VERVE2 User Manual
Contents
1. gt UXUS Introduction Welcome to VERVE 2 and Physical Computing inXus interactive is proud to present VERVE 2 the easiest and most fun way to control your computer with the physical world Since the 1970 s weve primarily controlled com puters using a mouse and a keyboard Its been over 40 years and things haven t changed much since then With VERVE 2 you now have the power to control your computer any computer with the world around you Once you get started you ll be surprised at how creative you can be You ll be controlling apps and making things happen by touching jumping singing shaking Soon you ll wonder why we havent been doing this all along Connecting the physical world to the computing world is called physical computing and its about to revolutionize the way we use computers and interact with technology We at inXus interactive are committed to empowering every creative person to participate in this exciting endeavor Sensors The key to making the physical world accessible to the digital world e g your computer is through the use of small electronic devices called sensors The job of a sensor is to convert a state of the environment into an electrical signal so that the environment can be monitored For example a motion sensor converts movement into an electrical signal a temperature sensor converts heat into an electrical signal a light sensor converts light into an electrical signal There2. a MyMap Mapper Logger Server Sensor scaling Sometimes a sensor s range of values will not be convenient for the mapping you wish to perform Once you have tried the sensor out you may see that the effective range of the sensor is not enough for you to make meaningful maps to actions In this case you may want to scale the sensor value before mapping Scaling allows you to zoom in to a part of the sensor range that is of interest to you before defining the actions map To scale a sensor you will want to click on the tab that corresponds to the specific sen sor channel of interest The VERVE 2 mapper now displays a graph that represents the transformation from raw ADC values to zone values The horizontal scale red bar represents the raw values from the sensor the vertical scale purple bar represents the zone values The sensor mapping bar is on the right and works the same way as before You can zoom into a smaller region of the raw values by dragging the small control circles on the chart to the left or right This effectively changes the transformation so that only the region you want will be mapped into zones and everything else will be below or above the zones region Since the sensor values are being displayed in real time it is easy to experiment to find the range of sensing values that work for your project Once you have changed the scaling in this way you can continue to map actions as before The scaling values will
3. your computer This is because the voltage is an analog signal your computer requires information to be in digital form To read a voltage into your computer you need special interface electronics that has an analog to digital converter or ADC The ADC is part of an electronic system called the hardware interface The purpose of the hardware interface is to measure the electrical signal on the ADC s input on a regular basis then send a number to the computer that is proportional to the measured voltage This way the computer knows the sensor s value because it has a number that was sent to it by the hardware interface Many popular electronic kits such as Arduino and Basic Stamp have ADCs built into them so that people can use sensors in their projects The hardware interface must communicate with the computer using a standard method called a communication protocol There are many different communication protocols some of the protocols we use today were invented in the 1950 s One of the most common protocols is called Universal Serial Bus or USB Many computers tablets and cell phones support this protocol USB is fast robust and a popular standard Unfortunately to get a number from the ADC into your computer by USB is not trivial It requires special USB driver electronics that takes care of all the communication and electronic requirements between the computer and the interface electronics In fact USB is so difficult that most begin
4. a profile for logging a science fair project You can then share these profiles with your friends and colleagues to enjoy the same experience To load a profile from your computer click the up arrow button to the right of the Save Flash button and select Load File Navigate to the profile that you would like to view and click Select or Load depending on your computer s operating system The profile that was just loaded is not flashed to the VERVE 2 You must click Save Flash to flash the loaded profile to the VERVE 2 You also can load the current profile that is flashed to the VERVE 2 by clicking the up arrow button to the right of the Save Flash button and selecting Read VERVE This profile that is displayed within the VERVE 2 app is currently on your VERVE 2 and does not require any additional steps to begin triggering keyboard and mouse actions 11 VERVE2 Maps can be loaded into the VERVE 2 app by Sensor1 Sensor2 Sensor3 Sensor4 Sensor5 Sensor6 Sensor7 Sensor8 loading a file from your computer or reading the current VERVE 2 map that is flashed onto the VERVE 2 Having a profile displayed within the app does not imply that it is flashed onto the VERVE 2 eoo VERVE App Save Flash 4 Mapper Logger Server Web events text message email URL request The VERVE 2 mapper app came fresh with new functionality the ability to communi cate with the
