I'm excited to release more information about a paper I wrote titled A Five Axis Robotic Motion Controller for Designers which was selected for publication and presentation for this year's ACADIA 2011 Conference: Integration Through Computation held in Banff, Canada from October 13th-16th.  Click here to download the full paper.

This project aims to bring physical input and output closer together through the design purpose-built tools for fabrication, which hopefully leads to many new creative opportunities for designers.  Working from observations about the way architects design, this project explores the development of a novel 3D drawing tool or customized 5-axis digitizing arm that takes real-time input and translates movement patterns directly into machine code for robotic fabrication.  An improved workflow for robotic simulation was also developed as part of this project; using design tools that are already familiar to architects and designers, such as Rhino and Grasshopper. The purpose of this project was not to suggest that this new workflow is a ready-made solution to replace the existing robotic fabrication process; rather I hope that this work is seen as a proof of concept that could enable wider use of digital fabrication tools by architects and designers.

The existing design-to-fabrication workflow for industrial robots (seen above) has traditionally been a slow and cumber-some process, especially for designers. Machine tooling, kinematic simulations, and robotic movement programming often require intimate knowledge of scripting and manufacturing processes, all of which limit the utilization of such tools by the 'typical' architect/designer.  

In the traditional robotic fabrication workflow, there is often a discrepancy between the original design intent and the final output, primarily because there is an intermediate step where the designer has to hand off a digital model to a fabrication consultant who has more intimate knowledge of the specific robotic CAM software and the fabrication process in general. Typically, this consultant will use programs such as Robot Studio or Master CAM to create the necessary tool paths for the design, however this process can often take a great deal of time.  And, if during this process, modeling irregularities are found or fabrication problems arise due to reachability or collision detection issues, then the entire process must start anew.

Conceptually, this project started very simply.  I began by looking at the joint and axis configurations of the ABB-IRB 140 robot, one of the six axis robots available in the Harvard robotics lab.  The design challenge then, was to design a tangible controller around these constraints.  By using the same joint and axis configurations, the digitizing arm has a one to one relationship with the larger industrial robot.  It is very intuitive.  A user immediately grasps the idea that when they move the digitizing arm in a certain way, the robot will respond in kind.

Outside of the development of a new robotic workflow, one of the primary goals of the project was to minimize costs.  Given that all of the parts for this project were paid for out of pocket (a student's pocket), creating a low-cost solution was of utmost importance.  But, beyond my own personal economic restrictions, I wanted this project to be seen as a do-it-yourself solution - something that could be built in any garage or workbench using easily purchased hardware parts and sensors and a few custom fabricated pieces.  The entire controller, shown here, was built for less than $200 dollars. The aluminum body was water jet cut and all of the hardware were pieces that could purchased from local hardware stores or online retailers. All of the sensors, including the five high-precision potentiometers (shown here as the small blue knobs sticking off of the aluminum body) and the two digital sensors on the tool tip were also purchased from online retailers and were chosen because of their affordability.

To create a real-time robotic simulation, data from each of the embedded sensors on the tangible controller are streamed into the computer using a plug-in for Grasshopper that I have also been developing called Firefly.  Among other things, Firefly enables the use of real-world data, acquired from various types of sensors or other input devices to explicitly define parametric relationships within a Grasshopper model.  In this project, sensor information is used to create a forward kinematic robotic simulation. Forward kinematics describes one type of solution for determining robotic positioning.  If given all of the relative angles of each joint and the lengths of each leg; the tool tip (also known as the end effector) can be found by performing a series of matrix transformations on each body in the robotic mechanism.  In this case, each of the potentiometers will return a 10-bit number between 0 and 1023.  These particular potentiometers were able to rotate up to 340º, so the angle between each joint can be found by simply multiplying the current sensor value by the sensor step size.  These angle values are used to perform a matrix transformation on each of the robotic legs, ultimately giving you the precise position of  the tool center point.  And, once you know the location of the end effector, you can record this data over time to create real-time robotic tool paths.

