This is a video from the Flash / Arduino workshop I led for tinker.it last month. This is me demoing my flash based RFID reader - the hardware drivers are all written in flash, and should be totally platform independent. I really like the idea of writing hardware drivers in Flash, and it’s something I plan on exploring further over the coming months. Obviously there are limitations as to what can realistically be achieved, but I think it’s a lot more satisfying to be able to, say, interface directly with a wiimote via a hardware connection and a serial port than using something like glovePIE. Also, it opens up all kinds of new creative areas which were previously the domain of the hardcore assembly level coder.
A couple of weeks ago, I was asked by the hugely talented Oli Laurelle to stand in for him at a live visuals gig at Area10 Medialab, after his laptop died a few days before the event. He’s one of the guys I admire most at the moment so I was a little hesitant - those are some pretty big shoes to fill. In the end I managed to put together something I was quite happy with, and I think it went down pretty well, all things considered. So, here’s the video - my bit is about 6:33 in.
Additionally, as a result I’ve been offered a slot at Immersion on the 5th of June, so if you’re into your experimental music and bleeding edge live visualisation work, come check us out.
A lot of people ask me why flash development is so expensive and difficult these days. One reason that I’d point to is the increased complexity of modern flash websites as compared to the stuff we were doing ten years ago.
” The price paid for that additional flexibility is greatly increased complexity and the fact that the program is no longer deterministic: it’s no longer possible to tell what functions will be called just by looking at the code; one needs to consider the code and the environment to be able to determine the order of events. The code is also much harder to write and reason about, and computations that are naturally sequential (A needs to happen before B, such as User name must be provided before the login can be successful) can be much harder to write and understand.”
I think most people who’ve come onto any reasonably large AS2/AS3 project which is already in progress and had to get their head around a large body of code will know this.
In April, I’m leading a workshop with the Arduino folks on physical computing wih flash and arduino - a neat microcontroller board that lets you connect switches, sensors, motors, lights - anything electronic, really - to flash.
“Lead by Alias Cummins and assisted by Brock Craft, this workshop is aimed at people who are comfortable with Flash, and want to start experimenting/working with Arduino, but have little or no experience of physical computing. The workshop will focus on getting them through the first few steps, which are usually the most difficult, and give them the tools and knowledge to continue learning on their own.
First, you will quickly cover the basics of getting your Arduino connected up and writing simple programs and finally getting Flash to talk to an integrated circuit via Arduino. All the while you will be approaching this from a flash perspective, with our primary development language being ActionScript 3.
What do I need to bring?
- A laptop
NB: Prior Knowledge of electronics is not necessary to attend this workshop but you MUST have prior knowledge of Flash.
What we will provide
- The beginners Arduino kit which you can take away with you after the workshop.
So, I’m back from snowboarding, and happy to announce that I’ll soon be taking up residence at Something Labs. There’s a lot of very talented and awesome people there, including Toxi, Chris O’Shea, Tinker.it and many others. Hopefully lots of exciting developments will come of this new arrangement.
So, some of you may have heard about the project I’m just finishing off today.
Moving Brands hired me to work on implementing a permanent interactive installation for the new Fiat Flagship Showroom in London. I’ve been working with their team for the past two months, and I think we’ve managed to create something very special.
It’s a 9 screen interactive video wall which lives in the showroom. It lets you browse images from Fiat’s history and present, create your own statement by arranging movable word blocks, and create an abstract masterpiece by painting with light and gestures.
It’s a massive high res display, comprising of a massive 4080 x 2304 pixels in total, driven by five dual xeon PCs, all running the custom application we created in processing, and synching via a UDP network client written by Toxi.
It has been a massive technical accomplishment to get the thing working, and I think it’s probably the most interesting project I’ve ever worked on.
I’m going to be doing some installation stuff next month, as part of the Flame & Flesh event at Corsica Studios in South London.
It’s a group show with the Experiment1 art collective. I’ll be doing some work to go with the Gas Organ project.
“Constructed from freely available plumbing, electrical and laboratory components, the Gas Organ is a fusion of art, science and engineering, beautiful in its clinical appearance and mesmerising in its auditory effect. Witnesses will have their credulity challenged as they view the ephemeral chaotic turbulence of a flame producing such incredible range and depth of sound . . . How can a laboratory experiment evoke such an emotional response? I am seeing and hearing this, but I don’t believe it . . “
