This article outlines the Internet of Things and discusses advances in Physical Computing. Author: Mark Butt    

The Internet will turn 44 this year, with the anniversary of the first email message from UCLA to Stanford. The Internet’s first evolutionary leap came in the form of the World Wide Web with the first commercial browser in 1994. This year, advances in physical computing give an indication of how the Internet is about to radically change our lives, again.

Physical computing means bringing interactive connectivity and logic systems to the common objects around you. Imagine the convergence of robotics, engineering, the web, and common household appliances. Physical computing involves tactile interactions, home automations, and interactive installations.

The Internet of Things (IoT) is here.

The Internet of Things is a term that arose from a presentation by Kevin Ashton in 1999. He was discussing how radio frequency identification (RFID) chips, which have processors for decision-making and communication transmitters, can be embedded into almost anything. Any object in your environment now has the ability to interact with each other and transmit data. Combined with near infinite information processing capacity provided by a wireless Internet signal, every object can have access to all the information we can imagine.

Near infinite information processing may sound like hyperbole, but it is made possible by the distributed computing capacity made possible by web servers. There have been thousands of projects like SETI@home, where individuals connected to the Internet allowed access to their personal computer’s processor. This creates a massively parallel meta-processor to crunch seemingly impossible math problems. In the case of SETI, over 200,000 processors worked simultaneously to scan radio signals from space, searching for signals from extra-terrestrial life.

In recent years, there have been several prototypes of self-driving cars that use road sensors with satellite data to avoid crashes and maintain free traffic flow. M2M (machine to machine communication) will form the backbone of the Internet of Things. For example, your car will radio your kitchen to alert you what to buy on the way home and your lights and heat settings will spring to life as you pull into the driveway. Don’t worry about forgetting your keys because the front door identifies you by the pattern of blood vessels under your face from 6 feet away.

According to Cisco Systems, there will be 25 billion devices connected to the Internet by 2015 and desktop computers will be the minority. If we include near field communication (like Bluetooth and contactless payment systems) and private networks, there will be over a trillion connected devices within two years.

Kansas City, USA, home to outlaws and desperadoes of the Wild West just over 100 years ago, is now on the frontier of the Smart Planet movement. At the end of last year Google went live with experimental free Wi-Fi in Kansas City that runs up to a blinding speed of 1 Gbps. That’s about 1000 times faster than the average smartphone download rates. The test has been so successful that they are rolling-out free Wi-Fi to New York City later this year.

The high speed and low cost of Wi-Fi means more devices will be able to come online sooner this year. One technology that relies on this level of connectivity is the 0.18-micron CMOS image sensors from Medigus. Essentially, this is a disposable miniature camera that you can swallow as a pill and they will wire an individual internal map to your doctor. This is happening right now around the world. Don’t be freaked out, embrace it

Spring Rocket is a Melbourne based Interactive Design & Creative Technology Agency, specialising in interdisciplinary engineering & physical computing.

One of our approaches to rapid prototyping is using a 3D printer that can make a working model of just about anything that can be designed. 3D printers have recently made headlines by producing such imaginative devices as a replacement hand and a biodegradable bicycle. Now anyone can access our fabrication workshop to create small-scale digital displays, web-enabled electronic devices, or cutting edge new forms of media and tech.

The Internet of Things Initiative has collected the latest knowledge and research on the coming revolution in physical computing. In June this year, Helsinki will host Internet of Things week, showcasing advances in physical computing and interconnected devices. We can expect to see designs for a smart-city, with sensors that adjust bus and train schedules immediately based on traffic and usage, business applications for intelligent supply chains, and consumer-friendly devices that learn and adapt to user behaviour. You can expect to see the Internet of Things enter mainstream consciousness this year, and we may begin to wonder how we ever lived without it. “The Internet of Things has the potential to change the world, just as the Internet did. Maybe even more so.” Kevin Ashton. 

By following the tutorial by Instructables user ‘Uncoventionalhacker’ you can transplant the hardware from almost any donor wireless mouse to bring that old mouse back to a second useful life. If possible, use a Bluetooth mouse as this will allow use with a greater variety of PCs without needing specific dongles at the computer end.

Nevertheless the modification is quite simple and involves carefully removing the old mechanical ball-reading circuitry from the original mouse, then moving the same assembly from the new, laser mouse. Be sure to heed the instructions with regards to preparing the donor board and especially holding down the laser tracking lens – otherwise it won’t work correctly once transplanted.

