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Thread: New OpenIDN DAC adapter

  1. #1
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    Default New OpenIDN DAC adapter

    I'd like to present the latest news in IDN.
    IDN (ILDA Digital Network), as many of you know, is ILDA's open standard for streaming laser data over networks. IMO this kind of protocol is sorely needed in the industry, to standardize the various different protocols, many of them proprietary, currently used to communicate laser data to projectors and between software. But so far IDN has seen limited adoption in the wild. There are software that supports it, like LaserShowGen, Spaghetti, HE-Laserscan, Excalibur Paint Alchemy and more, but on the hardware side there are very few options.
    But now we have taken a step toward making IDN more accessible by making the OpenIDN project public: https://gitlab.com/laser_light_lab_u...-DAC-Framework

    - OpenIDN

    OpenIDN is a fully open source implementation of an IDN server that can receive data from IDN clients (software etc), and output it to DACs or projectors. The software framework is modular and can be adapted to many purposes, mainly being used as a base for IDN-compatible network DACs.
    OpenIDN is released and managed by Matthew Frank at the Laser & Light Lab at the University of Bonn, with work from students Christian Windeck and Leander Schickhaus, Dirk Apitz from DexLogic, myself, and others.

    - OpenIDN adapter for the Helios Laser DAC

    I have released the first product based on OpenIDN: A network adapter for the Helios Laser DAC: https://bitlasers.com/openidn-networ...he-helios-dac/

    The Helios OpenIDN adapter is a small box with an Ethernet port, Wi-Fi antenna, and USB port. You can plug a Helios Laser DAC (sold separately) into the USB port, and then use either Ethernet (recommended) or Wi-Fi to reach the DAC from your software on the same network.
    The adapter is $109, so even together with the Helios itself which is an extra $109, I believe this makes it one of the most affordable ILDA network DAC setups on the market. You can buy from here: https://bitlasers.com/shop/openidn-n...or-the-helios/
    But wait, there's more, because this adapter is actually built from off-the-shelf hardware, namely a Rock Pi S microcomputer with case, so if you are savvy enough you can actually buy the hardware yourself for even cheaper, and simply install the OpenIDN software on it.
    This also means that the product is very flexible, it runs regular Linux so you can install any kind of custom software on it. Extra features that I plan to add at some point include support for playing .ILD files from the device without the need for a host computer, as well as running multiple Helios DACs from the same adapter.
    Last edited by Grix; 03-08-2024 at 22:33.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Grix View Post
    I'd like to present the latest news in IDN.
    IDN (ILDA Digital Network), as many of you know, is ILDA's open standard for streaming laser data over networks. IMO this kind of protocol is sorely needed in the industry, to standardize the various different protocols, many of them proprietary, currently used to communicate laser data to projectors and between software. But so far IDN has seen limited adoption in the wild. There are software that supports it, like LaserShowGen, Spaghetti, HE-Laserscan, Excalibur Paint Alchemy and more, but on the hardware side there are very few options.
    But now we have taken a step toward making IDN more accessible by making the OpenIDN project public: https://gitlab.com/laser_light_lab_u...-DAC-Framework

    - OpenIDN

    OpenIDN is a fully open source implementation of an IDN server that can receive data from IDN clients (software etc), and output it to DACs or projectors. The software framework is modular and can be adapted to many purposes, mainly being used as a base for IDN-compatible network DACs.
    OpenIDN is released and managed by Matthew Frank at the Laser & Light Lab at the University of Bonn, with work from students Christian Windeck and Leander Schickhaus, Dirk Apitz from DexLogic, myself, and others.

    - OpenIDN adapter for the Helios Laser DAC

    I am releasing the first product based on OpenIDN: A network adapter for the Helios Laser DAC: https://bitlasers.com/openidn-networ...he-helios-dac/

    The Helios OpenIDN adapter is a small box with an Ethernet port, Wi-Fi antenna, and USB port. You can plug a Helios Laser DAC (sold separately) into the USB port, and then use either Ethernet (recommended) or Wi-Fi to reach the DAC from your software on the same network.
    The adapter is $109, so even together with the Helios itself which is an extra $109, I believe this makes it one of the most affordable ILDA network DAC setups on the market.
    But wait, there's more, because this adapter is actually built from off-the-shelf hardware, namely a Rock Pi S microcomputer with case, so if you are savvy enough you can actually buy the hardware yourself for even cheaper, and simply install the OpenIDN software on it.
    This also means that the product is very flexible, it runs regular Linux so you can install any kind of custom software on it. Extra features that I plan to add at some point include support for playing .ILD files from the device without the need for a host computer, as well as running multiple Helios DACs from the same adapter.
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  3. #3
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    Interesting. So in essence, this give WIFI capability to those with certain software and DACs, right?