In addition to the five high-precision potentiometers, the digitizing arm is equipped with a tool tip circuit board with two push button controls.  These allow the user to easily record or reset the digitized information on the fly.  I also designed and built a customized circuit board (on the left) which processes all of the sensor information and sends a formatted string of information over the serial port to the virtual parametric interface.

The Grasshopper definition is relatively straight forward.  The Firefly Read component parses of the sensor information being sent directly from the microcontroller circuit board.  There is a custom component written in VB.NET (seen in item number 2),  which creates the necessary tool data.  The data from both of these components are fed into another custom component which calculates the forward kinematic solution and outputs the position of each leg, creating a real-time preview of the robot moving in the Rhino viewport.  In addition, the robotic simulator also returns all of the RAPID code, or the robotic programming language used by all of the ABB robots, to move the actual robot in the same manner as the forward kinematic preview.

The custom robotic simulation component written inside of Grasshopper outputs all of the necessary RAPID code to control the actual robot.  There are two methods by which this can be done.  First, all of the digitizing information is recorded and formatted into a composite data type called a robtarget.  Each robtarget is defined by its name, absolute position as XYZ coordinates, rotation and orientation of the robot as four quaternion values, and its joint configurations.  Each robtarget is given a unique identification each time the solution is recomputed.  Then the movement commands are created to tell the robot specifically how to get to each robtarget.  Once the program has been written, it can then be saved to a file on disk and uploaded to the robotic controller to be played back.  An alternative method is to stream the angle information from the digitizing arm directly to the robot through a network cable.  In this method, a program is uploaded to the robot which tells it to sit and wait for any information being sent directly from the Grasshopper definition (which can be seen in the video above).

As of today, there have only been a limited number of test runs using the five-axis robotic controller, however, the initial tests suggest that the proposed direct-to-fabrication process could prove to be a viable alternative to existing robotic workflows.  One of the first tests I tried was attaching a custom designed pen tool to the robot to see if the drawing movements of the digitizing arm would match those of the robot.  And while spelling your name isn't the most exciting demo, it did show some of the potential available with this process.  Because virtually any end effector can be attached to the end of the robot, the design opportunities are endless.  And because the tangible controller has a one-to-one relationship with the larger industrial robot, designers immediately understand that their drawing motions will be converted directly into robotic movements, creating a very intuitive interface.

Although there has been considerable progress made in the digital tools used to control robots, I'd like to close by reiterating the fact that there is an identifiable problem in the existing design-to-fabrication process. I would like to propose an improved workflow for robotic fabrication.  It is the hope of this project that the physical articulation of embodied input and output through purpose-built tools for fabrication can allow for wider adoption by and new creative opportunities for architects and designers.  In turn, I hope this will help re-establish the relationship between designers and the physical fabrication process.

Acknowledgments:

I would like to thank Harvard professors Martin Bechthold and Pangiotis Michalotos as well as Neil Gershenfeld from MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms for their support during the development of this project.

I am very happy to announce that my full-paper titled A Five-Axis Robotic Motion Controller for Designers has been accepted for presentation and publication in the conference proceedings of the ACADIA 2011 conference to be held at the Banff Center, Calgary Canada from Oct. 11th-16th, 2011.  You can find out more about the entire line-up of speakers on the ACADIA website.  I'll also be releasing more information about this project (and paper) very soon, so stay tuned. 

I would also like to mention that I will be teaching a two-day workshop on physical computing (using Arduino, Grasshopper, and Firefly) as part of the ACADIA pre-conference workshop series.  This fast-paced workshop will focus on hardware and software prototyping techniques.  For more information, see the workshop description below.

Workshop Description: 

In 1991, Mark Weiser published a paper in Scientific American titled, The Computer for the 21st Century, where he predicted that as technology advanced, becoming cheaper, smaller, and more powerful, it would begin to "recede into the background of our lives" - taking a more camouflaged, lifestyle-integrated form.  He called this Ubiquitous Computing (Ubicomp for short), or the age of calm technology. There have been numerous examples to support Weiser's claim, including Natalie Jeremijinko's "Live Wire" project (1995), the Ambient Orb (2002), or the Microsoft Surface Table (2007) to name just a few.

