The “Not-just-for-sci-fi electronic instrument” that is played without being touched + a graphic tablet on top & some very simple electronics in the case (power / convert the theremin via USB). Both antennas (control voltage for volume and pitch) are routed to PureData.

The patch is really just a bridge (open sound control) to MyPaint (open-source graphics application for digital painters). Right now the volume is linked to the diameter of the brush and the pitch is linked to the brightness color (this can be changed in the code see below).

BTW this is the beauty of the open source movement: had the idea in the morning, talk to some people on #mypaint in the afternoon, hack the source for my needs during the night and went to bed with a working prototype. Ready-made Solutions Require Ready-made Problems; For Everything Else There Is Open Source Software!

Video

Source

MyPaint: share/gui/document.py -> pyliblo server (receive from pd)

import liblo, sys
 
class Document (CanvasController):
	def __init__(self, app, leader=None):
		global created
		if(created == False):
			self.server = liblo.Server(9997)
			self.server.add_method("/mp/radius", 'f', self.oscradius)
			self.server.add_method("/mp/zoom", 'f', self.osczoom)
			self.server.add_method("/mp/rotate", 'f', self.oscrotate)
			gobject.timeout_add(20, self.pollcheck)
			created = True
 
    def oscradius(self, path, args):
        adj = self.app.brush_adjustment['radius_logarithmic']
        adj.set_value(args[0])
 
    def oscv(self, path, args):
        h, s, v = self.app.brush.get_color_hsv()
        v = args[0]
        if v < 0.005: v = 0.005
        if v > 1.0: v = 1.0
        self.app.brush.set_color_hsv((h, s, v))
 
    def osczoom(self, path, args):
        self.tdw.set_zoom(args[0])
 
    def oscrotate(self, path, args):
        self.tdw.set_rotation(args[0])
 
    def pollcheck(self):
        self.server.recv(10)        self.finished = False
        Stroke.serial_number += 1
        self.serial_number = Stroke.serial_number
        return True

MyPaint: share/mypaint/lib/stroke.py -> pyliblo client (send pressure, x, y to pd)

import liblo, sys
    def __init__(self):
        self.target = liblo.Address(1234)
 
    def record_event(self, dtime, x, y, pressure, xtilt,ytilt):
        self.tmp_event_list.append((dtime, x, y, pressure, xtilt,ytilt))
        liblo.send(self.target, "/mypaint/pressure", pressure)

PureData patch:

NFAQ

how heavy?
32lb (14.5 kg) roughly a medium-sized dog

what are you going to do with it?
a centralized place for my digit/art project and my analog output. think of it as an effects unit or dsp in a box, but it’s also a silent computer with good processing power (as the time of this writing). the main project is to remix videos on the fly while playing an instrument.

what os/software are you using?
ubuntu studio with a low-latency kernel; pure data (effect rack, video player); sooperlooper (looping station); control (osc android application) all open source project

what kind of wood did you use?
okoumé (marine plywood). it’s a light wood and i was able to cut it with a x-acto!

i want more information
sure! source of the project (mainly related to the electronics) are here

thanks to xllamas for sharing the information and also the http://makeplaylive.com/ for the initial work.

i am currently working on a new prototype of “la guitar à crayon” called “string pad”. bought a guitar kit for 160$. all set to start working on this project.

I’m working on the integration of kiku (voice recognition to control your OS) to Vinux (Linux for the visually impaired). For now the feedback about kiku is great, but one thing people wants is a solution for dictation (that is, speech to text). kiku could be use for that task, but sadly there is no good (accurate) acoustic model available under GPL (Voxforge is a good start, but not there yet – please contribute).

