OSARTZ

[osartz]

Sensor Vendor List

Coming soon

Have one to add? Send me a message.

[osartz]

Component Vendor List

Coming soon

Have one to add? Send me a message.

[osartz]

Microcontroller Vendor List

Coming soon.

Have one to add? Send me a message.

[osartz]

Screen Vendor List

Chrontel - http://www.chrontel.com/

4D Systems - http://www.4dsystems.com.au/

Sparkfun - https://www.sparkfun.com/

Grove - TBD

Seeed Studio - http://www.seeedstudio.com/ 

Newhaven - http://www.newhavendisplay.com/

Have one to add? Send me a message.

[osartz]

I recently stumbled upon a project that contains schematics and code that allows an Arduino to communicate with HDMI. It was started by Andrew Carr with the help of the Arduino community and it’d be awesome to see what you can and possibly have done with this.

Read more at http://www.andrewncarr.com/hdmi/index.html.

CEC-Arduino code: https://code.google.com/archive/p/cec-arduino/

In regards to HDMI and Arduino, this Stackexchange post has some helpful information.

[osartz]

A very fun and interesting project is taking place over at Garage Lab that involves connecting an Arduino to VGA monitors. No special shield needed. Follow the progress at http://garagelab.com/profiles/blogs/arduino-generated-vga-color-signal-complete. 

Current progress

Same code (few adaptations) someone printed images in a TFT LCD

Shapes and text (see image above)

Code can be found at http://pastebin.com/F5Gnewm8.

[osartz]

Here’s an example of a digital art canvas that was built using Linux.

Overview

EEE PC: Extract mainboard + LCD

Soldered a couple of wires with a push-button onto the existing power button pins.

Built a wooden case for it.

Installed Ubuntu 14.04 (x86) on an SD card (using a Live USB created by UNetbootin)

Wrote HTML/Javascript script that plays a YouTube playlist randomly in fullscreen with an embedded player that was run via Chromium (in Incognito mode)

http://mifi.no/blog/?p=226 

[osartz]

Mission

The goal of this project is to create a hardware interface and collection of software for distributing digital art that is affordable and available to everyone. 

Requirements

Render color image and/or video

Input to transfer art without WiFi

Ability to be used without a computer connected (programmed microcontrollers are ok)

Advanced Features

Render high resolution image or video

Inputs (USB, SD, etc)

Battery powered

Social integration (Import Twitter, Facebook, Instragram, etc. videos and/or images)

Gesture controls e.g. Swipe to change images

Apps (Web, Android, iOS) that allow control

Want to help out? You can find the github project at https://github.com/OSARTZ. Start forking!

[osartz]

Arduino Digital Art Canvases

This is going to be a living document that contains resources and learnings regarding compatible screens that will work with an Arduino. Note: Arduino doesn’t natively handle large screens. And honestly it is not the best solution for powering/controlling large screens. However, I know a lot of folks love the Arduino and figured why not try to figure out which screens could make a nice art canvas. Even if the screens are smaller, art comes in all sizes, right?

Other Notes

I tried to stay away from touch screens as you probably don’t want fingerprints on your artwork.

Compatible Screens (Possibly)

This portion is still being researched, so there are no guarantees. If you find that one of the following options does not work. Let me know.

Sparkfun Microview OLED

Includes ATMEL’s ATmega328P, 5V & 3.3V LDO and a 64x48 pixel OLED display

Color LCD TFT 3.5" 320x240

ezLCD 301 - 2.6" Color LCD

ARDUINO 1.77" SPI LCD MODULE WIT

1.8 in color TFT shield with microSD and joystick

Add your own options to the following spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IdNAjJTsGhPKldzMFIFzkQR7duBqvOKF4bjeg2mXzhY/edit#gid=0

Shield Options

TellyMate Shield

Overview

It’s a basic black and white low resolution option. Definitely not acceptable for high resolution artworks. See more about the design and operation here.

Features

TV output from your Arduino

PAL or NTSC Composite Video

Stackable Shield

works with Serial.println() etc.

38x25 characters

Black and White

Simple Graphics

Double width / height text

Simple control codes

MicroVGA

Overview

Not an ideal for high resolution art, but could be fun to do some smaller pieces with. It’s at least in color. 

Features

Provides 80x25 color text mode (character) which is output rendered in standard SVGA 800x600@60Hz resolution

OLED Shield

Overview

Potentially useful as a control device for your art canvas.

Resources 

Really big LCD's for Arduino

EarthLCD

YouTube: Wiring Shift Registers and Wiring All Completed

YouTube: Shift Register ASCII Character Test

OSCAR: The Open Screen Adapter

What is a very high-quality graphic/TFT LCD you'd recommend?

