Week 3 - Analog Inputs/Outputs

Physical Computing 1
ROBERT HALL
Homework Review
Any Questions so far?
Inspiration Time!
How was this done?
Plan for Today

• Homework Review
• Inspiration Time
• Recap of Last Week
• Analog Inputs and Outputs
• LDRs
• Servo Motors
• RGB LEDs
• Idea Generation
• 2nd Assignment
Schematics

• A map of the connections between the

components in your project.
• Components are represented by
Symbols.
• Wires/connections represented by
straight lines.
Action
Statement :
An individual instruction, usually a function call
or setting a variable to a number.
int ledLevel = 8;
analogWrite(ledLevel);
Action
Functions :
Re-usable code blocks. Take arguments as
inputs that help them know what to do.
void setup() {
pinMode( 1 , OUTPUT ) ;
delay(200);
}
Memory
Variables :
Ways of storing and keeping track of values (numbers, text,
anything else!)
You can think of them as folders that you can put
information in.
Have a specific TYPE unlike in P5.js
Memory
Variables in Arduino look different from what you might be
used to from P5.js
In P5.js you might say “var number = 5;”
In Arduino you have to specify what TYPE of variable you have.
“int number = 5;”
Memory
The most common TYPES are:
int - numbers with no decimal point
float - numbers with a decimal point
string - words and sentences made of letters
Decisions:
We make decisions primarily with ‘if’
statements.
if(resistorLevel > 500){
digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, HIGH);
}else{
digitalWrite(LED_BUILTIN, LOW);
}
Any Questions so far?
New this week
Repetition
Loops:
Let us repeat an action a particular number of times.
Loops on Arduino are very similar to P5.js
for(int i = 0; i<100; i++){
Serial.println(i);
}
For Loop
Many ways to increment a variable
•I = I + 1
• I++
• I += 1
• I += otherValue
Try This :

Use a loop to write the numbers from

1-10 in the Serial Monitor
Try This :
void setup(){
Serial.begin(9600);
for(int i = 0; i<10; i++){
Serial.println(i);
}
}
void loop(){
}
Analog Vs Digital
Digital

• Digital signals are either ON or OFF

• Digital signals are less susceptible to
interference.
Analog

• Analog Signals can be any value, and can

move smoothly between values
• Analog Signals are prone to interference
as any changes to the signal immediately
change the data transmitted
What else do we want to do with LEDs ?
Fade an LED

• We can use one of our PWM Pins to fade

our LED

•
The Pins with PWM have a
Uno
~ symbol on

• On the Arduino Mega Pins 0-13 are PWM

and don’t have the symbol
What is PWM?
Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)

• PWM is a way of emulating an analog

signal by selectively turning on and off a
digital signal.
• We can use this signal to dim an LED
among other things.
• We call the percentage of time the
Digital Signal is ON, the Duty Cycle.
PWM (~) Pins

• The Arduino Uno has 6 PWM Pins on :

• 3,5,6,9,10 and 11
• The Arduino Mega has 15 PWM Pins on :
• 2 - 13, 44 - 46
analogWrite()

• The analogWrite() function takes 2

arguments, the number of the LED pin,
and the brightness.
• LED Pin can be the number of any of the
PWM Pins
• Brightness can be an integer between 0
and 255
• We don not need to use pinMode with
analogWrite().
We also want to get Analog input
Analog Pins

• We can get Analog Inputs from the

Analog Pins
• These pins are only inputs but can be
read as Digital or Analog.
• We can connect a Potentiometer
(Variable Resistor) to these pins to get
an Analog Input.
analogRead()

• Just like digitalRead() we use

analogRead() to measure what is
connected to a Pin.
• Takes the Input Pin number as an
Argument
• Returns a number between 0 and 1023
• We do not need to use pinMode with
analogRead()
Potentiometer
Variable Resistor
• Potentiometers work by changing how
far through a carbon resistor electricity
has to travel, the smaller the gap, the
less resistance.
• Potentiometers have 3 Pins, GND, 5V
and Wiper
• We connect Wiper to the Analog In Pin
and the whole device makes a Voltage
Divider.
AnalogReadSerial

• Examples>Basics>AnalogReadSerial
• Just like DigitalReadSerial, this code
reads the value of our Analog Input and
sends it to the Serial Monitor
• Set this Up and see if you can read an
Analog Input
There are many ways to do the same
thing in code
Dimming an LED
• Write a given value > LED Stays at one Brightness
• Fade it with a FOR loop > fades LED, but pauses main loop when it does so
• Fade it with an IF Statement in main loop > does not pause main loop
• Fade it with Incoming Data from a potentiometer > LED can be controlled with Potentiometer
Write Given Value

• This code always writes 127 (50%

Brightness)
• There are no changing variables, the led
is always set to 127
Fade Using Loop

• In this example we use a for loop to

count from 0 to 255 and then from 255
to 0
• We use a delay to slow down the loops so
the fade is visible and doesn’t just look
like a flash
Fade With IF Statement

