Ghostbusters: LEDs, arduino, and a ghost

Assignment: Digital I/O with Arduino Boards + Diffuser

Collaborators:

Description

I created a diffuser for three LEDs out of a packing peanut and a felt ghost (homemade). In addition to modifying the serial communication program to allow users to increment the intensity of each color of LED by 10% with the first letter of that color, I created a function to set the LED intensity to correspond to a few phrases or concepts from the movie Ghostbusters.

Materials

Felt

Packing peanut

3x LEDs

3x 220 Ohm resistors

wires

arduino

Programs

10% per letter

/* 
 * Serial RGB LED
 * ---------------
 * Serial commands control the brightness of R,G,B LEDs 
 *
 * Command structure is "<colorCode><colorVal>", where "colorCode" is
 * one of "r","g",or "b" and "colorVal" is a number 0 to 255.
 * E.g. "r0"   turns the red LED off.  
 *      "g127" turns the green LED to half brightness
 *      "b64"  turns the blue LED to 1/4 brightness
 *
 * Alternate command structure is "<colorCode>*", where "colorCode" is
 * one of "r","g", or "b".
 * E.g. "r"    increases the red LED brightness by 10
 *      "rrr"  increases the red LED brightness by 30
 *      "ggb"  increases the green LED brightness by 20 and the blue by 10
 *
 * Created 18 October 2006
 * copyleft 2006 Tod E. Kurt <tod@todbot.com
 * http://todbot.com/
 *
 * Adapted 5 September 2007
 * copylefter 2007 Ryan Aipperspach <ryanaip@alumni.rice.edu>
 *
 * Adapted 15 September 2009
 * Ben Cohen <bcohen@ischool.berkeley.edu>
 */

//include support for manipulating strings.
//for a useful string comparison function, see the bottom of this file... stringsEqual()
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

char serInString[100];  // array that will hold the different bytes of the string. 100=100characters;
                        // -> you must state how long the array will be else it won't work properly
char colorCode;
int colorVal;

int redPin   = 9;   // Red LED,   connected to digital pin 9
int greenPin = 10;  // Green LED, connected to digital pin 10
int bluePin  = 11;  // Blue LED,  connected to digital pin 11

int redValue = 127;
int greenValue = 127;
int blueValue = 127;

void setup() {
  pinMode(redPin,   OUTPUT);   // sets the pins as output
  pinMode(greenPin, OUTPUT);   
  pinMode(bluePin,  OUTPUT);
  Serial.begin(9600);
  analogWrite(redPin,   redValue);   // set them all to mid brightness
  analogWrite(greenPin, greenValue);   // set them all to mid brightness
  analogWrite(bluePin,  blueValue);   // set them all to mid brightness
  Serial.println("enter color command (e.g. 'r43 or rrrrrrrrbbbb') :");  
}

void loop () {
  //read the serial port and create a string out of what you read
  readSerialString(serInString, 100);



  //UNCOMMENT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING COMMANDS, OR NOTHING WILL HAPPEN WHEN YOU
  //RUN THE PROGRAM...

  //Uncomment the following line to read commands of the form 'r245' or 'b3'  
  //processNumericalCommands(serInString);

  //Uncomment the following line to read commands of the form 'rrrb'
  processRepeatKeyCommands(serInString, 100);

  //Or write your own function...
  //YOUR_FUNCTION_HERE(serInString);



  //Erase anything left in the serial string, preparing it for the 
  //next loop
  resetSerialString(serInString, 100);  

  delay(100);  // wait a bit, for serial data
}

void resetSerialString (char *strArray, int length) {
  for (int i = 0; i < length; i++) {
    strArray[i] = '\0';
  }
}

//read a string from the serial and store it in an array
//you must supply the array variable
void readSerialString (char *strArray, int maxLength) {
  int i = 0;

  if(!Serial.available()) {
    return;
  }
  while (Serial.available() && i < maxLength) {
    strArray[i] = Serial.read();
    i++;
  }
}

