El Briano: the arduino Piano
April 15th, 2024
Semester 2 introduced a project for Creative Electronics with arduino called “Life of Brian.” With the use of sensors and actuators, we were challenged to create a robot with a story and an ability to react to users and it’s environment. From my previous quartile working on solving circuits and processing signals, my goal for approaching this project was to explore the applications of different circuits and components in a digital context. I wanted to focus on deepening my coding skills in order to have strong foundations for upcoming work I hope to do in game design. Inspired by synths and music-theory, I proposed we create a device that outputs notes and sound in reaction to user input and environmental factors such as light level or sound levels in a room. The story would be that the instrument would change as the user took it to new places, shaping the experience they had every time they played it.
In designing el Briano, it was necessary for me to logically mind-map how my code would work from sensor to output before implementing it. For example, I connected the microphone sensor to a “beat recorder” function I designed to output sound in the intervals a user recorded loud beats. Then, within that function, I logically broke down into steps how the analog microphone values would be recognized as distinct loud sounds and how those would be saved in arrays to be mathematically processed. Working on this function brought out an explorer in me, who was willing to investigate how I could use code in building blocks to develop complexity. Moreover, I developed an approach to break down ideas I had conceptualized into logical steps that could be executed and materialized. With design, skill can be measured by one’s ability to define purpose and ensure functionality.
With my confidence to work with complex systems of code. I developed ambitions to incorporate many sensors into the program, each with intricate code and implications on the output sound, light and movement of el Briano. With advice, I narrowed my sights on first implementing the sensors into the circuit and then focusing on code. I ended up coming across a lot of issues with building and powering my circuit, which were later exasperated by mistakes I had made with inefficient code. By consulting recourses for code and more experienced electrical engineers and programmers, I learned methods of debugging my circuit and reviewing my code in conscious ways to isolate problems and address them individually. This skill later applied to other programming work I was doing, and served to prepare me to work more intimately with creative computing projects.
I saw el Briano as an opportunity to build strong technical skill foundations with robotics and sensors to develop my ability to work with the senses and environment as a designer. I felt creatively challenged to adapt to the programs and tools I had available to me in a way that allowed me to learn progressively and seek accurate expression of my ideas. As I move to approach more open-ended challenges, and how they can be solved with technology and systems, I look to create a repertoire of skills and resources to learn new technologies and manipulate interactions with purpose. As I continue to work with sensors in my courses, I intend to learn more sophisticated methods of organizing my machines and code to create complex and meaningful output.