With some older mice such as the Apple one shown below – there is only one button. However with Windows-based PCs there is software you can download to emulate a second button, or with some very careful drilling and modification – you could split the large button into two. So to get started, check out the project page here:

The hardware is very simple, considering the Raspberry Pi has GPIO ports that can be easily controlled. Therefore the only remaining interface is a simple relay circuit between the GPIO and the lights themselves. The only caveat is that you may be working with mains current with the traffic lights, so ensure the work is completed by a licensed electrician. And for the final product, watch the demonstration in the following video:

Even if you don’t use the monitoring software as the project author does, the tutorial is still a great look at controlling 230V devices using a Raspberry Pi. With the appropriate python script the lights could display email inbox status, twitter responses or even stock market alerts. So to get started check out the project page here:

http://www.kmggroup.ch/?p=204

The beauty of this project is that Reginald can be complete controlled using the one interface via a processing-based GUI on a PC. Furthermore the communications are encrypted which blocks anyone from logging into Reginald’s IP address and taking over. Here is an example of controlling Reginald from the PC:

Finally, although this project doesn’t fall in the arena for beginners – the creator has documented absolutely everything you need to know to make your own version. From the hardware, code for various platforms, circuit schematics and networking know-how, it’s all available at:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Reginald-a-UDP-surveillance-bot-control-via-the-/?ALLSTEPS

The temperature is measured using an LM35 temperature sensor, which has a range of -40 and 150 degrees Celsuis. The reading from the sensor is interpreted by the Arduino board, and converted into signals which are relative to the temperature and then displayed using the RGB LED. Here is an example lamp at work:

Once a suitable enclosure has been found, this project would be very easy to recreate and ideal for beginners or something to do on the weekend. As the Arduino board can easily work other types of sensors, the lamp could also respond to humidity, gas levels, motion, and even with the right code alert you to new emails. If you are new to the world of Arduino, you can find plenty of guides and tutorials to get started with here: http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/HomePage

And for complete details on making your own lamp, including the circuit and Arduino sketch, visit here: http://www.psychicorigami.com/2012/09/04/arduino-powered-temperature-sensing-rgb-led-nightlight/

The system works with games that had the basic left and right controls, such as “Parachute” and “Merry Cook”. A simple circuit with the required number of buttons is controlled by an Arduino board, which then sends the data back to a PC running a python script which then interprets the commands for the emulated video game. For a quick demonstration of a game running on a PC, watch the following video:

By enclosing the large television inside a wooden frame with the same design as the handheld game a huge waiting room device can be constructed. Just add arcade-size buttons and you’d be set with a gigantic video game. And Tobie also did just that for his client in the following video:

There are many PC emulations of the old games available, and for those and more information about the project, visit here: https://github.com/Tooblippe/retrogame And in the meanwhile if you want to play some old emulated games and relive the past, click here: http://www.pica-pic.com/

The brains behind the door is a typical Arduino board which uses an external real-time clock IC for accuracy. You can then program the times that the door is unlocked and locked, allowing or denying the pets access through the door. The locking mechanism is based around a simple servo, and should sustain the most insistent pushing from a small pet. Furthermore the door movements are recorded when unlocked, and therefore the software can determine whether or not the pet is inside or outside. This is also displayed using an LED. For a quick demonstration check out the following video:

Using a lot of laser-cut acrylic, an Atmel ATmega8 microcontroller, real-time clock circuitry and a lot of servos, Simon has created a four-digit, seven-segment display with a colon which acts as a digital clock. When all the segments are off – the display is smooth, and to create the numbers a small block is pushed out by a servo to give the appearance of a segment. So when more than one are used, the numbers can be formed. Watch the clock in action during the following video:

It truly is poetry in motion, and one of those displays that truly mesmerise. However like anything else, it is not unobtainable. Simon has included all the design files required to create your own. So get yourself a lot of acrylic and a friend with a laser-cutter, then click here: http://www.schoar.de/tinkering/sevenblocks/

How it works is quite simple. The only caveat is that the door handle must be metal as it must be able to conduct electricity. An Arduino board is connected to a piece of copper plating which is attached to the door handle fixture. This turns the door handle into a capacitive touch sensor. Therefore when the handle is touched – the Arduino can detect this.

The “combination” for entry is a sequence of touches with predetermined periods of time between each knock. So for entry a person must touch the door handle several times matching this pattern. If successful, the Arduino will control a servo to unlock the door lock mechanism on the rear of the handle. Simple, yet ingenious. You can see the lock in action via the following video:

Knock Lock from Rob Hemsley on Vimeo.

Finally the cost of creating such a lock – if you already have a suitable doorknob – could easily fall under $50. So for more information and to make your own, visit the project page http://www.robhemsley.co.uk/knock_lock.htm

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The world of technology and art used to be mutually exclusive fields. This was due to the technical resources and massive capital investment needed to develop new hardware and software products. Arduino is one of the first companies & products to address this problem by developing open-source microcontrolers and the cross platform Arduino programming environment .

