Etsy’s a site dedicated to all things crafty and handmade.   On first glance, my electronic works seem out of place amongst all the beads, jewelery, knitting, and paintings.  However, since my light boxes are laboriously constructed one-at-a-time I figured I’d fit right in with the handmade ethos; and, seeing selling an under-represented craft as an advantage, I figured I have little to lose . . . aside from some time and $0.20 per listing.

Initial impressions after the break.

Setting up the shop took the better part of an evening, since I needed to create a storefront banner, write general copy about my lights and myself, as well as develop my shop’s “policies;” considerably more work than selling on eBay, though I’d argue much more targeted.

Although I can’t brag about any Etsy sales, yet, what did become readily apparent after only a few days was exposure to a whole new audience!  I watched as the views on my listed items went up and up, quicker than views to this blog or my other websites.  With Etsy’s great Google Analytics integration, I soon learned my pieces were being blogged about as well. There’s entire blogs out there dedicated to Etsy stuff, and even to specific categories on Etsy, such as geekery which includes lots of 8-bit video game -inspired stuff.

Here’s a sample of some of the recent blog love:

The open-concept Electric Window 3 was featured on Wonderland,  The Krafty Geek, and Gamefreaks; I think the Space Invader pic helped

Cool blue Electric Window 4 made an appearance on The Vintage Cabin; and I received flattering, full write-ups on Technabob, and French blog, Sema Geek — although the language barrier on the latter makes it sound as though my pieces are creating the soundtracks to their videos!

Thus far into the Etsy experiment, the exposure I’ve received has far exceeded any expectations I had, now I’m curious to find how what kinds of views-to-sales ratios I’m going to get . . .

This series revolves around a matrix of 16 LEDs with individually controlled brightness and fading, making it an organic/analog sibling to the 3.xx series which uses LED screens with a large group of on/off, or binary/digital behaving pixels.

Development of this series was fairly straightforward, extending on the work done for the Orion light boxes last spring, with the hardware based on the TLC5940 LED driver, controlled by an Arduino (and using Alex Leone’s great TLC library).

On the software side, it became an exercise of “how much content can I write for 16 LEDs?”  Although the Orion boxes simply simulate a twinkling star field, the orderly grid of Electric Window 4.xx demanded more than mere randomness.

So I wrote a series of pattern-generating functions using sinusoidal values to create soothing waves, adapted some of the grid-filling patterns from Electric Window 3.xx, along with a few other routines that specifically address the 4 x 4 grid of this series by randomly toggling the brightness values of rows and columns to create evolving greyscale patterns.

Diffusing the LEDs with acrylic gives the display a nice ghostly aesthetic.   Here’s a video of the results:

For demonstration purposes, the video shows the patterns changing quite quickly, but in actuality, the pattern speeds vary between slow and serene and speedy and frantic.  I’m really happy with the results, and this is one of my favorite series so far.

The finished pieces are 5″ x 7″ x 2″ and will be individually numbered:

I plan to make a batch of these in various other colours; and although I really like the monochromatic look, I’m sure an RGB version isn’t too far off.

I’m also considering getting a custom PCB made based on this design so I can easily scale it to bigger grids for bigger fixtures.

In the meantime, for anyone interested in a fully assembled piece, I’m also offering these at my on-line shop.

We were pretty pleased with our first attempt at constructing and gluing a 3D object from acrylic.

The LED matrix and controller are from SeeedStudio, and the next steps for us will be to develop content for the LEDs, and refine the acrylic enclosure design.

Another consideration will be whether to stick with a corded DC adapter for power, or go with (rechargeable) batteries.  The pro for a DC adapter is that it takes no additional space in the enclosure, while the flip-side con of batteries is that the extra space required in the enclosure may affect the aesthetics.  Batteries will also need to be recharged or changed as a trade-off for going cordless.  What would you prefer (let me know in the comments)?

Here’s a few more pics:

And a last one for scale:

More pics and video to come as things develop here in the lab!

]]> http://technoetc.net/blog/2010/01/31/light-cube-prototype/feed/ 2 http://technoetc.net/blog/2010/01/24/electric-window-3-03/ http://technoetc.net/blog/2010/01/24/electric-window-3-03/#comments Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:03:25 +0000 ao http://technoetc.net/blog/?p=212 With the inspiration of using acrylic as an artistic/structural medium mixed with the notion of baring it all in terms of circuit board exposure, as outlined in this previous post, I set about to realize the next entry in the Electric Window 3.xx series with a new perspective:

[ Build details and more photos after the break . . . ]

Before assembling the circuit board, I painted the perf. board black:

The circuit is basically an Arudino-loaded Atmel microprocessor with a ribbon connector to the LED screen, and a programming header (the spikey thing along the lower right) for loading new programs to the microprocessor.

The perf. board accepted the acrylic paint well, and the resulting circuit matched well w/ the LED screen:

The circuit board and LED screen were then mounted on a small sheet of white pressboard, over which I mounted a translucent red acrylic sheet of matching size . . . et voila!

The content is similar to previous entries in the 3.xx series, with various drawing and screen filling routines:

Extrapolating from the above pattern, I think a Tetris routine should be in the works, perhaps alongside autonomous pong

Of course, each piece receives its individual label:

I was quite pleased with how this version turned out and will continue to offer the open-concept acrylic style as an enclosure option for future Electric Windows.  I’m also starting to source coloured stand-offs and hardware, particularly black, so if you have any suggestions in this regard, please let me know!