//go through the string, and increase the red value for each 'r',
//the green value for each 'g', and the blue value for each 'b'.
//For example "rrrg" increases red by 30 and green by 10.
void processRepeatKeyCommands(char *strArray, int maxLength) {
  int i = 0;

  //loop through the string (strArray)
  //i = the current position in the string
  //Stop when either (a) i reaches the end of the string or
  //                 (b) there is an empty character '\0' in the string
  while (i < maxLength && strArray[i] != '\0') {
    //Read in the character at position i in the string
    colorCode = serInString[i];

    //If the character is r (red)...
    if (colorCode == 'r') {
      //Increase the current red value by 25, and if you reach 255 go back to 0
      redValue = (redValue + 25) % 255;
      analogWrite(redPin, redValue);
      Serial.print("setting color r to ");
      Serial.println(redValue);

    //If the character is g (green)...
    } else if (colorCode == 'g') {
      greenValue = (greenValue + 25) % 255;
      analogWrite(greenPin, greenValue);
      Serial.print("setting color g to ");
      Serial.println(greenValue);

    //If the character is b (blue)...
    } else if (colorCode == 'b') {
      blueValue = (blueValue + 25) % 255;
      analogWrite(bluePin, blueValue);
      Serial.print("setting color b to ");
      Serial.println(blueValue);
    }

    //Move on to the next character in the string
    //From here, the code continues executing from the "while" line above...
    i++;
  }
}

//change the value of the red, green, or blue LED according to the command received.
//for example, r240 sets the red LED to the value 240 (out of 255)
void processNumericalCommands(char *strArray) {
  //read in the first character in the string
  colorCode = serInString[0];

  //if the first character is r (red), g (green) or b (blue), do the following...
  if( colorCode == 'r' || colorCode == 'g' || colorCode == 'b' ) {
    //convert the string to an integer
    //(start at the second character, or the beginning of the string '+1')
    colorVal = atoi(serInString+1);
    Serial.print("setting color ");
    Serial.print(colorCode);
    Serial.print(" to ");
    Serial.print(colorVal);
    Serial.println();

    if(colorCode == 'r') 
      analogWrite(redPin, colorVal);
    else if(colorCode == 'g')
      analogWrite(greenPin, colorVal);
    else if(colorCode == 'b')
      analogWrite(bluePin, colorVal);
  }
}

//compare two strings to see if they are equal
//compares the first 'numCharacters' characters of string1 and string2 to
//see if they are the same
//
//E.g. stringsEqual("hello","hello",5) => true
//     stringsEqual("hello","helaabbnn",3) => true
//     stringsEqual("hello","helaa",5) => false
boolean stringsEqual(char *string1, char *string2, int numCharacters) {
  if (strncmp(string1, string2, numCharacters) == 0) {
    return true;
  } else {
    return false;
  }
}

Ghostbusters

/* 
 * Ghostbusters!
 * ---------------
 * Serial commands control the brightness of R,G,B LEDs 
 *
 * Command structure is "<colorCode><colorVal>", where "colorCode" is
 * one of "r","g",or "b" and "colorVal" is a number 0 to 255.
 * E.g. "r0"   turns the red LED off.  
 *      "g127" turns the green LED to half brightness
 *      "b64"  turns the blue LED to 1/4 brightness
 *
 * Alternate command structure is "<colorCode>*", where "colorCode" is
 * one of "r","g", or "b".
 * E.g. "r"    increases the red LED brightness by 10
 *      "rrr"  increases the red LED brightness by 30
 *      "ggb"  increases the green LED brightness by 20 and the blue by 10
 *
 * Created 18 October 2006
 * copyleft 2006 Tod E. Kurt <tod@todbot.com
 * http://todbot.com/
 *
 * Adapted 5 September 2007
 * copylefter 2007 Ryan Aipperspach <ryanaip@alumni.rice.edu>
 * 
 * Adapted 15 September 2009
 * copylefter 2009 Ben Cohen <bcohen@ischool.berkeley.edu>
 */

