We tested the LED's last night...they all powered all fine and dandy...
Now to find the ever elusive "Compliant Surface"....
Also, we have got a sony handycam that we are going to put an IR Filter over instead of hacking a webcam....main reason...the webcam starts at $130...Bill already has the sony handycam, which we tested and it works fine.
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Building the Frame/Mount & Screen Support:
Okie doke, after a nice expensive trip to Bunning’s...for Bill...($128), we had all the necessary aluminum supplies to build our frame for our system.
We used some cool elbow joiners to connect the base and legs of the frame…
And for the part that would hold the screen, we used the same material, only it has a lip on it so we can easily rest and secure the acrylic onto it…
NOTE: Lucky we made the screen acrylic because we did drop it from about .75 of a meter and it did not have a scratch on it. We will be 50 X more careful in the future.
We then needed to cut the pieces of u-frame that would support the acrylic, hold the PCB and LED’s and make the system look neater…this ad to be done carefully as we needed it to be as accurate as possible…
So hopefully you can see our vision starting to take form now, well part of it anyways.
here are some more random pictures of us building the frame...
We used some cool elbow joiners to connect the base and legs of the frame…
And for the part that would hold the screen, we used the same material, only it has a lip on it so we can easily rest and secure the acrylic onto it…
NOTE: Lucky we made the screen acrylic because we did drop it from about .75 of a meter and it did not have a scratch on it. We will be 50 X more careful in the future.
We then needed to cut the pieces of u-frame that would support the acrylic, hold the PCB and LED’s and make the system look neater…this ad to be done carefully as we needed it to be as accurate as possible…
So hopefully you can see our vision starting to take form now, well part of it anyways.
here are some more random pictures of us building the frame...
The crash…
As you all now know, my HDD crashed, the files are there but the boot segment is corrupted. Unfortunately our FINAL version of our studio II presentation, digital mock ups and the application are all on this HDD. I am working on getting the files off them; however we had to present our DRAFTS for our presentation.
Thank you for your patience and for still taking us seriously during our presentation.
As soon as I get my demo application off the HDD I will make sure it is not corrupt and the post a link to a demo, or if I can’t manage that…will show in class on Tuesday.
Thank you for your patience and for still taking us seriously during our presentation.
As soon as I get my demo application off the HDD I will make sure it is not corrupt and the post a link to a demo, or if I can’t manage that…will show in class on Tuesday.
What system parts we have:
Huge haul on system parts, we now have the following parts and can start to build the system now…
- Acrylic.
- IR LED’s.
- Resistors.
- Solder.
- Blank prototype boards/PCB boards.
- Lots of non-reflective black electrical tape.
- Wire.
- Molex Connecters.
- Power supply.
- Connection Block
- Possibly usable mirror for projection.
We still have to purchase the aluminum framing, u-frame and general construction supplies for the mount, just need to make a trip to Bunning’s.
- Acrylic.
- IR LED’s.
- Resistors.
- Solder.
- Blank prototype boards/PCB boards.
- Lots of non-reflective black electrical tape.
- Wire.
- Molex Connecters.
- Power supply.
- Connection Block
- Possibly usable mirror for projection.
We still have to purchase the aluminum framing, u-frame and general construction supplies for the mount, just need to make a trip to Bunning’s.
System Design
Upon realizing that our system design was not really that aesthetically sound, we decided to work on it some more, so I put the coding on hold for a couple of days. We went through a few ideas…
After a bit of ludicrous designing, we realized that our designs were not really portable and would suit different and more specific environments. We wanted to be able to have a self contained system that could possibly be wheeled around, but till be collapsible and easy to move.
After a bit of ludicrous designing, we realized that our designs were not really portable and would suit different and more specific environments. We wanted to be able to have a self contained system that could possibly be wheeled around, but till be collapsible and easy to move.
Application update:
I am having great success so far with the application (special thanks to Dekker with one little coding problem), the application is coming along nicely. Essentially, I have the user’s icons displaying, and the folder within folder effect working well. The opaque portal style display works well to define what a folder is and what isn’t.
I also have drag and drop file copy/paste/move working. I am starting to mimic the multi-touch events first so that when I migrate the triggers to Multi-Touch triggers it will be only a matter of calling a different class, which will save a lot of time.
Screen shot…(remember is in strong development mode...going to make it look much more eye pleasing...but for now the recursion is working)...
As you can see, the recursion is working well...and again, will probably convert this to a coverflow style app in the end...but having the recursion working and file access functional is a great achievement atm.