5. continue to be in use even if you are no longer viewing this screen Thus you may adjust each of the sensor channels as you see fit The sensor value may be scaled prior to map All Sensori Sensor2 Sensor3 Sensor4 Sensor5 Sensor6 Sensor7 Sensor 8 ping This allows you to adjust the sensitivity of the sensor input to be more appropriate to your project Each sensor has its own scaling and can be adjusted individually 00 VERVE App Save Flash 4 Mapper Logger Server Keyboard mouse event repetition rate Each keyboard mouse event has a modifier that indicates how often that event should be sent while the sensor is in the zone For example some projects might want a single keyboard event when a sensor enters a zone perhaps to start a song or video on a media player Other projects may want the keyboard to be continually triggered while the sen sor is in the zone perhaps to adjust the volume on the media player Still other projects might want the keyboard to be repeatedly triggered on and off at a given rate while the sensor is in the zone perhaps scrubbing through a media sequence You can adjust this value from the callout box when selecting your action while you are in the sensor tab The repetition rate for a keyboard mouse event can be set from a single VERVE App All Sensori Sensor2 Sensor3 Sensor4 Sensor5 Sensor6 Sensor7 Sensors tap to once per second to ZI eight per second to hold This option is
6. menu by adjusting the Graph Delay s setting This value which is 0 01 sec onds by default is the time gap between subsequent log events meaning data is logged every 0 01 seconds This value can be adjusted to any value equal to or greater than 0 01 seconds Sometimes it may be useful to adjust how much sensor data you can view at one time in the logger graph This viewing window can be changed in the VERVE 2 app settings menu by adjusting the Graph Width s setting This value is 10 seconds by default meaning you can view 10 seconds of data at one time in the logger graph and can be adjusted to any value equal to or greater than 1 second To minimize the likelihood of the VERVE 2 app crashing the logger was designed to hold only a finite amount of data points However by default the logger stores 200 000 data points containing the time and 8 sensor values This value can be changed in the VERVE 2 app settings menu by adjusting the Graph Max Points setting This value can be adjusted to a number between 20 and 500 000 17 veRve2 US Serving VERVE 2 Sensor serving The VERVE 2 app now comes with the capability of serving sensor data through the internet You can now view your sensor data remotely on any computer or internet enabled device like your mobile phone or tablet This can be useful if you would like to check the temperature of your refrigerator while you are in your room on your tablet
7. only avail x able when the sensor tab f is selected gt _o Hold Web None Close y Saag Save Flash 4 Mapper Logger Server V 10 Flashing and saving your map After mapping your sensors you should save the mapping profile and flash the map to the VERVE 2 If you do not flash the map the VERVE 2 will not be updated with this map To do this click the Save Flash button at the bottom of the screen You will be prompted to name your profile and select a file location for your profile If you complete the process your profile will be flashed to the VERVE 2 Once you have flashed the map the VERVE 2 unit will use this map to generate the appropriate keyboard mouse events when it is enabled Each map that is saved or loaded is referred to as a profile NOK 61 6 ee o annanamnsnnnnnmamammnna The map must be saved A Sensor1 Sensor2 Sensor3 Sensor4 Sensor5 Sensor6 Sensor7 Sensor8 to the VERVE 2 before using the VERVE 2 Multiple maps or pro files can be saved and ave Save loaded to and from your seve As is J computer Where Desktop T Cancel Save Save Flash 4 Mapper Logger Server Loading previous maps When using the VERVE 2 mapper app you have the option of loading a previously saved map or profile into the app at any time This allows you to save special profiles for specific applications such as a profile for playing a racing game or
8. open a web browser such as Chrome Internet Explorer Firefox or Safari and enter one of the web addresses either the Data Logger Web page address or the Raw Data Address address The data logger webpage has similar functionality as the logger page in the VERVE 2 app The data logger webpage displays a graph of your logged data and lets you save your 18 veRve2 US logged data in CSV format You can also control the graph viewing window and the logging rate The data is pulled from the Streaming Address server using WebSocket protocols built into the data logger webpage We took care of the back end work so logging graphing your data is as simple ass presssing the Start Logging button aa The data logger webpage e gt C fi O 192168078501 av Re lets you log your sensor VERVE2 Web Logger data on any web enabled device by going to the Data Logger Webpage address in a web browser To log your sensor data 7 A ZX Z click the Start Logging J button below the graph Ht an i You can save the logged data in CSV format and control the logging rate and graph viewing window Streaming Address From VERVE2 App ws 192 168 0 7 8001 21 19 33 21 19 34 21 19 35 21 19 36 21 19 37 21 19 38 21 19 39 Start Logging Pause Logging Graph Delay s Graph Width s New Graph Save Data 0 05 10 VERVE2 Brought to you by inXus The raw data a
