Arduino Project Box
what is this?
- an arduino-based prototyping tool and performance interface. Here’s the overall philopsophy:
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- a permanently attached set of digital and analog inputs and outputs with the flexibility to attach temporary components as needed. This isn’t the final destination for an arduino-based project, but more like a prototyping platform.
why make this?
- Permanency. The breadboard is a great small platform to develop projects on, as long as the parts you’re using are all through-hole components. Sliders, switches, and radial pots typically aren’t. I wanted the freedom to be able to prototype arduino-based projects without having to hassle with fiddly loose bits and pieces on a breadboard, or dangling off the arduino itself.
- Reusability: I wanted to always have LEDs, switches, and potentiometers ready to go as a baseline of my tools when I’m working on a new project. Seems like I’m always wanting one or more of those, every time I want to use my arduino for something.
- Completeness. All 6 analog in pins are equipped with either a slider or a dial, and a way to plug in some alternative device. All 14 digital pins are equipped with an LED, a switch, and a terminal head to let you plug in something else. Turns out you can’t use digital pin 0 for much. Or I haven’t figured it out yet how. Oh well.
- Progress. between my small but growing woodworking and electronics skills, this felt like a good stretch project for me. Precision is hard… I’ve never done such a big panel-mounted componentry project. It was a lot of fun!
What do you use it for?
Recently I learned from my partner in crime Derek about the arduino Firmata. The firmata makes all of the data coming from the arduino’s pins accessible more easily through software that’s typically easier to program for than the arduino development environment itself. Think of the firmata like lego blocks being made from the raw plastic pellets. It’s the same base material, just easier to connect to things. I realized that this project is sort of a hardware implementation of the firmata. It’s still the same functionality, it just makes it easier to do stuff. Having said that, here are a few of the many things you could use this for:
- Connect to PD and use the hardware controls to affect realtime sound synthisizers
- Connect to a processing sketch and use the hardware to transmit OSC data, and then you could connect to any app that accepts OSC
- prototype robotics projects using some of the analog controls for input, and some of the analog pins to control servo motors
- prototype LED sequences using the onboard and outboard LEDs and digital pins with the breadboard
- Connect to a digital multiplexer on the breadboard and then get easy access to many more inputs and outputs
- connect to other arduino boards through SPI or I2C and then things really get crazy
- seriously, the list could go on indefinitely.
Features:
Digital pins: LED for output, slide switch to select the LED or the input switch, an SPDT switch to either select “HIGH” or to go to the 2-screw terminals. The bottom screw in the terminal is to plug into the digital pin on the arduino, and the top screw is currently V+ … although I’m trying to think of something more useful than this. I’m not 100% set on this configuration yet. I’d probably make some changes to version 2.0.
A 10k linear taper rotary potentiometer, a slide selector switch, and Modern-Device-style 3 pin header for three of the analog pins. The 3 pin header is perfect for plugging in servo motors.
A 10k linear taper slide potentiometer, a SPDT selector switch, and Modern-Device-style 3 pin header for the other three analog pins. This design decision was made after I had located some nice sliders at Halted. I figured why not go for some variety. Chances are good that I’ll use the dials for some things and the sliders for other things, so it seemed like a good idea.
Here’s a short video:
[flickr video=2871645728]