So it is coming along nicely, hope to have an exported exe soon…but want to add a few things first.
I also have drag and drop file copy/paste/move working. I am starting to mimic the multi-touch events first so that when I migrate the triggers to Multi-Touch triggers it will be only a matter of calling a different class, which will save a lot of time.
Screen shot…(remember is in strong development mode...going to make it look much more eye pleasing...but for now the recursion is working)...
As you can see, the recursion is working well...and again, will probably convert this to a coverflow style app in the end...but having the recursion working and file access functional is a great achievement atm.
So it is coming along nicely, hope to have an exported exe soon…but want to add a few things first.
Hardware updates:
Hardware situation is still the same; we are still sourcing and waiting on parts to arrive.
We will post more updates and pictures as soon as we have more info, and the actual hardware and component.
We will post more updates and pictures as soon as we have more info, and the actual hardware and component.
Starting to code the application:
Seeing I am the only coder in our group, I get to code the app the way I want to. This may sound a little stubborn or selfish, but sometimes it is easier just to let one person code the application, and as the old saying states…”Too many cooks spoil the broth”, this relates as if we were to all code and then collaborate there would be conflicts of style and code. Also, I believe I am the only one in our group that is confident enough to code a multi-touch application.
So I began by deciding what environment I would be coding in. Originally I was going to be Flash CS3, as I am quite confident in Action Script 3, however, due to security settings working through the flash environment won’t allow me access to local files and directories. So I installed an eclipse based development kit called “Flex”. Flex allows me to use Action Script 3 and also allows me to access local files and directories, which is essential if I am to make a file browsing application.
So essentially what I wanted was the following…
- The users files displayed on screen using icons and names.
- If it was a folder then an opaque portal was drawn around it displaying the folders contents.
- Each folder within a folder to do as above, but scaled down to show the depth of the directory.
- The ability to scale a folder using the “pinch” functions of multi-touch.
- When scaled, the folders contents would scale accordingly.
- Drag and drop ability to copy and paste files and folders.
- Simple physics so the icon and folder objects would appear as real objects.
- A dragable, scalable but fully function FLV player to pay mp3’s and movies.
Although the above seems a little daunting, it will not be the most difficult concept to accomplish as once the functionality is down; I simply need to replace the triggering functions with the multi-touch triggers.
…and it begins…
So I began by deciding what environment I would be coding in. Originally I was going to be Flash CS3, as I am quite confident in Action Script 3, however, due to security settings working through the flash environment won’t allow me access to local files and directories. So I installed an eclipse based development kit called “Flex”. Flex allows me to use Action Script 3 and also allows me to access local files and directories, which is essential if I am to make a file browsing application.
So essentially what I wanted was the following…
- The users files displayed on screen using icons and names.
- If it was a folder then an opaque portal was drawn around it displaying the folders contents.
- Each folder within a folder to do as above, but scaled down to show the depth of the directory.
- The ability to scale a folder using the “pinch” functions of multi-touch.
- When scaled, the folders contents would scale accordingly.
- Drag and drop ability to copy and paste files and folders.
- Simple physics so the icon and folder objects would appear as real objects.
- A dragable, scalable but fully function FLV player to pay mp3’s and movies.
Although the above seems a little daunting, it will not be the most difficult concept to accomplish as once the functionality is down; I simply need to replace the triggering functions with the multi-touch triggers.
…and it begins…
Sourcing hardware and components:
Okay, so if you read our proposal slides, we have researched the best hardware and components for our system. We decided to get the IR LED’s ordered first as there was a limited amount left in Australia.
The LED’s:
The model we needed was “Osram SFH485” and upon learning that there was less than 500 left in Australia at the price we wanted, we stepped into gear and bought 70 of the little suckers at $1 each. We figured that just ordering 16 for our system would be a bad idea as if we broke one or ten of them, we would be screwed. However, we ordered them, picked them up two days later and all was good.
The Acrylic:
We decided to use Acrylic for our screen as it is far more durable than glass, and if someone accidently knocked the system over, it would not shatter or snap in two.
We needed the piece to be roughly A2 size, and it had to be 8mm thick to be able to trap the IR light correctly. Due to bad communication and human error, the first piece of acrylic we got was only 6mm thick, which would not be sufficient as it was almost the same height as the LED’s were thick, so light would not flood properly. We sent it back, and although it took some time, we had the correct sized piece the next week.
The actual dimensions we are using are 595mm X 420mm X 8mm.