9. or log the amount of foot traffic of people entering your house while you are at work To begin sending your sensor data to the local Wi Fi router network navigate to the server page by clicking the Server button in the VERVE 2 app navigation bar at the bottom on the screen Your screen should look similiar to the screen below display server function buttons server addresses and server console Start your sensor servers by click ing the green Start Severs button Your sensor data is now ready to be accessed by any internet enabled device on your local Wi Fi router network The server page lets you access your sensor data from any internet enabled VeRVe device click Start Serv ers to begin serving your data to your local Wi Fi Start Servers router network Go into a Get IE Address web browser on a separate device and insert the Data eoo VERVE App Data Logger Webpage nttp 1192 168 0 7 8501 Streaming Address ws 192 168 0 7 8001 Logger Webpage URL to Raw Data Address http 192 168 0 7 7501 begin logging and graphing your data remotely Go To Data Logger Webpage In Internet Browser 21 24 21 Displaying Your IP Address Mapper Logger Server Accessing sensor data Accessing sensor data from the VERVE 2 app is as simple as going to a webpage in your web browser on any web enabled device connected on the same Wi Fi router network On your web enabled device
10. or mouse event by selecting from a mouse diagram Once you have selected your action a code will appear in the selected region that represents that action You may repeat this activity as often as you like for different sensor zones or to change zone actions VERVE App When clicking on a zone A Sensor1 Sensor2 Sensor3 Sensor4 Sensor5 Sensor6 Sensor7 Sensors region a callout box allows you to select the action that you want for that region Each region can be mapped by this method oe Pee Poe Poe Save Flash MyMap Mapper Logger Server In some projects you may want fine level control over the actions associated with the sensors VERVE 2 allows for up to ten actions per sensor corresponding to ten zones per sensor To set each action separately click on the toggle button below the sensor bar Each of the ten zones will appear on the bar You may map each zone separately in the same manner as before If you wish to return to three regions you may click the toggle button back Warning if you return to the three regions state you will lose the information that you entered for the ten individual zones All ten zones may be eoo VERVE App viewed and mapped a Sensor1 Sensor2 Sensor3 Sensor4 Sensor5 Sensor6 Sensor7 Sensor 8 in dividu ally if desire d This gives very fine level SPACE of control but is more SPACE time consuming SPACE SPACE gt gt gt p gt P P P Save Flash
11. sensor 19 57 23 19 57 24 19 57 25 19 57 26 19 57 27 19 57 28 19 57 29 19 57 30 19 57 31 19 57 32 values at a specific time Save Data a Mapper Logger Server a oO oO v gt 400 O w u 9 N i oO Data management To collect and store your data to your computer click the Save Data button on the bot tom left of the logger page You will be prompted to select a location for your verveLog file This file can be renamed and is saved as a comma separated values or CSV file CSV files arrange all the sensor data into neat lists with rows and columns separated by com mas Also CSV files are general purpose and are commonly used with a lot of software so you can open and use this file with any spreadsheet or analysis software like Microsoft Excel Google Sheets Matlab or Python To save a screenshot of the graph click the up arrow button next to the Save Data but ton on the bottom left of the logger page and select Save Graph You will be prompted to select a location for your verveGraph image This image is saved as a PNG file and can be viewed with your computer s standard image viewing software To delete all your verve data clear your graph and start fresh click the up arrow button next to the Save Data button on the bottom left of the logger page and select New The sensor data will be erased and the graph will be cleared If the logger i
12. the VERVE 2 is mapped it may be disconnected from the Mac or Windows PC and connected to any Linux computer to control apps on the Linux unit To get started drag the installer file to your desktop and double click to install the app on your computer The app does not need to be placed in your system folder and does not need administrator privileges to install or run However if you want to install the app in a protected location such as your system level apps folder you may need administra tor privileges Once the app is installed you can connect your VERVE 2 unit to your computer make sure the mode switch is in disabled or off mode then click on the VERVE 2 mapper app to get started Sensor mapping Once the VERVE 2 mapper app has started you should see a screen similar to the figure below In the default view of VERVE 2 mapper you will see all eight sensor channels at once You can connect a sensor to the VERVE 2 and play with it You should see the sensor bar respond on the VERVE 2 mapper screen Note if the sensor bar is not responding make sure that the mode switch on the VERVE 2 unit is set to disabled or off If you can see the sensor bar responding to your sensor you are ready to go This image shows the de fault view of the VERVE A Sensori1 Sensor2 Sensor3 Sensor4 Sensor5 Sensor6 Sensor7 Sensors 2 mapper All eight sensor channels can be viewed simultaneously and ea