In 1997 Hiroshi Ishii expanded Weiser's idea in a seminal paper titled Tangible Bits where he examined how architectural spaces could be transformed through the coupling of digital information (bits) with tangible objects.  Where Wieser’s research aimed to make the computer ‘invisible’ by embedding smaller and smaller computer terminals into everyday objects, Ishii looked to change the way people created and interacted with digitally augmented spaces. 

Both Weiser and Ishii have had a significant impact on the development of physical computing, a term used to describe a field of research interested in the construction of physical systems that can sense and respond to their surroundings through the use of software and hardware systems. It overlaps with other forms of tangible computing (ie. ubiquitous, wearable, invisible) and incorporates both material and computational media, employing mechanical and electronic systems.

Interest in physical computing has risen dramatically over the last fifteen years in the fields of architecture, engineering, industrial design, and art. Designers in the future will be called upon to create spaces that are computationally enhanced. Rather than simply design traditional buildings and then add a computational layer, it is better to conceive and design this integration from the outset. A review of the literature reveals that there are no established methodologies for designing architectural spaces as smart or intelligent spatial systems. As such, it is clear that a new multidisciplinary approach is needed to bring together research in the fields of interaction design (IxD), architectural design, product design, human computer interaction (HCI), embedded systems, and engineering to create a holistic design strategy for more livable and productive spaces. Preparing architectural designers for these challenges demands a range of knowledge, skills, and experience well beyond the traditional domain of architectural education. This workshop in Physical Computing at the ACADIA 2011 conference is in line with the conference theme of Integration Through Computation.

Dates:

2011.October.11 | Workshop Day 1 at University of Calgary
2011.October.12 | Workshop Day 2 at University of Calgary

Software:

All students will be required to bring their own laptops preloaded with the latest versions of Rhino, Grasshopper, and Arduino. The latest build of Firefly will be provided to all workshop participants.   Trial software will also be made available.

Hardware:

Given the nature of the workshop, each student will be required to bring a small set of hardware components to begin their physical prototypes.  There are many different packages to choose from, but the following are recommended:

Starter Pack
Arduino Starter Pack or equal [includes the new Arduino Uno Atmega328, Protoboard, and a good selection of starter components]. 2 Standard Servo Motors similar to these: Adafruit or Hi-Tec from Servocity.

High-End (Recommended)
Arduino Experimentation Kit v1.0 or Sparkfun's Inventors Kit for Arduino [includes the new Arduino Uno Atmega328, Prototyping bundles, and a great selection of starter components]. 2 Standard Servo Motors similar to these: Adafruit or Hi-Tec from Servocity.

Students are encouraged to bring other components if they have them, but the packages should serve as a good starting point.

Registration:

Click here to find out more information regarding the ACADIA 2011 conference schedule.

Click here to register for the workshop.

NEW YORK, NY | ARDUINO, GRASSHOPPER, & FIREFLY | SEPT 24TH-25TH, 2011

Studio Mode | modeLab is pleased to announce the next installment of the coLab workshop series: Hybrid Prototypes. As a follow-up workshop to the coLab workshop held in January 2011, Hybrid Prototypes is a two-day intensive design and prototyping workshop to be held in New York City during the weekend of September 24-25.

Description:

As architects and designers, we make things and build objects that interact with other objects, people, and networks.We're constantly seeking faster and more inexpensive methods to build prototypes, yet we are frequently hindered by practical and time consuming factors that arise in the process of bringing our ideas to life. Firefly is the new paradigm for interactive hybrid prototyping; offering a comprehensive set of software tools dedicated to bridging the gap between Grasshopper (a free plug-in for Rhino) and the Arduino micro-controller.  It allows near real-time data flow between the digital and physical worlds – enabling the possibility to explore virtual and physical prototypes with unprecedented fluidity. 

This fast-paced workshop will focus on hardware and software prototyping techniques. Using remote sensors, microcontrollers (Arduino), and actuators, we will build virtual and physical prototypes that can communicate with humans and the world around them. Through a series of focused exercises and design tasks, each attendee will make prototypes that are configurable, sensate, and active.  As part of a larger online infrastructure, modeLab, this workshop provides participants with continued support and knowledge to draw upon for future learning.

