Mirror, a Dan Shiffman video capture sketch

#
# Mirror
# by Daniel Shiffman.
#
# Each pixel from the video source is drawn as a rectangle with rotation
# based on brightness.

load_library :video
include_package 'processing.video'

# Size of each cell in the grid
CELL_SIZE = 20

# Variable for capture device
attr_reader :cols, :rows, :video

def setup
  size(640, 480)
  frameRate(30)
  @cols = width / CELL_SIZE
  @rows = height / CELL_SIZE
  color_mode(RGB, 255, 255, 255, 100)
  @video = Capture.new(self, width, height)
  # Start capturing the images from the camera
  video.start
  background(0)
end

def draw
  return unless video.available
  video.read
  video.load_pixels
  # Begin loop for columns
  cols.times do |i|
    # Begin loop for rows
    rows.times do |j|
      # Where are we, pixel-wise?
      x = i * CELL_SIZE
      y = j * CELL_SIZE
      # Reversing x to mirror the image
      loc = (video.width - x - 1) + y * video.width
      r = red(video.pixels[loc])
      g = green(video.pixels[loc])
      b = blue(video.pixels[loc])
      # Make a new color with an alpha component
      c = color(r, g, b, 75)
      # Code for drawing a single rect
      # Using translate in order for rotation to work properly
      push_matrix
      translate(x + CELL_SIZE / 2, y + CELL_SIZE / 2)
      # Rotation formula based on brightness
      rotate((2 * PI * brightness(c) / 255.0))
      rect_mode(CENTER)
      fill(c)
      no_stroke
      # Rects are larger than the cell for some overlap
      rect(0, 0, CELL_SIZE + 6, CELL_SIZE + 6)
      pop_matrix
    end
  end
end

Experimenting with refinements

Now unfortunately refinements are not yet supported with jruby-9.0.0.0 but I'm going report experiment here (with mri ruby 2.2.0) to replace ruby-processing monkey patched string with refinement. Thought to self I could probably use forwardable to tidy things up a bit.

# test refinement to replace monkey patching
module StringUtil
  refine String do

    def titleize
      underscore.humanize.gsub(/\b([a-z])/) { $1.capitalize }
    end

    def humanize
      gsub(/_id$/, '').gsub(/_/, ' ').capitalize
    end

    def camelize(first_letter_in_uppercase = true)
      if first_letter_in_uppercase
        gsub(/\/(.?)/) { '::' + $1.upcase }.gsub(/(^|_)(.)/) { $2.upcase }
      else
        first + camelize[1..-1]
      end
    end

    def underscore
      gsub(/::/, '/')
        .gsub(/([A-Z]+)([A-Z][a-z])/, '\1_\2')
        .gsub(/([a-z\d])([A-Z])/, '\1_\2')
        .tr('-', '_')
        .downcase
    end
  end
end

# Using StringUtil
class Test
  using StringUtil

  def initialize(title)
    @title = title
  end

  def titleize
    @title.titleize
  end

  def humanize
    @title.humanize
  end
end

fred = Test.new('bloody_toad')
puts fred.humanize
puts fred.titleize

Output:-

Bloody toad
Bloody Toad

But perhaps we don't need refinements with use of 'forwardable'

require 'forwardable'

# Avoid the monkey patching of String for camelize
class CamelString
  extend Forwardable
  def_delegators(:@string, *String.public_instance_methods(false))
  def initialize(str)
    @string = str
  end

  def camelize(first_letter_in_uppercase = true)
    if first_letter_in_uppercase
      @string.gsub(/\/(.?)/) { '::' + $1.upcase }.gsub(/(^|_)(.)/) { $2.upcase }
    else
      @string[0] + camelize[1..-1]
    end
  end
end

test = 'test_case'
puts CamelString.new(test).camelize
puts CamelString.new(test).camelize false

Output:-

TestCase
testCase

require 'forwardable'