13. web You can now send a text message to yourself if your friend arrives at your front door or send an email to your neighbor if their dog barks too loud These web events work similar to the keyboard mouse events when a sensor value enters an active web event zone a web event is triggered To use text message and email functionalities you must first enter your email account information into the VERVE 2 mapper app Emails are sent directly from your email address and text messages are converted to the proper format then sent from your email address Currently web events do not indicate if they were sent successfully or failed To check if a web event was sent successfully you can ask the recipient if they received the text message or email or you can check your Sent mailbox in your email account to see if an email was sent The VERVE 2 app and inXus interactive will never use your email account information for any reason Technically this information never leaves the app Your email account informa tion is used to setup a temporary email server SMTP server to send emails This is the same way the Microsoft Outlook app or the OS X Mail app works on your computer However the VERVE 2 app sends emails after being triggered by your sensors To enter your email account information go into the VERVE 2 app settings menu by clicking the gear on the bottom right of the screen The menu screen popup should ap pear Ent
14. 2 using input jacks on the side of the unit and sensor cables that have 3 5 mm audio jacks on their ends When connected the VERVE 2 provides 3 3 v power to the sensors and accepts a signal from the sensors that ranges from 0 to 3 3 v It takes only a few seconds to connect a sensor or swap out with another sensor Sensors can be hot swapped at any time The 3 5 mm jacks make secure connec tions that are clean and tidy no soldering is required there are no loose wires and there is no messy nest of electronics Standard VERVE 2 starter kit comes with everything needed to get started including cables VERVE 2 is a Human Interface Device Almost all hardware interfaces convert electrical signals into digital numbers and send those numbers to the computer which must then capture the data stream and do some thing with the information Usually this means you must write custom software to do anything useful with your sensors VERVE 2 operates in two modes In its first mode inactive it behaves the same as other hardware interfaces sending numbers to the computer However in its second mode active VERVE 2 does not send a typical data stream Instead it sends keyboard and mouse events Almost every modern computer understands keyboard and mouse events and almost every computer app is designed to respond to keyboard and mouse events Thus the VERVE 2 can control almost every app on almost every com
15. are sensors for monitoring almost everything you can imagine and new sensors are being invented every day Most sensors are designed to convert the fs environmental state into a voltage Usu ally a sensor needs special electronics to 7 P Environmental P condition the electrical output so that it is state aah suitable for reading into a computer That A sensor converts an environmental state intoan means the sensor s electrical signal must electrical signal often a voltage usually be amplified filtered and adjusted VERVE2 nXUS so that its range of voltage is reasonable for the electronics that will convert it into digital information This is not a trivial task and this is usually a significant barrier to people who want to use sensors in their electronic projects Fortunately inXus interactive has taken care of all that for you We have prepared a variety of sensors so that they are ready to go The sensors have been pre selected to be appropriate for most peoples needs have conditioning electronics on board are designed to accept a single power source produce a reasonable electrical signal can be easily mounted in your project and have a simple familiar connector This allows you to focus on the creative aspect of your project without getting bogged down with the details of each sensor Computer hardware interface The electrical voltage coming from the sensor electronics is not yet ready to be put into
16. can copy this file and use it with other VERVE units and they will map their sensors exactly the same way as your first VERVE You can also edit this file by hand if you want Even though the VERVE configuration file can be edited by hand we do not recom mend doing this It would be too cumbersome to edit maps try sensors out then re map again until you get things working the way you like Instead we have created a very useful easy to use application that makes mapping sensors a snap a S oe ow oe ee I XUS EE A VERVE 2 system in action User connects a sensor to VERVE 2 unit using standard 3 5 mm jacks and attractive cables VERVE 2 unit accepts up to eight sensors and connects to PC by USB connector Once con nected the VERVE 2 appears to be a keyboard and mouse and sends events as determined by its sensor ac tion map VERVE2 nXUS Mapping VERVE 2 Getting started The VERVE 2 ships with a VERVE 2 mapper application that runs on Mac OS and Windows computers It is provided on a USB memory stick or SD card and is also available on the inXus interactive VERVE 2 website This application is used to produce the action map that is at the heart of your VERVE 2 unit It is very intuitive and easy to use and allows you to play around with your sensors to determine the best map for your project Note the mapper application is not available for Linux however once