Attendance will be limited to provide each participant maximum dedicated time with instructors. Participants should be familiar with the basic concepts of parametric design and interface of Grasshopper.

Hybrid Prototypes was conceived through a collaboration between Studio Mode/modeLab and Andrew Payne/LIFT Architects/Grasshopper Primer/ Firefly.

Instructors:

Andrew Payne | Principal, LIFT Architects | Co-Author, Grasshopper Primer | Co-Author, Firefly.
Ronnie Parsons + Gil Akos | Partners, Studio Mode.

Click here to register for the workshop.

Details:
All experience levels are welcome. Participants are encouraged to be familiar with the basic concepts of parametric design and interfaces of Grasshopper and Arduino.
Registration Pricing (limited enrollment) : $550.
Workshop Location : Gansevoort Studio | Meatpacking District, Manhattan.
Workshop Hours : 10AM-6PM.
Examples of Previous Workshops.

Infrastructure:
coLab Workbook | Printed + PDF Documentation
coLab Primers | Annotated Primer GHX Files
coLab Exercises | Annotated Exercise GHX Files
modeLab Fabrication Equipment | CNC High Force Cutter

Topics:
Arduino Micro-controller Hardware
Arduino Control Logic
Firefly Components
Parametric Design Logics
Basic Circuitry
Sensors + Actuators

Software:
All students will be required to bring their own laptops preloaded with the latest versions of Rhino, Grasshopper, and Arduino. The latest build of Firefly will be provided to all workshop participants.
Trial software will also be made available.

Hardware:
Given the nature of the workshop, each student will be required to bring a small set of hardware components to begin their physical prototypes.  There are many different packages to choose from, but we recommend the following:

Starter Pack
Arduino Starter Pack or equal [includes the new Arduino Uno Atmega328, Protoboard, and a good selection of starter components]. 2 Standard Servo Motors similar to these: Adafruit or Hi-Tec from Servocity.

High-End (Recommended)
Arduino Experimentation Kit v1.0 or equal [includes the new Arduino Uno Atmega328, Prototyping bundles, and a great selection of starter components]. 2 Standard Servo Motors similar to these: Adafruit or Hi-Tec from Servocity.

Students are encouraged to bring other components if they have them, but the packages should serve as a good starting point.

Dates:
2010.August.24 | Workshop Announced + Registration Opens.
2011.September.24 | Workshop Begins.
2011.September.25 | Workshop Concludes.

There has been a big push over the last decade to develop novel 3D technology for multimedia displays (whether its new ways for stereoscopic projection, refractive lens, etc.) One of the most successful implementations and inventive (in my opinion) was Johnny Chung Lee's reverse engineering of the Wii sensor bar.  Another recent example (and equally impressive) is this hack using the Kinect sensor and head tracking. 

The video above is my first attempt to create a real-time 3D display system within Grasshopper using Firefly's new Skeleton Tracker component and some simple camera manipulation. The Skeleton Tracker component outputs a list of points (click here for further explanation).  From there, I simply use the Horster Camera Control component (another 3rd party plugin for Grasshopper) to position the camera at the viewers head and the camera target at a point in space locating the Kinect sensor.  It really is that easy.  Turn on some real-time shadows and you've got a real-time 3D display.  It still needs some tweaking but it's pretty fun to play with.

This next demo shows how easy it is to turn gestural movements into physical actuation using an Arduino.  The setup is very simple.  My z-value of my right hand (basically the height of my hand) controls the brightness value (or Pulse Width Modulation - PWM) of the LED.  My left hand controls the servo.  When my hand is by my side, the servo goes to position 0 and if I raise my hand above my head the servo moves to position 180.  So simple.  Of course, this could be expanded to control all sorts of things... perhaps that is next.

