Me and a few classmates have an idea for a project which we are as of yet still very intimidated by as our experience with Arduinos is limited. However, we'd love to actually be able to build it so perhaps some kind soul might be able to help us out.
We are attempting to make two (or more) 3x3 cubes of LED buttons that are able to send and receive simple wireless signals to one another. Physically, they would look like cubed monomes, or a LED lit rubiks cube.
For example, we would like to be able to push a button on cube A, and have the corresponding LED/buttons light up on both cube A and cube B. Another example use would be a game of tag where a fully lit cube A "transmits" the light to cube B by being close enough.
The cubes need to be run free from a computer and thus run software on the arduino board itself.
We have been looking into various similar projects such as the arduinome, but since it's a MIDI controller, it functions a little differently from what we want (we might be wrong, and please tell us if we are).
To sum it up, what we want to do is:
Have an Arduino individually control 54 LED/buttons
Send and receive simple wireless RF signals
What is the simplest/most elegant/best/easiest way to do this?
How should we approach this project?
Any help/suggestions/idea/warnings would be very much so appreciated.
That is a tough project, I think it would challenge an experienced constructor.
Just a few points
How do you get 54 LED/buttons from a 3X3X3 cube?
I assume it is going to be battery powered from internal batteries, how long do you expect them to last before you have to change them / recharge them? Have you got a power budget.
Exactly what is the interaction, pressing one button and getting a light on another cube isn't exactly riveting. Is there space for unexpected interaction? You would be better if you could do the whole thing in software say in Processing first, maybe in 2D before you try and make something physical.
Two way radio communication is tricky, look at the Making Things Talk book for info on radio.
My apologies, I should have clarified: 9 LEDs on each face of a 6 sided cube = 54 LEDS. Imagine 6 mini-monomes glued together along the edges to make a cube.
Battery power is something that we haven't considered. This would be something of a first-iteration. Therefore, we don't really mind if the batteries only last an hour even.
While I'd definitely agree that it's not exactly riveting, we are hoping to make something general where the user can re-write their own code, load it to the arduino through usb, and come up with an interesting interaction. The interactions that they come up with would be constrained by the fact that they have only a bunch of lights, buttons, perhaps a speaker, and RF transmission.
Have you any experience with the VirtualWire libraries?
Of course it does sorry had a mental aberration there.
Battery power is something that we haven't considered.
If you have to have a wire going in carrying power then to my mind you might as well have it carrying signals as well and get rid of the wireless bit as that adds complexity to the project.
Have you any experience with the VirtualWire libraries
No sorry, I only know that they exist, if I need something like that I write my own protocol so it fits exactly my needs.