lbert Hickey is a coordinator of the Egham Raspberry Jam. His latest project uses a MindFlex band (a Mattel game from 2009) to read your brainwaves and convert the data to allow you to play a version of Flappy Bird with nothing but the power of your mind.
In a recent interview with Alex Eames on RasPi.TV (bit.ly/1FEvmNK), Albert explained more: “The headband features a little piece of metal that you put against your temple and it reads your brainwaves.” It’s connected to an Arduino that converts this information into usable data that’s then passed over to the
Raspberry Pi and used as controller input for the game. “Just search online for ‘MindFlex Arduino Hack’ and you’ll come up with a page that explains how do it.”
Albert used Pygame to create Flappy Brain on the Raspberry Pi and, much like the game on which it’s based, you need to move the protagonist (in this case a tiny brain) past a series of obstacles.
Unlike Flappy Bird, though, the brain automatically moves up the screen – to move it down (and past the obstacles), the user needs to concentrate; Albert demonstrates by doing mental arithmetic to move it down. To allow it to move up again, Albert blinks repeatedly to break his concentration. Amazing! Learn more at winkleink.blogspot.co.uk.
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Images courtesy of Alex Eames www.raspi.tvAMAZING PI PROJECTS
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here are so many different type of light-display projects on Raspberry Pi that you could be forgiven for thinking that the LifeBox was just another neat little programmed series of LEDs. This would be a huge mistake to make because the little lights are a lot cleverer than you could imagine: they’re alive. Well, sort of. At the very least, they have been programmed with behaviour. Instead of launching into a thesis on when artificial intelligence can be classed as alive, we’re going to concentrate on the LifeBox itself. Here’s what it says on the side of the box:
“In this box live two pixelic entities, the blue and yellow species. These two species compete to survive and reproduce, feeding with the white mana that grows under [their] feet.
“Each species has eight configurable variables that can change their behaviour. The white mana also has five parameters that determine their behaviour and also rule the future of the two species that feeds.
“Learn the basic concepts of programming and biology being the god of these entities, varying all the parameters and seeing the consequences of your actions in the LifeBox!”
Powered only by a Raspberry Pi, the AI isn’t quite able to take over the world, but it makes for a really cool experiment
LIFEBOX
Creating artificial intelligence on the Pi may sound like the start
of the robot uprising, but the LifeBox isn’t taking any chances,
and has imprisoned them in lights…
> The project took two months to complete > Ferran learnt how to laser- cut wood for the project > It is apparently not inspired by Conway’s Game of Life > The code is available on GitHub: bit.ly/1T8VKtC > There’s a mini version in development
Quick
Facts
LIFEBOX
T
FERRAN FÀBREGAS
A Spanish computer scientist who works at a consultancy for urban ecology by day, by night he is an active member of the Barcelona maker community. lifebox.ferranfabregas.info
Two species fight it out for limited resources on this ever-changing LED display
Laser-cut wood creates this sharp, intriguing- looking box that houses the components
Projects
News
raspberrypi.org/magpi The Official Raspberry Pi Projects Book 63
raspberrypi.org/magpi 63
LIFEBOX
Above The most interesting night light you’ve ever used: maybe it will be this decade’s lava lamp?
Top It looks messy inside, but it’s generally quite a simple setup once you break it all down
Its creator, Ferran Fàbregas, explains it to us in a less poetic manner, but one that makes more technical sense.
“LifeBox, in short, is a virtual ecosystem simulator on a 32×32 RGB led panel,” Ferran tells us. “It’s composed of two species that compete for the resources (mana) to get energy, survive, reproduce, and grow.
“Both species and the mana (which actually acts as a different species itself) have a user-defined
parameterization that allows [the user] to change their behaviour and see the consequences on the panel, acting as a god of the virtual ecosystem.”
Ferran’s god complex has been with him a while, as well as the interest in simulating these kind of ecosystems:
“Since I was a child, I was attracted to robotics and the possibilities of simple life simulations. I programmed some basic life simulators software before, but one day I found a shiny, beautiful, and
>STEP-01
Set the parameters
Delve into the config files and define how your life forms and mana work: life expectancy, energy requirements, reproductive rates, and so on.
>STEP-02
Start the experiment
Power on the LifeBox and the simulation begins. The simulation will run for as long as you supply it with power, and any resets will start it from the beginning.
>STEP-03
A new beginning
Once you’ve completed the experiment, it’s time to start again. Go back into the parameters and reprogram the life forms and mana.