This first video shows the potential of the new Arduino Code Generator and the Upload to I/O Board components.  In my opinion, one of the greatest limitations of the previous versions of Firefly was that your Arduino board always had to be tethered to your computer via the USB cable.  This was because Firefly communicates back and forth to Grasshopper through serial communication.  However, sometimes you just want to use Grasshopper (and its visual programming interface) to prototype your design and then unplug it from your computer to run off external power.  Now, you can! 

The Arduino Code Generator attempts to convert any Grasshopper definition into Arduino compatible code (C++) on the fly.  It works by detecting components that are 'upstream' from the Uno/Mega Write component.  The Code Generator checks the component ID against a library of custom C++ functions which then get added to the code if there is a match. The code can be simultaneously saved as a .pde (Arduino Sketch) file to be opened in the Arduino IDE.

In addition, there is also a new Upload to I/O Board component which allows you to upload any sketch (could be from the Code Generator or any other sketch) directly to your Arduino board from within the Grasshopper environment. A lot of stuff happens behind the scenes with this component.  Essentially it creates a dynamic MakeFile and calls a shell application to convert the .pde file into a .cpp (C++) file and then into .hex code (machine readable code) to be uploaded to the microcontroller. Note: WinAVR is required to be installed on your machine in order to properly upload sketches to your board.  You can download the latest version here.

There are also a lot of great network tools included in this release, including the UDP and OSC Listener and Transmitter components.  OSC (Open Sound Control) messages are essentially specially formatted UDP messages which can be particularly handy when you want to send some sort of information across a network (either wirelessly or LAN).  OSC messages are particularly useful because each message contains some metadata and a value, giving you more information about what type of data the message contains.  These new components open up a whole new world of possibilities by allowing you to send/receive data from smart phones (iphone or android) or by sharing documents among friends or colleagues over a network.

The video above uses the BreathOSC application (free from the iphone app store) developed by Thomas Edwards to simulate wind effects in Grasshopper.  Simply breathe into the microphone and an OSC message is sent to a specified IP address on a UDP port.  I then simply use the OSC Listener to decode the message and uses its value to create a wind vector to drive the Kangaroo (another 3rd party plugin for Grasshopper) wind simulation.  Daniel Piker, the developer of Kangaroo, helped setup this demo... and I have to say... it's quite fun.

Another useful networking application for smart phones is TouchOSC (available for both iphone and android).  It supports sending and receiving Open Sound Control messages over a Wi-Fi network using the UDP protocol.  You can also create your own interfaces using the TouchOSC Editor and sync them directly to your phone. In this example, I've created a simple layout to control a few LED's, a tri-color LED, and a standard servo using the new OSC Listener in Firefly.  This is just a simple test, but the sky is the limit with this type of control over mobile phone interface design.

If you are interested in learning more about Firefly, check out our website at: http://www.fireflyexperiments.com/

The website has a lot of good tutorials and examples to get you up and running in no time.  As always, if you have a suggestion or want to send us a comment, you can reach us at info@fireflyexperiments.com

Acknowledgements:

It is without a doubt that this release would not have been possible without the tremendous support from Prof. Panagiotis Michalatos at Harvard's GSD.  His guidance over the last 6 months strongly influenced the development of the Firefly_X toolset and I owe him a great debt of gratitude for his assistance.  Firefly is built upon the Grasshopper plug-in for Rhino, both developed by Robert McNeel and Associates.  The Arduino language syntax is based on Wiring by Hernando Barragan. The Arduino environment is based on Processing byBen Fry and Casey Reas, and is now supported by an amazing team of software and hardware developers that continue to refine and expand its capabilities.

"This primer is intended to teach programming to absolute beginners, people who have tinkered with programming a bit or expert programmers looking for a quick introduction to the methods in Rhino. Rhinoscript (VBscript) has been supported for many years, with a large user group and extensive support material. As well as giving a basic introduction, this primer looks to easily transition those familiar with VBscript into the world of Rhino Python.... Python offers exciting new potentials for programming in Rhino with Object-Oriented functionality, simple syntax, access to the .NET framework and a vast number of user-built libraries to extend Rhino's functionality. The same powerful methods that were previously in VBscript are still available, as well as a ton of other exciting methods and features available natively with Python."

