Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

FAQ

What is the 'Vortex Engine'?

Just like how the same motor can be found in various different models of cars, the 'Vortex Engine' is the core piece of software that runs all of the Vortex products. Each device (Orbit, Gloveset, Pendant, etc) uses the same 'Vortex Engine' at it's core with slight modifications to accomodate the device hardware.

What is special about the Vortex Engine?

The Engine was created from the ground up as a robust solution to rapidly develop complex or sophisticated patterns or effects for any Vortex devices including Vortex Gloves, Orbit, Pendant, and more.

But the engine was also written to allow for reuse beyond just Vortex devices. For example, the Vortex Editor reached it's first alpha version in less than ten days because at the heart of the Vortex Editor is just the Vortex Engine itself.

Because of this, you can think of the Vortex Editor as a 'Vortex device' itself -- except it's on a computer and can be controlled with a real user interface instead of a single button. The Editor can conveniently transfer it's configuration to any Vortex device at any time because they use the same software at their core: the Vortex Engine.

In order to make this possible no less than hundreds of hours of development have gone into the Vortex Engine source code, modern software development practices have been followed and no corners have been cut; if you're developer you should feel at home in the project.

The Vortex Engine hides away the ugliness of writing code for a microcontroller, it eliminates the nuance of manually timing blinks and patterns, it provides timers and APIs for colorset control, and it provides a framework for developers to not only create complex and sophisticated patterns on any Vortex Device but some devices even contain hidden Easter Eggs in the form of interactive games that are made possible because of the Vortex Engine!

So the source code of the Vortex Engine and Vortex Editor have been made entirely public with the hopes that developers and non-developers alike will find interest in the project and come join us on [github]

What does the editor do?

To put it simply, the editor allows you to customize the savefile of your Vortex device.

However in reality the editor allows you to do so much more than that.

When you plug a Vortex Device into a computer that is running the Vortex Editor you unlock a doorway to configuring that device in ways that can never before be exposed with just a single clicking button.

Every single Pixel on the device can be programmed with any pattern and colorset independent of one another, and each available pattern provides a range of unique configurations parameters like blink timings and repeat counts.

The ultimate part is while configuring the savefile in the Editor all changes can be reflected in realtime on the attached device as you make the changes. So each time a color is modified, or a pattern is switched, the attached device will instantly update to show the new configuration!

Is there an App? Or will there be an App?

At the moment we do not currently have a mobile-based Editor but it's very possible we will be able to rapidly develop one given the modularity of the Vortex Engine itself. Keep posted for updates on this matter!

What sets the Vortex Engine aside from the software that runs other microlights or flow products?

Vortex Engine is not just a firmware to run microlights, Vortex Engine is an attempt to unite flow artists by providing a range of products which all operate under the same rooftop. unfinished