//include support for manipulating strings.
//for a useful string comparison function, see the bottom of this file... stringsEqual()
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>

char serInString[100];  // array that will hold the different bytes of the string. 100=100characters;
// -> you must state how long the array will be else it won't work properly
char colorCode;
int colorVal;

int redPin   = 9;   // Red LED,   connected to digital pin 9
int greenPin = 10;  // Green LED, connected to digital pin 10
int bluePin  = 11;  // Blue LED,  connected to digital pin 11

int redValue = 127;
int greenValue = 127;
int blueValue = 127;

void setup() {
  pinMode(redPin,   OUTPUT);   // sets the pins as output
  pinMode(greenPin, OUTPUT);   
  pinMode(bluePin,  OUTPUT);
  Serial.begin(9600);
  analogWrite(redPin,   redValue);   // set them all to mid brightness
  analogWrite(greenPin, greenValue);   // set them all to mid brightness
  analogWrite(bluePin,  blueValue);   // set them all to mid brightness
  Serial.println("Try some basic Ghostbusters themes: ");  
}

void loop () {
  //read the serial port and create a string out of what you read
  readSerialString(serInString, 100);



  //UNCOMMENT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING COMMANDS, OR NOTHING WILL HAPPEN WHEN YOU
  //RUN THE PROGRAM...

  //Uncomment the following line to read commands of the form 'r245' or 'b3'  
  //processNumericalCommands(serInString);

  //Uncomment the following line to read commands of the form 'rrrb'
  //processRepeatKeyCommands(serInString, 100);

  //Or write your own function...
  //YOUR_FUNCTION_HERE(serInString);

  // Ghostbusters!
  processTotalProtonicReversal(serInString, 100);

  //Erase anything left in the serial string, preparing it for the 
  //next loop
  resetSerialString(serInString, 100);  

  delay(100);  // wait a bit, for serial data
}

void resetSerialString (char *strArray, int length) {
  for (int i = 0; i < length; i++) {
    strArray[i] = '\0';
  }
}

//read a string from the serial and store it in an array
//you must supply the array variable
void readSerialString (char *strArray, int maxLength) {
  int i = 0;

  if(!Serial.available()) {
    return;
  }
  while (Serial.available() && i < maxLength) {
    strArray[i] = Serial.read();
    i++;
  }
}

//go through the string, and increase the red value for each 'r',
//the green value for each 'g', and the blue value for each 'b'.
//For example "rrrg" increases red by 30 and green by 10.
void processRepeatKeyCommands(char *strArray, int maxLength) {
  int i = 0;

  //loop through the string (strArray)
  //i = the current position in the string
  //Stop when either (a) i reaches the end of the string or
  //                 (b) there is an empty character '\0' in the string
  while (i < maxLength && strArray[i] != '\0') {
    //Read in the character at position i in the string
    colorCode = serInString[i];

    //If the character is r (red)...
    if (colorCode == 'r') {
      //Increase the current red value by 10, and if you reach 255 go back to 0
      redValue = (redValue + 10) % 255;
      analogWrite(redPin, redValue);
      Serial.print("setting color r to ");
      Serial.println(redValue);

      //If the character is g (green)...
    } 
    else if (colorCode == 'g') {
      greenValue = (greenValue + 10) % 255;
      analogWrite(greenPin, greenValue);
      Serial.print("setting color g to ");
      Serial.println(greenValue);

      //If the character is b (blue)...
    } 
    else if (colorCode == 'b') {
      blueValue = (blueValue + 10) % 255;
      analogWrite(bluePin, blueValue);
      Serial.print("setting color b to ");
      Serial.println(blueValue);
    }

    //Move on to the next character in the string
    //From here, the code continues executing from the "while" line above...
    i++;
  }
}

//change the value of the red, green, or blue LED according to the command received.
//for example, r240 sets the red LED to the value 240 (out of 255)
void processNumericalCommands(char *strArray) {
  //read in the first character in the string
  colorCode = serInString[0];

