Last week was a blur! I spent most of the week in Dayton, Ohio, working on a production of Gem of the Ocean, then made a whirlwind trip to Long Beach for a couple of days at the Stage Expo at USITT. One of the exciting parts of the conference for me is seeing the development and increasing availability of automation and control equipment and systems. At this year's Expo I stopped by two stations that were particularly interesting in this vein: the SDSU PLC Lab, and the Trinculo's Attic table.

SDSU grad Eben Alguire walked me through six of the PLC Lab stations and described what they were trying to accomplish by having the PLC Lab at the Expo. According to Eben, the purpose of the lab was to help demonstrate the possibilities programmable logic controller technology provides for controlling automated effects on stage. Additionally, the lab was intended to dispel some of the anxiety that people might feel about the difficulty of working with PLCs by providing some simple examples of what can be done, and demonstrating how easily those simple examples can be accomplished.

The six stations Eben showed me were all built around Automation Direct's CLICK-series logic controller. These are low-cost, modular logic controllers; a basic CPU and power supply unit can be had for as little as $100; their command set is relatively simple, and the programming software is available as a free download. (Automation Direct partnered with SDSU by providing the equipment for the lab as a donation.) The stations provided control for a pneumatically-powered ping-pong ball shooter; pneumatic cylinders playing a digital keyboard; and for a simple two-button interactive setup. One additional station provided a sandbox for designing touchscreen interactivity on Automation Direct's C-More touch screen panels, which interface nicely with the CLICK PLC series of devices.

I thought the idea behind this lab was great. We use CLICK PLCs in my automation control systems class because they are so inexpensive and accessible for those new to the idea of logic controllers. Providing a place for people to play around with the possibilities seems like a great way to introduce them to the opportunities PLCs provide. Based on the number of people I saw making their way through the lab over the two days I spent on the floor, many others thought so too!

Trinculo's Attic is a new company specializing in bringing low-cost microprocessor control to theatre production. I find this idea fascinating mostly because of my interest in microprocessors and micro-computing, and was excited that someone else was thinking the same way I was! Their product line features programmable phone ringers, miniature servo controls, constant-on and blinking LED modules, Arduino/DMX shields, and MIDI interfaces. Everything a theatre and electronics junkie needs to get started (and the starter kit is really reasonably priced!)

Additionally, Ben Peoples of Trinculo's Attic was selling copies of his book, Embedded Electronics for Theatre. I picked up a copy, and it promises to be a great introductory text for students interested in exploring electronics and its application to theatre. I was thrilled about this find (and especially about the fact that their table was placed directly next to the Purdue table, so I had ample opportunity to examine their wares)!

Next week: we received the first delivery of parts and pieces for the automation and control lab stations we're building here at Purdue, courtesy of an instructional equipment grant. I've started putting together the first of six PLC stations, and I'll be sharing photos!

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