To download the Python for Rhino 101 Primer click here.
Also, Skylar Tibbits will be hosting a 2-hour Introduction to Python webinar on July 22nd.  Skylar is a lecturer at MIT's Department of Architecture, the Founder/Principal of SJET LLC and a 2011 TED Fellow.  Click here to register for the event.

Projection One is an interactive art installation that was recently unveiled at Harvard's Graduate School of Design.  Conceived and built by Andrew Payne and fellow GSD student, Eddy Man Kim, Projection One strives to challenge the way in which users perceive projection art.  We started by changing the projection surface.  Our idea was simple - take the traditional screen and cut it up into strips of variable widths.  Then rotate those strips to create a three dimensional surface; adding depth to create a more volumetric or spatial experience out of the projection schemes.  The overall surface measured approximately 13'(length) x 9'(height) x 3'(depth).

Adding depth to a projection surface only works if the material characteristics of the screen is transparent enough to allow for the light from the projector to pass through.  We spent a good deal of time investigating various types of fabrics, and even string; but ultimately found that Tulle provided just the right amount of transparency and material density.  Tulle is lightweight net-like fabric traditionally used in wedding veils and other ornamental garments.

Acknowledgements

First, we would like to thank Professor Panagiotis Michalatos.  It is without a doubt that this project would not have been realized without his tremendous help and support.  All of the visualizations were developed as scripts written in C# and used several of the sawapan motion and audio libraries.

Contact Us

Like what you see or want to know more about how to bring this installation to a city near you?  Contact us. 

andy@liftarchitects.com
eddy.mankim@gmail.com

SAN FRANCISCO, CA | GRASSHOPPER & FIREFLY | JUL 11TH-22ND, 2011

Hosted by the California College of the Arts & the Architectural Association
Sponsored By McNeel Associates

I am excited to be an invited tutor for this year's Biodynamic Structures Workshop in San Francisco, CA.  Biodynamics is the study of the force and energy of dynamic processes on living organisms. Through simple mechanisms embedded within the material logic of natural systems, specific stimuli can activate a particular response. This response occurs in carnivorous plants such as the Venus fly-trap, which uses turgor pressure to trap small insects in order to feed, and worms, which by contracting differently oriented muscles, achieve movement. This ten-day intensive workshop, co-taught by the faculty of the Emergent Technologies and Design Programme at the AA and the faculty of Architecture and MEDIAlab at California College of the Arts, will explore active systems in nature, investigating biomimetic principles in order to analyze, design and fabricate prototypes that respond to electronic and environmental stimuli.

Students will work in teams to research specific biological systems, extracting logics of organization, geometry, structure and mathematics. Advanced analysis, simulation, modeling and fabrication tools will be introduced in order to apply this information to the design of both passive and active responsive architectural systems. Investigation and application of robotics, sensors and actuators will be employed for the activation of the material system investigation through the construction of working responsive prototypes.

 Click here to find out more details regarding registration or here to see images from last year's event.

I am proud to announce that I will be participating in this year’s SmartGeometry conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.   I would like to thank Daniel Piker and Robert Cervellione for their invitation to be an assistant cluster champion for the 4 day workshop cluster titled ‘Use the Force’.  I'd also like to express my sincere appreciation to Robert McNeel and Associates for their sponsorship for this event.

This cluster will explore the use of Kangaroo as a form-finding tool, and linking it to real-time sensor input (through Firefly).  I think this is a unique and very exciting opportunity to come together to develop, test and really push the boundaries of what is possible with these design tools.  Here's a little more information about the cluster:

Through Kangaroo, the live physics plug-in for Generative Components and Grasshopper, this cluster will explore ways of using the simulated interaction of physical forces and real-time spatial inputs to develop novel form-finding processes. The physics engine will constantly react to the streaming data - when one element in the system changes, the entire system adjusts itself accordingly in order to find and maintain equilibrium. Treating geometric and construction constraints, material behaviour, and user interaction all within this common language of physical forces unifies and allows complex real-time interaction between them.