17. ch sensors value is displayed in real time Each channel is divided into two zone regions A third region can be identified by dragging up the small oval handle at the bottom of the sensor bar oo VERVE App gt rrer P P P Save Flash 4 Mapper Logger Server Each sensor bar on the mapper app graphically shows the value that VERVE 2 is reading from your sensor in real time Up to eight sensors can be simultaneously viewed by the mapper app This allows you to see what is going on while you play with the sensors This is important because you will usually not know how the sensors are going to respond until you try them While playing with your sensors you can easily determine where each sensor should trigger an action which is usually a keyboard mouse event VERVE 2 allows for up to ten actions per sensor each corresponding to a fixed zone on the sensor scale However most projects will need only two or three actions per sensor Thus in the default view the VERVE 2 mapper allows you to divide each sensor scale into up to three zone regions To do this grab the left triangle control handle on the sensor you want to map Drag the handle up or down to identify the part of the scale that represents the sensor region of interest Then click in that region A callout box will appear that allows you to select the action associated with that range of sensor zones a keyboard event by clicking on the keyboard
18. ddress webpage displays a single JSON string with the sensor names and most recent sensor values If you refresh the page a new JSON string will appear with the newest sensor values This allows web developers to implement AJAX calls to the raw data address server to collect the sensor data with their own web clients An example usage of the AJAX call is shown below ajax type GET url http 192 168 1 1 7501 async false contentType application javascript dataType jsonp success function json handle sensor JSON data p Serving to the internet Sending the sensor data to the internet requires special configuration of your router for port forwarding Directions to configure your router for port forwarding is posted on the inXus interactive website in the VERVE 2 page 19 VERVE2 Using VERVE 2 Making it go Once the VERVE 2 has been mapped with the VERVE 2 mapper app profile was saved in the app you are ready to go Most people will use the same computer to map the VERVE 2 and to use in their project However it is not necessary to use the same computer You are free to disconnect the VERVE 2 and use it with any other computer including Linux computers Raspberry Pi and any device that accepts standard keyboard mouse events on a USB To use the VERVE 2 first connect it to your target computer then press the button to enable mode A blue light should turn on in
19. dicating that the VERVE 2 is now operat ing as a keyboard mouse device You may connect sensors to your VERVE 2 at any time The VERVE 2 will monitor the sensors and send keyboard mouse events to the computer according to the map stored in the unit Controlling apps Any app that can be controlled by a keyboard or mouse can be controlled by the VERVE 2 however some apps are easier to control that others Apps that use mostly mouse actions at specific locations on the screen such as selecting menus are unlikely to be good candidates for controlling with VERVE 2 However apps where mouse actions are simple and much control is provided by keystrokes are likely to be good candidates Most video games such as flying or racing games are usually very easy to control with the VERVE 2 system Other examples are media players sound players and the like Even slide shows like Powerpoint are easy to control with VERVE 2 imagine advancing slides by waving your arm If you want to write your own app you can specify specific secret keystrokes to control your app and map these for your project Playing with your project One of the wonderful things about the VERVE 2 system is that it allows explorative play with your project It s unlikely that you will break anything so go ahead and be creative The sensors are rugged and designed to be simply plugged in and used We encourage you to try things out quickly adjust map
20. er in your email address including the domain name for example YourEmail gmail com and enter your email password The SMTP server and SMTP port should auto generate Click Save and Close Currently only Gmail and Yahoo accounts are fully supported Advanced users can use other email accounts if they are aware of the proper SMTP server host address and port 12 VERVE2 Enter your email account 8 0 0 VERVE App information to use text uti Sensor 1 Sensor2 Sensor3 Sensor4 Sensor5 Sensor6 Sensor7 Sensors message and email fi unc tionality Your personal VERVE App Settings z information will never Email Address YourEmail gmail com be shared and never Email Password Pae Email SMTP Server smtp gmail com actually leaves the app Email SMTP Port Your email information Text Delay s is used to setup a tem AS porary SMTP server to URL Delay s send text messages and Graph Delay s k P Graph Width a emails directly from your Graph Max Points 200000 email address Console Log M Keyboard Layout qwerty Gmail and Yahoo Email Accounts Are Fully Supported Default Save And Close Close To set up a web event click on a sensor region you would like to map and click the Web button in the callout The callout should then change and display the web configuration menu To set up a text message enter the cell phones number you would like to text message select the cell phone s ca
