Arduino Synth Orchestra

Arduino Synth Orchestra @ Trade School - NYC February 2011 Alessandro Contini (aless.contini@gmail.com) - Danila Pellicani (danila.pellicani@gmail.com)

what is it about?

Arduino

technology

Synth

Orchestra

medium

final result

PHYSICAL COMPUTING

physical computing “Physical Computing is about prototyping with electronics, turning sensors, actuators and microcontrollers into materials for designers and artists.”

“It involves the design of interactive objects that can communicate with humans using sensors and actuators controlled by a behaviour implemented as software running inside a microcontroller.”

Massimo Banzi, Tinker.it & Arduino Co-Founder

sensors

actuators

in other words

why Arduino?

WHAT IS ARDUINO?

a definition “Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It's intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments�

- http://www.arduino.cc

...meaning?

Hardware

+

Software

+

Community

specifications Arduino UNO (link) ~ ATmega328 microcontroller ~ 32 KB Flash program memory ~ 2 KB RAM ~ 16 MHz clock speed ~ INPUTS / OUTPUTS › 13 digital input / output pins (6 PWM) › 5 analog input pins

specifications Digital ground Digital pins 2-13

Serial In / Out

Analog reference pin

Power status LED USB connection

External Power / USB Power switch Reset button External Power supply input Power and Ground pins Analog input pins 0-5

Arduino coding > declare global variables > setup() ~ initialization ~ define pins to be used as input or output

> loop() ~ the body of the sketch ~ a function called repeatedly until the board powers off

WHAT CAN I DO WITH AN ARDUINO?

audio

visuals

exhibition

robots

fashion

diy, hacking, tinkering!

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH ARDUINO?

synthesizers!

Synthesizer - “an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones.�

what始s a synth?

interaction

technology

+

analog VS digital

Analog - a variable signal that is continuous in time and amplitude Digital - a time series consisting of a sequence of quantities

design

Synth

design

Modular Synth

interaction design

Theremin, aerial playing

interaction design

Thingamagoop 2, light sensors

interaction design

Drawdio, you are a part of the circuit

IT始S HACKING TIME!

before we start Working on electronic circuitry is not dangerous if you use tools and components properly and with adequate precautions.

hello world!

hello world!

link

make some noise!

make some noise! /* This sketch plays a tone on pin 10 circuit: > 8-ohm speaker on digital pin 10 > 100 ohm resistor */ #define SPK 10 void setup () { // initialize the digital pin as an output pinMode(SPK, OUTPUT); } void loop() { // play a tone on pin the pin at 440Hz tone(SPK, 440); }

RESOURCES

useful links › Official website, www.arduino.cc › Arduino forum, www.arduino.cc/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl › Fritzing, http://fritzing.org › Sparkfun, www.sparkfun.com › Adafruit, www.adafruit.com › Top 40 Arduino projects, http://hacknmod.com/hack/ top-40-arduino-projects-of-the-web/ › Arduino Projects, http://arduino.org/m/articles/index/

useful books › Getting started with Arduino, M. Banzi, OʼReilly, link › Practical Arduino, Jonathan Oxer, Apress, link › Making Things Talk, Tom Igoe, OʼReilly, link › Make: Electronics, Charles Platt, OʼReilly, link › Programming Interactivity, Joshua Noble, OʼReilly, link

the end.