Other microcontroler platforms also offer similar functionality such as:

 Netmedia‘sBX-24,ParallaxBasicStamp,Phidgets,TexasInstruments‘ LaunchPad, andMIT‘sHandyboard. These project kits make hardware programming so easy and inexpensive that anyone can experiment with these micro-controllers and sensors. The two big advantages of Arduino come from its cross platform and open-source nature of the project.

From Arduino:

Arduino is an open-source electronics prototyping platform based on flexible, easy-to-use hardware and software. It’s intended for artists, designers, hobbyists, and anyone interested in creating interactive objects or environments.

Arduino can sense the environment by receiving input from a variety of sensors and can affect its surroundings by controlling lights, motors, and other actuators. The microcontroller on the board is programmed using the Arduino programming language (based on Wiring) and the Arduino development environment (based on Processing). Arduino projects can be stand-alone or they can communicate with software running on a computer (e.g. Flash, Processing, MaxMSP).

The boards can be built by hand or purchased preassembled; the software can be downloaded for free. The hardware reference designs (CAD files) are available under an open-source license, you are free to adapt them to your needs.

Arduino received an Honorary Mention in the Digital Communities section of the 2006 Ars Electronica Prix. The Arduino team is: Massimo Banzi, David Cuartielles, Tom Igoe, Gianluca Martino, and David Mellis. Credits

 Software

Since the software is cross platform and open-source, not only can it be used on any Windows, Mac, or Linux operating system, it can also be shared with anyone in the world. This allows other to dissect and learn from code that has already been created. Also, anyone can build upon the programs written by others, provided they share their code with the community as well. For example, GitHub user jPiroshky (JohnPierceParker) shared some code he found posted on Clarence‘sblog and now you can use it for your own project. This concept of learning from and sharing code written by others is not new to the world of computer software. However it is something very recent to hardware design.

Open-Source Hardware

If not the first, Arduino is certainly the most popular open-source hardware development platform. In the same spirit as open-source software, Arduino is working to make hardware development free. That’s free as in freedom, allowing the greatest number of people to have the opportunity to participate. In the case of open-source software, that participation comes in the form of writing code and using programs. Open-source hardware allows users to put blinking LEDs on anything they wish (pillow,gangboxclock, and a 21st century telegraph). Art is found in all the flashing LEDs of open-source hardware. Open-source ideals allow for the exploration of new ideas which, in some cases, lead to innovative products.

Here’s an interesting open source electronics project:

Light Painting

In this project The Mechatronics Guy explains and demonstrates how to paint with light. This Persistence of Vision (POV) light painter can be used to write messages in the air which are visible using extended exposure photography. Also, it’s kind of a two for one project which can be modified to map WiFi signals.

Image

First, you create an image on your computer. The image is converted to reduce the number of colours because the light bar can only display a few RGB colours. However, dithering is added to simulate a larger colour pallet. The image can then be converted into a light bar output file.

Light Bar

The image is then transmitted to the light bar and drawn out with colorful LEDs. The program calculates the time it will take for the entire image to be shown on the light bar and creates an output file. This allows you to gauge the camera exposure time and your walking speed for the image.

Photograph

The computer sends the output file to the light bar after a preset delay which allows you to enter the frame of the image before the light bar begins. The camera captures the changing LEDs and an image is drawn in lights over your photo. When this is done right, it looks as though the message is floating in the air.

WiFi Mapping

The POV light painter was inspired by a previous project that mapped WiFi signals in Oslo. The light bars used in each project were quite different. However, the colorful light bar used in this project can be used in the WiFi project with some code modification. In addition to using colorful LEDs, the light painting project uses a 2 meter LED strip while the WiFi project used a 4 meter LED strip. So, the output will also require some scaling.

 Another Project: Interactive Arduino Powered Music Poster.

Michael Robinson works in an office with music playing in the open, and sometimes people didn’t agree with the currently-playing music track. To enable some democracy and office mayhem with regards to the choice of music, he created the “Change the tuner” poster. Simply this is a poster which has a piezo knock sensor behind it – and once an object hits the poster, the sensor sends a signal to an Arduino board which changes the track of the music player via USB. For example:

Although not fully documented, the project can be easily replicated. A piezo can be measured with an Arduino analogue input, and then send commands as a keyboard via USB as described in this article. Apart from using one of our range of Arduino-compatible boards, you can bring this project to life with our SOUND: sound and buzzer module which is perfect for knock detection:

Change the tune from Michael Robinson on Vimeo.

For more information and inspiration, visit Michael’s site here.