High-speed sensor close-up of custom PCB with optical sensor mounted on aluminium bracket, laboratory lighting.
Interactive installations need to respond instantly โ not in 50ms, not in 20ms, instantly. This custom PCB samples eight sensor channels at up to 10,000 samples per second, processes the data onboard, and outputs clean interaction signals in real time.
The Problem
Most off-the-shelf microcontroller platforms are designed for general-purpose use โ they can do many things at moderate speed. For interactive gallery and performance work, where the installation must respond to human presence, touch, or movement faster than the participant can consciously perceive, general-purpose isn't enough.
The High-Speed Sensor Sampling System was designed specifically for this context: maximum responsiveness, minimum latency, clean analog signal handling, and reliable operation over extended exhibition periods without maintenance.
Technical Specifications
Core Performance
- Sampling rate: up to 10,000 samples per second per channel
- 8 simultaneous analog input channels
- 12-bit ADC resolution (4096 discrete values per channel)
- Sub-millisecond response latency from sensor input to output signal
Sensor Compatibility
- Capacitive touch surfaces
- Pressure and force sensors
- Proximity sensors (IR, ultrasonic)
- Accelerometers and gyroscopes (via I2C/SPI)
- Environmental sensors: temperature, humidity, light
- Custom analog signals
Connectivity
- USB โ plug-and-play compatible with Max/MSP, Pure Data, Processing, and custom software
- Wireless module support (Bluetooth LE, WiFi) for cable-free installations
- OSC and MIDI output protocols
Onboard Processing
- Real-time digital filtering and noise reduction
- Gesture recognition algorithms (tap, hold, swipe on capacitive surfaces)
- Multi-sensor data fusion โ combine inputs for complex interaction patterns
- Threshold and hysteresis configuration without host software
Design Philosophy
The board was designed to be as capable in an advanced installation as in a beginner's workshop. The hardware doesn't simplify itself for educational contexts โ instead, the documentation and workshop programme adapt the same professional tool for different audiences.
This matters because participants in the electronics workshops leave with something genuinely useful for real projects, not a toy that gets retired after the workshop is over.
Installation Use
The system is used as the core sensing layer in several Bubaki installations. In the context of a gallery exhibition running for weeks, reliability and stability are as important as speed โ the board is designed for continuous operation with no required restarts or maintenance.
Touch-responsive surfaces, proximity-triggered audio, gesture-controlled visual environments, multi-user interaction scenarios โ the board handles all of these, often simultaneously.
Have a Project in Mind?
We work with artists, institutions, festivals, and private clients. Whether it's a commission, a collaboration, or an idea in need of a technical and creative partner โ we'd love to hear about it.