Web Cam:
We ordered the web cam from eBay; the model is “Philips SPC900” however, it never got sent and payment was not accepted so we cancelled the order and will have to search elsewhere.
The LED’s:
The model we needed was “Osram SFH485” and upon learning that there was less than 500 left in Australia at the price we wanted, we stepped into gear and bought 70 of the little suckers at $1 each. We figured that just ordering 16 for our system would be a bad idea as if we broke one or ten of them, we would be screwed. However, we ordered them, picked them up two days later and all was good.
The Acrylic:
We decided to use Acrylic for our screen as it is far more durable than glass, and if someone accidently knocked the system over, it would not shatter or snap in two.
We needed the piece to be roughly A2 size, and it had to be 8mm thick to be able to trap the IR light correctly. Due to bad communication and human error, the first piece of acrylic we got was only 6mm thick, which would not be sufficient as it was almost the same height as the LED’s were thick, so light would not flood properly. We sent it back, and although it took some time, we had the correct sized piece the next week.
The actual dimensions we are using are 595mm X 420mm X 8mm.
Web Cam:
We ordered the web cam from eBay; the model is “Philips SPC900” however, it never got sent and payment was not accepted so we cancelled the order and will have to search elsewhere.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Ecco make your own blog
Hey Ecco, could you make you own blog and just link updates on mine thanks...also, it's great that you want to focus on ideas for the apps for the system, but you will still need to contribute to the actual assignment in a meaningful way. At the moment we really need help documenting and we are still looking for parts.
email me, or any other members via student email, and we can discuss further...
email me, or any other members via student email, and we can discuss further...
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Extra computer power
Hey, guys how's going? Yesterday I found a extra computer power in my cupbroad, 350W and hopefully it can be used in our project. Otherwise, I seacrhed the Philips Webcam online, it's quite expensive in au, but in us is ok~However, do we have to use the exactly same Webcam? can we try some others frist? and also our report it's due on Fri. I think my part will focus on games which we're gonna use in our project. Is that all right for u guys? pzl send me E-mail if anything I can help....thanks
Proposal Presentation
Well, it was a fun day, got to see everyones ideas. Hopefully we got our point across, the Tutors and Lecturer seemed to agree that a unique image sharing program was a great idea.
Back to our multi touch system though...
Steven's friend Jason bought his system in, which was brilliant, and it gave us an opportunity to talk with another multi-touch builder. I plan to arrange a short meeting to try and outline a few difficulties he had making his so that we may be able to avoid or prepare for similar issues.
Finally, after comparing,experimenting and checking forums about what programs or libraries we should use to program our system. I have concluded that Touchlib would be the best way to go, it has a lot of support and it's library can be used by Action Script 3, so hopefully i can get basic apps running on it a lot easier then expected.
Well...more to come soon....and hopefully will contain some pictures because we are going to start building the system soon.
Back to our multi touch system though...
Steven's friend Jason bought his system in, which was brilliant, and it gave us an opportunity to talk with another multi-touch builder. I plan to arrange a short meeting to try and outline a few difficulties he had making his so that we may be able to avoid or prepare for similar issues.
Finally, after comparing,experimenting and checking forums about what programs or libraries we should use to program our system. I have concluded that Touchlib would be the best way to go, it has a lot of support and it's library can be used by Action Script 3, so hopefully i can get basic apps running on it a lot easier then expected.
Well...more to come soon....and hopefully will contain some pictures because we are going to start building the system soon.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Acrylic found
cool now that we have found an acrylic, LEDS, Mounting, Projectors...
all thats really left is the Vinyl for the projection surface and more importantly the Webcam and the IR lenz and filter.
Nice job on finding those acrylic places doug.
all thats really left is the Vinyl for the projection surface and more importantly the Webcam and the IR lenz and filter.
Nice job on finding those acrylic places doug.
Found two places in Brisbane that could supply us with Acrylic Glass. Iv emailed them today, asking if they can give us what we need. 1000mm x 750mm x 10mm clear. Will post a new comment on their reply.
http://www.acryform.com.au/
http://www.allstarplastics.com.au/
http://www.acryform.com.au/
http://www.allstarplastics.com.au/
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Materials And Guides
Ok so we found the model for IR LED'S, Osram sfh485(thanks to bonnii & Dekker) which can be found at rs components.
At the moment we can't find any Acrylic Sources, if you find anyone that supplies it POST A.S.A.P
We will be borrowing the Projectors from the Uni, and book them four days in advance minimum or else we may not get them, which would suck.