• This example uses an IF statement to

check if we should be fading up or down.
• We use || to mean OR and && to mean
AND in IF statements.
• This works by adding fadeAmount to
brightness every loop
• The IF statement detects if the
brightness value is at 255 or 0 and flips
the direction by making fadeAmount
positive or negative.
Analog Input and Output

• In this example we use map() to convert

a range of values from 0-1023 to 0-255.
• The sensor is read with analogRead()
• The value is mapped with map()
• The LED is set to that level using
analogWrite()
Ranges
• In Arduino, and many other visual programming scenarios, we talk a lot
about Ranges
• Ranges are important because they describe not just the value of a variable
in one moment but the POSSIBLE values it might have over time.
• As we have just seen, the Arduino reads analog pins with a range of 0-1024
(10 Bit Binary) and writes to Analog Pins with a range of 0-255 (8 Bit Binary).
• Some analog sensors like the LDR, don’t always use all of the 0-1024 range,
they might only use 200-650 or similar.
map() function
• output = map( input, inputLow, inputHigh, outputLow, outputHigh)
Closeup
Even Closer Up /\ Up to Pin 9
Practical Exercises
Try out the following examples (the circuits to set up are described in
the code) and work out what the code is doing….
• Examples>Analog>AnalogInput
• Examples>Analog>AnalogInOutSerial
• Examples>Basics>ReadAnalogVoltage
Extension Exercises
Only do these if you have already completed the examples on the last
slide.
• Examples>Digital>BlinkWithoutDelay
• Examples>Digital>Debounce
• Examples>Digital>DigitalInputPullup
• Examples>Digital>StateChangeDetection
LDR
Light Dependent Resistor
• Changes Resistance when exposed to
light or dark.
• Must be used with another resistor
(10K) to work.
Closeup
Even Closer Up /\ Up to Pin 9

/\ 200 Resistor /\ 10K Resistor

RGB LED

• Like 3 LEDs rolled into 1

• Can have Common Cathode or Common
Anode.
• Common Cathode (Longest Leg)
connects to Ground!
Closeup
 /\ Up to Pins
Even Closer Up 9,10,11
Servo Motor

• Can move a small weight between 0 and

180 degrees
• Great for pressing buttons and switches
or rotating small items
• Once you’re happy using this, there are
other compatible motors that are much
bigger and stronger but work exactly
the same way
Closeup
Even Closer Up /\ Up to Pin 9
Servo Example

• Just like fading an LED we can move a

Servo by writing different values to it.
• Because we are using an external library,
the code looks a little different.
Servo Example

• First of all, because we are using a

library, we need to include it
• We do this with this line which specifies
which library we want to include
Servo Example

• Next we need to make an instance of the

servo class which contains the
connection
• You can think of this like a variable that
contains information on how to talk to a
particular servo.
Servo Example

• Now we tell the servo instance which pin

the servo is connected to, in this case
pin 9
Servo Example

• Finally, use .write() to send the position

to the servo
Servo Example

• The Arduino website has plenty of

options for other libraries to add other
functionality to your arduino.
Closeup
Even Closer Up /\ Up to Pin 9
Practical Exercises
Try out the following examples (the circuits to set up are described in the code) and work out
what the code is doing….
• Examples>Servo>Sweep
• Examples>Servo>Knob
• RGB LED
• There’s no example code for the RGB LEDs so you’ll have to make your own!
• Control RGB LED with no inputs
• Control RGB LED with potentiometer
• Control RGB LED with LDR
Extension Exercises
Only do these if you have already completed the examples on the last
slide. You might need to combine some code to make these work.
• Control the Servo with an LDR
• Control the Servo with 2 LDRs
• Control the Servo with a potentiometer and an LDR
• Build a musical light and movement Theremin:
• Using a buzzer, servo and LED
Extension Exercises
If you get all that done!
Extension 1
• Build a 2 player game using a separate input for each player
• The game should be competitive and have a goal and a clear winner
• Reimagine the game to make it collaborative so the players have to work together to win.
Extension 2
• Build a Digital Hourglass but instead of sand use lights
• To time 30 seconds
• Like an hour glass timer that starts when you turn it over and lights an LED every 5 seconds
Some Useful Things
• Blink Without Delay
• Digital Input Pullup
• State Change Detection
Second Assignment
Expect the Unexpected!
You should make a physical installation that subverts my expectations.
The goal of this mini-project is to build a physical installation (for example this could be an art work, game, some thing
useful, a product, an interactive installation etc) that has at least one input and one output and does something
unexpected. Think about what the user/viewer will: SEE, HEAR, FEEL. Think about how to prototype your installation
and test it, how will people know what to do, what feedback will they get, will there be interaction. Think about what
you would expect your installation to do and then make it do the opposite.
Please include, at the minimum, the following: - one input (sensor) - one output (actuator)
Upload this assignment to the VLE and include: A short video of the project (1 minute or less) , your code, a schematic
of your circuit. The schematic can be hand drawn or created using other software you choose - for example Fritzing
or EasyEDA. ALSO Post the short video of your device to the class forum so we can all see everyone's work. Please
upload everything to the VLE and forum.
Please think of this brief as an opportunity to try things out, the result does not have to be perfect, feel free to try
things and fail, to play, to experiment, to get things wrong.