Themes – F15 60-223: Intro to Physical Computing

Visualizing Arduino Data

rpaetz — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 16:42:45 +0000

Arduino has come out with a serial plotter, but it leaves a lot to be desired. In order to visualize Arduino data, I have had better luck with processing. There is a sample program on the arduino site: https://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Graph. The processing code is a comment in the arduino sketch. You can download processing at: https://processing.org/download/

Also, the processing code didn’t work for me at first. I added the code I used at the end of this post, but it would be good to look at the code in the arduino sketch since it has a good way to draw a line graph.

// Example by Tom Igoe


import processing.serial.*;
Serial myPort; // The serial port

PFont myFont; // The display font

String inString; // Input string from serial port

int lf = 10; // ASCII linefeed

int xPos = 0;

void setup() {

size(600,600);

// You'll need to make this font with the Create Font Tool

//myFont = loadFont("ArialMS-18.vlw");

//textFont(myFont, 18);

// List all the available serial ports:

printArray(Serial.list());

// I know that the first port in the serial list on my mac

// is always my Keyspan adaptor, so I open Serial.list()[0].

// Open whatever port is the one you're using.

myPort = new Serial(this, Serial.list()[0], 9600);

myPort.bufferUntil(lf);

}
void draw() {

background(0);

// get the ASCII string:

if (inString != null) {

// trim off any whitespace:

inString = trim(inString);
/* replace this code with code to draw your data

String[] vals = inString.split(",");

// convert to an int and map to the screen height:

float y = float(vals[0]);

float x = float(vals[1]);

y *= -1;

x = map(x, -100, 100, 0, height);

y = map(y, -100, 100, 0, width);
// draw the line:

stroke(127,34,255);
arc(x-5, y-5, 10, 10, 0, 2*PI);

*/

}

}

void serialEvent(Serial p) { inString = p.readStringUntil(lf); }

“Babolat PLAY” by Babolat (2015)

robert — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 20:59:43 +0000

The Babolat PLAY is a connected tennis racket. The racket records data about every hit, including serves, swing angle, impact location, velocity, force, and spin. It pairs with your phone over Bluetooth. Babolat’s app uploads your data to the cloud, so that you can view the data after a game to analyze your swings. The battery lasts for six hours before needing a recharge, and the racket feels identical to comparable standard tennis rackets.

YouTube / Babolat – via Iframely

“Nimbus 2.0” by Nimbus (2015)

robert — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 20:39:03 +0000

Nimbus is the world’s first Smart towel rack, re-thinking how your bathroom works. The central premise is a sterilizing UV lamp, to kill the bacteria on your towel. The product is waterproof, but requires an outlet for power. Nimbus 2.0 also has a large digital screen, showing “a real-time display of temperature and time”.

Its touch-activated buttons allow you to power the device on and off with futuristic flair. If that weren’t enough, Nimbus includes a bluetooth stereo, linking to your iPhone to play music and answer calls in the shower with “80% music quality improved“.

In the words of the creators:

“Say goodbye to old-style bath, let’s enjoy the music feast brought by nimbus intelligent towel rack!”

Kickstarter / Nimbus – via Iframely

“Chop-Syc” by Siobhán Andrews (2013)

robert — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 20:26:15 +0000

Chop-Syc is a cutting board with a built-in tablet. A user can use the touchscreen to look up a recipe, and then cut the ingredients right on the tablet’s scratch-proof glass. Chop-Syc’s screen will even display a wood grain pattern to match the rest of the cutting board if desired.

YouTube / SharpEurope – via Iframely

“Solar Bikini” by Andrew Schneider (2006)

racheln — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 17:16:44 +0000

The “Solar Bikini” is the work of Brooklyn designer Andrew Schneider, created for the 2006 Tisch School’s Interactive Telecommunications Program Winter Show.

The wearer is capable of charging small electronics, and can even go swimming while wearing it! (Note: do not charge and swim and the same time)

To be fair, I’m pretty sure Schneider intended this more as artistic commentary on technology, but he’s also still offering custom orders.

Unrelated to this work, Schneider is the 2015 OBIE Award winner, and was given five stars by both The New York Times and TimeOut New York.

See more of his work here: http://andrewjs.com/

“Massage Me” by Mika Satomi, Hannah Perner-Wilson (2007)

racheln — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 17:03:02 +0000

“Massage Me” is a “wearable massage interface” that turns a back massage into a video game controller.

From their website:

Playing Massage me requires two people, one who wears the jacket to receive the massage and one who massages the person wearing the jacket. Soft flexible buttons are embedded in back of the jacket so that wearing it turns your back into a gamepad. All you need to do is to sit or lay down in front of a video game player and you will be able to enjoy a back massage while the game lasts.

Satomi and Perner-Wilson are not currently taking orders, but you can assemble your own by following their DIY guide.

“Selfie Hat” by Christian Cowan-Sanluis (2014)

racheln — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 16:43:05 +0000

The “Selfie Hat” by Christian Cowan-Sanluis was developed in collaboration with Acer in order to promote Acer’s Iconia A1-840 tablet.

Regardless of its original intent, the unwieldy, glittery, pink sombrero impressively defies the laws of gravity to support a large tablet fold-out on the brim of the hat.

This hat was first put on display by Cowan-Sanluis in his fashion presentation at London Fashion Week 2014.

Those interested in purchasing one should contact Cowan-Sanluis for a consultation.

Link to the hat as seen on Cowan-Sanluis’ website: http://www.christiancowansanluis.com/#!/c9gy

“Disco Dog” by PARTY NYC

alicerao — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 16:35:38 +0000

https://d2pq0u4uni88oo.cloudfront.net/projects/1720058/video-510875-h264_high.mp4

This dog might just be the coolest dog ever. For about $40, your dog can be a walking disco ball. For just $20 more, you can match! The product is covered in LED’s that flash as your dog and/or you walk down the street together, pretty self explanatory from the video. It seems that technology has come such a long way in the wearables industry that it is expanding to pets. Yet it still seems relatively useless, and it might just scare your dog away.

“WAY” by Team Way

alicerao — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 16:29:44 +0000

“WAY collects data from your skin and surroundings, provides skincare tips on your connected device.”

But is that really all that WAY does? WAY was 243% funded on Indiegogo during it’s fundraising period, and continues to receive a plethora of orders every single day. Technologically, this gadget is very advanced and a relatively new concept. Socially, however, WAY represents all the social norms that women conform to, especially in East Asian countries (e.g. pale, dewy, spotless skin). While WAY may be helpful for those especially sensitive to humidity and UV rays, is it worth over $100?

YouTube / HelloWAY – via Iframely

“Smarter Socks” by BlackSocks

alicerao — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 16:29:22 +0000

YouTube / BLACKSOCKS SA – via Iframely

BlackSocks is a company that makes exactly what you think: black socks. Recently, their new product is a pair of black socks with advanced chips in them that report information back to your iPhone about your socks. With this application, you can check just how black your socks are, how many times they’ve been washed, and whether or not you need replacements. Of course, there’s no way you could just look at your socks yourself.