Michael Fogleman

The goal of this library is to provide a simple, fun, and easy-to-use API for generating 3D models in our favorite language Python. The code simply uses the Marching Cubes algorithm to generate a mesh from a signed distance function (SDF). This would normally be abysmally slow in Python. However, numpy is used to evaluate the SDF on entire batches of points simultaneously. Furthermore, multiple threads are used to process batches in parallel. The result is surprisingly fast (for marching cubes). Supports text, 2D extrusion & revolution, image masks, various file formats, and more!

The code below is a complete example which generates the model shown in the image. This is the canonical Constructive Solid Geometry example. Note the use of operators for intersection, union, and difference.

from sdf import *

f = sphere(1) & box(1.5)

c = cylinder(0.5)
f -= c.orient(X) | c.orient(Y) | c.orient(Z)

f.save('out.stl')

The AxiDraw is a very nice modern pen plotter. It ships with Inkscape-based software for controlling it, but I was more interested in programmatically controlling it myself. So I wrote this library that controls the plotter directly over the USB serial port.

The most interesting part of this project, for me, was writing my own motion planning algorithm. I stuck with constant-acceleration for simplicity, and the code for the planner came out to just a couple hundred lines of Python!

See the motion planning algorithm in action in this web-based visualization.

Features

• control the AxiDraw directly from Python with a simple API
• convenient command-line utility
• constant acceleration (trapezoidal velocity) motion planning
• path drawing order optimization
• drawing transformations
• preview drawing (render to png)
• turtle graphics
• lindenmayer systems

This was my submission in the /r/proceduralgeneration monthly challenge. I used several excellent third party libraries...

• cairo for rendering
• colour for color interpolation
• noise for simplex noise
• Pillow for saving debug images of noise layers
• pyhull for delaunay triangulation
• Shapely for all kinds of 2D geometry operations

This code interfaces with a USB GPS receiver and produces a 3D visualization of GPS satellite positions for all of the satellites that are currently in view.

This code converts HiRISE DTMs from their PDS format to a 3D mesh in STL format with an accompanying normal map texture for high-resolution lighting. The visualizer was written using pg, my Python OpenGL library.

This code provides an interesting API for constructing tilings of regular polygons. It can also render the dual tilings.

The program targets an input image. The input image is split into four quadrants. Each quadrant is assigned an averaged color based on the colors in the input image. The quadrant with the largest error is split into its four children quadrants to refine the image. This process is repeated N times.

Efficiently create AllRGB images that target an input image. The input must be 4096x4096px. The output will also be 4096x4096px and will contain all 16,777,216 distinct RGB values once and only once.

See allrgb.com for details on the concept.

Graphviz is the main player when it comes to graph visualization. But its output isn't very appealing, at least not by default. With this in mind, and being a fan of simulated annealing, I experimented with using annealing for graph layout. The results are pretty good, but it probably doesn't scale very well. The algorithm basically tries to minimize the following metrics, with different weights applied to each:

• Node-Node Intersections
• Node-Edge Intersections
• Edge-Edge Intersections
• Edge Lengths
• Total Graph Area
• Node Rank Violations

Piet Mondrian was a Dutch painter. His paintings with orthogonal lines and rectangular splashes of primary colors on white backgrounds are very recognizable. I wondered what it would take to programmatically generate Mondrian-esque images. Here's what I came up with.

A very performant Minecraft clone written in just a few thousand lines of C using modern OpenGL (shaders). Online multiplayer support is included using a Python-based server. Many people have used this as a base upon which a more complex game was built.

Download

• Windows Download (2.2 MB)
• Mac Download (733 KB)

The DCPU-16 was intended to form the basis of a video game by Mojang called 0x10c. Work on the game has since discontinued, but at the time there was a lot of excitement around this virtual hardware.

Implemented Specifications

• DCPU-16 1.7
• LEM1802
• Generic Keyboard
• Generic Clock

Download

• Windows Download (11.2 MB)
• Mac Download (5.6 MB)

Features

• Over 100 built-in templates.
• Enter your own header and footer text.
• Adjustable text size and alignment.
• Use your own images.
• Save as PNG or copy to the clipboard.
• Print directly from the app.
• Automatically upload to imgur.
• Automatically post to reddit.

My friend introduced me to a board game called Ricochet Robot (or Rasende Roboter in its original German form). It's a fun game, but I found it even more fun as a programming problem. I implemented the game in Python, including a user interface and a solver. After that, I sped up the solver tremendously by porting it to C. My solver includes several "tricks" that make it quite fast. See these slides for more details.

Feed Notifier is an application for Windows and macOS that resides in the system tray or menu bar and displays pop-up notifications on your desktop when new items arrive in your subscribed RSS or Atom feeds.

Feed Notifier is for you if you want a news aggregator that focuses on real-time feed notifications and leaves out all the other stuff that comes with most news readers.