21. have to be adjusted unless you are using a non QWERTY keyboard or you would like to keep a log for debugging purposes By default the VERVE 2 emulates a QWERTY keyboard However international VERVE 2 users can change the keyboard layout by selecting one of the following layouts in the Keyboard Layout dropdown list AZERTY DVORAK QWERTY and QWERTZ Click Save And Close to apply any changes For debugging purposes you can create a console log of the functions that are occurring in the background of the VERVE 2 app This is useful for debugging purposes if the VERVE 2 app crashes unexpectedly and repeatedly To set up the console log click on the down arrow button to the right of the text box on the Console Log entry Select a location for the log to be saved This text document will continue to log information even if you delete the original text document To stop logging this information delete the entire file path in the text box next to Console Log and click Save And Close You can also click Default in the app settings menu to revert all the settings to the default values If you click Save And Close the settings will be saved to the default values and if you click Close your settings wille remain how they were 14 veRve2 US Logging VERVE 2 Sensor logging The VERVE 2 app now comes with graphing and logging capabilities These features can be used to track the res
22. he mapping values for each of the eight sensors and Ov 3 3 v Sensor value Action zones for each sensor channel 0 100 VERVE 2 maps sensor values to specific actions usually sending keyboard mouse events to the computer Each action is identified as a numerical code in the map file and each zone has an action associated with it VERVE2 US each number represents a code for an action There are ten mapping values per sensor ef fectively dividing each sensor into ten action zones When a sensor value is in a particular zone the VERVE unit will execute an action typically sending a keyboard mouse event to the computer The action is based on the mapping value for that zone Most of the zone mapping values are null meaning that most zones are mapped to do nothing When sensor data is received into the VERVE unit it is first digitized by the ADC 10 bit which converts the voltage into a number from 0 to 1023 The number is then scaled and converted to a value from 1 10 representing zones 1 through 10 If the value falls within zone 1 then the action corresponding to zone one for that sensor channel is executed e g a particular keyboard mouse event sent to the computer If the value falls in zone 2 then a different keyboard mouse event may be sent and so on for each zone The configuration file contains everything VERV E needs to know to scale the sen sor value map it and perform a specific action You
23. knowing a thing about serial communications and without writing a single line of code The VERVE 2 allows you to control applications that you wrote yourself as well as applications that you didn t write This includes applications such as video games media players slide shows web pages etc Summary As you can see there a lot involved when getting information from the physical world into your computer The process is as follows 1 environmental status must be converted to an electrical signal by a sensor 2 the sensors electrical signal must be conditioned to make it appropriate for downstream electronics 3 the incoming electrical signal must be digitized by an ADC and converted into a digital number 4 the digital number must be passed to a computer using a communication protocol 5 the numbers must be cap tured and processed by interface software that uses this information in a meaningful way There is so much technical work involved that until now non experts had no way of doing creative things with their computers no way to explore the possibilities of better ways to interact with technology Its no wonder were still using a mouse and keyboard Ze ay os Environmental state Sensor Sensor and front end electronics The path from the physical world to the digital world system computing system Information must be col lected by front end sensors and electronics the signals must be conditioned the
24. lue4 Please note web events are active as soon as the code appears in the sensor region which means you can send a text message without flashing the VERVE 2 and without engaging the VERVE 2 Web events can be saved in profiles that are saved on your computer Web events will also load properly from profiles saved on your computer However web events are not flashed to the VERVE 2 and therefore will not show up if you load the profile flashed to the VERVE 2 using Read VERVE Also the rate at which web events are triggered are limited by the VERVE 2 app If you have a highly sensitive sensor like a motion sensor it is possible that web events would be triggered 20 times in 3 seconds Sending this many emails in that short amount of time would most likely cause your email account to temporarily freeze the company hosting your email account could consider these messages as spam To prevent this from happen ing text messages and emails are limited to send only once in every 10 seconds and URL requests are once in every 1 second This time delay can be adjusted in the VERVE 2 app settings menu by changing the Text Delay s Email Delay s and URL Delay s values Additional settings keyboard layout and console log The VERVE 2 app comes with additional settings that can be accessed in the app settings menu by clicking the gear on the bottom right of the screen These settings generally do not
