Hello Processing friends,
To start off, I’m pretty new to Processing. I’ve used it for doing some data viz stuff but thats about all but have done a good amount of work with java. For Google Summer of Code I suggest building, expanding, and simplifying with some examples of how to use sensor data for Android devices. On the ideas page it says “start with simple examples for different features” that may eventually get polished out into a library. The effort is to be as simple and clearly identified as possible to help the intended audience of novice programmers, and ease of sketching.
Some ideas for sensor data and support needed:
Accelerometer/Gravity/ - using the accelerometer to animate a 2d bouncing ball
Temperature - Background changes from blue (cold) to red (hot) with a simple number displaying the temp.
Gyroscope - change background color to new color on color wheel by rotation
Light - use light sensor to whiten background (when dark) and blacken (when light)
Linear Acceleration (excludes the force of gravity) - use to push a 2d circle
Proximity - turn screen on and off if object (hand) is near sensor
Microphone - simple sound meter - slider scales up and down
I feel that the scope of this project would be good, as I can cut out any part of the project if things complicate too quickly. I would try and set up a template, that could be used over and over again to include future sensors. To test, I have 16 android devices, two of which are tablets, to test the behavior of the sensors.
Idea 2:
Another idea would to work with twitter, Facebook and gMail so that an android app could generate live visualizations on the android device when the user has a tweet, retweet, post, comment, message, new email, etc. This could open up new possibilities to use with other connectivity. Example: A led lamp with arduino control is connected via bluetooth to the android device. When an important email arrives, the lamp switches from a normal color of light to a soft/quick pulse of red. This could be the same for facebook using blue. Obviously this could be used with sensor readings as well for temperature (the hotter the temp, the more red the light) with the led’s. The idea would be to keep it very generic and open for change as this could be adopted for a variety of different circumstances. This all can be done in eclipse and Java, but processing could be available to make MUCH simpler ways for people to test these new ideas.
Idea 3:
Use Illustrator as a sketching tool for GUI - Maybe make a plug in
https://github.com/fjenett/doodle/wiki
maybe some standard buttons that the user can use to modify
use like
http://hexler.net/software/touchosc-android
http://www.superstable.net/interfascia/examples_textfield.htm
This would all be very specific to android. There are plenty of helpful sources for standard processing sketches, but one geared towards android, and some basic templates would be great.
This is what i mean for button generation, but this example is for JavaScript, CSS, HTML:
-- Does something like this currently exist? Would it work for processing/android?
The goal for this would not be to make a standard set of buttons that get lost, unused, highly specific, but a framework that can be used, more graphically to build buttons quickly.
About me
My name is Tyler Hall and I am currently studying for my bachelors in computer engineering at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. My minor is in product design/UI design. I formally studied mechanical engineering and minored in fine arts at Utah State University. My switch to computers/programming/circuit design has been less than smooth and I still feel like my ideas get lost in the confusion of technical hurdles. I love the challenge and I love to make complex idea simplified for others to use. My goal is to make products to enable creativity and give the “idea” the least path of resistance to reality. I have experience in c and java mostly for my previous projects in mechanical engineering. I have always had a love for the visual, and tend to get sucked into projects that make things more useful in a visual way.