# Avoid the monkey patching of String for underscore/titleize/humanize
class StringExtra
  extend Forwardable
  def_delegators(:@string, *String.public_instance_methods(false))
  def initialize(str)
    @string = str
  end

  def titleize
    gsub(/::/, '/')
      .gsub(/([A-Z]+)([A-Z][a-z])/, '\1_\2')
      .gsub(/([a-z\d])([A-Z])/, '\1_\2')
      .tr('-', '_')
      .downcase
      .gsub(/_id$/, '')
      .gsub(/_/, ' ').capitalize
      .gsub(/\b([a-z])/) { $1.capitalize }
  end

  def humanize
    gsub(/_id$/, '').gsub(/_/, ' ').capitalize
  end

  def underscore
    gsub(/::/, '/')
      .gsub(/([A-Z]+)([A-Z][a-z])/, '\1_\2')
      .gsub(/([a-z\d])([A-Z])/, '\1_\2')
      .tr('-', '_')
      .downcase
  end
end

test = 'TestCase'
puts StringExtra.new(test).underscore
puts StringExtra.new(test).titleize
puts StringExtra.new(test).humanize

Testcase
test_case
Test Case

What is more using these two classes I can completely replace the monkey-patching of String in JRubyArt and hence probably ruby-processing................

Configuring ruby processing

There is this gui for configuring ruby-processing, it is a regular processing sketch you can run in the processing ide.
You should click the noruby button if you have not installed jruby (and do not intend to install jruby) on your system (but then you may find you can't run sketches using other gems).
You could use processing-3.0a5 instead of processing-2.2.1 (but then use the processing ide to install the sound/minim and video libraries, since these are no longer included in processing-3.0).
The suggested location of processing root will adapt for your OS (a typical linux location is shown, Archlinux uses /usr/share/processing, others may choose /opt/processing).

Vanilla processing sketch configRP5.pde

This is an example config file:-

{
  "JRUBY": "false",
  "PROCESSING_ROOT": "/home/tux/processing-3.0a5",
  "X_OFF": 192,
  "Y_OFF": 108
}

Or create your own .rp5rc 'yaml' file in $HOME, with an editor such as vim (configRP5 saves as 'json', psych can use either form) X_OFF and Y_OFF can be used to control the position of the sketch on screen:-

---
PROCESSING_ROOT: /home/tux/processing-2.2.1
JRUBY: "false"
X_OFF: 50
Y_OFF: 50

Windows users might benefit from setting the 'RP5_ROOT' environmental variable here (point it to where gem gets installed). You can also enter global 'java_args' here if you wish, however using java_args.txt in the sketches data folder is more flexible. Though apparently a .jrubyrc in a local folder, takes precedence, this may be very useful to run say shader sketches (a possible alternative to my custom Rakefile to configure autorun sketches?). Anyone using processing-3.0+ should be aware that sketchbook path setting might be changed for processing-3.0+ use JRubyArt instead of ruby-processing.

A Golan Levin video capture sketch translate to ruby-processing

#
# Background Subtraction
# by Golan Levin.
# translated to ruby-processing by Martin Prout
# Detect the presence of people and objects in the frame using a simple
# background-subtraction technique. To initialize the background, press a key.
#

load_library :video
include_package 'processing.video'

attr_reader :background_pixels, :number_of_pixels, :video

def setup
  size(640, 480)
  init_video
end

def init_video
  # This the default video input, see the test_capture
  # example if it creates an error
  @video = Capture.new(self, width, height)
  # Start capturing the images from the camera
  video.start
  # Create array to store the background image
  @number_of_pixels = video.width * video.height
  @background_pixels = Array.new(number_of_pixels, 0)
  # Make the pixels[] array available for direct manipulation
  load_pixels
end

def capture  # captureEvent does not work like vanilla processing
  @video.read
  background 0
end

def draw
  return unless (video.available == true)
  capture
  video.load_pixels # Make the pixels of video available
  # Difference between the current frame and the stored background
  # current_sum = 0
  number_of_pixels.times do |i| # For each pixel in the video frame...
    # Fetch the current color in that location, and also the color
    # of the background in that spot
    curr_color = video.pixels[i]
    bkgd_color = background_pixels[i]
    # Extract the red, green, and blue components of the current pixel's color
    curr_r = curr_color >> 16 & 0xff
    curr_g = curr_color >> 8 & 0xff
    curr_b = curr_color & 0xff
    # Extract the red, green, and blue of the background pixel's color
    bkgd_r = bkgd_color >> 16 & 0xff
    bkgd_g = bkgd_color >> 8 & 0xff
    bkgd_b = bkgd_color & 0xff
    # Compute the difference of the red, green, and blue values
    diff_r = (curr_r - bkgd_r).abs
    diff_g = (curr_g - bkgd_g).abs
    diff_b = (curr_b - bkgd_b).abs
    # Add these differences to the running tally
    # current_sum += diff_r + diff_g + diff_b
    # Render the difference image to the screen
    pixels[i] = (diff_r << 16) | (diff_g << 8) | diff_b
  end
  update_pixels # Notify that the pixels[] array has changed
  # p current_sum # Print out the total amount of movement
end

def key_pressed
  video.load_pixels
  @background_pixels = video.pixels.clone
end

A simplified ASCII video capture sketch in ruby processing

In ruby it is often easier to see wood from trees, and code is somewhat self documenting:-
Character placement might be somewhat more regimented in this version, but it saves a heap of push pop matrix calls.

