I managed to develop an isadora patch to track cells on a punchcard and translate them to RGB values as it knits each row on the knitting machine. Using a live camera feed, 24 tiny masks isloate each cell on a 24 stitch punchcard, and a brightness claculator helps to identify wither that cell is punched or not. Punched cells are translated to binary values. 8 cells equate to a potential total value of 255. Since there are 3 sets of 8, we are able to create three values of 0-255, or in other words, a specific RGB value. These are being sent to a second screen as a projected colour, but also sent via DMX (via the Enttec DMX Pro) to LED par can lights, changing the colour with each knitted row.

The patch can be calibrated easily, shifting the size and pitch of the masks, and works best with a constant light source near the punchcard mechanism. What I struggled to calibrate though is the knitting table – it is too wobby! With a sturdy table, wobble would be minimal and so the cell tracking would be stable.