Archive for February, 2009

Here is a quick site I threw together for my friend as an assignment for Intro to Databases. Not thrilled with the design but its more of a code project than design and had a super quick turnaround. We basically had to take a site we were dreading doing and create it using PHP and only loading one page. I’m using both GET and SET global vars, as well as reading directory structures to allow the portfolio to be updated without touching the code. I am also using lightbox again, cause its easy and works for something like this, but I think i’m getting tired of it quickly.

Click Here to Check It Out

Here is a recent example I made for a student-led lecture in computation class. The topics I had to present were RGB LEDs and Switch/Case logic. To demonstrate this, I created an Arduino sketch that takes input from 3 push buttons and counts how many are pressed. Based on this input it changes the RGB LED to either red, blue, or green. I also learned a lot about button input with microcontrollers while creating this simple example. I have previously only worked with switches from a basic electronic standpoint and not as an input. I quickly discovered the need for pull-up or pull-down resistors on each button in order to get clear and accurate readings.

Switch/Case with RGB LEDs from Steve Varga on Vimeo.

I’m at the Franklin Institute in Philly waiting for the Dark Knight to start on IMAX, go in the gift shop and i see this…SPACE ICE CREAM…freeze dried ice cream for astronauts…why is this only available in museums, is so damn delicious!

This is a crazy 3D animation using ping-pong balls to create music…obviously not possible in real life but makes me wonder how something much simpler could be created….
and here is a real life example that was shown to us by one of the creators (Dan Paluska) last year in Algo, created by several artists from MIT for Absolut Vodka

Definitely awesome to think of creating sound through mechanics…I hope I can apply this to something in the near future using servos/solenoids/etc.

New iteration of the the time passing LED prototypes. Definitely getting very close to a finished product this time around. Doubled the amount of LEDs, used white spray paint as a diffuser (MUCH better now ), and adding some circular masking elements. I can now see what the final iteration will be and I think it will be cool.

Time Passing LEDs v0.3 from Steve Varga on Vimeo.

These are so fucking hot. God I wish I wasn’t poor these would be bought in a second.

Simple website created for class, implementing some new (to me) concepts in both php and javascript
Click here to view

Second prototype of the Arduino LED time piece. This time is much higher fidelity. I got some nice clear round enclosures from the container store, and customized them to created a really nice feeling container for the project. I used a dremel tool to create openings for power and USB, and sanded the lid down to create a nice diffusing effect. Inside the enclosure, I have an array of 12 LEDs in a circular pattern, grounded in series and connected to power pins on the Arduino individually. They are connected using wire-wrapping and hot glue, a technique that we are learning in class that is really, really convenient for prototyping like this. You can see the various ways that I programmed it in the video.

Arduino LED Time Prototype 2 from Steve Varga on Vimeo.

Here is my homework for week two, created using instructions and schematics from Joel Murphy’s Site. We are learning about capacitors and transistors. Capacitors make sense, transistors I’m still a bit fuzzy about but starting to make sense. The first circuit is a transistor toggle switch, basically when you hit the switch it uses the PNP/NPN transistors to redirect the flow of electricity to the other LED. The second is a photoresistor and a potentiometer hooked up to and LED and a transistor, which allows you to turn on/off the LED. This one makes sense to me, the electricity takes the path of least resistance, so as the resistance of the photoresistor increases the electricity begins to move through the LED. The third is using a capacitor to fade an LED on and off.
Video coming soon, currently uploading….

This is a homework experiment in which the goal was to show time passing using LEDs. Through use of several loops in arduino I was able to create this piece. The basic premise of this is that the red LEDs represent 1 second each, the blue LEDs represent 5 seconds, and the green LEDs represent 20 seconds. Once the clock hits 60 seconds, it blinks rapidly then begins again.

LED Clock Experiment (Part 1) from Steve Varga on Vimeo.

LED Clock Experiment (Part 2) from Steve Varga on Vimeo.