Help with Sensors for an art installation
Ceilingwalker
Posts: 2
I'm building an interactive art installation and I need some assistance with which sensors I should use. The installation consists of a large panel (8'x16') that will have hundreds of small LED lights sticking through. The goal is to use a close range sensor switches that will turn on 5 to 10 of the LED lights (similar to how a motion detection bathroom faucet turns on ) and turn off when the switch is no longer engaged. Ideally people will be able to waive their hand over the art installation turning on and off groups of LED lights.
Also, if you have light or configuration/wiring suggestions please do not hesitate to share.
Also, if you have light or configuration/wiring suggestions please do not hesitate to share.
Comments
http://www.parallax.com/dl/docs/books/sw/Web-SW-v2.1.pdf
If you don't mind having the hand nearly touching your installation, then you could perhaps use the LEDs not only as light emitters but as sensors, too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CCndD10OSM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbuNroHBtOM
The most expensive and least practical option would be to use a boatload of PIRs (passive infrared sensors) each sensing a particular zone, and as you wave your hand through the zone, it commands things to light up.
Also, would the http://www.parallax.com/Store/Sensors/ObjectDetection/tabid/176/CategoryID/51/List/0/SortField/0/Level/a/ProductID/793/Default.aspx provide a basic on off function when someone is within proximity?
Which method would you recommend if you were going to build my light wall?
While this could all be done in hardware it would be much more complex and costly than using a microcontroller, and much less flexible as well.
Yes, it provides an on/off function, however it senses motion not proximity. If a person stops and remains still it will not sense him/her. They must be moving to trigger it. This sensor also has a range of about 20 feet.
I would definitely use a microcontroller (propeller) to read the sensors and control the light patterns for the leds. I would also split the project into 4 similar sections since the dimensions you want imply 4 sheets of plywood. Each section would have a microcontroller and would communicate with the other 3 sections.
The rest of the circuitry would depend on the details of the display such as how many leds will there be, what pattern will they be arranged in, what patterns will they be lit in, etc. The same would apply to the motion/proximity sensors.
A lot of the design will depend on the project objectives and the environment it will be displayed in.
There might be hard-wired ways to do this, but they would probably be more expensive than using a microprocessor. Plus, if you decided to make changes or add some more interesting effects, a microprocessor would make that easier to do whereas a hard-wired approach would require you to start almost all over. It's probably worth your time to learn how to use microprocessors for any of your projects like this - you'll thank yourself down the road.
Generally speaking, yes. That is, if you want your entire system to boot up and activate when a person moves toward it. But if you want individual PIRs like that to activate each and every LED separately, that would be insanely expensive, I would think.
If you could share with us the details of what you're trying to do, then people here could provide better suggestions. What we need is a clear picture of the dimensions and distances you're talking about. What sort of effects are you trying to achieve? What should the response rate of the device be? How many people or hands does it have to deal with at one time, etc. Is this to work indoors or outside? You might also include some sense of your budget, time constraints, available power outlets, shoe size and social security number. The more info, the better.
You may be able to extend the IR Led and phototransistor wires and use your own (possibly smaller) leds. The kits can be daisy-chained too. No Programming Required!
A less expensive but less compact version: http://shop.evilmadscientist.com/productsmenu/tinykitlist/556
Don't be discouraged by the responses so far. There are a lot of ways to do what you want, but to propose something more specific than has been done so far we need a rough idea of how the leds are to be positioned and grouped to be lit. We would also need to know how close you want people to get to trigger the leds, and how sensitive to motion you need the detectors to be.
It is pretty much a given that some programming will be needed since a micro controller is the only practical and affordable way to control that many inputs and outputs. That is not a problem though. You will find that the folks on this forum are very friendly and willing to help with that.