The deadline for applications to the workshops has been extended until this Sunday, February 6th.  Read more about it and apply here.

I am very excited to announce that I will be working with Studio Mode in their next coLab workshop series: Hybrid Prototypes. Hybrid Prototypes is a two-day intensive design and prototyping workshop (with an optional third day) to be held in New York City during the weekend of January 08.

Description:
As architects and designers, we make things and build objects that interact with other objects, people, and networks. We strive for faster and simpler methods to build prototypes in the cheapest possible way, yet we are frequently hindered by temporal and practical factors that arise in the process of bringing our ideas to life. Firefly is the new paradigm for hybrid prototyping, offering a comprehensive set of software tools dedicated to bridging the gap between Grasshopper (a free plug-in for Rhino) and the Arduino micro-controller. It allows near real-time data flow between the digital and physical worlds – enabling the possibility to explore virtual and physical prototypes with unprecedented fluidity.

This fast-paced workshop will focus on hardware and software prototyping techniques. Using remote sensors, microcontrollers (Arduino), and actuators, we will build virtual and physical prototypes that can communicate with humans and the world around them. Through a series of focused exercises and design tasks, each attendee will make prototypes that are configurable, sensate, and active. An optional third workshop day is offered to those participants desiring further time to develop individual projects or lines of research. As part of a larger online infrastructure, modeLab, this workshop provides participants with continued support and knowledge to draw upon for future learning.

Attendance will be limited to provide each participant maximum dedicated time with instructors. Participants are encouraged to be familiar with the basic concepts of parametric design and interfaces of Grasshopper and Arduino.

Hybrid Prototypes was conceived through a collaboration between Studio Mode/modeLab and Andrew Payne/LIFT Architects/Grasshopper Primer/ Firefly.

 Instructors:
Andrew Payne | Principal, LIFT Architects | Co-Author, Grasshopper Primer | Co-Author, Firefly.
Ronnie Parsons + Gil Akos | Partners, Studio Mode.

Details:
All experience levels are welcome. Participants are encouraged to be familiar with the basic concepts of parametric design and interfaces of Grasshopper and Arduino.
Registration Pricing (limited enrollment) : $550/$650.
Workshop Location : modeLab | NYC.
Workshop Hours : 10AM-6PM.
Examples of Previous Workshops.

Infrastructure:
coLab Workbook | Printed + PDF Documentation
coLab Primers | Annotated Primer GHX Files
coLab Exercises | Annotated Exercise GHX Files
modeLab Fabrication Equipment | CNC High Force Cutter

Topics:
Arduino Micro-controller Hardware
Arduino Control Logic
Firefly Components
Parametric Design Logics
Basic Circuitry
Sensors + Actuators

Dates:
2010.December.03 | Workshop Announced + Registration Opens.
2011.January.08 | Workshop Begins.
2011.January.10 | Optional Workshop Session.

To register for the workshop, please follow this link.

I would like to extend a huge congratulations to Kichan U and his team of translators for taking on the monumental task of translating the entire 160 pages of the Grasshopper Primer (second edition) into the Korean language. A lot of hard work went into this translation and it is our hope that this work will help spread information about the Grasshopper plugin to Korea and beyond. Kichan U and his team (including Ms. Jaewon Shin) at RP Architecture Engineering & Consulting have started an online community to get feedback from Korean Grasshopper users. Feel free to visit: http://cafe.naver.com/mustbim to join in the discussion.

Source Files:
The Grasshopper Primer_Korean Edition.pdf (size: 5.6mb - right-click and select 'Save Link As' - Adobe Acrobat needed)
Primer Source Files (size: 193k - right-click and select 'Save Link As' - this is a collection of Grasshopper definitions and Rhino files needed to complete the examples in the primer)

I decided to take something very big (the final piece is milled out of a half size sheet (72"x30") of Corian) out of something that is very very small.  To get the desired relief pattern, I used a 3/4" V-bit endmill on the CNC mill so that the circle diameter had a linear relationship to the depth of the plunge.  Below are some process images showing the original source image and the step needed to take it into final fabrication using the ShopBot Writer definition I developed for this project.

