V3.1 - Conclusions + Zen

Looking at the videos again, I'm a little frustrated and excited about the project. I do really like the weird Tron style and odd blips of mis-aligned lights. It has that great analog effect of old-futuristic movies that hasn't yet quite come to pass.

Believe it or not, but that odd blip doesn't happen in person, but seems like some frame-rate issue with the video. Documenting this is pretty hard, as many POV-ers will attest these things effect your eyes very differently than a camera's CCD. I've tried different long exposures, ISO/apertures, video settings and found some things that work pretty well. As I said too, I've accidentally made some very nice and surprising images along the way.

I think the V3.1 video part 1 starts to look quite a bit like the animation of the 3D model I tried to match. That alone is pretty promising. As I hoped to do I've learned a lot about vertical and radial resolution, and the RPM/FPS needed for the animation and Persistence of Vision, not to mention circuit design software, PCB manufacturing, built a 3D-to-2D to micro-controller design process, and made all that work together pretty well.

So, V4 and V5? I'm still trying to work out what resolution I think a very detailed 3D bonsai tree will need. I also should define what an acceptable first tree will do. Will it "grow" over time? Can that be spontaneous, or does it need to be pre-programmed? If it is generated by an algorithm, what outside forces can be incorporated into the process over time? I'd like a flexible development platform, a very hi-res LED array so I could concentrate on the programming end of that. I suppose those things will have to come along together.

This is a lot of progress, and I'm feeling pretty good about it. I'm also feeling like, other than a better 3D tree model for V3.1 to display and a slightly faster fan, I've reached the end of the V3 family. I'll likely begin work on V4, either in 3D or in written form next.