Common Sense provides a wealth of input and output functions including opto-isolated contacts, keypad readers, analogue sensors, real time clock, DMX512, MIDI, MIDI Timecode, RS232 and RS485. A Windows software package, Sense-Edit, is used to configure the relationship between all of the inputs and outputs. This can include up to 350 discrete events such as 'When DMX channel 3 passes 50% send this serial data string'.
Common-Sense has recently been extended to provide even more functionality. The optical inputs can now be combined using Boolean equations to provide even greater triggering sophistication. This new feature is particularly useful when interfacing to devices such as 'beam break' sensors. It allows concepts such as: "Trigger show 3 when someone enters zone 3, but only if zone 1 is empty."
The programming software Sense-Edit can be downloaded from the Artistic Licence website. Sense-Edit can also be run on Mac OS using the Windows emulator.
(Lee Baldock)
