Hello CR4 Friends... It is so good to be back in touch and reading the forums, and even better to have a question (maybe 30?) for everyone!
My new challenging project is animation and motorization of flying scenery for an upcoming performance of Mary Poppins. In the show, the director wants to fly umbrellas on 12 different cross-stage lines so that the umbrellas can move up and down and left and right, with multiple umbrellas on each of the 12 lines. The resulting look will be very interesting with dozens of umbrellas dancing all about the stage.
Usually, and certainly up until about 2000-2004, this "gag" would be done with small ropes or trick lines (Line Sets) and a whole bunch of stage hands pulling ropes and dropping sandbags. It makes for a real backstage circus and is very expensive and almost impossible to make closely repeatable night after night.
So now - what I'd like to do is automate this gag and pre-program the effects to make the look consistent from show to show.
There is a lot more to this than just the Arduino vs Raspberry Pi vs (Other?) question, but I thought maybe it would be a place to start.
Presume - the Raspberry Pi or Arduino or Other device will be a part of the control system for each Line Set, and for now that control system is known as the Line Set Box (LSB). A main computer stores cues (Cue Recording Box).
Presume - the line set exists so that all the LSB has to do is receive a cue command from CRB and then rotate the line set motor in the proper direction until the cue set point is reached.
Presume - The motor/line set will have some type of encoder sending position data to the LSB.
Presume - bluetooth is not reliable because of distances between CRB and LSB so WiFi or other wireless protocol needs to be selected
Presume - best interface is a joystick for moving line sets into place, with some kind of keyboard or button surface to enter set points and record cues in CRB. Could be a single joystick with 12 selectable channels for each line set.
Presume - the LSB eventually should be battery powered - self contained. I need to choose a working voltage 12, 24, 48 DC, all very possible. 120V AC is possible from battery/inverter but less efficient than keeping all devices in the LSB using DC.
Questions -
1) Raspberry Pi or Arduino or (Other?) seem to be best to make the LSBs for the project?
2) The project could have a Line Set Box for each line set, and the CRB sending signals out and recording cue set points. What communication methodology would be best for this wireless communication between the line sets and the brain? TCP/IP over WiFi?
3) After we get the CRB brain communicating with the line set LSBs, we will need to get the RaspPi/Arduino device to translate those cue point instructions into something, perhaps PWM, to drive the motor controller. And, rather than create PWM in the LSB and sending that to a motor controller that reads the PWM and operates a jumble of big heavy transistors to make a motor turn... could the RaspPi/Arduino itself be the motor controller?
That's enough to get more than started. I sure hope we can have fun with this. I know it will be a blast to get to talk with some old friends.
Thanks,
Vincent
2
Wireless IoT with Arduino or Raspberry Pi Brains?
Re: Wireless IoT with Arduino or Raspberry Pi Brains?
Good Answers: