[Bf-committers] GSoC - BGE Particle System or Arduino API

[Carsten Wartmann]

Am 23.04.2013 18:55, schrieb Jeroen Bakker:
> Hi Trevor,

Hi Jeroen, hi Trevor,

> Arduino in Blender seems nice, but we have some questions.
>
> The Arduino API seems to depend on Java (JRE) and GCC. These libraries
> are not installed with Blender userbase. Having Arduino as part of
> Blender core would also make Blender depending on these components.
> What are your ideas about that?

I hope it is not the idea to incorporate the Arduino IDE into Blender, 
can't see any benefit here. The IDE is indeed running on Java, but then 
just calls gcc to compile the Firmware for the Arduino microcontroller.

> Secondly, where in Blender do you want to make the Arduino data
> available? and how would this work?

I made some projects using Arduino and Blender (BGE) and it is always 
the same:

- write a Sketch (the so called code in the IDE) which does the hardware 
stuff (getting sensors, calculating a bit, moving actuators (reads like 
I am talking about BGE))

- sending results to Blender, this is usually done by a serial 
connection (via USB nowadays I guess) or Network (Ethernet).

- in Blender write a python module which uses Serial or TCP/IP/UDP to 
get the data, and send data to the Arduino.

- Display in BGE or control Blender itself according to the data, make 
BGE/Blender GUIs to control the Arduino or whatever is needed.


As you may guess here the problem is that the use cases for an Arduino 
are so manifold that I can't really think of a standardized API. So what 
is left to do? Write a Python Module for Blender and a Arduino Library. 
So what is the benefit for Blender? And beside that there is also 
Firmata which uses a similar approach (but lastly I looked was too 
general to be usefull for me).

Greetings,
Carsten
-- 
Carsten Wartmann: Autor - Dozent - 3D - Grafik
Homepage:         http://blenderbuch.de/
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