#
# Simplified ASCII Video capture sketch in ruby-processing
# by Martin Prout after a Ben Fry original
#
#
# Text chars have been used to represent images since the earliest computers.
# This sketch is a simple homage that re-interprets live video as ASCII text.
# See the key_pressed function for more options, like changing the font size.
#
load_library :video
include_package 'processing.video'

attr_reader :bright, :char, :cheat_screen, :font, :font_size, :letters, :video

# All ASCII characters, sorted according to their visual density
LETTER_STRING = %q{ .`-_':,;^=+/\"|)\\<>)iv%xclrs{*}I?!][1taeo7zjLunT#JCwfy325Fp6mqSghVd4EgXPGZbYkOA&8U$@KHDBWNMR0Q}
LETTER_ORDER = LETTER_STRING.scan(/./)
def setup
  size(640, 480)
  init_video
  @font_size = 1.5
  @font = load_font(data_path('UniversLTStd-Light-48.vlw'))
  # for the 256 levels of brightness, distribute the letters across
  # the an array of 256 elements to use for the lookup
  @letters = (0...256).map do |i|
    LETTER_ORDER[map1d(i, (0...256), (0...LETTER_ORDER.length))]
  end
  # current brightness for each point
  @bright = Array.new(video.width * video.height, 128)
end

def init_video
  # This the default video input, see the test_capture
  # example if it creates an error
  @video = Capture.new(self, 160, 120)
  # Start capturing the images from the camera
  video.start
  @cheat_screen = false
end

def capture  # captureEvent does not work like vanilla processing
  @video.read
  background 0
end

def draw
  return unless (video.available == true)
  capture
  hgap = width / video.width
  vgap = height / video.height
  scale([hgap, vgap].max * font_size)
  text_font(font, font_size)
  index = 0
  video.load_pixels
  (0...video.height).each do |y|
    # Move down for next line
    (0...video.width).each do |x|
      pixel_color = video.pixels[index]
      # Faster method of calculating r, g, b than red(), green(), blue()
      r = pixel_color >> 16 & 0xff
      g = pixel_color >> 8 & 0xff
      b = pixel_color & 0xff
      # Calculate brightness as luminance:
      # luminance = 0.3*red + 0.59*green + 0.11*blue
      # Or you could instead red + green + blue, and make the the values[] array
      # 256*3 elements long instead of just 256.
      pixel_bright = [0.3 * r, 0.59 * g, 0.11 * b].max
      # The 0.1 value is used to damp the changes so that letters flicker less
      diff = pixel_bright - bright[index]
      bright[index] += diff * 0.1
      fill(pixel_color)
      text(letters[bright[index]], x / font_size, y / font_size)
      # Move to the next pixel
      index += 1
    end
  end
  set(0, height - video.height, video) if cheat_screen
end

MESSAGE = <<-EOS
Controls are:
  g to save_frame, f & F to set font size
  c to toggle cheat screen display
EOS

def key_pressed
  case key
  when 'g' then save_frame
  when 'c' then @cheat_screen = !cheat_screen
  when 'f' then @font_size *= 1.1
  when 'F' then @font_size *= 0.9
  else
    warn MESSAGE
  end
end

A Ben Fry video capture sketch in ruby-processing

A more funky video capture example in ruby-processing, in my hands this sketch seems to require the --nojruby flag.