4D Systems

Largest Useable OLED Screen?

Display arduino output on tv for less than $1 and https://code.google.com/p/arduino-tvout

MicroView Video Streaming

GHI Electronics

[osartz]

The design of the Electrical Objects app (another private art network) and website is definitely alluring, but the frame just doesn’t quite match. For starters, a major bummer is that the frame doesn’t include orientation configurations. See the note below form their FAQ:

Does EO1 support landscape orientation?

Not really. All of our software and most of the art is designed for a portrait display. However, no one could stop you from hanging it sideways and displaying landscape work.

A cool factor is that you can upload your own art through app and you’re also able to display an entire website on the frame. I’m thinking YTMND 24/7. What do you think?

Score

Frame 3/10  

Screen 5/10

Hackabilty 2/10

Storage 2/10

Inputs 1/10

Price 4/10

Total Score 2.8/10

Details

Available now Yes

Price $399

Size 23" 21.75"H x 12.98"W x 1.71"D. 1080p IPS Display with Anti-Glare technology

Weight 10 to 15lbs

Social Media Content Integration: N/A

Processor 1 GHz Dual ARM Cortex-A9

GPU 3D graphics accelerator with four shaders

Storage N/A

Memory 1 MB L2 cache, Neon, VFPvd16 Trustzone (I’m guessing it’s the i.MX6Dual.)

Wi-Fi Connectivity 802.11 b/g/n WiFi +

Wi-Fi Requirements N/A

Cloud Storage N/A

Content Formats Supported

Video: Available. Not sure which formats.

Photo: Available. Animated GIFs, not sure which other formats.

Output Resolution Supported 1080x1920 Full HD resolution

System Requirements iOS or Android device

Warranty and Service N/A

Features

Able to display entire websites.

You can upload and display your own art through the Electric Objects website.

Included in box

EO1 Frame

Power cord

Stand

Wall Mounting Kit

[osartz]

Blackdove is slightly different from the pack and moving in the direction of providing an art platform for distributing digital art to frames rather than producing a frame itself. However, on their Kickstarter, they are partnering with Samsung (using SSP – Smart Signage Platform) and providing a screen. So I imagine, they’ll sell these at some point and I’m going to add those specs.

Score

Frame 1/10  

Screen 5/10

Hackabilty 3/10 (for inclusion of input ports)

Storage 2/10

Inputs 7/10

Price 3/10

Total Score 3.5/10

Details

Available now No (Reservation only)

Price $399, $850, $1,275 (According to the Kickstarter reward)

Size 32", 48" and 55″

Weight N/A

Social Media Content Integration: N/A

Processor Quad core

GPU N/A

Storage N/A

Memory 2GB (Expandable via memory stick)

Wi-Fi Connectivity Wi-Fi / LAN Port

Wi-Fi Requirements N/A

Cloud Storage N/A

Content Formats Supported

Video Full motion video playback

Photo Not sure which specific formats

Output Resolution Supported Full HD Display 1920 x 1080

System Requirements iOS or Android device

Warranty and Service 3 Year Warranty

Features

HDMI, USB 2.0, DVI, Component inputs

Integrated on/off scheduling function allows you to automate the art experience to fit with your schedule while saving electricity and increasing screen life

Commercial-quality screen rated for usage up to 16 hours per day

Inclusion of easy-to-use wall-mounting hardware and the ability to hang the screen vertically or horizontally

Included in the Box

Frame

Power cord

Wall mounting hardware included

[osartz]

Next up is meural. Which as you can tell from the website shot above, these frames have gesture control. This is a nice feature that I haven’t seen embedded on other frames. However, I do wonder how this performs as folks walk by. As you may know from using certain paper towel dispensers, this technology has been hit or miss. Following the closed network trend, meural also requires users to use a proprietary app to transfer images to and configure the frame. 

Score

Frame 5/10  

Screen 6/10

Hackabilty 1/10 (SDK apparently coming soon.)

Storage 2/10

Inputs 1/10 (None that I’m aware of besides the wifi input.)

Price 4/10

Total Score 3.2/10

Details

Available now No (Reservation only)

Price $445-$545

Size 32" x 21" x 2" and 34" x 23" x 2"

Weight 10lbs

Social Media Content Integration: N/A

Processor N/A

GPU N/A

Storage N/A

Memory N/A

Wi-Fi Connectivity 2.4GHz Wi-Fi adapter

Wi-Fi Requirements N/A

Cloud Storage N/A

Content Formats Supported

Video: MP4, MPEG, MOV, AVI up to 50MB

Photo: JPEG, PNG, GIFs up to 10MB

Output Resolution Supported HD IPS 16 million colors

System Requirements iOS device or Web browser

Warranty and Service N/A

Features

Ambient light sensor (Adjusts depending on the light in the room.)

