniques to live sets. The duo produces and composes all the songs with synchronised video images using 3D mapping on a self-supporting, isostatic, modular structure that is made up of triangles with junctions at their vertices.

TETRA 02 is the title of ANGLE’s new live set composed of a structure equipped with LED lights, animated live using Arduino Uno & Mad Light.

Last year MediaInteractiveDesign and PlayModes , two interactive design and creative technology studios based in Catalonia, collaborated to develop a system to control DIY Laser robot.

They created a new shield  to control Dinamyxel servomotors  to work with PWM laser drivers. The shield works using Arduino Ethernet programmed with a specific firmware to control laser and motor using Open Sound Control.

The project involved a team of 3 people (Eloi Maduell, Alex Posada and Santi Vilanova) coming from the field of audiovisual creativity, hardware engineering and software development.

To show us the way this system can be used, they sent us two of their projects. Enjoy!

RADIAL
Radial is a fully immersive audiovisual experience driven by cutting edge DIY technologies. Composed by a set of 8 moving blue laser heads and a kinetic light sculpture, it drives the audience into an abstract synaesthesic trip.
While laying down on the center of the installation, you let yourself be surrounded of synchronized three dimensional light compositions, multichannel sound and the intricate moving color patterns of the Particle.

Here’s the technical schematic of Radial, some pics, and below the video:

BLAUS

Blaus is an immersive space where light and sound relate intimately to impact on the visitor.  It can be a cube or a blossoming flower, a grid or a jellyfish; a mutant entity of reflecting lights which submerge the audience into a symbolical universe, driven by hidden forces of the architecture. Movement and reflections of light, sound and laser beams generates a kinetic atmosphere that transforms the architecture into the main character of a geometric play.

And here you can see some pics and the video about how they made it:

Last but not least for the implementation of the system they used and want to thank:

• Savage Electronic Dinamyxel library
• ZOSC library for Arduino
• Duration Open Source software  by James George, to control independently, compose, and play a full score for the laser diodes, servomotors, lights and music.