25. n digitized Hardware interface and prepared for communica tion to a computer Once in the computer software is needed to capture the information and do something useful with it The VERVE 2 system takes care of aid all of this Software interface ADC USB Driver er amp i ea xp nex y ecurn _109e gt d Gate in d nta Seatu t r How VERVE 2 works Overview The VERVE 2 system by inXus interactive simplifies the entire process of connect ing sensors to your computer and using them to do something interesting The sensors provided by inXus interactive are easy to use in your project and work without the need for any additional electronics The VERVE 2 unit acts as 1 a sensor driver 2 a hardware interface and 3 a software interface You will configure your VERVE 2 using a Mac or Windows PC but once configured the VERVE 2 unit can be used with almost any computer including Linux Raspberry Pi Surface and many portable devices Everything has been designed to allow you to get going on your project quickly without getting slowed down by hardware or software details The standard VERVE 2 starter kit comes with the VERVE 2 unit several sensors a USB cable and attractive cables to connect the sensors to your VERVE 2 unit The VERVE 2 connects to your computer via a standard USB cable and gets its power from the 5 v USB Up to eight sensors connect to the VERVE
26. ners cannot design a project with USB Fortunately many commercial hardware interfaces sometimes called data acquisition devices and hobby kits such as Arduino take care of this The VERVE 2 has 8 ADCs and a USB driver built in so you dont have to worry about getting your sensor information into your computer Computer software interface Once the sensor s electrical signal has been converted into a digital number and passed to the computer you will need software to do something with the signal Most commercial hardware interfaces require you to write custom software to use this information Un fortunately this means that 1 you must learn to write custom code and 2 you cannot easily use your sensors to control software that you didn t write yourself Writing your own code can be fun and rewarding but it slows down the creative process Accessing the USB s serial port usually results in debugging headaches even for experi enced programmers Also not all software development environments are supported by VeERVE2 US all commercial hardware interfaces So even if you have a commercial data acquisition device or hobby device you may find that you are stumped by having to write the code to make use of the sensor information That s a fast way to kill a project The exciting feature of the VERVE 2 is that the software interface is not needed You can use the sensor information coming out of the VERVE 2 without
27. nsor and is color coded to match the color of the sensor buttons at the top of the screen Clicking the colored sensor buttons at the top of the screen toggles the hiding viewing of each sensor in the graph Clicking the All sensor button will toggle all sensors to hide view Hiding and viewing the sensors in the graph never delete the sensor data 15 VERVE2 After you click the Start button and begin logging your sensors each line plot will appear on the graph You can pause the logger at any time by clicking the red Pause button When the logger is in the paused state an interactive time scrubbing widget ap pears under the graph You can click grab and drag the time window across all the logged sensor data Also you can hover your mouse on the graph to view the exact sensor value from each sensor in the graph legend You can continue logging your sensors by clicking the green Start button There will be a gap in your data during the paused period but your data will not be deleted e00 VERVE App After you begin logging tty your sensor data click a ey aa the red Pause button to 2014 11 05 19 57 29 get into the paused state ete of the logger page In sensor05 1 sensor06 1 the paused state a time sensor07 1 sensorO8 1 scrubbing widget appears under the graph Click and drag the time win dow to view the entirety of the graph Hover your mouse over the graph 0 to view the exact
28. pings then flip the switch to try out your project Once you get things working the way you like you can then optimize and make your project more permanent 20 What s next Learn discover create Our goal at inXus interactive is to empower everyday people to use technology to do amazing and interesting things that delight inform and make the human condition better We believe the best way to do this is to dive in and do hands on activities We learn best by doing we discover best by exploring and we create best by trying We think the VERVE 2 system will allow you to do exactly that with physical computing Learn OPN Sy wn Fh i fi the A S44 This is especially true for children who are Who will be the next Steve Jobs natural explorers and do not have preconceived ideas about technology We encourage you to use the VERVE 2 system with children at home at school and at play Note since some parts are small we do not recommend this product for children under the age of 7 Share The creative process is enhanced when we share our creations and learn from others If youve made a great project why not share it with others Make a video of your project and post on YouTube or other video sharing website Send us a link If we like it we ll add it to our home page We also think workshops and hackathons are a great way to collaborate Change the world Maybe you ll think were preten
