How the use of plugins can expand the possibilites of design and 3D Model

Grasshopper is a very powerful plugin for Rhino 3D that allows the user to generate 3D geometry based on algorithms. However, some functions that the Grasshopper lacks, there are an enormous variety of Grasshopper plugins that manage to add resources to it.

One of the main aspects that these plugins can incorporate into Grasshopper is the ability to link the digital environment of Grasshopper and Rhino and the physical environment by using tools such as cameras, microcontrollers, cellphones among others.

In this sense, two plugins are relevant to discuss: GHowl and Firefly.

Firefly:

Firefly offers a set of software tools dedicated to bridging the gap between Grasshopper (a free plug-in for Rhino) and micro-controllers like the Arduino. It allows near real-time data flow between the digital and physical worlds – enabling the possibility to explore virtual and physical prototypes with unprecedented fluidity

As a generative modeling tool, Grasshopper offers a fluid visual interface for creating sophisticated parametric models, but by default, it lacks the ability to communicate with hardware devices such as programmable microcontrollers or haptic interfaces. Firefly fills this void. It is an extension to the Grasshopper’s parametric interface; combining a specialized set of components with a novel communication protocol (called the Firefly Firmata or Firmware) which together enable real-time communication between hardware devices and the parametric plug-in for Rhino.

A notable distinction for Firefly is that it is the first visual microcontroller programming environment designed specifically for a 3-D parametric CAD package (such as Rhino). This feature means that real-world data, acquired from various types of sensors or other input devices (video cameras, internet feeds, or mobile phone devices, etc.) can be used to explicitly define parametric relationships within a Grasshopper model. Firefly completes the communication feedback loop by allowing users the ability to send information from Grasshopper back to the microcontroller in order to incite specific actuations (i.e. lights, motors, valves, etc). Ultimately, this workflow creates a new way to create interactive prototypes.

(description from: http://www.food4rhino.com/)