So i came up with this online speech recognition for dictation solution to overcome this limitation. Speak in different languages, spell check, translate and text to speech all in one place. You’ll need Google Chrome and a microphone.

since i don’t have a mobile phone (i must be the only one in japan without a keitai) i wasn’t aware of the incoming earthquake and my software was useless (being alert 10 minutes after the earthquake):

by detecting the primary waves we know in how many seconds (depending on the epicenter location) an earthquake will occur. i don’t know if it’s possible to build a p waves monitoring device (anyone?), but for now i’m using a free software (windows & japanese only) that send me an alert (no hardware required).

connecting the software to a microcontroller was not that hard, but since i don’t want to boot in windows just for monitoring the p waves i had to hack little. grosso modo: virtual box (windows in linux) -> autoit (checking for a p waves popup) -> create file <- linux bash checking for new file -> send serial command to arduino -> physical feedback.

please make a donation to the japanese red cross society

• take an old electric toothbrush;
• add a led and a vibrator;
• shape something around it;

i am using polycaprolactone (FDA approuved). the schematic is pretty simple, but i had to play with the capacitor and inductor to get more power into the vibrator. it’s overkill to use an attiny for cycling the colors of the led (i didn’t know that you can buy RGB led with built-in pwm). even so, i am sharing the small code, maybe it can be useful to someone. since i am using an electric toothbrush there’s no physical connection to recharge it, thus completely waterproof. i will need to remelt the polycaprolactone to change the battery someday.

 #define F_CPU 9600000UL
 #include <avr/io.h>
 #include <util/delay.h>
 #define LED PB0
 #define LED2 PB1
 int i;
 
 int main (void)
 {
	 DDRB = 0xff;
	 TCCR0A |= ((1 << COM0A1) | (1 << COM0A0) | (1 << COM0B1) | (1 << COM0B0) | (1 << WGM01) | (1 << WGM00)); // WGM01 - WGM00 (set fast PWM)
	 OCR0A = 0; // initialize Output Compare Register A to 0
	 OCR0B = 0;
	 TCCR0B |= (1 << CS01); // Start timer at Fcpu / 256
 
	 for (;;)
	 {
		 for (i = 0 ; i < 255 ; i++ ) // For loop (Up counter 0 - 255)
		 {
			  OCR0A = i; // Update Output Compare Register (PWM 0 - 255)
			 _delay_ms(8);
		 }
		 for (i = 255 ; i > 1 ; i-- ) // For loop (down counter 255 - 0 )
		 {
			 OCR0B = i; // Update Output Compare Register (PWM 0 - 255)
			 _delay_ms(8);
		 }
		 for (i = 255 ; i > 1 ; i-- ) // For loop (down counter 255 - 0 )
		 {
			  OCR0A = i; // Update Output Compare Register (PWM 0 - 255)
			 _delay_ms(8);
		 }
		 for (i = 0 ; i < 255 ; i++ ) // For loop (Up counter 0 - 255)
		 {
			  OCR0B = i; // Update Output Compare Register (PWM 0 - 255)
			 _delay_ms(8);
		 }
	 }
 }

Here’s a screenshot in Windows:

Here’s a screenshot in Ubuntu / Gtk:

Download the installer (for Windows, beta)
Download the source (code::blocks)

now that i have a digital camera (but my heart will always belong to film-based photography) i can do time lapse photography. sadly the firmware of my camera isn’t supporting this feature, so i had to build an intervalometer. i didn’t want to use an arduino (overkill & pricy), so i went with an attiny45, a generic optocoupler, a voltage regulator and a potentiometer for adjusting the timer from 1 second to 1 minute.

i just found out that it’s possible to power the avr from the camera (focus ring). have a look at this complete and small solution: http://www.doc-diy.net/photo/hdr-jack/

//Intervalometer from 1 second to 1 minute
 
//Author: Patrick Sebastien Coulombe
//Website: www.workinprogress.ca
//Date: 2010-07-24
 
#define F_CPU 8000000
#include <avr/io.h>
#include <util/delay.h>
 
// use PB2 for led, pin 7
#define LED_BIT 2
// select ADC2, PB4, pin 3
#define CHANNEL 2
// shutter on (in ms)
#define HOLD 300 
 
// Return the 10bit value of the selected adc channel.
uint16_t get_adc(uint8_t channel) {
 
