As part of the 2024 Festival, we'd like to build out our fleet of LED-strip "jellyfish" creatures. The existing fleet lives as 3 strands of 6 individuals each that live in the enchanted forest installation on the third floor. The goal is to build 3-4 more strands and hang them in the same room and other places. The planned workshop activities will focus on building version 2 solitary individuals using pebble lights that can be deployed more sparsely.

Part 1: design and build a creature (2 levels/options)

• Level 1: No- or minimal-solder: wires are twisted together, attached with Wago lever nuts, hookup wire. Optional: split out individual data wires.
• Level 2: Soldering: LED strip pad are tinned, wires soldered to pads, connected with Wago lever nuts, hookup wire. Beginner+ to Intermediate soldering ability/experience.
• We will also go over variations in form, using glue and solder to harden for festival, power tails, etc.

Part 2: learn about the code and design an LED pattern

• Code and pattern making is virtually identical (will explain multiple/individuallly-addressable legs option).
• Instructor will walk the group throught the design and implementation of simple LED patterns and explain the mesh networking/communication.
• All participants receive links to code for the installation + other code/documentation.

Details - What to bring - What we are Building

• Participants are asked to purchase the ESP32 Pico "brain" for $10 in order to keep their creature. Devices built during the workshop/makerspace open hours would be displayed as part of the overall installation Meshed Jellies at the Ingenuity Festival September 27-29. Participants would be invited to take their devices after the festival concludes.
• Additionally, participants are asked to bring USB micro cables + plug units, if possible.
• For the coding portion there would be a lab computer in the makerspace, the instructor's laptop and possibly additional helpful lab members with laptops. It is encouraged that you bring your own laptop, especially if already knowledgable about tech/coding.
• Part 1 is adaptable for all age levels + varying levels of technical ability, crafting ability, etc. This is a non-soldering build where participants would twist wire, use connectors and only use minimally dangerous tools. This build uses the pebble lights.
• A more tech-savvy participant could build more complex versions of a creature using pebble lights. The software generally works with one data line mirrored or multiple data lines individually addressed.
• There is allso the option of building "version 1.0" creatures to help fill out the "fleet". This would involve more wiring, soldering, cabling. Building 3-4 pods of individuals connected with 5V wire. Participants keeping their creature from this iteration would be able to use micro USB to power theirs. We will finish the schools of wired jellies the following Tuesday in the Makers Alliance meeting.

12:1 Scale model replica of the first plastic Polaroid (R) cameras from the early seventies. The camera is functional, powered by a Canon DSLR and Mac Mini computer, external flash, a button, "view-finders" and other interactive features. This model "prints" its photos to a TV screen using OpenCV computer vision software where they fade into view for the audience.

This piece was made for BriteWinter and debuted in 2024. The core crew that created the camera: Sam Harmon (sensor/button), John K (carpentry/design), Ian K-M (hardware/testing), Tom Stoll (lead/software), Gabe Smith (carpentry/design/wood CNC), Shannon ? (painting). The build project was sponsored by and supported by the Ingenuity Festival, the Ingeneers, and Makers' Alliance.

Specs & Parameters

• Camera: Canon EOS Rebel t1i DSLR Camera
• Computer: Mac Mini (2015)
• Screen: 55 inch flat panel display
• Flash: Canon external 430 Speedlight flash system
• Operates in daytime and at night with software adjustments.
• Dimensions: W: 4', L: 8', H : 5'
• Requires: flat surface, lifting help, power, WIFI (optional)
• Versions: 2
  • build version 1 (2/24)
  • version 2: hardware 2.0, wireless control, auto-upload features (due 9/24)

V 1.0 - September 2023

Music Is Art - Buffalo, NY - 9/9/23
Ingenuity Festival - Cleveland, OH - 9/22-24/23

Uses ESP32/Arduino, FastLED, PainlessMesh. Approx. 18 devices were hung above the audience, communicating within a mesh network. Occasionally an individual will randomly choose to change color or pattern. Once doing so, it broadcasts messages to the network of devices, inviting its fellow creatures to match its updated state. These changes propagate through the mesh leading to stable, fractured, and changing group behavior. The probabilities chosen for the first version lead to gradual change with points of relative chaos and many more moments of relative stasis.

The project is meant to embrace a biological or ecological metaphor or narrative. Creatures grow and get damaged ("injured" ), for example. Several version updates should lead to the gradual evolution of the group of devices/individuals. The metaphors and concepts behind this installation will get explored in future posts as I (with help from others) build this out with more sophisticated algorithms and larger groups.

