Beat Bricks – A LEGO Step Sequencer from superquadratic on Vimeo.

There’s something about that feeling of snapping a LEGO brick in place, a tactile connection to childhood memory. So, while it’s perhaps neither necessary nor terribly practical, this rig that turns a LEGO board into a step sequencer is somehow irresistible. And, like any good hack, it’s a chance to learn and discover – one that, thanks to freely-available code, is shared.

The ingredients: a camera, Ableton Live, and some code for analyzing the camera image and translating those events into MIDI messages Live can turn into sound. It’s the work of Bonn, Germany-based artist/creative coder superquadratic.

Made at ADVANCE HACKATHON 2012 in Cologne using a webcam, Python, OpenCV, OSC, MIDI and Ableton Live.
Source Code: github.com/superquadratic/beat-bricks
ADVANCE HACKATHON: hackathon.advance-conference.com

Thanks to Alexander Joscht for the tip!

LEGO bricks have certainly attracted hackers before. A selection of the many LEGO appearances we’ve seen previously:
Brilliant LEGO Mindstorms Drum Machine, NXT-606 – New Video
A LEGO Sequencer, Imaginary Electronic Antiques, and Other Yoshi Akai Creations
LEGO Christmas Tree Plays Carols, Courtesy Max/MSP, Custom Electronics
DIY monome Case from LEGOs, Live Performance in a Bathroom

And, most recently, of course, LEGOs even made a CD case.

Check it out in action:

15 responses to “A LEGO Step Sequencer, Made with a Camera and Code [Video; Open Source Code]”

  1. Jamsire says:

    DOPE.

  2. Jamsire says:

    DOPE.

  3. Jamsire says:

    DOPE.

  4. Tom D says:

    That’s awesome!

  5. Tom D says:

    That’s awesome!

  6. Tom D says:

    That’s awesome!

  7. 020200 says:

    I attended this superb event in Cologne (also also contributed with an own project ( http://www.nodepond.com/blog/350-luacrumbs-3d-visualizer-successful-project-at-advanced-hackathon-2012 ). The Lego Bricks after all also won the Hackathon 2012 Community Contest Price. Here is a small roundup of some other small projects and a video of the winning-performance of Lego-Bricks… https://dingfabrik.de/2012/05/01/dingfabrik-projekte-auf-dem-advance-hackathon-2012/ Have Fun! 😉

  8. 020200 says:

    I attended this superb event in Cologne (also also contributed with an own project ( http://www.nodepond.com/blog/350-luacrumbs-3d-visualizer-successful-project-at-advanced-hackathon-2012 ). The Lego Bricks after all also won the Hackathon 2012 Community Contest Price. Here is a small roundup of some other small projects and a video of the winning-performance of Lego-Bricks… https://dingfabrik.de/2012/05/01/dingfabrik-projekte-auf-dem-advance-hackathon-2012/ Have Fun! 😉

  9. 020200 says:

    I attended this superb event in Cologne (also also contributed with an own project ( http://www.nodepond.com/blog/350-luacrumbs-3d-visualizer-successful-project-at-advanced-hackathon-2012 ). The Lego Bricks after all also won the Hackathon 2012 Community Contest Price. Here is a small roundup of some other small projects and a video of the winning-performance of Lego-Bricks… https://dingfabrik.de/2012/05/01/dingfabrik-projekte-auf-dem-advance-hackathon-2012/ Have Fun! 😉

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