    I'm curious why you didn't just create a new device that has IDN in and ILDA out? ie combine IDN and Helios in one box? Or is that next?

    I'd like to get to the point where these can be added inside of projectors and skip ILDA ports.

    Nice work nevertheless. I am glad to see momentum on this interface. Gives me motivation to add more support for it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnYayas View Post
    I'm curious why you didn't just create a new device that has IDN in and ILDA out? ie combine IDN and Helios in one box? Or is that next?
    That was my first thought as well! How can I integrate this with my ILDAC-WAV units.

    But it looks like they have a prototype design for that here: https://gitlab.com/laser_light_lab_u...dn-raspi-laser

    Cool project!

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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnYayas View Post
    I'm curious why you didn't just create a new device that has IDN in and ILDA out? ie combine IDN and Helios in one box? Or is that next?
    Indeed that could be next, we'll see. Simple answer for why I didn't do that first is that it's more work. This was a pretty low-stakes product to start with since it only uses off-the-shelf hardware. I have some ideas for the future but I also have a lot of other projects that yearns for attention these days. If I don't make a fully integrated OpenIDN DAC then I'm sure someone else will instead, that's the nature of open platforms. This is only the beginning. And as HankLloydRight links, OpenIDN has already been used for such prototypes during development, running DAC circuitry connected to the SPI or I2C ports of the host microcomputers.

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    Default OpenIDN vs. OpenWrt

    Do you know about OpenWrt? Probably yes!

    Gitle already made the announcement of OpenIDN and the new OpenIDN adapter for the Helios Laser DAC. Here is some more background information: (… please excuse possible redundancy ;-)

    Inspired by the OpenWrt approach in discussion in the ILDA technical committee and an IDN special interest group the idea of OpenIDN was born.

    The OpenIDN-Laser-DAC-Framework is a set of software modules to receive IDN laser data streams on the local network and interface to a laser DAC (Digital to Analogue Converter) for laser projection output.

    Prototype work has been carried out in a Bachelor thesis project in 2022 and 2023 in the Laser & Light Lab at the Institute of Computer Science of the University of Bonn, Germany. The first prototype was using an SPI controlled laser DAC coming from an earlier student project of Uni Bonn. Then the Helios Laser DAC with USB connection was chosen because it is a well-established product on the international market and it has a well-documented open source software driver available for own developing purposes.

    The software of the OpenIDN project is available in a public gitlab.com repository, already linked in Gitle’s first post in this thread.

    OpenIDN is “open” for use on different microcontroller platforms or embedded devices and laser DACs connected by different interfaces (like USB, SPI, ...), and in particular “open” for adaptation to platforms and DACs not yet supported.

    There was already the question on “… a new device that has IDN in and ILDA out? ie combine IDN and Helios in one box?”. Gitle answered. I also consider the OpenIDN network adapter for the Helios DAC offered by Gitle/Bitlasers as a convenient and quick option to get into the “playground” of OpenIDN. And, it yields sustainability of reusing many Helios Laser DACs which are out in the field!

    Additionally, OpenIDN can be compiled in the OpenWrt build system to be executed on OpenWrt devices / routers. This may be beneficial to make use of several LAN ports of OpenWrt devices (e.g. for daisy chaining the network connection between several OpenIDN DACs) and/or also to make use of switching/routing capability between Ethernet and Wireless LAN.

    Concerning the OpenIDN framework, we are curious to see what the future will bring to this project. We would be pleased if many users and developers among the laser enthusiasts make use of OpenIDN and also join in and contribute to the project. Fingers crossed, let’s see!

    And of course, the final goal is to have single devices capable of IDN input and laser DAC output, in the best case to be integrated into a laser projector, with just RJ45 port(s). And as Gitle mentioned, IDN in general is open, thus it is foreseeable that we will have devices of several vendors with basic IDN operation, but possibly different flavors of feature sets, additional functionality, etc. .


    (btw, this is my first post on PL, although I joined already a few years ago ;-)

  8. #8
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    When will this be available ?

    I have my Helios.

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    Quote Originally Posted by mixedgas View Post
    When will this be available ?

    I have my Helios.

    Steve
    I think now if you look on the GitHub page. You just have to DIY putting it together yourself.

    Or buy it from here (I think the link was forgotten to be posted - also found on the GitHub page):

    OpenIDN network adapter for the Helios DAC – Bitlasers $109

    - - - Updated - - -

    I forgot to say that this is really A double Awesome. Thanks for all that put time into it.

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    Quote Originally Posted by mixedgas View Post
    When will this be available ?
    Indeed, it is already released and you can either buy it from me with that link, or make one yourself. There was a buy button on the webpage but I guess it was not so prominent, sorry for the confusion!

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