Specs & Parameters

• LEDs used: SM2812B (coating: none)
• Density: 60/meter
• total strips: many offcuts of 4-6 LEDs
• cut-and-solder: yes, should be OK for short runs
• mounting: wired together into creature/bundle.
• power: 1X 5V 10A line shared with several jellies (speaker wiring/5V)
• data: 6 lines used for each
• brain: ESP32 pico
• versions: 2
  • build version 1 (Music is Art, 9/23)
  • build version 2 w/ minimal software updates (Ingenuity Fest, 9/23)

Large-scale implementation using 2000+ individual SK6812 LEDS + ESP32 Ethernet Dev Kit. Uses FastLED, I2SClocklessLEDDriver. Can be controlled externally via ethernet.

Specs & Parameters

• LEDs used: SK6812 (coating: 67)
• Density: 30/meter
• total strips: 10+
• cut-and-solder: NO, used factory connectors (ends free)
• mounting: in lighthouse, under siding
• power: 4X 5v20A
• data: all 8 lines used (1 for the simple strip in the top)
• brain: ESP32 ethernet dev kit
• versions: 2
  • build version 1 (2/23)
  • software updates (5/23)

Outcomes:

Electronics: Initial design worked well and accomplished the main goal, to avoid voltage drop and flickering. Difficulty getting lights to the top with 1 brain.

General: Original hardware + software running continuously since 2/2023 (gets turned on/off but no updates or config or repairs.

Programming: Everything worked well, using ESP32 ethernet dev kit as brain. Nate did a great job cleaning up the power distribution circuitry at the last minute. Was able to control with audio in initial tests even though that was disconnected.

Aesthetic: Collaborators John, Ross, Dena, and Ingeneers did a tremendous amount of work on designing and building and other aspects.

Music is Art - Buffalo, NY - 9/10/22
Ingenuity Festival - Cleveland, OH - 9/23-25/22

Specs & Parameters

• LEDs used: SK6812 (coating: 67)
• Density: 30/meter
• total strips: 10+
• cut-and-solder: yes, extensively
• mounting: in grid form, see pics, mounted on tarps
• power: 2X 5V20A
• data: 8 lines
• brain: ESP32 ethernet dev kit (1 per tarp)
• versions: 2
  • build version 1 w/ 2 tarps + 25 LEDs squares
  • build version 2 w/ 1 tarp + 25 LED squares

Outcomes:

Electronics: Overall this did mostly work... but... Major issues with flickering. Possible issues with voltage drop at times.

General: Unweildy size, difficult fabrication, early prototypes faired better in R&D in Skidmark than when hung. Handling, folding (the tarp), and dust collection over time are also major issues. (That may have also contributed to flickering?) Hanging such a large tarp is also a major challenge.

Glue: Worked somewhat well. Massive $ and time investments into CA glue and generally into gluing plastic to plastic.

Programming: Everything worked well, was able to control with mic. A better acoustic environment or more extensive sound processing of the inputs would be necessary for further versions.

Aesthetic: Tarps are really great for backers. Especially silver. Hard to make this one look bad.

Ingenuity Festival 2023 - Cleveland, OH - 9/22-24/23

Answered the question, "What's the easiest/fastest/cheapest way to make a piece with 8 channels?"

[Soon: Answer the question, "how many speakers can this thing support?"]

Material: 8 "junk-picked" speakers or small speaker components from Sparkfun, 8 LM386 mono amplifiers from EBay, 4 12V power supplies, 8 hand-made RCA-terminated mono audio cables,  1 first-generation EVI Gigaport (8 RCA outs), Mac mini computer running Ableton Live, speaker wire/wire, zipties and picture wire.

Results

• Speaker array sufficient for spatialized, immersive environmental sound.
• Electroacoustic piece diffused throughout festival made from field recordings of birds and insects in CLE and WNY.
• Killed the audio outs on my old mac laptop + the Zoom recorder that unexpectedly died way before its time.

Buffalo, NY + Dartmouth College - Hanover, NH 2012-14

Field recordings are algorithmicly stitched together into sound art collages. A database of analysis points are built over a corpus of sound recordings. These analysis points are made searchable and similarity search drives the selection of new segments of sound file playback that "fit" the precise moment that the algorithm decides to make a transition.