#
# ASCII Video
# by Ben Fry, translated to ruby-processing by Martin Prout.
#
#
# Text chars have been used to represent images since the earliest computers.
# This sketch is a simple homage that re-interprets live video as ASCII text.
# See the key_pressed function for more options, like changing the font size.
#
load_library :video
include_package 'processing.video'

attr_reader :bright, :char, :cheat_screen, :font, :font_size, :letters, :video

# All ASCII characters, sorted according to their visual density
LETTER_STRING = %q{ .`-_':,;^=+/\"|)\\<>)iv%xclrs{*}I?!][1taeo7zjLunT#JCwfy325Fp6mqSghVd4EgXPGZbYkOA&8U$@KHDBWNMR0Q}
LETTER_ORDER = LETTER_STRING.scan(/./)
def setup
  size(640, 480)
  init_video
  @font_size = 1.5
  @font = load_font(data_path('UniversLTStd-Light-48.vlw'))
  # for the 256 levels of brightness, distribute the letters across
  # the an array of 256 elements to use for the lookup
  @letters = (0...256).map do |i|
    LETTER_ORDER[map1d(i, (0...256), (0...LETTER_ORDER.length))]
  end
  # current brightness for each point
  @bright = Array.new(video.width * video.height, 128)
end

def init_video
  # This the default video input, see the test_capture
  # example if it creates an error
  @video = Capture.new(self, 160, 120)
  # Start capturing the images from the camera
  video.start
  @cheat_screen = false
end

def capture_event(c)
  c.read
  background 0
end

def draw
  return unless (video.available == true)
  capture_event(video)
  push_matrix
  hgap = width / video.width
  vgap = height / video.height
  scale([hgap, vgap].max * font_size)
  text_font(font, font_size)
  index = 0
  video.load_pixels
  (0...video.height).each do
    # Move down for next line
    translate(0,  1.0 / font_size)
    push_matrix
    (0...video.width).each do
      pixel_color = video.pixels[index]
      # Faster method of calculating r, g, b than red(), green(), blue()
      r = pixel_color >> 16 & 0xff
      g = pixel_color >> 8 & 0xff
      b = pixel_color & 0xff
      # Another option would be to properly calculate brightness as luminance:
      # luminance = 0.3*red + 0.59*green + 0.11*blue
      # Or you could instead red + green + blue, and make the the values[] array
      # 256*3 elements long instead of just 256.
      pixel_bright = [r, g, b].max
      # The 0.1 value is used to damp the changes so that letters flicker less
      diff = pixel_bright - bright[index]
      bright[index] += diff * 0.1
      fill(pixel_color)
      text(letters[bright[index]], 0, 0)
      # Move to the next pixel
      index += 1
      # Move over for next character
      translate(1.0 / font_size, 0)
    end
    pop_matrix
  end
  pop_matrix
  # image(video, 0, height - video.height)
  # set() is faster than image() when drawing untransformed images
  set(0, height - video.height, video) if cheat_screen
end

MESSAGE = <<-EOS
Controls are:
  g to save_frame, f & F to set font size
  c to toggle cheat screen display
EOS

#
# Handle key presses:
# 'c' toggles the cheat screen that shows the original image in the corner
# 'g' grabs an image and saves the frame to a tiff image
# 'f' and 'F' increase and decrease the font size
#
def key_pressed
  case key
  when 'g' then save_frame
  when 'c' then @cheat_screen = !cheat_screen
  when 'f' then @font_size *= 1.1
  when 'F' then @font_size *= 0.9
  else
    warn MESSAGE
  end
end

Video capture with ruby-processing

Simple sketch to get you started with video capture on ruby-processing, makes sense to set sketch to dimensions you think that your camera can work with (use cameras instead of select for an unfiltered list, but it can be very long list as many low resolution cameras get listed, each with lots of fps settings).

load_library :video

include_package 'processing.video'

attr_reader :cam

def setup
  size(960, 544)
  cameras = Capture.list
  fail 'There are no cameras available for capture.' if (cameras.length == 0)
  p 'Matching cameras available:'
  size_pattern = Regexp.new(format('%dx%d', width, height))
  select = cameras.grep size_pattern # filter available cameras
  select.map { |cam| p cam }
  fail 'There are no matching cameras.' if (select.length == 0)
  start_capture(select[0])
end

def start_capture(cam_string)
  # The camera can be initialized directly using an
  # element from the array returned by list:
  @cam = Capture.new(self, cam_string)
  p format('Using camera %s', cam_string)
  cam.start
end

def draw
  return unless (cam.available == true)
  cam.read
  image(cam, 0, 0)
  # The following does the same, and is faster when just drawing the image
  # without any additional resizing, transformations, or tint.
  # set(0, 0, cam)
end