We needed all our superpowers for the Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo this past weekend, so we decided to create our version of Arc Reactor for the team to wear at the show in order to augment the intelligence and add superhuman-level multitasking and learning capabilities (imagination is key at the Comic Expo).
Not happy with just a blinky light, we added connectivity to our setup, which consists of:
The arc reactor pendants. These are worn around the neck and under the shirts, shining through the light fabric, each containing a Synapse mesh-networking radio and control electronics.
The activation box. This contains a Synapse module in an acrylic box. The button initiates a "synchronize to THIS color" signal to all modules on the network.
The pendant case is consists of a 3D printed housing made in-house on our Kossel (we'll be selling units shortly), with a laser engraved semi translucent acrylic diffuser on top.
A static Arc Reactor just isn't very visually appealing, so we spiced it up with a flicker, with a "power pulse" on color-mode change.
The box features only 2 input, the main power switch, and the big red button. The button pulls the Synapse module Pin 3 high, which then causes it to transmit a single ASCII character (1 through 8 ) to all the receivers.
Synapse modules have an embedded python interpreter, which is called "SNAPpy". We use this to create "Remote Procedure Calls" ("RPC") that are routines we can call either local or wirelessly from up the network. The script in the transmitter has a global variable which increments each time the button is pressed, and is multicast out to all the Arc Reactor receivers. The auto-mesh-networking of the Synapse modules means that these calls will be aut0-relayed down the chain to all nodes in the network, even if the Activation box is out of range from the furthest Arc Reactor. With an outdoor range of nearly a kilometer, we didn't any signaling problems inside the event hall.
The Synapse radio in each Arc Reactor takes the received value and turns it into binary number output on 3 pins. (1 = 001, 8=111). Time was tight, and we went with a robust, simple method to send this information to the Arduino controlling the LEDs.
The Arduino Pro Mini monitors these pins, and changes the color palette as required. We selected the 24 element Adafruit Neopixel ring to provide illumination connected to the Pro Mini Pin 2. The awesome FastLED.io Library was used to communicate the data to the pixels.
Initial experiments proved power consumption to be a problem. Rather than powering all LEDs to some level of power, we rewrote the code to turn on only 4 adjacent segments at a time, with the first element at 100% power, the second at 50%, the third at 25%, and the fourth at 12%. This created a really nice flicker effect when rapidly cycled through the ring.
Thoughts, and Conclusions
At one point during the first day of the event, we discussed how funny it would be if we could feel when the reactor is activated, so we could all "JUMP" in unison when somebody hit the switch. A quick on-the-site hack later with a transistor and vibrating disk motor, with a quick code-update (on the fly through the wireless mesh!), we were all buzzing. Unfortunately, when kids and evil co-workers discovered how nasty it felt to have simulated mild heart palpitations available on-demand, we had to snip the wires on most of the reactors. Haptic feedback, especially mid-chest, can be disturbing.
The technique we outlined here was used in a very similar way on the movie "Tron: Legacy" where similar hardware was used to control the costumes. We found it a very quick and robust way to add group-control to our project.
The Arc Reactor itself was well received by the Cosplay community in attendance. Although not for sale at the time, we've been strongly encouraged to make the visual aspect of the Arc Reactor available as a kit. Stay tuned...
Ok, besides being a conjunction of two things we really love (Make Magazine & BEAM Robotics), it also is an open-source hardware project that is about little "T-Beams". This project is using the "KickStarter" model of sponsorship. Ask for pledges for the projects, and if the minimum is met (and it has - yay!), the […]
... is over and it has been great. The weather cooperated, TelusSpark Science Centre grounds cooperated, squirrels cooperated, people checking out our booth were awesome, every single one of them. Check out some photos of the event on our Flickr stream. And our Marble Machine got featured in this great video by Paul Spenard: Not […]
Oh the rain… Oh the 90% humidity… This is the monsoon that happens sometimes in Albertaland. The rain floods basements, frizzes hair, overflows rivers. What is doesn’t do is dryclean the basement carpets, straighten hair, and apply various agricultural procedures of soil draining. Neither it brings you cool links! Which are by some strange coincidence […]
Although he has purchased from us, and used our products (the "Secret Motor Driver") in his prize-winning minisumo "Stinger", we, as Solarbotics officially declare Mr. Hylands only "marginal" friend. You see, Solarbotics sent a few of our robots to the University of Northern Idaho's mail-in minisumo contest, and again he's served our own tuckus back […]
Solarbotics has been operating for more than 25 years, bringing electronics know-how and supplies to both the electronics professional and hobbyist. We'll be happy to help you too!
Solarbotics, Ltd. is not responsible for misprints or errors on product prices or information. For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions.
Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.