Forums > Technical Discussion > HyperLight Update - 27-04-2007

Seems like a while since I've posted a progress update so here we go! Whilst things have been outwardly rather quiet, I've been working hard behind closed doors:

The electronics have had some major work on them and are now very robust as a result. I've got the final prototype boards on order and I'm fairly certain they contain to the last remaining electrical issue: Currently, if you smack a pair together fairly hard, the batteries will lose their connection for a split second which will reset the poi to the beginning of the first sequence. I'm almost certain the changes I've made will fix the problem once and for all
The language to actually tell the poi what colours to change to has been put through it's paces a bit more which has ironed out a few bugs.
I've made some significant progress on the GUI (the bit of software you run on your computer to tell the poi what colours you want). It needs some more work, but the ocre is there and with a bit of luck should work on Windows, Linux and the MAC!
I've fixed the button pressing properly now so you can select different sequences, reset the current sequence and hold it at the beginning, turn them on/off etc. etc.
I've made a fairly crude mold to try and make some prototype housings... which worked rather well. The first test used plastic drainpipe which is a bit too flexible to be useful. The next step will be to do the same again with Poly Carbonate (one of the toughest plastics available). If that works, I'll make a better mould which won't look as pretty as the final balls I want to make, but will be otherwise identical to the final product!
After talking to lots of you, the general consensus seemed to be that the AAA's made the poi on the light side and that a battery life of ~1-1.5 hours was on the low side. So now we're shifting towards using AA's. I've not run any proper tests yet, but the numbers suggest they will last for ~2-3 hours on the AA's and weigh a bit more too
I've started investigating how we'd go about building the technology into a staff!


I'm certain we'll have these out and on the shelves by October, and fairly confident that they'll actually be ready to sell a few months before that! I don't want to get people's hopes too high, but how cool would it be if we had something ready in time for PLAY?

Cake or Death?

-Niall-

Skatto

"Fly like a mouse,
Run like a cushion,
Be the small bookcase."

For goodness sake, don't aggravate the otters!!!

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Feed me Chocolate!!! Feed me NOW!

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Proudly Owned By The BMVC

Are You Sniffing My Mitten?

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Hoppers are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.

I {Heart} hand me downs and spinning in the snow.<br /><br />

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A couple of balls short of a full cascade... or maybe a few cards short of a deck... we'll see how this all fans out.

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 Written by: *HyperLight


Interesting ideas for the future that's for sure. Not convinced I could fit all the electronics of the hyperlight technology into the handle for a stick, but perhaps using a cut down version; standard LEDs and a single AAA battery... hmmmm.. *ponders*

Cake or Death?

"Love the art in yourself and not yourself in the art."
--Konstantin Stanislavisky

"Love the art in yourself and not yourself in the art."
--Konstantin Stanislavisky

Cake or Death?

 Written by: *HyperLight


Yeah, you can strobe at up to 500Hz

You can spend hours playing with minutes!

I have seen the light! ........ It was purple <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Fast, late deliveries!

Cake or Death?

A wise man once said: "You have two ears and one mouth, therefore you should shut the up and listen" (though, to be fair, he might not've put it _quite_ like that..)

"Love the art in yourself and not yourself in the art."
--Konstantin Stanislavisky