Throughout the workshop we will focus on using three different kinds of simple sensors to bring interactivity into the physical environment.

 

Circuit/Switch: By causing a simple low voltage electrical circuit to open and close we send a signal to the computer letting it know to change a visual state based on the change of energy.

 

Capacitive Sensor: This kind of sensor detects minor changes in electricity. Because the human body contains lots of energy and electricity, touching a piece of aluminum foil or other conductive material can be used to signal a change to the computer.

 

Cell Phone Accelerometer: Inside most mobile phones is an Accelerometer which detects the angle, rotation, and speed that a cell phone is being moved.  We can transfer this information through the WiFi to the computer and use the angle or speed of a phone to trigger a visual change.

Arduino: Arduinos are tiny computers that can be used to collect and transmit information and data detected by different kinds of sensors placed in an environment. They are small, cheap, and highly customizable through additional hardware and coding.  There is a strong online community of makers and artists sharing code, projects, and more.

 

Learn more at the Arduino website www.arduino.cc

 

 

TouchDesigner: TouchDesigner is a real-time interactive software created by Derivative. It is commonly used for interactive installation art, projection mapping, theatre, and by VJs. It has a free non-commercial license for learning and is a very powerful software that goes deeper and deeper as you learn it.  TouchDesigner also has a very strong online community of interactive artists and designers sharing code, projects, experience and mroe.

 

Learn more at the Derivative website http://derivative.ca/