Welcome to the Resources Page which is a continually updated repository of information for how to make just about anything unexpected become interactive using analog and digital systems whether made from scratch or from appropriated technology. Please email me or post a message below if you have or know of any tutorials that would be suitable BOOKS
Physical Computing in my opinion is the must have book for understanding how sensors, motors, etc. all work and how to wire them up.
SENSORS & ACTUATORS
LOW TECH SENSORS AND ACTUATORS. (by Usman Haque www.haque.co.uk and Adam Somlai-Fischer www.aether.hu)
A list of Standard Input products that could be used or hacked for your projects.
ElectroTap make rugged sensors & accessories as well as interface boards. They also do some great software for performance, both standalone and useful objects for Max, (their sensors and interfaces are expensive and there are cheaper ways of getting sensors on the market if your willing to buy the components and put them together yourself but if your looking for ready made parts these guys provide a lot of good stuff. I especially want one of their Gyroscopes. (Thanks to Peter Kirn for suggestion)
BLOGS
Makezine Blog "celebrates your right to tweak, hack, and bend any technology to your own will."They also publish makezine as a Quarterly Volume of some of the best creative uses of appropriated technology.
Create Digital Music & Create Digital Motion have interesting articles quite regularily about building interfaces and devices for interaction and performance for inspiration. See Data Glove link simple projects section of this page (thanks to Peter Kirn for suggestion)
ELECTRONICS
Potemkin.Org is a must have in your bookmarks. Aimed at designers and artists who want to learn how to use electronics to build interactive objects.
Tom Igoe’s Useful collection of resources, examples, and lecture notes for the physical computing courses at ITP
INTERFACE BOARDS
Arduino - an open-source physical computing platform based on a simple i/o board and a development environment that implements the Processing/Wiring language. Arduino can be used to develop stand-alone interactive objects or can be connected to software on your computer
Miditron - a MIDI to real-world interface designed for creating sensor and robotics based electronic art projects.
BASIC Stamp - Simple commands such as turning devices on or off, interfacing with sensors, etc. More advanced commands let the BASIC Stamp module interface with other integrated circuits, communicate with each other, and operate in networks. The BASIC Stamp microcontroller has grown in hobby, lower-volume engineering projects and education due to a wide support base of free application resources.
gluion is a sensor interface for music and media application using Ethernet for transferring sensor data using OSC (OpenSound Control) thanks to Jochen Leinberger for suggestion
Teleo is a line of hardware tools that provide ways to create interactive devices, machines, and environments by controlling a wide range of sensors and actuators. Teleo Blocks are the easiest to use for simpler interactive projects, while Teleo Modules allow for computer control when your applications require it.
CUI (The CREATE USB Interface) is a board I hadn’t heard of until Dan Overholt, its developer got in touch recently from the Center for Research in Electronic Art Technology (University of California, Santa Barbara). It can be built DIY style using instructions provided or for a fee built to order. It works with Max/MSP, Pd, SuperCollider, etc but you can also dive in and write your own firmware if so desired to make robots, etc…
SIMPLE PROJECTS
Make your Own Hot Wire Foam Cutter .
Useful Article to get you started if your interested in Interactive Gloves which in the case of this article are being used to control music.
SUITABLE SOFTWARE
Processing (free) - An open source programming language and environment for people who want to program images, animation, and sound. It is used by students, artists, designers, architects, researchers, and hobbyists for learning, prototyping, and production.
MaxMSP - A graphical programming environment, which means you create your own software using a visual toolkit of objects, and connect them together with patch cords. The basic environment that includes MIDI, control, user interface, and timing objects is called Max. Built on top of Max are hundreds of objects, which can be used to do everything from building your own sound synths using MSP to 3D Video and Live VJing (using Jitter)
Also check out cv.jit which is a free external (add on) for MaxMSP which enables motion tracking abilities.
EyesWeb (free) - A powerful tool for motion tracking
Pd (free) - A free real-time computer music software package resembling Max.
Isadora is a graphic programming environment for Macintosh (with a Windows version now in public beta) that provides interactive control over digital media, with special emphasis on the real-time manipulation of digital video.
SuperCollider (free) A sound synthesis and processing tool useful for building sound installations
