Medd

Hi there, I'm about to embark on a new project with the intention of doing something new for me: customising my own hardware controls. I'm a pretty comfortable MaxMSP user now and make use of MIDI and OSC control in my patches regularly but am looking to implement something a little different this time for the purposes of a performance.

I've been doing some research into the hardware that's around and have found two popular options so far: Arduino and iCubeX. My main problem is that I've too many questions that Googling can't answer!

iCubeX seems extremely straightforward and their 'all-in-one' shop where you can get the basic systems and any necessary sensors - I'm mainly after things that can be used for gestural performance such as touch/ribbon type sensors and infrared but also some basic dials and faders. Their mapping software also seems pretty user-friendly and more or less plug and play.

However, I've been put onto Arduino by a few other people, mainly on the basis of much lower cost. The main issues I have here are finding basic information on configuring a system to work with Max and getting and assembling all the necessary components - I'm not an expert with electronics! It appears to me that I'd have to learn to program Arduino in order to configure anything? Is this as much of a hurdle as it sounds?

I'd appreciate any feedback, this sounds all very noob-ish as I type but I wasn't sure how else to tackle my problem other than ask!

EDIT: Also, I'm based in the UK if anyone can point me in the direction of any resellers etc.!

Hi there, I'm about to embark on a new project with the intention of doing something new for me: customising my own hardware controls. I'm a pretty comfortable MaxMSP user now and make use of MIDI and OSC control in  my patches regularly but am looking to implement something a little different this time for the purposes of a performance.

EDIT: Also, I'm based in the UK if anyone can point me in the direction of any resellers etc.!


looking-for-basic-information-about-customised-hardware-interfaces-arduino-etc

For custom hardware controllers look at what Robert Henke and Julien Bayle have done with the 

For custom hardware controllers look at what Robert Henke and Julien Bayle have done with the Monodeck and Protodeck. Inspiring stuff! The arduino forum would be worth searching as well.

Cheers for those links, the Moondeck looks fantastic but I'm not after anything quite so fancy! I've done a fair bit of research now regarding Arduino and got myself some good introductory information. I've been reading through plenty of documentation but to be honest I think the level of DIY involved with constructing and programming the hardware might be a little too much for me too handle!

As far as openness and functionality go I think Arduino seems fantastic, yet for someone who wishes to do most of their programming inside of Max I think something like Phidgets or iCubeX might be a more digestible!

Are there anymore tips or obvious things I should be looking at? Does anyone have experience in Phidgets or any other non-Arduino hardware?

The main reason I use Max/MSP is, it allows me to 'get under the hood' of digital audio prgramming and synthesis, and also allows for a wide range of programming skills. For these exact same reasons I chose Arduino (and the low cost). Five minutes on youtube will confirm the vast range of interaction environments possible with such a small inexpensive and 'simple' platform. There are two indispensible resources (besides arduino.cc): ladyada.net (

 and Joshua Noble's Programming Interactivity (O'Reilly press). I consider myself semi-noobish and you can see some of my Arduino stuff here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYA7cRDrUJY

Hi dickmedd
The main reason I use Max/MSP is, it allows me to 'get under the hood' of digital audio prgramming and synthesis, and also allows for a wide range of programming skills. For these exact same reasons I chose Arduino (and the low cost). Five minutes on youtube will confirm the vast range of interaction environments possible with such a small inexpensive and 'simple' platform. There are two indispensible resources (besides arduino.cc): ladyada.net (http://www.ladyada.net/learn/arduino/) and Joshua Noble's Programming Interactivity (O'Reilly press). I consider myself semi-noobish and you can see some of my Arduino stuff here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYA7cRDrUJY

If you want to avoid programming on the Arduino side then you can use Maxuino. You just load the firmware onto Arduino and the accompanying max patch allows you to read and write to all the pins etc. I think it is based on turning serial into OSC. You can bet the electronics for any sensor or input device you want to use will be fully documented on the very helpful Arduino site somewhere.

Cheers for all of the feedback, these seem like helpful resources and fill me with a bit more confidence! If I come up with anything I'm sure you'll see it crop up around here! Thanks!

Looking for basic information about customised hardware interfaces Arduino etc.