
Previously I was experimenting with trying to write advanced programs in uLisp, embedded on an Arduino with a TFT display/touchscreen. Ultimately this proves not the best approach due to limitations in the memory and also the uLisp interpreter. A different approach is to keep the uLisp interpreter on the Arduino, but limit the on-board programming to a set of core interface commands, e.g., (drawline) and (fillscr). Then have the desktop computer or server sending uLisp commands over the serial connection. Of course, the uLisp commands can be constructed in Racket Scheme, allowing the power of the Racket syntax and libraries, and the great CPU and memory access, in controlling the arduino. I.e., remote control by the Mother Brain.

The demo I’ve programmed here is drawing the harmonograms slow enough to watch, so as to simulate the harmonograph experience. I do not have a camera setup suitable to show this in live video, but here are some snapshots:
The Racket code for the demo is available here:
ftp://lavender.qlfiles.net/Racket/arduino-harmon-demo.7z (md5sum 7e2bc9bc2ea25d048577b28c95c4fca5)
The project to adapt uLisp with TFT control primitives is here:
http://savannah.nongnu.org/projects/ulisp-tft
Though control over serial cables is doable for some applications, the longer-term goal would be to have them transmitted over Wi-Fi.
Good thinking!
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