You've got Pluggability. Pure Data in the Summer:
29-31 August 12PM to 7PM, at pickledfeet, Linienstrasse 54, Berlin
Introduction:
Pure Data (Pd) presents the ultimate, free software environment for sheer audio, video and hardware pluggability, patching and piping. Pd provides the basis for all manner of audiovisual performance and trans-media installation, as well as satisfying the artistic quest for heady experimentation and improvisation. Yet few artists take the time to master a solid foundation in this graphical programming environment.
The three day You've got pluggability workshop aims to provide a firm grounding and clear overview of the varied possibilities and paths offered by Pure Data. The first day will introduce Pd and quickly move on to how to create patches which create sounds and noises. The second day will look further at sound, particularly how to work with sampled audio, and will introduce the GEM library for working with live and recorded video. The third day will start with a look at the HID (Human Interface Device) system for getting sensor input into Pd, and venture into to using this input to control the audio and video patches which the participants have already created. No previous experience is necessary to take this workshop.
This PD workshop will be roughly based on the Pure Data FLOSS Manual, written by Derek Holzer, Luka Princic, Adam Hyde and contributors from the PD community: http://flossmanuals.net/puredata
Participants should bring their own laptop running GNU/Linux, Mac OS X or Windows, and with Pure Data Extended installed from: http://puredata.info/downloads
They are also encouraged to bring their own ideas, sensors, USB game controllers, MIDI devices, microphones and video cameras. There will be an opportunity to buy the inexpensive xxxxx-HID sensor input board produced at Pickled Feet: http://1010.co.uk/avrhid.html
What to bring:
Essential:
- Laptop running Linux, OS X or Windows (be advised that Windows users may have fewer possibilities)
- Pure Data Extended 0.39 installed from: http://puredata.info/downloads (please make sure that it is Extended!!!!)
- Soundcard (internal or external, quality a non-issue)
- Headphones
- Fee: EUR 60 EUR (with HID sensor board), 50 EUR (without)
Recommended:
- Sensors of any kind (light, motion, tilt, infrared…)
- USB game controller of any kind
- Microphones or other sound inputs
- Webcams (USB, Firewire)
- MIDI controllers/interfaces
- Your own project ideas for discussion
Links:
Derek Holzer: http://www.umatic.nl/info_derek.html http://blog.myspace.com/macumbista
Martin Howse: http://1010.co.uk
FAQ [add questions]:
Q: What kinds of sensors are available for sound and multimedia work?
A: The SensorWiki page lists many kinds, including Acceleration, Biosignals, Flow, Force/pressure/strain, Humidity, Linear position, Orientation/inclination, Rotary position, Rotary velocity, Switches, Temperature, Vibration and Visible light intensity.
http://www.sensorwiki.org/index.php/Main_Page
see also: http://itp.nyu.edu/physcomp/sensors/Main/HomePage
Video cameras can also be used for things like object recognition and motion tracking, but that this generally requires quite a bit of programming/testing to make reliable. Also keep in mind that simple things like microphones, piezoelectric disks, computer keyboards, USB gamepads and optical mice can be easily used or customized/hacked to get input into your PD patches without need for the AVR-HID, Arduino or other interface.
Q: What kinds of sensors will be available at the workshop?
A: We'll have a selection of sensors on hand to play with - rotation, Infrared distance, proximity, light and a few others (temperature). It's a good idea to think about the kind of interaction you want to work with before investing in (potentially expensive) sensors.
Q: Where can I buy sensors in Berlin?
A: Both http://www.conrad.de and http://www.segor.de are generally considered decent electronics component suppliers. Be warned, however that Conrad is incredibly expensive, and Segor a bit less so but still more expensive than mail order. Segor is also the German distributor for Arduino. http://www.schneidersbuero.de/ stocks the http://www.eowave.com/ sensors and sensor kit, but this is astronomically expensive for what you actually get…
Q: Where can I order sensors online?
A: http://www.reichelt.de is one of the better, inexpensive suppliers in Germany. http://www.pollin.de deals in surplus electronics parts and you can sometimes find some good deals here. Keep in mind that with shipping and possible COD/“nachnahme”/rembourse charges, you could be adding up to EUR 8 to your order or more…
There are also worldwide suppliers http://www.futurlec.com/, http://www.digikey.com/ (they also have a German portal http://de.digikey.com/) and http://www.farnell.com/ (German portal http://de.farnell.com/), but your parts may be shipped from someplace other than Germany or the EU in any case, such as the USA or Asia.