	// ADC setup
	ADCSRA = (1 << ADEN) | (1 << ADPS1) | (1 << ADPS0);
 
	// select channel
	ADMUX = channel;
 
	// warm up the ADC, discard the first conversion
	ADCSRA |= (1 << ADSC);
	while (ADCSRA & (1 << ADSC)); 
 
	ADCSRA |= (1 << ADSC); // start single conversion
	while (ADCSRA & (1 << ADSC)); // wait until conversion is done
 
	return ADCW;
}
 
// Scale
long map(long x, long in_min, long in_max, long out_min, long out_max)
{
  return (x - in_min) * (out_max - out_min) / (in_max - in_min) + out_min;
}
 
// Main program
int main(void) {
 
	// vars
	uint16_t adcvalue = 0;
	uint16_t i;
 
	// define LED as outputs
	DDRB |= (1 << LED_BIT);	
 
	while (1) {	
 
		//release the shutter
		PORTB |= (1 << LED_BIT);
 
		//exposure length
		for (i=0; i<HOLD; i++) { 
			_delay_ms(1); 
		}
		PORTB &= ~(1 << LED_BIT);
 
		//interval time (using a potentiometer to adjust)
		adcvalue = map(get_adc(CHANNEL), 0, 1023, 1, 60);
		adcvalue = adcvalue * 1000;
 
		//one way to achieve long delay
		for (i=0; i<adcvalue; i++) { 
			_delay_ms(1); 
		}
 
	}
	return 0;
 
}

Time lapse test (3 hours) from my balcony.

I used Blender for making the tilt / shift effect. Here’s the source of the Blender file.

VIDEO:

PHOTOS:

Schematic & Board (Kicad)
How to filter PWM for music

sd player source code

/*---------------------------------------------------------------*/
/* 8-pin SD audio player R0.02                     (C)ChaN, 2009 */
/*---------------------------------------------------------------*/

#include <avr/io.h>
#include <avr/interrupt.h>
#include <avr/sleep.h>
#include <avr/wdt.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include "diskio.h"
#include "pff.h"

char strbuff[10];
unsigned int position = 0;
unsigned long count = 0;
unsigned int nbwave = 0;

#define FCC(c1,c2,c3,c4)  (((DWORD)c4<<24)+((DWORD)c3<<16)+((WORD)c2<<8)+(BYTE)c1)  /* FourCC */

/*---------------------------------------------------------*/
/* Work Area                                               */
/*---------------------------------------------------------*/

volatile BYTE FifoRi, FifoWi, FifoCt;  /* FIFO controls */

BYTE Buff[256];    /* Wave output FIFO */

FATFS fs;      /* File system object */
DIR dir;      /* Directory object */
FILINFO fno;    /* File information */

WORD rb;      /* Return value. Put this here to avoid bugs of avr-gcc */

EMPTY_INTERRUPT(WDT_vect);

/*---------------------------------------------------------*/

static
DWORD load_header (void)  /* 0:Invalid format, 1:I/O error, >1:Number of samples */
{
  DWORD fcc, sz;
  UINT i;
  FRESULT res;

  res = pf_read(Buff, 256, &rb);    /* Load file header (256 bytes) */
  if (res) return 1;

  if (rb != 256 || LD_DWORD(Buff+8) != FCC('W','A','V','E')) return 0;

  i = 12;
  while (i < 200) {
    fcc = LD_DWORD(&Buff[i]);  /* FCC */
    sz = LD_DWORD(&Buff[i+4]);  /* Chunk size */
    i += 8;
    switch (fcc) {

    case FCC('f','m','t',' ') :    /* 'fmt ' chunk */
      if (sz > 100 || sz < 16)        /* Check chunk size */
        return 0;
      if (Buff[i+0] != 1)            /* Check coding type (1) */
        return 0;
      if (Buff[i+2] != 1 && Buff[i+2] != 2)  /* Check channels (1/2) */
        return 0;
      GPIOR0 = Buff[i+2];    /* Channel flag */
      if (Buff[i+14] != 8 && Buff[i+14] != 16)  /* Check resolution (8/16) */
        return 0;
      GPIOR0 |= Buff[i+14];  /* Resolution flag */
      OCR0A = (BYTE)(F_CPU / 8 / LD_WORD(&Buff[i+4])) - 1;  /* Sampling freq */
      break;

