Capatouch
| Capatouch Release status: stable [box doku] | |
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| Description | With Capatouch you can operate things without touching something. |
| Author(s) | Bilex |
| Platform | AVR-GCC |
The Idea
The idea of the Capatouch-Boxes is that you can operate things without touching something. Just place your hand or something else above the device and see how the illumination of the box will change their color. If connected to a control unit you can see, feel or hear how things in your environment will change or even disappear at the moment of operation.
Outward appearance
The typical style of a Capatouch-Box is very easy to describe: A small, black painted box made of wood with a translucent plexiglass top. At one side of the box you will find a male XLR connector for power-supply purpose. If connected, it will shine green or red.
Interior design
One box consists of a PCB, an ATMEGA8 microcontroller, a tiny capacitor and a handful green and red LEDs. For proper operation a piece of copper is glued under the top.
Technical description
The inner working of Capatouch is very similar to the Labor Klingel, at least the C-Code was just a bit modified. In order to detect your hand or any other device that approaches a box, the capacitance between the copper plate at the top of the box and the world arround is measured. If it changes, the uC switches the the color of the LEDs inside. The third wire inside the XLR connection is used to send the state of each box (red/green - on/off) to the control unit. This is made by using sophisticated Hi/Lo technology.
Control Unit
To establish a connection between one or more boxes and the environment a control unit was built. You can connect up to 12 boxes to the unit. The connection between the unit and a computer does not use a serial connection or any special protocol, but a modified USB keypad. Inside the unit is a big (lot I/Os) uC to read out the state of any box. If it changes, the uC simulate a keypress by using reed relays. Connected to the computer you can use the system like a USB keypad and trigger what ever you want by using a software like, Puredata,MAX/MSP,Processing or even Ableton.