The Make Controller Kit is a great way to extend your Max/MSP applications into the real world by interfacing with sensors, motors, lights, and other electronic devices.  The Make Controller communicates with Max via OSC, a popular protocol used between otherwise disparate environments and devices. This guide will walk through how to set up to read sensors and control output devices from Max/MSP with the Make Controller Kit.

There are two ways to communicate with the Make Controller from within Max:

• via an Ethernet connection, using Max's built-in udpsend and udpreceive objects.
• via USB, using MakingThings' mc.usb external.

Both approaches use OSC, and you can use either or both of them at any given time.

 

Setup

There are a few things to download and install before we get going.

• Confirm you've uploaded and are running Heavy, the firmware on the Make Controller Kit.  You can download it here and follow this how-to to upload it.
• Download the OpenSoundControl and osc-route objects from CNMAT here, as they aren't included in the standard Max distribution.
• If you plan on communicating with the Make Controller via USB, download the mc.usb external - [ Windows ] [ OS X ].

Drop the external objects into your externals directory within your Max installation, follow any other instructions from each of the downloads, and we should be all set.