This site relies heavily on Javascript. You should enable it if you want the full experience. Learn more.

Firmata protocol

Firmata is a protocol for communicating with microcontrollers from software on a computer (or smartphone/tablet, etc).

The FirmataBoard (Devices) node is able to talk to any microcontroller board (like Arduino, Teensy, Particle.io, ...) that is loaded with the Firmata firmware or uses the Firmata library.

For example, this is how to setup an Arduino Board:

Open the Arduino IDE, choose File > Examples > Firmata > StandardFirmata.
Choose your 'Board' and the 'Port' under the 'Tools'.
Click Upload. Your Arduino is ready.

The FirmataBoard (Devices) node in action.

An Overview

Basic setup.

The extensive helppatch of FirmataBoard (Devices) explains all the details regarding reading and writing data, as well as some advanced topics like using the I2C protocol or a custom Firmata firmware. Here is just a short overview:

Use DigitalWrite (Firmata), AnalogWrite (Firmata) or ServoWrite (Firmata) nodes to set the pins of the board.
Use DigitalRead (Firmata) and AnalogRead (Firmata) nodes to get values from the board's pins.
Use the Sysex Messages output to receive different 'Sysex Messages' sent back by the microcontroller board. Some Sysex decoders are already there (StringDecoder (Firmata), CapabilityResponse (Firmata), ...)

The FirmataBoard (Devices) is able to talk to any microcontroller board loaded with the standard Firmata firmware without any further configuration. In the Arduino-world such Firmata firmware is called "StandardFirmata".
Have some custom Firmata running on your chip? Just provide the configuration manually using the BoardConfig (Firmata).

The nodes were developed together with jens.a.e, author of the original (now legacy) Arduino (Devices StandardFirmata 2.x) node.

Examples in your vvvv\ directory:

girlpower\IO\Arduino
girlpower\VL\Firmata

See also:

anonymous user login

Shoutbox

~19h ago

joreg: Webinar on October 2nd: Rhino meets Realtime with vvvv https://visualprogramming.net/blog/2024/webinar-rhino-meets-realtime-with-vvvv/

~23h ago

joreg: 12-session online vvvv beginner course starting October 7th: https://thenodeinstitute.org/courses/ws24-5-vvvv-beginners-class/

~6d ago

joreg: Introducing: Support for latest Ultraleap hand-tracking devices: https://visualprogramming.net/blog/2024/introducing-support-for-new-ultraleap-devices/

~10d ago

joreg: 2 day vvvv/fuse workshop in Vienna as part of NOISE festival on Sept. 13 and 14: https://www.noise.ist/vienna

~20d ago

joreg: New beginner video tutorial: World Cities https://youtu.be/ymzrK7tZLBI

~20d ago

catweasel: https://colour-burst.com/2023/01/26/macroscopic/ yeah, ' is there anyone who cares about slides anymore...' Well me for a start! :D

~29d ago

ventolinmono: The ELMO TRV-35 slides into your video feed > https://youtu.be/pcIM9mh1c9k?si=iB4FOfI2D6y0iETy

~1mth ago

joreg: The summer season of vvvv workshops is now complete, but you can still get access to all the recordings: https://thenodeinstitute.org/ss24-vvvv-intermediates/

~2mth ago

joreg: Final Call for LINK - the vvvv Summer Camp 2024: https://visualprogramming.net/blog/2024/link-the-vvvv-summer-camp-24-final-call/

~2mth ago

joreg: Workshop on 01 08: Augmented Reality using OpenCV, signup here: https://thenodeinstitute.org/courses/ss24-vvvv-augmented-reality-using-opencv-in-vvvv/