29. ponse of your sensors over time which can be useful if you want to monitor the light entering your living room over the course of a week monitor the loudness of your snoring as you sleep each night or monitor how many times your front door was opened each day To begin logging your sensors navigate to the logger page by clicking the Logger button in the VERVE 2 app navigation bar at the bottom on the screen Your screen should look similiar to the screen below display an empty graph display sensor buttons at the top of the screen and display a green Start button at the bottom of the screen With sensors plugged in press the green Start button to begin logging your sensors 00 re Navigate to the logger page and being logging coolly Sensori gensor Sensors sSensouty Sensor S aiena aang Sensor 8 your sensors by clicking the green Start button You can hide or view cer tain sensors by clicking the sensor buttons at the top of the screen v 3 gt L O 7 C u Wn 19 26 43 19 26 44 19 26 45 19 26 46 19 26 47 19 26 48 19 26 49 19 26 50 19 26 51 19 26 52 Save Data 4 Mapper Logger Server Graph features The graph displays the current time on the x axis and the sensor value on the y axis The sensor values range from 1 not connected to 0 no signal OV to 1023 max signal 3 3V The logger page lets you graph 8 sensors simultaneously Each line plotted in the graph corresponds to each se
30. puter without anyone having to produce a single line of com puter code Keyboard and mouse devices are classified as Human Interface Devices or HIDs Other HIDs include joysticks and some game controllers When VERVE 2 is connected to your computer and turned on to active mode it looks like a standard HID device If your app uses the mouse or keyboard it will be controlled by VERVE 2 Your app has no way of knowing if VERVE 2 sent a keyboard event or if you pressed a button on your keyboard This powerful feature makes VERVE 2 extremely easy to use and makes it work with many apps and computers Mapping sensors to events What makes VERVE 2 useful is its internal mapping system If you want to control your favorite app using a sensor you will need to know which keyboard or mouse events you want to send and when to send them Since VERVE 2 accepts eight sensor inputs it can send eight keyboard mouse events In fact as we will see VERVE 2 can send 80 separate keyboard mouse events to your computer That is a lot of control But it is also very difficult to keep track of things Fortunately VERVE 2 makes this easy for you On board each VERVE 2 unit is a small amount of dedicated memory that stores a small text file that contains a table of numbers This important text file acts as the VERVE 2 configuration file and maps each sensor channel to actions namely send keyboard mouse events These numbers are t
31. rrier from the drop down list enter the message you would like to send and click Save If the phones carrier is not listed you must send the text message through the email option described below A person with T Mobile would have their email address formatted 5555555555 tmomail net A complete list of formatting can be found on our website To set up an email navigate to the email screen using the nav bar enter the email address you would like to contact enter the email subject and message and click Save Use the nav bar at the bottom of the web con figuration menu to set up different web events text Address message email and URL request Be sure to log eoo VERVE App omo Sensor 1 Sensor2 Sensor3 Sensor4 Sensor5 Sensor6 Sensor7 Sensors Subject D Hello From Verve into your email account to send text messages and emails Note web events can trigger with out flashing the VERVE 2 Must Enter Your Email In App Settings Text Email URL Mapper Logger Server 13 To set up a URL request navigate to the URL screen using the nav bar enter the URL address you would like to contact enter any variables and values and click Save URL requests will be used by advanced users wanting to contact specific servers listening for GET methods with this format http www lt SpecificServer gt com variablel value1 amp vari able2 value2 amp variable3 value3 amp variable4 va
32. s running while you do this you will continue to collect and graph data but all data prior that moment will be erased 16 VERVE2 e 00 VERVE App You can collect and store your data by clicking the Save Data button You can get a screenshot of your graph by selecting the Save Graph option You can delete all logged data clear the graph and start fresh by selecting the New option co 2 gt i O un f u Wn 20 32 12 20 32 14 20 32 16 20 32 18 20 32 20 20 32 22 20 32 24 20 32 26 20 32 28 20 32 30 i al New Save Graph au Start Save Data 4 Mapper Logger Server Logger advanced settings The logger has advanced settings that can be adjusted in the VERVE 2 app settings menu by first clicking the gear button on the bottom right of the screen You can adjust the rate the data is logged the graph window width and the maximum number of points saved in the logger Depending on the physical data you will be logging such as the intensity of the ambient light outdoors or the period of a pendulum for a science experiment you may want to adjust the rate at which data is logged The VERVE 2 receives sensor values at a constant rate approximately 100 times per second which cannot be changed However the logger page takes the most recent sensor values adds them to the log and graphs them The rate at which the logger page takes the sensor values can be changed in the VERVE 2 app settings
33. tious but we think we re in the midst of a technology revolution For the first time technology is cheap ubiquitous and available to everyone But technology still needs to become human centric our experiences with technology should be natural and meaningful Whos going to change that This innovative work doesn t have to be relegated to elite researchers in ivory towers and engineers in million dollar research labs We can all play a role Perhaps the greatest contributions will come from everyday people because we all have unique experiences and perspectives and because creativity is in all of us We just need the right tools You ve got the VERVE 2 lets get started We cant wait to see what you ll make Zi
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