Outside Germany, there is UK suppliers http://www.rapidonline.com/, the French company http://www.interface-z.com/index.htm, American scientific instrument supplier http://www.imagesco.com/index.html, Arduino specialists http://sparkfun.com/ (often, minimum orders and huge shipping costs come with American orders…) and many others you can find online.
Q: What must be done to sensors before being able to use them with the ap/xxxxx AVR-HID interface, Arduino or other sensor interfaces?
A: This depends on the sensor. Both the interfaces mentioned above measure the amount of voltage which comes to their inputs. Some sensors (such as infrared distance and motion sensors used in security/surveillance equipment) have been built or configured to output 0-5V DC (or more, depending on the input voltage) already. These sensors will have three wires connected: power, output and ground.
Most sensors, however, work as resistors. The simplest way to work with them is to set them up to be half of a voltage divider:
When resistors Z1 and Z2 are equal, half the voltage Vin will be present at output Vout. When Z1 is greater than Z2, more voltage goes to Ground than to Vout, and when Z2 is greater than Z1, more voltage goes to Vout than to Ground. By matching the maximum resistance value of resistive sensor Z1 to twice the value of fixed resistor Z2, a usable range of voltage can be obtained from Vout. Alternately, a potentiometer/poti/pot can be used for Z2, so that the value can be scaled according to the sensor used.
Q: Where can I find more circuit schematics and information about using sensors?
A: Online there are several resources, mostly for the Arduino. The sensor circuits themselves can be used with any sensor interface which measures voltage at it's inputs, such as the ap/xxxxx AVR-HID, however. Here are several good starting websites:
http://www.arduino.cc/en/Booklet/HomePage Arduino Booklet v3
http://www.ladyada.net/learn/arduino/index.html Ladyada's “Learn Electronics with Arduino” page
http://todbot.com/blog/spookyarduino/ Todbot's “Introduction to Microcontrollers with Arduino” page
http://wiring.org.co/reference/electronics/index.html Wiring's electronic schematics reference
http://wiring.org.co/learning/tutorials/diagrams.html Wiring's sensor tutorials diagrams
http://tigoe.net/pcomp/ Tom Igoe's extensive Physical Computing site
http://steim.org/projectblog/wp-content//uploads/Jab%20Joystick%20Mod%20OIK.pdf STEIM's “Jab Joystick” hardware hacking project
http://at.or.at/hans/research/nime/ HC Steiner's New Interfaces for Musical Expression page
http://hangar.org/wikis/lab/doku.php?id=hcs_inst:description HC Steiner's Barcelona workshop page
There are several books on sensors and physical computing available. Keep in mind that although many different languages are used to program the microcontrollers for the sensor interface (such as BASIC, PIC, Assembly, C, etc) and to get the sensor information into the computer (Processing, Arduino/Wiring, PHP, Max/MSP, etc), the idea remains the same and any of the sensor circuits discussed could be used with PD/AVR-HID/Arduino etc etc. Recommended books include:
Making Things Talk: Practical Methods for Connecting Physical Objects, Tom Igoe:
Physical Computing: Sensing and Controlling the Physical World with Computers, Tom Igoe & Dan O'Sullivan:
Electronic Sensor Circuits & Projects, Forrest Mims III:
Q: Where can I see some examples of sensors used to control multimedia?
A: Somaya Langley, Ross Bencina and Danielle Wilde recently created a series of videos at STEIM in the Netherlands, using the Wii remotes to translate the motions of dancers' bodies into sound using Bencina's AudioMulch program:
http://www.criticalsenses.com/gesturesound/
(Other examples welcome here…)
Q: Where can I learn more about Pure Data?
A: Check the HTML manual that comes with the program [ “Help → “Html” ], as well as the examples [ “Help” → “Browser” ].
