Help! Controling light and sound with heart beat

Projects General Guidance
1

I'm making my BA thesis work in multi-media arts.
The idea is to make this device in my exhibition, where I could use the sensor to read
someones live heart rate and trigger a sound loop and lighting , both
in sync with his heart, without using a laptop in the circuit.
I'm planning using Easy Pulse sensor 1.1 connected to an arduino uno, then what
would be the best way to use heart rate signal to trigger light and
sound on every beat, or in synchronized bpm's?
I'm thinking maybe this https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11125 for sound
Then for lightning, I think, dmx would be the best option, because I don't want to use a 220v dimmer and led's are too insufficient or too expensive.
Maybe there is a way to control a party strobe light with arduino?
I know its really abstract, I'm new in electronics.

I would appreciate if someone could direct me to some tutorials or similar projects or maybe share your experience with similar projects.
Also alternative ways to do the trick are appreciated.

Thank you

2

If it were my project I'd assign different lights to different outputs and cycle them on each heart beat in either a sequential manner or a random pattern and possibly combine outputs on for different effects, like have groups and cycle the groups.

3

I don't know anything about sensing a heartbeat, but I assume that's no problem.

I know its really abstract, I'm new in electronics.

I'm an electronics guy, and to me this sounds like an electronics project (and a programming project, which is part of many electronics projects and part of every Arduino/microcontroller project). So, here's my suggestion: Partner-up with an engineering student. He/she can do the electronics & programming, and you can to the artistic part! I assume that's allowed for a BA thesis, and I assume you can both get credit.. I think it's pretty common for PhD candidates to get help from various specialists as needed. And if you each want to own one of these things, building two of something is only slightly more work than building one (although it's twice the parts & material cost).

An engineering partner could really help with all the stuff you are asking about here!

...without using a laptop in the circuit.

Why not? A computer could add a LOT. The Arduino is great at "sound controlled lights" (I've done 3 such projects), but it's not that great at generating/controlling sound. You can generate simple sounds, but it requires an external digital-to-analog converter for high-quality sounds, and it doesn't have much memory for sound files. With a computer, you could use MIDI to generate synthesized synchronized to the heartbeat... It could be "synthesizer sounding" techno-like music or realistic-sounding orchestral or jazz music, etc.

Then for lightning, I think, dmx would be the best option, because I don't want to use a 220v dimmer

In my projects I haven't used DMX, because it's an extra transmitter & receiver and extra programming for the DMX protocol. It's going to be more expensive than building something directly-connected* from scratch. The advantage of DMX is that you can buy DMX-controlled lights, or DMX controlled dimmers. And, you can even buy a DMX controller that plugs-into a computer. That greatly reduces the amount of electronics you have to build.

...and led's are too insufficient or too expensive.

Actually, LEDs are worth considering. One of my projects was a "giant VU meter" made out of regular 'ol "high brightness" LEDs. It's plenty bright enough for in indoor lighting effect. For light output, you can get "high power" LEDs (1 Watt or more). These are the kinds of LEDs used in home lighting and DJ lighting effects. High power LEDs require a special power supply, but you can buy it, and in some ways they are easier to dim/control than incandescent lamps and the 120-V/220V power is isolated from the low-voltage control, so that's wone less thing to deal with (engineering considerations). With RGB LEDs, you can have color-changing LEDs that generate "any color of the rainbow", and of course LEDs can flash on & off faster than incandescents (artistic considerations).

Maybe there is a way to control a party strobe light with arduino?

Yes. That can be done. For example, strobes used in photography are synchronized to the shutter. Or, I'm sure you can find one that's DMX controlled, or you you could build/hack something. Electrically, traditional xenon strobes require fairly high voltage (maybe 400V minimum), so if you build one from scratch, that's extra circuitry to boost the supply voltage (and extra danger) but there are also [u]LED strobes[/u]. (That one runs off 120V/220V power, but I'm sure the LEDs are lower voltage internally.)

  • You can't "directly" connect the Arduino (or a computer) to 120 or 220VAC. You need an opto-isolator, or a solid-state relay (which is optically isolated).
4

I think the OP (having no electronics experience) would have already partnered with an engineering student if that were possible.
Also, most professors put strict limitations on what you're allowed to use if the objective is to demonstrate the ability to use uCs to implement some project because it would be defeating the purpose of the assignment (unless the laptop was "in addition to" the uC). I think DMX is used in professional theater lighting control consoles. I worked on theater lighting gel scrollers and those used DMX. I used to design and fabricate custom lighting controllers for Sam Salde when he did movie star parties in Hollywood in the
early 80's. (Sight & Sound Entertainment) . Frank Sinatra's birthday party (Dean Martin was there), President Reagan's Innauguration banquet, the Hi-roller's New Year's Eve party (2200 people) in Ceasar's Palace Coliseum banquet room. Sam was the lighting designer, (like you in this project) and his client's chose the theme and just turned him loose. He cooked up a plan and then came to me and said "ok, here's what I want to do. I need you to build a controller that can reproduce the light sequencing pattern of the Tropicana Club in Miami where the client proposed to his wife 50 yrs ago. I'll build the light's , you make them flash like the sample video we have. So your first job is design the lighting display using whatever colors you want, come up with a flashing scheme and then design the electronics to make it work. It sounds like you're really not ready to talk about electronics yet. You need to design your light display first before you ask how to make it work

5

Also, most professors put strict limitations on what you're allowed to use if the objective is to demonstrate the ability to use uCs to implement some project because it would be defeating the purpose of the assignment (unless the laptop was "in addition to" the uC)

I don 't think that's the objective... He/she is a media arts student. The electronics and "low level" computer programming would be for the engineering student's project/thesis. (If such collaboration is allowed.).

To minimize the electronics & engineering... You don't need to be an engineer (or electronics or programming expert) to hook-up a computer and DMX lighting controller and "program" a light show. DJs and people who work in theater lighting don't usually build their own electronics. Sometimes you might need something special in a theatrical situation, but you've also got a deadline so there isn't much time for design, building, troubleshooting & debugging... In that case, if you don't already know how to do it, you find an expert. There certainly isn't time to learn electronics.

If you can find a heart monitor that plugs into a computer, you wouldn't need to build any electronics. You'd just have to "program" the lighting effects application.

It would also require a little computer programming to "connect" the heart monitor application to the DMX application, and this could be tricky because the applications are not designed to talk to each other. (That's something you'll probably need some help with.) The sound could also require some programming, or maybe some MIDI "programming". depending on how fancy you want to get with the sound. MIDI programming is something a music student could help you with if you don't know anything about it already.

P.S.
Another issue with collaboration is that the first part of the project is 90% engineering and 10% art. The 2nd part of the project is 10% engineering and 90% art... It might take an extra semester to complete the whole thing.

6

i don't recall the OP outlining the RULES OF ENGAGEMENT so at this point everything is speculation. If you're right then you would thing they wouldn't need our help.

7

Thanks everybody
I reconsider my project
You'r right, Its to much to do, and I havent got that much time
I wanted to do this myself, just to learn electronics.

So the new idea is to do live performance, where I use step sequencer to create simple beats in my hearts bpm.
what would be the best way to that
This guy did something interesting - Heart Beats for Music Hack Day MIT - YouTube
This would be easy because I wouldn't have to mess with electronics so much.
Is there a way to connect it with abletons master bpm, so that everything I do in ableton would be sync to my heart rate?
Or how difficult it is to make simple drum sequencer in Max/MSP?

Thanks