[Lab] The Big Plan - Chris B

Thu Mar 21 17:46:55 EDT 2013

Hi Modlabbers,

Thanks for all the interest in my art installation!

So far it looks like the pressure sensor idea is the one I'm leaning  
towards. Having a microphone detect the ventilator breaths sounds more  
finicky to me.

Still trying to figure out how to back light the canvas. Would a  
projector work instead of using LED lighting? Can a projector
be connected to the pressure sensor set up to do the variable dimming?

Club SAW has 3 projectors available:

Panasonic PTAX200U HD Video Projector
16mm Projector
35mm Projector

As for a timeline / schedule. If I could do this in May / June that  
would be great but it may be more realistic to wait until September.

Here's a photo of the painting below. It's about 7 by 11 feet:

Thanks,
Chris

On 15-Mar-13, at 8:41 AM, Michael Sepa wrote:

> Chris,
>
> The clarification of the project really helps out.  I looked up the  
> manual for the Puritan Bennet LP10 (http://www.meql.com/Manuals/Puritan-Bennett-LP6-Plus-and-10-Ops-Manual.pdf 
> ) in the hope that there would be a simple electronic monitor  
> connector on the back that you could hook into, but no such luck.   
> There are pressure alarms that can be set and a remote alarm  
> connection on the back of the machine, but you'll get audible alarms  
> off the machine at the same time.  Not what you intend.
>
> One approach would be to do the following:
>
> 1. Lights start off, no ventilator pressure
> 2. Ventilator turns on, a microphone beside the patient air tube  
> senses flow
> 3. Arduino detects change from microphone
> 4. Arudino uses pulse width modulation[2] to brighten an LED array  
> from off to full on in 1.5s, and holds
> 5. Ventilator turns off
> 6. Microphone detects stop of flow from patient air tube
> 7. Arduino uses pulse width modulation to dim an LED array from  
> current level to off in 1.5s and holds
>
> [1] pulse width modulation is just a fancy way to say turn on/off  
> the LED array fast enough to control brightness.  This is built into  
> the Arduino system, so it's very easy.
>
> Connecting to and dimming an LED array with an Arduino is well  
> understood.  No issues there.
>
> The microphone will require an amp chip to get it producing a signal  
> the Arduino can easily read.  If we can find a pre-made microphone  
> and amp, then it will be all so much easier.
>
> The programming of the system would be straight forward.  Certainly  
> less than a day of effort.
>
> The system would work well if the room was reasonably quiet.  If  
> there was other noise it might trigger the microphone causing  
> premature light adjustment.  A better approach would be to use a  
> pressure sensor.  I checked ebay and see several pressure sensors  
> available, all use I2C interfaces.  That would take a bit more  
> programming effort, but certainly less than a day or two.
>
> If you go with a pressure sensor, we'd need to makes sure the sensor  
> has the right range to sense the ventilator pressure.  That I  
> couldn't get from the quick ebay search because they don't usually  
> publish specs with sale items.  I'm confident  we could find an  
> appropriate one on ebay, spark fun, or somewhere else.
>
> As for your budget, I'd think you should have no issues buying all  
> the tech plus paying someone a small honorarium for helping you  
> program it all.
>
> My big question would be what's your schedule?
>
> -Michael Sepa
>
>
> Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:49:08 -0400
> From: The Big Plan - Chris B <tbp at ghostwise.com>
> To: lab at artengine.ca
> Subject: Re: [Lab] Controlling Light with Sound
> Message-ID: <F3148EB9-8831-464E-92AA-2144AB15E72B at ghostwise.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed; delsp=yes
>
> Hi everyone,
> Thanks for the awesome replies so far. I think I should clarify my
> intentions:
> My plan is to suspend a loose canvas that is approximately 7 by 11
> feet on an angle from the ceiling.
> I would like to put lighting behind it (I don't know what lighting to
> use or whether it
> should be a set of lights). The rest of the room will be dark.
> A ventilator (Puritan Bennett LP10) will be on the floor. Every breath
> of the ventilator
> should cause the lights to turn on in a gradual way and then dim dark
> as the breath
> ends. Each breath should take about 1.2-1.5 seconds.
> I like the idea of an Arduino or Raspberry Pi controlling the  
> lighting.
> It sounds like I will also need a mic by the ventilator.
> Finally, I have zero programming experience or overall technical
> experience to do this. I'm the artist
> with a vision. I would appreciate assistance from anyone interested in
> this project.
> It would be great if it could be done on a $250-500 budget.
> Thanks in advance,
> Chris
> On 14-Mar-13, at 4:11 PM, The Big Plan - Chris B wrote:
>>
>> Hi!
>>
>> Looking for some advice for an art installation. I'd like to have a
>> light or set of lights respond to an auditory
>> input. I'd like the lights to turn on in time with the sound of a
>> ventilator (a medical one). So when the ventilator is
>> not doing a breath, the lights would be off, but then when the
>> ventilator starts doing a breath they would
>> turn on for the duration of the breath. I'd like the lights to light
>> up and dim gradually, not just on an off.
>>
>> What's a simple or best way to do this?
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> Chris
>>
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