when creating interactive digital works i always find myself wondering how i can make the interactive experience more interesting and intuitive. over the last couple of years we’ve been fortunate to have a range of gaming controllers such as the wii remote which is cheap and accessible and with a bit of work from developer communities you can now plug into your project with minimal effort.
but what if you wanted to create a bespoke interface, something tangible and intuitive like a lever, a pulley rope or a valve to control what is happening on the screen. well then, you are now transcending into a strange world of resistors, currents, breadboards and smells of burning solder. luckily the folks behind the arduino microcontroller have made these electronic baby steps much easier and enjoyable.
a couple weeks ago i took part in a arduino workshop set up by little bird electronics here in sydney and set myself a very modest goal of changing something on screen using this little chip. i was ecstatic at the ease of use of the arduino board and within an hour i was twisting a variable resistor and changing colors in a processing sketch. mission accomplished! even though this is equivalent to a ‘hello world’ exercise in programming, it was still very gratifying to bridge these two worlds together and knowing i can apply this board to any future interactive projects.
here is a great example of work done by theodore watson ( muonics ) for a michel gondry exhibition. check out how a rope is used to open an close the characters eyelids.