    case FCC('f','a','c','t') :    /* 'fact' chunk (skip) */
      break;

    case FCC('d','a','t','a') :    /* 'data' chunk (start to play) */
      fs.fptr = i;
      return sz;

    default :            /* Unknown chunk (error) */
      return 0;
    }
    i += sz;
  }

  return 0;
}

static
UINT play (
  const char *fn
)
{
  DWORD sz;
  FRESULT res;
  BYTE sw;
  WORD btr;

  if ((res = pf_open(fn)) == FR_OK) {
    sz = load_header();      /* Load file header */
    if (sz < 256) return (UINT)sz;

    if (!TCCR1) {        /* Enable audio out if not enabled */
      PLLCSR = 0b00000110;  /* Select PLL clock for TC1.ck */
      GTCCR =  0b01100000;  /* Enable TC1.OCB as PWM out (L-ch) */
      OCR1B = 128; OCR1A = 128;
      TCCR1 = STEREO ? 0b01100001 : 0b00000001;  /* Start TC1 with TC1.OCA is enabled as PWM out (R-ch) */
      TCCR0A = 0b00000010;  /* Enable TC0.ck = 2MHz as interval timer */
      TCCR0B = 0b00000010;
      TIMSK = _BV(OCIE0A);
    }

    FifoCt = 0; FifoRi = 0; FifoWi = 0;    /* Reset FIFO */
    pf_read(0, 512 - fs.fptr, &rb);      /* Snip sector unaligned part */
    sz -= rb;

    sw = 1;    /* Button status flag */
    do {
      /* Forward audio data */
      btr = (sz > 1024) ? 1024 : (WORD)sz;
      res = pf_read(0, btr, &rb);
      if (res != FR_OK || btr != rb) break;
      sz -= rb;
      /* Check button down and break on button down */
      sw <<= 1;
      //if (bit_is_clear(PINB, 0) && ++sw == 1) break;
      if (bit_is_clear(PINB, 0) && ++sw == 1) {
        
        count = 0;
        
        do { 
          count++;
          wdt_reset();
        } while (bit_is_clear(PINB, 0));
        
        if(count > 500000) {
          position--;
          position--;
        }
        
        break;
        
      }
      wdt_reset();
    } while (rb == 1024);  /* Repeat until all data read */
  }

  while (FifoCt) ;      /* Wait for FIFO empty */
  OCR1A = 128; OCR1B = 128;

  return res;
}

long smallrandom(long howbig)
{
  if (howbig == 0) {
    return 0;
  }
  return random() % howbig;
}

long rangerandom(long howsmall, long howbig)
{
  if (howsmall >= howbig) {
    return howsmall;
  }
  long diff = howbig - howsmall;
  return smallrandom(diff) + howsmall;
}

int main (void)
{
  PORTB = 0b111011;    /* Initialize port: - - H H H L H P */
  DDRB  = 0b111110;
  
  sei();
  
  //RANDOM (SEED)
  unsigned long seednumber = 1;
  unsigned char i;
  ADCSRA |= (1 << ADPS2) | (1 << ADPS1) | (0 << ADPS0);  //ADC Prescalar set to 64 - 125kHz@8MHz
  ADMUX |= (1 << ADLAR);
  ADCSRA |= (1 << ADEN);  // Enable ADC
    for(i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
    wdt_reset();
    ADCSRA |= (1 << ADSC);  // Start A2D Conversions
    while (ADCSRA & (1 << ADSC)); 
    seednumber = seednumber + ADCH;
  }
  ADCSRA |= (0 << ADATE);
  ADCSRA |= (0 << ADEN);  // Disable ADC
    ADCSRA |= (0 << ADSC);  // Stop A2D Conversions
  
