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Archive: Arduino
December 1, 2008
Breathing books
Bre visits Dam Stuhltrager gallery in Brooklyn to check out an exhibition of breathing books created by artist Edith Kollath. Each book's surreal movement is controlled via Lilypad Arduino, likely chosen for its thin easy-to-conceal profile which keeps the art looking properly book-like.
Unfortunately, the art's clever design proved a heap of trouble for the artist during travel. Thankfully, the books were finally retrieved after a 3-month stay in legal limbo. Get more of the story @ NYCResistor.
More:
Make a Secret Compartment Book - Weekend Projects PDFcast
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Dec 1, 2008 05:00 AM
Arduino, Arts, Maker Shed Store |
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Make an Arduino based tin can robot
This is a really cool robot made from an Arduino and a tin can. The best part about the project is a Father and his 3 & 6 year olds built it together. What a great way to spend the Thanksgiving weekend!
This blog post will show you how to build an autonomous robot that seeks out light based on a toy with a low power DC motor, an Arduino board, and a host of electronic components. Look at the pictures or go and check out a movie of the end product-- the robot on a flashlight "leash." I built it with my 6 and 3 year olds over Thanksgiving weekend in stages, and we had a blast doing it.
More about making an Arduino based tin can robot
In the Maker Shed:
Co-Robot Kit
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Dec 1, 2008 02:00 AM
Arduino, DIY Projects, Electronics, Kids, Robotics |
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November 30, 2008
Make your own Arduino controlled bell tower / carillon
Mechatronics writes -
This is a set of musical bells which are driven by solenoids and controlled by an Arduino microcontroller.
There are 8 bells covering one octave.
The bells are controllable from a PC, or the tower can stand alone and play pre-programmed melodies.
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 30, 2008 03:10 AM
Arduino, DIY Projects, Electronics, Instructables, Music |
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November 28, 2008
"Technology Context Communicator" made from 5 Arduinos
Here is where I would attempt to summarize the meaning behind Bram Knaapen's "Technology Context Communicator". It's a fairly complex subject matter, so I think I will let him do it for me:
The non face-to-face communication of social and emotional experiences between people usually happens through phone or other media like e-mail, IM (instant messaging or webcam (e.g. Skype). The context in which the experiences were experienced plays an important role. Neither the technology nor our way of describing enables us to communicate this context in a way it can be "experienced" by the other person. There still are a few layers of formulation & interpretation in between: you can only imagine. This project focuses on the design of a system that is able to communicate the real-time context of a remote user so that the receiving person is able to " feel" as if he/she is there without the translation steps that are required when describing an experience. Emphasis is on the visual element in experience and thus imaging technology. The final concept is a modular system of connectable triangles that can be mounted to the wall and can project a real-time abstract display of a remote visual context.
More about the "Technology Context Communicator" made from 5 Arduinos [arduino.cc]
In the Maker Shed:
Make: Arduino
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Nov 28, 2008 08:00 AM
Arduino, Arts |
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Arduino composite video
I am definitely adding this to the top of my list of "things I have to build". It looks like an extremely simple solution for displaying video via an Arduino. If any of our readers try this out before I do, post a link in the comments or email me. I would love to see the results. Thanks!
More about Arduino composite video
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Nov 28, 2008 03:00 AM
Arduino |
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November 27, 2008
Turkey upgrade with Arduino!
Yes - it's true. There is absolutely no item in existence that the Arduino microcontroller platform cannot enhance! Matt stepped up his Thanksgiving experience by adding a plethora of Arduino tech to his pre-cooked holiday centerpiece -
I'm always looking out for new ways to add more shields and components to my Arduino, and this felt like a natural (and festive) experiment, so I gave it a shot: it's an Arduino, Potentiometer (for user input), accelerometer (to know it's bearings), and compass (so the turkey's always facing due north), Lithium Backpack (for mobility of course), and TouchShield Stealth (for output) wired through a fairly large turkey :)Now he can monitor vital Turkey orientation data with ease - and of course he outlined his process step-by-step - Introducing the 8-bit embedded TurkeyShield
More:
Arduino based turkey temperature probes
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Nov 27, 2008 04:00 AM
Arduino, Holiday projects |
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November 26, 2008
Arduino Gift Guide!