  //if the first character is r (red), g (green) or b (blue), do the following...
  if( colorCode == 'r' || colorCode == 'g' || colorCode == 'b' ) {
    //convert the string to an integer
    //(start at the second character, or the beginning of the string '+1')
    colorVal = atoi(serInString+1);
    Serial.print("setting color ");
    Serial.print(colorCode);
    Serial.print(" to ");
    Serial.print(colorVal);
    Serial.println();

    if(colorCode == 'r') 
      analogWrite(redPin, colorVal);
    else if(colorCode == 'g')
      analogWrite(greenPin, colorVal);
    else if(colorCode == 'b')
      analogWrite(bluePin, colorVal);
  }
}

// Process valid Ghostbusters commands
// Created 9/15
void processTotalProtonicReversal(char *strArray, int maxLength) {

  int beamCrossedCounter = 0;

  // If the user types "slimer", display a green ghost
  if (stringsEqual(strArray, "slimer", 100))
  {
    greenValue = 255;
    redValue = 0;
    blueValue = 0;
    analogWrite(greenPin, greenValue);
    analogWrite(redPin, redValue);
    analogWrite(bluePin, blueValue);
    Serial.println("You've encountered Slimer!");
  }
  // If the user types "beams crossed", all heck breaks loose -- total protonic reversal
  else if (stringsEqual(strArray, "beams crossed", 100))
  {
    Serial.println("Dr. Egon Spengler:  There's something very important I forgot to tell you.");
    Serial.println("Dr. Peter Venkman:  What?");
    Serial.println("Dr. Egon Spengler:  Don't cross the streams.");
    Serial.println("Dr. Peter Venkman:  Why?");
    Serial.println("Dr. Egon Spengler:  It would be bad.");
    Serial.println("Dr. Peter Venkman:  I'm fuzzy on the whole good/bad thing. What do you mean bad?");
    Serial.println("Dr. Egon Spengler:  Try to imagine all life as you know it stopping instantaneously, and every molecule in your body exploding at the speed of light.");
    Serial.println("Dr. Raymond Stantz: Total protonic reversal!");
    Serial.println("Dr. Peter Venkman:  Right, that's bad. Okay, alright, important safety tip, thanks Egon.");
    while(beamCrossedCounter < 75)
    {
      beamCrossedCounter += 1;
      redValue = ((beamCrossedCounter % 2) == 0) ? 0 : 255 ;
      greenValue = ((beamCrossedCounter % 3) == 0) ? 0 : 255 ;
      blueValue = ((beamCrossedCounter % 2) == 1) ? 0 : 255 ;
      analogWrite(redPin,   redValue);   // Write current values to LED pins
      analogWrite(greenPin, greenValue); 
      analogWrite(bluePin,  blueValue);
      delay(25);
    }
  }
  // If the user types "gozer", gozer is displayed in blue
  else if (stringsEqual(strArray, "gozer", 100))
  {
    blueValue = 255;
    redValue = 0;
    greenValue = 0;
    analogWrite(greenPin, greenValue);
    analogWrite(redPin, redValue);
    analogWrite(bluePin, blueValue);
    Serial.println("Are you a god?");
  }
  // If the user types an unrecognized command, display a random (three random numbers) ghost
  else if (!stringsEqual(strArray, "", 100))
  {
    blueValue = random(256);
    redValue = random(256);
    greenValue = random(256);
    analogWrite(greenPin, greenValue);
    analogWrite(redPin, redValue);
    analogWrite(bluePin, blueValue);
    Serial.println("I'm not sure what you mean, but looks like you found a ghost!");
  }
}

//compare two strings to see if they are equal
//compares the first 'numCharacters' characters of string1 and string2 to
//see if they are the same
//
//E.g. stringsEqual("hello","hello",5) => true
//     stringsEqual("hello","helaabbnn",3) => true
//     stringsEqual("hello","helaa",5) => false
boolean stringsEqual(char *string1, char *string2, int numCharacters) {
  if (strncmp(string1, string2, numCharacters) == 0) {
    return true;
  } 
  else {
    return false;
  }
}

Slimer!

Total Protonic Reversal from heliostatic on Vimeo.