  MCUSR = 0;
  WDTCR = _BV(WDE) | 0b110;  /* Enable WDT reset in timeout of 1s */

  BYTE res;
  //mount
  do {
    res = pf_mount(&fs);
    wdt_reset();
    seednumber++;
  } while (res != FR_OK);
  
  Buff[0] = 0;
  do {
    res = pf_opendir(&dir, (char*)Buff);
    wdt_reset();
    seednumber++;
  } while (res != FR_OK);
  
  //nb files
  for (;;) {
    res = pf_readdir(&dir, &fno);
    if (res != FR_OK || fno.fname[0] == 0) break;
    wdt_reset();
    nbwave++;
    seednumber++;
  }
  
  srandom(seednumber);
  //start with a random position
  position = rangerandom(1, nbwave + 1);

  for (;;) {
    
    //limit
    if(position > (nbwave + 1)) {
      position = 1;
    } else if(position < 1) {
      position = 1;
    }
    
    //play
    sprintf(strbuff,"%d.wav", position);
    play(strbuff);
    
    //increment song
    position++;

  }
}

servo source code

#include <avr/io.h>
#include <avr/interrupt.h>
#include <inttypes.h>
#include <avr/sleep.h>
#include <util/delay.h> 

#define F_CPU 8000000
#define nop()  __asm__ __volatile__("nop")

void wait100us(void) {
    unsigned char i;
    for(i = 0; i < 100; i++) {
      nop();
    }
}

void Delay_ms(unsigned int t)

  {
   unsigned int i, aika;
   aika = 140;

   while(t--)
    for(i = 0; i < aika; i++)

       if(t==0) return;

  } 

void adcinit (void) {

      // PRESCALER 128
      ADCSRA |= (1 << ADPS2) | (1 << ADPS1) | (0 << ADPS0);

      // AUTO TRIGGER ENABLE
      ADCSRA |= (1 << ADATE);

      // VCC ref
      ADMUX |= (0 << REFS1) | (0 << REFS0);

      // RIGHT ADJUST
      ADCSRB |= (0 << ADLAR);

      // CHANNEL 0
      ADMUX |= (0 << MUX5) | (0 << MUX4) | (0 << MUX3) | (0 << MUX2) | (0 << MUX1) | (1 << MUX0);

      // FREE RUNNING MODE
      ADCSRB |= (0 << ADTS2) | (0 << ADTS1) | (0 << ADTS0);

      // ENABLE ADC
      ADCSRA |= (1 << ADEN);

    // PORT A: INPUT
    DDRA = 0x00;
    PORTA = 0x00;

}

void pwminit (void) {
    // disable PWM while configuring it
    TCCR1A = 0;

    // used for TOP, makes for 50 hz PWM = (8,000,000 / (8 * 50)) - 1
    ICR1 = 19999;

    // servo pins outputs
    DDRA = _BV(PA5) | _BV(PA6);

    // set up counter 1 (16 bit) to act as a dual channel PWM generator
    // comparator mode = non-inverting, use ICR1 as TOP and have a prescale of 8.
    TCCR1A = _BV(COM1A1) | _BV(COM1B1) | _BV(WGM11);
    TCCR1B = _BV(WGM13) | _BV(WGM12) | _BV(CS11);
}

long map(long x, long in_min, long in_max, long out_min, long out_max)
{
  return (x - in_min) * (out_max - out_min) / (in_max - in_min) + out_min;
}

int main() {

  adcinit();
  pwminit();
    sei();

    // START A2D
    ADCSRA |= (1 << ADSC);

  while(1) {
    
    //700 to 2400
    //but here we need only 50 degress
    OCR1A = map(ADC, 0, 1023, 700, 1100);
    ADMUX |= (1 << MUX1);
    ADMUX &= ~(1 << MUX0);
    Delay_ms(2);
    OCR1B = map(ADC, 0, 1023, 700, 1100);
    ADMUX |= (1 << MUX0);
    ADMUX &= ~(1 << MUX1);
    Delay_ms(2);
  }
    return(0);
}