The Arduino open-source microcontroller platform can be programmed and equipped to perform a nearly endless list of functions. It's likely the best all-around centerpiece to a modern electronics project. But one of the tasks Arduino is best used for is straight-up fun - the open design means there's an Arduino board suitable for almost any project, and a wealth of add-on "shields" extends its abilities with ease.
Updated! - This list keeps growing, and growing and ...
Starter kits
Arduino Starter Kit - The best way to get going with the very capable microcontroller platform, the starter kit sets you up with a bunch of basic parts necessary for tinkering plus a wealth of knowledge in the included 400+ pages of Making Things Talk, by Arduino developer Tom Igoe. Features -
- 1x Arduino Diecimila
- 1x Mini Breadboard
- 1x 3 ft. USB Cable
- 10x 1K Resistors
- 2x 10k Resistors
- 3x Red LEDs
- 2x Green LEDs
- 1X Superbright Blue LED
- 1x Momentary Tactile Switch
- 2x Interlink Force Sensing Resistors
- 1x Protoshield Kit (unassembled)
- Making Things Talk by Tom Igoe
- 24" each of Red, Blue & Black AWG jumper wire
- 9V Battery Case w/DC Plug (some assembly required)
- Yes, even a 9V battery
Price $89.99
Arduino Starter Pack - A different take on the Arduino survival kit, this pack from Adafruit includes potentiometers, a DC wall adapter, and a nice selection of LEDs -
- Arduino Duemilanove - including 4 rubber feet
- 3' USB cable
- Protoshield Kit
- Tiny Breadboard
- 9V DC regulated wall adapter
- 9V Battery case with switch and a 2.1mm plug
- 10K potentiometer, 1K potentiometer
- 2 small pushbuttons
- 5 red diffused bright LEDs, plus one each of red, green and blue ultra-bright LED
- 5 100 ohm resistors, 5 1K resistors, 5 10K resistors
- CdS photocell sensor
- 4 pieces of 18" long jumper wire in red, black, yellow and blue
Price $65Read full story
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Nov 26, 2008 10:00 AM
Arduino, Kits, Maker Shed Store |
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Another look at the Arduino MIDI touchpad
Collin posted about the Arduino MIDI touchpad a few months ago. At the time, there wasn't too much information about the project. Now you can get the code and read more about the build on the Arduino forums. It's always great to see Makers share their code! Thanks ludo!
More about the Arduino MIDI touchpad
In the Maker Shed:
Make: Arduino
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Nov 26, 2008 01:00 AM
Arduino |
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HOW TO - Make a "Net data meter"
Antique voltmeter displays current air quality from the web - By Tom Igoe...
One thing that disappoints me about computers is how little character they possess. Antique instruments of information display, like Victorian pendulum clocks, barometers, and compasses, and Babbage’s calculating engines, have a presence that modern computers lack.
Read full storyPosted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 26, 2008 12:00 AM
Arduino, DIY Projects, Electronics, Gadgets, Green, hacks |
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November 24, 2008
Arduino Wave Shield for costume sound effects
Foofers made a button-triggered sample player using Arduino + Wave Shield for use as a sound effects enhancement for costumes -
In the example here I've got a different animal sound attached to each button on a keypad…but it’s very flexible in that regard, you could use magnetic switches in a glove to trigger different sounds, or pressure sensors in the feet to make stompy noises, things like that.- Rar Box is Go! [via LadyAda's Ranting]
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Nov 24, 2008 01:00 PM
Arduino |
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DIY TSA... HOW TO - Make a "Safety spectrometer"
Make a device that identifies dangerous liquids by analyzing light - By Eric Rosenthal...
After air travel security banned bottled water and baby formula, I began wondering why they didn’t use a device to determine the contents of liquids. If a liquid was detected to be safe, security could allow it on the plane. Spectrometers can identify the chemical makeup of a material by shining light on it and analyzing the precise mix of colors that bounce back.
Read full storyPosted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 24, 2008 05:00 AM
Arduino, DIY Projects, Electronics, Gadgets, Science |
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HOW TO - Control a Gakken SX-150 using Arduino
Mr. Book sent in his strategy for controlling Arduino from a MIDI controller through Processing -
My implementation uses a single DAC IC chip, the MCP4921, which sells for about 2 bucks from Mouser. The current version uses the Arduino, only to read one byte, as a midi note, from the serial connection and sends that to the SX-150. I could have created the full midi circuit to make it a standalone solution, but that increases the cost and complexity of the physical connections. I'll probably do that on a later revision.Very excellent - all code available on his site - Controlling a Gakken SX-150 synth with ArduinoSo, in order to receive midi data, I wrote a small Processing sketch that receives midi, and sends the note information through the serial port to the Arduino.
