Firefly 1.006 Now Available

I am excited to announce the release of Firefly 1.006! This is a major release and includes many new components and bug fixes, along with a number of new tutorials and example files. Here are a few notable features:

Firefly 1.006 unveils a new Arduino Code Generator component which attempts to convert any Grasshopper definition into Arduino compatible code (C++) on the fly. It works by detecting components that are 'upstream' from the Uno/Mega Write component. The Code Generator checks the component ID against a library of custom C++ functions which then get added to the code if there is a match. The code can be simultaneously saved as a .pde (Arduino Sketch) file to be opened in the Arduino IDE.

In addition, there is also a new Upload to I/O Board component which allows you to upload any sketch (see above) directly to your Arduino board from within the Grasshopper environment. A lot of stuff happens behind the scenes with this component. Essentially it creates a dynamic MakeFile and calls a shell application to convert the .pde file into a .cpp (C++) file and then into .hex code (machine readable code) to be uploaded to the microcontroller. Now, you can automatically convert your Grasshopper definition into Arduino code and upload it directly to your board! Note: WinAVR is required to be installed on your machine in order to properly upload sketches to your board. You can download the latest version here.

We didn't stop there. The communication process has between Grasshopper and your Arduino board has been overhauled. Thanks to the newly rewritten GH_Timer (by David Rutten), the Uno/Mega Read components are now roughly 10x faster than previous versions. The Firefly Firmata has been re-written to be more flexible and efficient. The Uno/Mega Write component have changed how it sends data out to the board as well. Simply right-click on any input and set the data type to Digital, PWM, or Servo... That's right, you can dynamically attach a Servo to any pin now!

If that weren't enough, I've also added several components to handle network communication, namely UDP (User Datagram Protocol) and OSC (Open Sound Control). The UDP Listener and Sender components allow you to send/receive messages over a wireless or LAN network using asynchonous transmission. OSC messages are essentially specially formatted UDP messages and the OSC Listener and Sender components add functionality in handling this type of information.

There is much much more too (I didn't even mention the new XML Search or State Detection components)! For a full list of modifications and feature enhancements, check out the change log included in the download link.

To download the latest version of Firefly, please visit: http://www.fireflyexperiments.com/download/

If you are using Firefly and would like to share your projects, comments or ideas please e-mail us (info@fireflyexperiments.com) or post to the discussion forum. Updates will be posted to the Firefly website.

Firefly Developers:
Andy Payne [LIFT Architects; Harvard GSD - Cambridge, MA]
Jason Kelly Johnson [Future-Cities-Lab; CCA - San Francisco, CA]

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Firefly is a set of comprehensive software tools dedicated to bridging the gap between Grasshopper (a free plug-in for Rhino), the Arduino micro-controller, the internet and beyond. It allows near real-time data flow between the digital and physical worlds, and will read/write data to/from Pachube / internet feeds, remote sensors and more.

Firefly was founded by Andy Payne and Jason Kelly Johnson in 2010. Andy has been primarily responsible for writing the code underlying Firefly’s various core components. He has also been involved (along with Jason) with the development of the Firefly Firmata, a critical piece of open source software which enables a direct connection between the Arduino hardware and the Grasshopper environment. As of 2011, Andy is the lead researcher and developer of Firefly’s new X control tools. He is currently pursuing this research independently as a part of his PhD dissertation at Harvard GSD in Boston, MA. Jason continues to develop and support the core Firefly tools and educational primer. Jason has been active in helping to establish the connection between Firefly and the Arduino software and hardware environment. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Architecture and Interaction at CCA in San Francisco, California.

Acknowledgements:
Firefly is built upon the Grasshopper plug-in for Rhino, both developed by Robert McNeel and Associates. We would like to thank Prof. Panagiotis Michalatos for his generous support and guidance in the development of the Firefly_X toolset. Robert Lee also made critical contributions to early versions of the original Firefly build file. The Arduino language syntax is based on Wiring by Hernando Barragan. The Arduino environment is based on Processing byBen Fry and Casey Reas, and is now supported by an amazing team of software and hardware developers that continue to refine and expand its capabilities. Pachube was created by Usman Haque and his amazing team at pachube.com. The reacTIVision framework is being developed by the Music Technology Groupat the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain. Ronnie Parsons and Gil Akos of StudioMode in New York City have also contributed to the development of some amazing example files that were released with version 1.004. We would also like to acknowledge the input of various colleagues, students and workshop participants for their support and questions which help the evolution of Firefly.

Comment

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Comment by Andy Payne on July 4, 2011 at 9:26pm: Hi David,
The reason that only a certain number of components load and others don't is because for some reason Rhino 5 doesn't have a problem loading the Firefly-X.gha file, but gets held up on the Firefly.gha file. I had to split the new components up into a new build for various reasons. Can you double-check that the Firefly.gha file is unblocked. In our testing, this seemed to fix the problem. If not, you may need to install the full version of .NET 4.0 Framework... Although I'm not completely sure if that is the problem or not. I've noticed other 3rd party developers have had similar problems with their builds in Rhino 5, but usually unblocking the file seems to do the trick. Let me know if any of that resolves the issue and I'll keep digging around for a better solution.
Cheers,
Andy
Have you run into any other problems?

Comment by David Merlin on July 4, 2011 at 9:05pm: Andy -

I'm having some trouble getting all of the components to load in Rhino 5. I unblocked each file in the special components folder as stated in the install instructions, but the only components that are showing up are Code Generator, Upload to I/O Board, OSC Listener, OSC Sender, UDP Listener, UDP Sender, XML Search, and State Detection.

What makes the issue a little more interesting is that all of the components load correctly in Rhino 4. I'm running windows xp. Any ideas?

The code generator is an amazing addition!!