If these don't answer your question, the first thing to do is search the archives of the Pure Data mailing list:
http://lists.puredata.info/pipermail/pd-list/
In the unlikely event that no one in the world has ever before had the same question that you have now, you can subscribe and post to the list here:
http://lists.puredata.info/listinfo/pd-list
Please also have a look at the Pd FLOSS Manual, an ongoing effort to write a beginner's level manual for Pd-Extended:
http://en.flossmanuals.net/puredata
There is also a web forum for Pd if you prefer this format to ask questions:
http://puredata.hurleur.com/index.php
Q: What other software can I use to get HID/Wii/Arduino information onto my computer?
A: Here is an HID to OSC converter from IXI software:
http://www.ixi-audio.net/content/body_backyard_python.html
Here are two pieces of software for OSX which can convert Wii inputs to HID:
http://www.osculator.net/wiki/
http://sourceforge.net/projects/darwiin-remote/
And here are the PD files for the Arduino/Pduino object:
Participants [simply click edit page, add and then save]:
Carlos Viejo:
Claire Morales: London, UK http://www.clairemorales.com
I worked with Pd very simply 2 years ago to make a motion tracking installation - 'revenge of the subjective'. some documentation is on my website under works > installation. apologies for the long download, the website is in development…if you move the mouse over the animation you may be able to hear some voice cutups.
In the workshop i would like to develop an experimental city space sensor system that records samples of the spoken voice in location that are re-emitted from the system with peoples body movements. the volume, speed, duration and selection of sound emissions dependent on body position and speed of movement. I'm imagining the system is like a 2 way tracking radio tuned to certain frequencies with infrared sensors (thinking ir would be more sensitive than light sensors) to trigger sections of stored sound data samples.
Also, but i guess its too much with the above for this workshop, would like to explore making live visual sound maps from the data samples and emissions
Daniel La Corte: Berlin, DE
Joen Szmidt:
Paweł Cyrta: Warsaw, PL http://www.cyrta.com
I am almost M.Sc in Computer Systems and Network with specialization in Multimedia and specialy in Audio/Sound, since I do my studies in ElectroAcoustic Division of Warsaw University of Technology. I've spend some time in Ircam as a intern in Analyse/Synthese team. However, I have strong interest in humanistic studies. I attended class in high school with extended hours on culture studies. While I was at University, toghether with other students, I have created student radio station covering all universities in Warsaw. I was I hosted morning show for a year, than for half a year I was station manager.
During this time I design and build 2 studios. In one We have hacked 25 year old pro-audio mixing table made-in-poland which I manage to get from National Polish Radio while they were digitalizing. I have spend some time as intern in National Polish Radion too. Together with people I've met while in radio, we animate independent art in Warsaw <Non-Fission Organization - http://www.non-fission.art.pl/_non-fission_art_pl/nf2.html> and electronic music <Warsaw Electronic Festival - http://www.wef.pl>
Right now, I work as a engineer, multimedia specialist in software company. Read a lot about HCI and instrument design.
Piotr Kurek: Warsaw, PL http://www.myspace.com/pekurek http://www.cockrockdisco.com/CRD2/artists-slepcy.html
i write music for theatre companies - mainly dance theater here in Poland. for some time now i play live during spectacles using some instruments, various loopers and monome. also i make some noisy music with my band SLEPCY:
Sibin Vassilev: Berlin, DE/Sofia, BG http://www.semantics-of-sound.com/
Mainly I’m developing music / sound design for theater / multimedia performances. Also I’m very interested in sound installations. My basic concept is developing compositions with sounds, which refer specifically to certain act, story etc. I want to re-load the sound with content.
Simone: Copenhagen, DK/Italy http://www.io-sound.org (old) http://www.io-lab.org (new not finished yet)
mainly MIDIBox stuff, analog stomp boxes, DJing tools, MsPinky vinyls, electronic experimentation, noise
Wolfgang Spahn: Berlin, DE http://wolfgang-spahn.de/
Workshop Files:
A few patches which came out of the workshop as examples for participants' projects:
Directions and contact:
xxxxx, pickledfeet, Linienstrasse 54, Berlin 10119
U2, Rosa-Luxemburg-Pl. U8, Rosenthaler Pl.
pickledfeet is at the Rosa-Luxemburg end of Linienstrasse. Walk West along Linienstrasse from Rosa L, until you find 54 - large dark red doors with xxxxx poster.
Telephone: 3050187482.
m@1010.co.uk