More:
HOW TO - control a Gakken SX-150 via MIDI
Bare Bones Arduino Board Kit (Unassembled)
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Nov 24, 2008 04:00 AM
Arduino, Maker Shed Store, Music |
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November 22, 2008
Hacking the Wiimote IR camera
You can connect to the Wii remote over bluetooth or use an Arduino to send peripheral data to the Wiimote, but what if you want to interface directly with the Wiimote's IR camera? The sensor is particularly good at tracking coordinates for 1 to 4 points—it could be a simple way to add sophisticated tracking capabilities to your own project.
David Cranor writes,
There is a great site about hacking the wiimote IR camera to interface it with a computer - but it's all in Japanese! Perhaps you could post these links and see if anybody could translate it?
This page details how to desolder the camera itself and build a standalone circuit for it so that it can be connected to an I2C bus, and subsequently a computer (i think, anyway - the schematics are in English, and there's a video).And this page talks about how to connect the camera to an Arduino via some of I2C shield that he's built.
I'd really like to have access to this information for my projects, so if somebody would be able to translate these pages, that would be awesome!
A quick run through Google's Japanese to English translator yielded a reasonably understandable result:
Wii IR sensor connection details
Connecting the Wii IR sensor to Arduino
The second link contains a wealth of information on talking to the IR sensor over I2C, including some details on adjusting sensitivity parameters. The translation is a little rough, but combined with some of the sample code, I think I have the gist of it:
To initialize the IR camera, you have two options: 1) a simple, default initialization or 2) an initialization that allows you to specify 4 configuration parameters that affect the sensitivity of the device.
Simple Initialization:
Just write the following byte sequences, with a small delay between writes (assumes a successful ACK). The first byte on each line is the register you are writing to.
0x30 0x01
0x30 0x08
0x06 0x90
0x08 0xC0
0x1A 0x40
0x33 0x33
Initialization with sensitivity setting:
The author defined 5 sensitivity levels, and there are four parameters (p0, p1, p2, p3) that are adjusted for each level. Here are the settings:
Level 1: p0 = 0x72, p1 = 0x20, p2 = 0x1F, p3 = 0x03
Level 2: p0 = 0xC8, p1 = 0x36, p2 = 0x35, p3 = 0x03
Level 3: p0 = 0xAA, p1 = 0x64, p2 = 0x63, p3 = 0x03
Level 4: p0 = 0x96, p1 = 0xB4, p2 = 0xB3, p3 = 0x04
Level 5: p0 = 0x96, p1 = 0xFE, p2 = 0xFE, p3 = 0x05
Quoting the Wiimote Wiki IR sensor page, these parameters correspond to:
p0: MAXSIZE: Maximum blob size. Wii uses values from 0x62 to 0xc8
p1: GAIN: Sensor Gain. Smaller values = higher gain
p2: GAINLIMIT: Sensor Gain Limit. Must be less than GAIN for camera to function. No other effect?
p3: MINSIZE: Minimum blob size. Wii uses values from 3 to 5
Either pick your own custom settings for the parameters, or choose them from one of the 5 levels above, then send the following data to the device:
0x30, 0x01
0x00, 0x02, 0x00, 0x00, 0x71, 0x01, 0x00, p0
0x07, 0x00, p1
0x1A, p2, p3
0x33, 0x03
0x30, 0x08
The author also links to the following source, which serves as a helloworld for reading sensor data directly from the IR camera:
Wii Remote IR sensor test for Arduino
Wii Remote IR sensor test for ATMEGA168
Finally, since the IR sensor is a 3.3v device, you'll want to do a little voltage conversion before interfacing it directly with a 5v device like your typical Arduino (Arduino Pro users don't have to do a thing). Sparkfun has a guide for using 3.3v electronics with 5v microcontrollers, which should be all you need. It makes me wonder if anyone sells a pre-built 3.3v shield.
Hopefully this is all you'll need to get things working. Make sure to send us a tip if you make something cool using the Wii IR sensor.