Before I get to far, there are a few precedent projects that I would like to acknowledge.  The 'dimple halftone' pattern idea was a concept developed by Associated Fabrication and 4-pli and was published in Transmaterial 2.  MachineHistories has also made a series of beautiful panels that can be seen here.  The concept for the work below is inspired by these precedent projects, but the method through which it was employed is new and documented below.

Cropped and Zoomed-In on Image

Gaussian Blur and Highlight Sampling (blur added to reduce noise in original image)

Grasshopper Approximation of Milling Pattern (automatically generates Shop Bot g-code in real-time)

CAD/CAM Preview of Tool Path from Shop Bot Controller (simulation of final cut)

The Final Installed Piece (72"x30"x1/2")

The image becomes more pronounced on the oblique.

The parametric process for this project was relatively straight forward. There have been many examples of patterns generated using the Image Sampler component, and this one is pretty similar to those, so I won’t go into great detail about how that part is set up. The Shop Bot Part file format (.sbp) is essentially just a text file with commands about how the machine should behave. The trickiest part on this entire project was learning the exact command prefixes that are needed to drive the machine.  Since these are proprietary (for the Shop Bot), the commands are slightly different than traditional g-code. I found two helpful manuals on the Shop Bot website.

• Command Reference V3 - How to use individual commands in the Control Software
• Programming Handbook - How to program part files

With these two manuals as my guide, it was quite easy to setup the entire tool path part file. I found that the Weave component became very handy when joining together the movements needed for the plunges. I did have to write a little custom code to deal with the header file.  This header works for this specific application (using a V-bit 0.75" dia.) but might need some minor modifications if the method of milling were to change (such as surface milling, or profile cutting as opposed to direct plunging). Below are a few screen captures of the Grasshopper definitions.

Click to Enlarge

The file is meant to be used for academic, and other non-profit institutions for non-commercial, non-profit internal research purposes. This file was created (and tested) in Grasshopper version (0.7.0055). Results may vary if using a different version.

• Grasshopper Shop Bot Writer (369kb - right click and 'Save Link As')

Disclaimer: This file is provided by Andrew Payne | Lift Architects and is furnished "as is".  Any express or implied warranties, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose are disclaimed.  In no event shall Andrew Payne be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages (including, but not limited to, procurement of substitute goods or services; loss of use, data, or profits; or business interruption) however caused and on any theory of liability, whether in contract, strict liability, or tort (including negligence or otherwise) arising in any way out of the use of this file, even if advised of the possibility of such damage.

Jason K. Johnson and I are very excited to unveil the new home for all things Firefly!  Come find out the latest features, tutorials, photos, videos and much more at http://www.fireflyexperiments.com.  We are encouraged by the growing community of Firefly users and this website will be the destination for those individuals looking to bridge the gap between Grasshopper (a free plug-in for Rhino), the Arduino micro-controller, the internet, and beyond.  Come take a look and let us know what you think!

In addition to the public launch of our new website, we have also released a new Firefly Toolbar (version 1.003) and an updated Firefly Primer.  We have fixed a few minor bugs and added a few new features that were requested by you - the users.  A delay feature has been added to both Fader (one way and two way) components and the Data Log component has been completely re-written to enable greater flexibility.  Users can now simulate "Live Looping" techniques by using the Wrap feature on the Data Log component which also allows for direct data streaming to a file path of your choosing (.txt, .csv, or .dat).  Additionally, we have built a new Playback component which will return individual lines from a text file at a given frame rate(s).  The ability to control multiple frame rates will allow you to create some really amazing effects.

If that wasn't enough, there is a new Firefly Primer (a 37 page manual) which provides an in-depth look at each individual component and walks you through the entire process of using this powerful new tool-set (from installation to final output). It also includes some basic tutorials, links and references to get you up and running quickly.

Come join the Firefly community and find out what everyone is talking about.  Visit http://www.fireflyexperiments.com.  If you have suggestions or if you just have a question, feel free to email us at info@fireflyexperiments.com.

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