Gesture controls

Supports multiple orientations

SSL encryption server to frame.

Included in the Box 

Frame

Power cord

[osartz]

It’s a very similar design to Depict frame, but the Canviz frames are apparently made in an ultra efficient manner and locally to the headquarters in California. The one thing that stuck out to me when researching this frame was the social integration. However, this is still happening via a close system using their proprietary app. 

Score

Frame 5/10  

Screen 6/10

Hackabilty 1/10

Storage 3/10 (Mostly, because it’s a closed system.)

Inputs 1/10 (None that I’m aware of besides the wifi input.)

Price 5/10

Total Score 3.5/10

Details

Available now No (Reservation only)

Price $349

Size 14″ x 22″ x 1¾”

Weight N/A

Social Media Content Integration: Instagram via iOS app

Processor N/A

GPU N/A

Storage 16GB

Memory 512MB

Wi-Fi Connectivity Wifi and Bluetooth

Wi-Fi Requirements N/A

Cloud Storage N/A

Content Formats Supported 

Video: Not sure

Photo: Animated GIF

Output Resolution Supported HD Anti-glare wide-angle display System Requirements iOS device 

Warranty and Service N/A

Features

Rear recess for hiding cord & outlet

Included in the Box 

Frame

Power cord

[osartz]

First up for review is the Depict frame. And to hate out of the gate, it’s another closed platform system that requires you to download their proprietary app to install artwork on the frame. Not cool. The screen appears to be high quality, which is nice and the frame design is basic, but nice and clean. These are definitely plusses, but the lack of inputs and the need to use their proprietary app is a minus.

Score

Frame 5/10  

Screen 7/10 

Hackabilty 1/10

Storage 3/10 (Mostly, because it’s a closed system.)

Inputs 1/10 (None that I’m aware of besides the wifi input.) 

Price 3/10

Total Score 3.3/10

Details

Available now Nope (only for reserve)

Price $1,800

Size 47″ x 28.5″ x 3″ 119.38cm x 72.39cm x 7.62cm

Weight 50lbs (installable by two people)

Social Media Content Integration: N/A

Processor Marvell Armada 1500 Pro 4K

GPU Vivante GC3000 3D graphics processor

Storage 32GB Cache (not user accessible)

Memory 2GB

Wi-Fi Connectivity 802.11ac

Wi-Fi Requirements Minimum speed of 25 Mbps download, 3 Mbps upload

Cloud Storage Storage for up to 100 4K images or videos with a Depict Cloud account

Content Formats Supported 

Video: H.265, H.264, ProRes, MP4, WebM  

Photo: JPEG, PNG

Output Resolution Supported 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160) at 30fps System Requirements iOS 9 device or later; Chrome, Firefox, or Safari equipped computer

Warranty and Service 1-year Limited Warranty

Included in the Box 

Frame

Wall bracket

Wall bracket spacer

Power cord

Quick Start Guide

Table stand available separately

[osartz]

Concept

The goal for the open source digital art canvas is a simple one. And that is to build a digital art canvas that is accessible to as many people as possible.

Things that make a perfect canvas.

Open Source (Buy direct, but also know how to build independently.)

Open platforms (auction, direct) to retrieve artwork

Inputs that include SD, USB, WIFI

Various aspect ratios and qualities

Hackable, expandable, programmable

Open Source (Buy direct, but also know how to build independently.)

Open platforms (auction, direct) to retrieve artwork

Inputs that include SD, USB, WIFI

Various aspect ratios and qualities

Hackable, expandable, programmable

Operating System

The canvas will need to have custom software. Preferred codebases would be Open Frameworks and Processing since they have large audiences. Base OS implementation should be open source licensed and hosted via Github.

Components and Parts

All parts should be able to be found online via common electronic component suppliers (Sparkfun, Digikey, etc.) along with ShopGoodwill and eBay.

Basic components

Screen/Display

Microcontroller board

Operating System

Sensors (Swipe image switching, touch image swapping, WiFi, etc.)

Hardware Features

The following are some features that I think would be interesting to integrate into a digital art canvas.

Wireless via 802.11 and Bluetooth

SDHC (Maybe via Arduino SD)

Swipe Detection (See Building Arduino Swipe Detection)

OS Features

The following are some features that I think would be interesting to implement into the operating system.

Instagram post integration: Ability to input an Instagram URL and have post(s) cycle continuously.

YouTube video integration: Ability to insert YouTube URL and have video cycle continuously.

Orientation detection and customization (landscape and portrait modes)