Previously:
HOWTO: Make a Wiimote peripheral
Hook your Wii nunchuck up to an Arduino
Posted by Jason Striegel |
Nov 22, 2008 10:00 PM
Arduino, hacks |
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November 20, 2008
Arduino based turkey temperature probes
This is a cool way to incorporate an Arduino into your Thanksgiving dinner. Check out this site on Thanksgiving for live video feeds and core turkey temperature graphs thanks to an Arduino. [Thanks Michael]
In addition to video, flickr and twitter feeds, probably the single coolest part of the site is the live temperature graph. We have an arduino based system that measures the temperature of the bird, the air in the smoker and the outside air and updates a graph on the site so anyone can see how the bird is coming.
More about the Arduino Based Turkey Temperature Probes
In the Maker Shed:
Bare Bones Arduino Board Kit (Unassembled)
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Nov 20, 2008 12:55 PM
Arduino |
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Modify a MiniPOV into an AVR programmer
This project shows how to use a MiniPOV3 as an AVR programmer. Read more about this build at the link below.
Using a MiniPOV3 as an AVR programmer
Posted by Jonah Brucker-Cohen |
Nov 20, 2008 06:00 AM
Arduino, Electronics |
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ArduSoccerBot: Arduino soccer robot
Oscar sent in this cool looking Arduino powered robot. Apparently it was built by a group of 16 year olds for a soccer competition. The translated site has a lot more information about the ArduSoccerBot.
ArduSoccerBot is a kind of teaching which aims to make a robot soccer (in the style of the RoboCup Junior) using a single USB controller Arduino Diecimila.
More about ArduSoccerBot: Arduino soccer robot
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Nov 20, 2008 02:00 AM
Arduino, Robotics |
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November 19, 2008
Arduino & XBee wireless accelerometer
This is a good place to learn about wireless communications using an XBee and an Arduino. There are a lot of different sensors that could use this same code with only slight variations.
I managed to put together a wireless accelerometer the other night using my two new XBees, an Arduino XBee shield, an XBee Explorer USB, an ADXL330, and some Python. I struggled a bit with some of it, so here's what I learned.
More about XBee & Arduino wireless accelerometer
In the Maker Shed:
Arduino Mini Board, fully assembled
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Nov 19, 2008 01:00 AM
Arduino, DIY Projects, Electronics, Wireless |
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November 18, 2008
Auduino synth project
The Auduino project turns Arduino into a PWM based sound synthesizer -
Sound is generated by playing the same noise ('grain') repeatedly at very high speed. This merges into a tone that is an audible hybrid of the repetition rate and the original grain.Only basic hardware required - 5 potentiometers, and an output jack -The grain consists of two triangular waves of adjustable frequency, and adjustable decay rate. The repetition rate is set by another control.
Looks like a cool project - details, links to Arduino code here - Auduino
Arduino Pocket Piano Synth Kit
Posted by Collin Cunningham |
Nov 18, 2008 04:00 AM
Arduino, DIY Projects, Music |
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Building a universal remote with an Arduino
This is a nice DIY universal remote using an Arduino and an IR LED. Hopefully you have an oscilloscope so you can decode your current remote. If not, keep checking craigslist for a really cheap one. That's where I got mine.
It is really easy to build a universal remote using an Arduino. With just an infrared LED, it can impersonate remotes for your TV, fans, lights, etc. and can let you easily incorporate these into your electronics projects. You won't even have to solder anything or void any warranties.
More about Building a universal remote with an Arduino
In the Maker Shed:
Make: Arduino
Posted by Marc de Vinck |
Nov 18, 2008 02:00 AM
Arduino, DIY Projects, Electronics |
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November 17, 2008
Open Source Hardware overview....
The REPLICATOR blog put together an overview of Open Source Hardware including a past presentation I co-authored, a good start if you're interested in the ongoing evolution of the Open Source Hardware movement.
The biggest challenges I see ahead involves the use of the term "Open source hardware" - for the folks who have been doing OSH, it's pretty specific - basically others can use your stuff in a commercial way, Arduino being a specific example, you can manufacture you own and sell them if you wanted (some have). The flipside is, some makers don't want to allow commercial use of their projects but *do* want to share their works in a non-commercial way. The term "open hardware" has been gaining some interest along with a specific Creative Common-like license, for example - "Open Hardware Project" with a "Non-commercial manufacturing license".
Post your thoughts in the comments!
More:
Open source hardware, what is it? Here's a start...
Posted by Phillip Torrone |
Nov 17, 2008 08:00 AM
Arduino, DIY Projects, Electronics, Open source hardware |
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