Smart Poi

Android Development Overview

For Android I started off using MIT’s app inventor:

http://ai2.appinventor.mit.edu/

This was fun and I had some success with a few projects, however as a touch typist I am always more comfortable using the keyboard. As I was already using the amazing Processing IDE for desktop Java apps,  Processing for Android was the next step:

https://processing.org/

Of course there is no substitute for the real thing, which is what I am using most often now, Android Studio. Processing for Android provides a handy tool for exporting sketches as they are called, so the transistion is pretty seamless. Android Studio is a huge IDE with bells, whistles, mags and stickers attached. Learning how to use this beast is going to take a long time, especially with Google pulling out the rug (ie changing everything with each new release) every couple of months.

 

 

 

 

ESP8266 Overview

What can I say about the ESP8266? It’s cheap, powerful and I use it to stream images from my phone to my Smart POV Poi.

Currently I am using the ESP-01 version (above) – I connect the esp-01 to the breadboard by this simple hack:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Making-ESP8266-01-module-breadboard-friendly/

I also use the very capable D1 Mini for development (below).

The code is all Arduino, with FastLED library for led driving. The only issue with ESP8266 is power consumption, the wifi uses far more power than the Atmega328 for example, however compared to the LED strips (144 LED’s at once) it is negligible.

 

 

INTRODUCING SMART POI

Smart Poi, a new type of graphic poi+

 

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Does everything those other graphic poi can do plus:
Wirelessly transmit images and patterns direct to your spinning poi
Receive SMS messages direct to your spinning poi
Synchronize instantly with multiple other poi
Timeline and Sequence mode control from Android app
Unlimited number of pictures
Animation and *new* dynamic computer generated patterns
Beat responsive

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