We need to go over the multi-touch forums and web sites to find the best web-cam and IR lens and filters to use. Post if you get some links and spec.
The U-Frame for mounting the system can be bought quite in expensively from bunnings hardware.
So post links to supplies so we can compare prices and start to organize getting them in.
Cheers
Michael
At the moment we can't find any Acrylic Sources, if you find anyone that supplies it POST A.S.A.P
We will be borrowing the Projectors from the Uni, and book them four days in advance minimum or else we may not get them, which would suck.
We need to go over the multi-touch forums and web sites to find the best web-cam and IR lens and filters to use. Post if you get some links and spec.
The U-Frame for mounting the system can be bought quite in expensively from bunnings hardware.
So post links to supplies so we can compare prices and start to organize getting them in.
Cheers
Michael
Monday, March 17, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
more wiimote complications...
I decided to have another go at using the wii-mote's with my laptop, and got it working again, just your basic mouse and desktop controls such as volume and mouse buttons etc...I also got Johnny Chung's grid program working, it essentially lets you use IR LED's to resize and move a grid around.
However, I did discover one particular problem, which was compatibility. Essentially, some programs and scripts will only work with the wii-mote using certain bluetoth adapters, i was using a standard toshiba stack.
using the toshiba stack I could get programs such as wiinRemote and glovepieworking, however Johnny chungs software would not work unless i was using blue soliel.
Thats before i got the mac OSX and Vista incompatibilities.
For a safe bet, the original design for a multi-touch surface will be implemented.
email me if you have any inquiries...
However, I did discover one particular problem, which was compatibility. Essentially, some programs and scripts will only work with the wii-mote using certain bluetoth adapters, i was using a standard toshiba stack.
using the toshiba stack I could get programs such as wiinRemote and glovepieworking, however Johnny chungs software would not work unless i was using blue soliel.
Thats before i got the mac OSX and Vista incompatibilities.
For a safe bet, the original design for a multi-touch surface will be implemented.
email me if you have any inquiries...
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Wii remote idea fails
So I connected the Wii remotes up to my laptop, got the basic application of using an IR light as a mouse working, however, due to the..well i dont know what to call it, but for what we want to make the Wii remote set up will not suffice, therefore we are going to build an actual multi-touch system.
Will post designs and ideas soon...
Will post designs and ideas soon...
Monday, March 3, 2008
And it begins...again
So Bill and Myself are going to build a multi-touch system.
Okay, so now we have a starting grounds for this system, and it is all thanks to....(drum roll).....A Nintendo Wii Remote.
Thats right, some genius has figured out how to hook up a wii remote to a computer and make a multi-touch for about $400 - $500 less than it would usually cost, and although he uses IR LED pens for his, I am sure we can find a way to use a persons hands.
For those who don't fully understand what a multi-touch system is, essentially it is like a touch screen, except you can have multiple points interacting with the screen at the same time, rather than just single touches.
Obviously there are endless possibilities for a system like this, and Bill and I intend to make a few applications.
here are some links to the youtube vids that showed what can happen when you mix innovative thinking with a laptop and a wii remote...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s5EvhHy7eQ&feature=related
- whiteboard multi touch using IR pens and wii remote
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw
- Head tracking(really cool)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92i8to9njUo
- head tracking + CompizFusion...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0awjPUkBXOU
- Using the nintendo wii to track finger movements
So as you can see this is going to be a fun project, especially seeing we will need lots of testing :D
Okay, so now we have a starting grounds for this system, and it is all thanks to....(drum roll).....A Nintendo Wii Remote.
Thats right, some genius has figured out how to hook up a wii remote to a computer and make a multi-touch for about $400 - $500 less than it would usually cost, and although he uses IR LED pens for his, I am sure we can find a way to use a persons hands.
For those who don't fully understand what a multi-touch system is, essentially it is like a touch screen, except you can have multiple points interacting with the screen at the same time, rather than just single touches.
Obviously there are endless possibilities for a system like this, and Bill and I intend to make a few applications.
here are some links to the youtube vids that showed what can happen when you mix innovative thinking with a laptop and a wii remote...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s5EvhHy7eQ&feature=related
- whiteboard multi touch using IR pens and wii remote
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uw
- Head tracking(really cool)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92i8to9njUo
- head tracking + CompizFusion...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0awjPUkBXOU
- Using the nintendo wii to track finger movements
So as you can see this is going to be a fun project, especially seeing we will need lots of testing :D
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
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