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I'm trying to think of the simplest way to solve this problem: 1. Start with an analog synth from the 70s that's just a bunch of big, bulky metal modules conne

I'm trying to think of the simplest way to solve this problem: 1. Start with an analog synth from the 70s that's just a bunch of big, bulky metal modules connected by patch cords. 2. Remove the guts of each module and shrink them down to lego size 3. Print an English word name on each lego-sized module 4. Connect them up with patch cords. Now I have a physical artifact that represents a DSP graph in the visual diagram interface of a program like Pure Data. Question-- what is the easiest/cheapest way to continually pipe the topology data of the physical artifact into my laptop? It wouldn't be too hard to just have each module shouting a superaudio signal at my laptop and instantiating the corresponding object in the software when it's detected. But that doesn't cover the interconnections. I could take video input of the artifact but that would be crappy UX with the user constantly having to "show" the artifact to the camera from a non-ambiguous angle. I feel like there's some simple solution lurking out there with something like tinfoil and a 9v battery...

sigstoat 6y ago
if we ignore the issue of powering them, a CV cable is enough for a half-duplex serial connection. you don't need to transfer a lot of data to establish the topology. i think (hand waving!) every module could re-broadcast all the broadcasts it hears (that don't include itself) with its ID appended. those will make their way to the edges where they can be picked up, and would describe all the possible paths through the system. some microcontroller in each brick with a bunch of uarts would be ideal. then somewhere you need a usb-to-whatever link. (maybe somebody really clever could put the right set of passive parts in each brick so that every topology of devices would be distinguishable by some sort of analog probing from the periphery. i'm not that clever.)
- Animats 6y ago
  If we ignore the issue of powering them, a CV cable is enough for a half-duplex serial connection. you don't need to transfer a lot of data to establish the topology. i think (hand waving!) every module could re-broadcast all the broadcasts it hears (that don't include itself) with its ID appended. those will make their way to the edges where they can be picked up, and would describe all the possible paths through the system. Not too hard. 1-Wire, a very low end LAN from Dallas Semiconductor, would be good for this. The parts are cheap, low-power, and powered over the connection cable. (1-wire requires 3 wires. You could use stereo phone jacks.) There are probably musician applications for this sort of thing. Some people like cables. A similar form of fakery is seen in DJ systems where you have vinyl records that contain not music, but time code.[1] The DJ can do DJ turntable stuff as if playing analogue records. They're just sending time code info to the the control unit which has the audio in memory, and the output is the appropriate audio for the time code. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_emulation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_emulation
  - sigstoat 6y ago
    > Not too hard. Perhaps you're imagining less restrictive requirements for it than I am. > 1-Wire, a very low end LAN from Dallas Semiconductor, would be good for this. i'm aware of 1-wire. it is master-slave. can you outline exactly how you plan to use it in an unknown and reconfigurable topology, and how many separate master and slave interfaces you expect to have in each brick?
jes5199 6y ago
I love this question. I've been thinking about similar problems and assuming that the answer really is video, but it would be very interesting to be wrong about that. also, you might enjoy eurorack modular synthesis. I find that it constantly makes me re-consider which things are virtual and which things are analogue as a I reconfigure my synthesizer
- jancsika 6y ago
  Thanks, I'll have a look. I know most (all?) of the modern Buchla machines are all analog/digital cyborgs at this point.

sigstoat 6y ago

if we ignore the issue of powering them, a CV cable is enough for a half-duplex serial connection. you don't need to transfer a lot of data to establish the topology. i think (hand waving!) every module could re-broadcast all the broadcasts it hears (that don't include itself) with its ID appended. those will make their way to the edges where they can be picked up, and would describe all the possible paths through the system. some microcontroller in each brick with a bunch of uarts would be ideal. then somewhere you need a usb-to-whatever link. (maybe somebody really clever could put the right set of passive parts in each brick so that every topology of devices would be distinguishable by some sort of analog probing from the periphery. i'm not that clever.)

Animats 6y ago
If we ignore the issue of powering them, a CV cable is enough for a half-duplex serial connection. you don't need to transfer a lot of data to establish the topology. i think (hand waving!) every module could re-broadcast all the broadcasts it hears (that don't include itself) with its ID appended. those will make their way to the edges where they can be picked up, and would describe all the possible paths through the system. Not too hard. 1-Wire, a very low end LAN from Dallas Semiconductor, would be good for this. The parts are cheap, low-power, and powered over the connection cable. (1-wire requires 3 wires. You could use stereo phone jacks.) There are probably musician applications for this sort of thing. Some people like cables. A similar form of fakery is seen in DJ systems where you have vinyl records that contain not music, but time code.[1] The DJ can do DJ turntable stuff as if playing analogue records. They're just sending time code info to the the control unit which has the audio in memory, and the output is the appropriate audio for the time code. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_emulation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_emulation
- sigstoat 6y ago
  > Not too hard. Perhaps you're imagining less restrictive requirements for it than I am. > 1-Wire, a very low end LAN from Dallas Semiconductor, would be good for this. i'm aware of 1-wire. it is master-slave. can you outline exactly how you plan to use it in an unknown and reconfigurable topology, and how many separate master and slave interfaces you expect to have in each brick?

jes5199 6y ago

I love this question. I've been thinking about similar problems and assuming that the answer really is video, but it would be very interesting to be wrong about that. also, you might enjoy eurorack modular synthesis. I find that it constantly makes me re-consider which things are virtual and which things are analogue as a I reconfigure my synthesizer

jancsika 6y ago
Thanks, I'll have a look. I know most (all?) of the modern Buchla machines are all analog/digital cyborgs at this point.