Another concern is where to add an unobtrusive power switch.  I’m hesitant to mount a switch along the side of these pieces, particularly on the framed versions, as I think it would look horrible sticking out one of the sides:

Perhaps I can find an in-line switch that works with the thin power cords I’m using . . . although, once these things are internet-enabled, owners could just program them to turn on and off at convenient times

Gallery Lausberg specializes in abstract German sculpture.  Of particular interest to me were the works of Regine Schumann and Klaus Staudt.

Schumann’s work revolves around sculptural acrylic forms illuminated by black light:

Staudt’s work explores form and perspective through a variety of pieces built from patterns of 3D objects suspended in space (through the use of coloured and transparent acrylic):

[ deep stuff after the break ]

At Le Gallery, we discovered the work of Toronto local, Kal Mansur, who uses acrylic both as a canvas for his paintings, as well as a sculptural medium (photo by TK):

Le Gallery proprietor, Will Kucey, sent us over the Kal’s gallery, Median Contemporary, where we had a chance to meet Kal, who was kind enough to entertain us w/ a lengthy conversation about working w/ acrylic and the contemporary art scene in general.

Talking w/ Kal, and seeing his, Staudt’s, and Schumann’s work cemented my intersest in having acrylic feature heavily in my light works to come.

The discussion w/ Kal also touched on the use of technology in art versus the public’s huge expectations from technology.  He held up an iPod Nano and said, “this is what people expect from technology!”  His point being that people aren’t easily impressed with technology (in art) for the sake of technology since people are becoming increasingly surrounded by finely fabricated techno gadgets.  He stressed that since technology is so ubiquitos, artists should focus on what they do w/ the technology moreso than the technology itself.  He then countered with reference to Peter Todd’s work, suggesting that it might be interesting for audiences if artists bring the technology/circuitry of electronic art to the forefront, to not hide the circuit at all.  Unlike most commercial electronics, Todd’s work doesn’t prioritize a reduction in size and cost, but instead puts a focus on the circuit’s aesthetic:

So, on one hand, it’s all about the content, and on the other, it’s all about the packaging, or lack thereof, or some middle ground between the two?

Interesting food for thought . . . Please share yours in the comments!

A big move was finalizing the framework for the 3.xx series, by reducing the “Electric Window (iii)” design from two screens to one:

In an effort to standardize “editions” of my lighting fixtures, the “Electric Window 3.xx” series is based around one or more 24 x 16 pixel displays, in a small enclosure of some sort.  While the hardware design will remain fairly constant, the software and enclosures will vary.  The pattern shown above is an autonomous drawing program, like an electronic Etch-a-Sketch on auto-pilot.

[ build details after the break ]

Other patterns are based on randomly filling the screen with various sized shapes or lines, then randomly emptying the screen again.

Dots:

Squares:

Bigger squares:

. . . and so on.

Of course there’s lots of other content, including Space Invaders

I’m constantly developing new content for these screens, so some new video documentation is overdue.

As the original “Electric Window (iii)” incorporated a wireless weather sensor, I’m planning to add sensors to the “Electric Window 3.xx” series for sensor-driven content as well.

Before going any further regarding what’s to come, let’s take a look at the current state of the hardware.

Here’s a pic of the simplest circuit needed to drive the screen, mounted on the inside of the frame’s back panel — after wrestling with the annoying black foam that comes with the frames when I purchase them:

The circuit is simply an Arduino-enabled microprocessor and the necessary support components (osciallator and capacitors), and a connector for interfacing with the screen.

I’ll admit it’s not the prettiest arrangement, and I’m torn between using/modifying the frame backs as they come, and living with ugly results, or fabricating my own back panels for an aesthetic advantage.  Making my own back panels would look better, but produce more waste as I’d simply be chucking out the original panels that come w/ the frames.  So which is more important: reducing waste or making the inside of these pieces look better?  I’d love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments . . . Of course this is a moot point for enclosures I build from scratch.

After the circuit board is mounted, the screen is mounted above it and the power cables are routed:

It just fits! Below you can see the connector snuggly stuck between the two boards:

cifo, who’s also working w/ these screens, has a great solution in building the screen connectors right onto his controller board so it attaches directly to the screen.  You can see a pic of this here; definately an option I want to explore, along w/ standardizing the circuit design so I can have circuit boards professionally fabricated.

The finishing touch is the individually numbered label to mark the piece’s place in the series:

As I develop new content, I’m also working on a content-updating system that will easily allow owners of my light pieces to upload new software as it becomes available . . . more on that as I iron out the details.  In the meantime, I’d love to hear your comments regarding the ability of owners to update content of these device to extend their function and amusement.

The audio is straight from a drum machine, triggering the video in real time which is done in Processing; this initial draft shows that this is just the tip of the iceberg for what’s possible . . .

Dawghaus Studios put a video together of the event featuring some of our music, video, and performance — along with Spacing-related content, too, of course

Although I didn’t learn anything new technology-wise, I was very pleased to learn about his great series of techno podcasts.

[ Via Dubspot's blog. ]