Turn your old soda bottles into 3D printer filament with ProtoCycler

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3D printing can now be sustainable and affordable.

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As if 3D printing isn’t revolutionary enough, Canadian startup ReDeTec has devised a filament extruder that uses plastic waste. A spool of 3D printing filament in one color costs around $30-$50; but if you already recycle your own plastic, your spools are free with ProtoCycler.

The team – Dennon Oosterman, Alex Kay and David Joyce – recognizes that simplicity, reliability, performance and hackability are important to Makers and tinkerers. So much so, ProtoCycler allows anyone to create whatever they want without worrying about the cost or the environment. This easy-to-use machine takes in your recycled waste, and produces filament up to 10 feet a minute, in any color you like.

Designed to be the easiest extruder on the market, ProtoCycler employs patent pending MixFlow technology to ensure consistent filament and faster extrusion of ABS and PLA plastic. In total, the device is equipped with five motors (two steppers for extruding and pulling, a fan for cooling, a servo for spreading and a small little motor for spooling), three sensors (one temp and two diameter), and an ATmega32U4 for a brain.

Makers will love the fact that it is fully automated with a push of a button, alleviating any unnecessary hassle. For more experienced users, ProtoCycler has open source software so you can experiment with your own settings and custom materials, fit for any 3D printer.

The ProtoCycler comes with a built-in grinder, intelligent computer control, safety certification and real time diameter feedback. It has a grinder input of 5” x 5”, and an all metal hot end for 400+ Celsius. At 14” x 12” x 10,” ProtoCycler can sit on a table without taking up too much space.

After three years of development, Oosterman and his crew are ready to get ProtoCycler into the hands of the public. ProtoCycler recently wrapped up a successful Indiegogo campaign, but those wishing to get their hands on an affordable, sustainable 3D printer filament can do so here.

Alright, so you may not find this lipstick robot inside a Sephora anytime soon

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Let’s just be glad it wasn’t eyeliner.

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A robotic arm can wake Simone Giertz up, brush her teeth, feed her breakfast, and now, it can even put on her lipstick before a night on the town… well, sort of.

In an experiment that was simply an “afternoon impulse,” the Swedish YouTuber and tech enthusiast decided to program her infamous uArm and give it a tube of red lipstick. The ATmega328-powered robotic device then proceeded to apply the makeup, regardless of where it thought Giertz’s mouth was. The results were, as expected, not so pretty.

Good news beauticians, your jobs are still safe!

17 smart crowdfunding campaigns you may want to back this week

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Every Friday, we take a look at some of the smartest, most innovative projects that caught our attention on Kickstarter and Indiegogo over the last seven days. 

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LoPy

This IoT dev platform combines LoRa, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth Low Energy all in one package. Pycom is currently seeking $54,238 on Kickstarter.

InsideCoach

This sensor-laden soccer ball captures data during practice to help analyze performance and improve skills. InsideCoach is currently seeking $25,000 on Kickstarter.

Radiomize

This gesture-controlled steering wheel cover will turn any car into a connected car in seconds. Radiomize is currently seeking $50,000 on Indiegogo.

BearTek Gen II

This pair of gloves keep your hands warm, while enabling you to remotely control your smartphone and GoPro camera. BearTek is currently seeking $40,000 on Indiegogo.

FORM Collar

This collar measures barbell lifts to better your form and performance. Scott Mahr is currently seeking $100,000 on Kickstarter.

Tittle Light

This interactive LED lamp transforms your home with captivating 3D visualizations. SPIN-R just hit its goal of $30,000 on Indiegogo.

Connected Sleeve

This beautifully-crafted leather sleeve will wirelessly charge your smartphone. De Rigueur is currently seeking $54,513 on Kickstarter.

Serenity

This discreet alarm uses Bluetooth to protect your bags from thieves. Andrew Lentz is currently seeking $40,000 on Kickstarter.

Ultraloq UL3 BT

This smart lever lock can be unlocked by fingerprint, code, key or smartphone. U-tec is currently seeking $20,000 on Indiegogo.

AirVisual Node

This monitor displays immediate, accurate air quality data both indoors and out for healthier, more productive environments. AirVisual has already passed its goal of $10,000 on Indiegogo.

Essential Guide to Electronics in Shenzhen

This resourceful book is designed to assist non-Mandarin speakers navigate the Hua Qiang electronics market. Bunnie Huang has nearly doubled his $10,000 goal on CrowdSupply.

CubeSat for Disclosure

This low-cost satellite will be packed with infrared, electromagnetic and radiation sensors, as well as two cameras to photograph UFOs and other space anomalies. David Shock is currently seeking $10,000 on Kickstarter.

101 Sensor Kit

This Arduino-compatible kit will let Makers create interactive projects using common sensors and modules. OSEPP is currently seeking $8,585 on Kickstarter.

PiAngle Zero

This plug-and-play four-port USB hub directly connects to the USB micros of your Raspberry Pi Zero. Sean Hodgins is currently seeking $3,553 on Kickstarter.

Porcelite

This resin allows Makers using 3D printers with a UV light source to print in a true porcelain ceramic material. Tethon 3D has already reached its $5,000 goal on Kickstarter.

NextDev

This inexpensive device is equipped with Wi-Fi connectivity and an LCD touchscreen to provide Makers with an easy-to-use IoT interface.

I-SEN1

This low-power, XBee-controlled board allows real-time monitoring of temperature, pressure, humidity and light data. IZITRON is currently seeking $26,686 on Kickstarter.

Did you happen to miss last week’s notable campaigns? If so, you can check them out here.

It’s not every day that you see a robot sink a hole-in-one

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Move over, Tiger! 

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In 1997, Eldrick Tont “Tiger” Woods aced the 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale. Now almost 20 years later, a robot named after him sank the exact same shot. You heard that correctly: a robot hit a hole-in-one. What’s even more impressive is that, unlike most golfers who probably couldn’t accomplish that feat in an entire lifetime, LDRIC (which stands for Launch Directional Robot Intelligent Circuitry) needed just five tee-off attempts to master the 163-yard 16th hole.

LDRIC is the brainchild of San Diego-based Gene Parente, owner of Golf Labs, whose robots are widely used throughout the industry. The bots are capable of being programmed to perform perfect swings, as well as replicate hooks, slices and other flaws inherent to the average player.

Build a simple shot-pouring robot

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ShotBot pours you a drink with the push of a button.

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The ShotBot, not to be confused–or used in conjunction with–the “ShopBot CNC router,” is a simple machine for dispensing, what else, shots. It’s powered by a Geekduino, an Arduino-compatible board with an ATmega328 at its core, along with two RobotGeek Pumping Stations and a few other parts.

The build itself is fairly simple, with each of the two pumping stations hooked up to a digital pin on the Geekduino, and two buttons hooked wired in for control. The input tube is inserted into a bottle of your beverage of choice, and the output is, as you might guess, placed into a shot glass.

Per the default code, the pump is activated for 2500 milliseconds (2.5 seconds) to dispense the shot. You can, of course, edit this value, depending on the amount of liquid desired. It should be noted that the pumps used are diaphragm-based, so your liquid source needs to be below the pump itself, otherwise your beverage of choice will simply drain out by itself.

You can see it demonstrated in below, and as noted later in the video, “That is a very dangerous toy.” Definitely use something like this responsibly, as our robot helpers can’t quite drive us home yet.

 

Watch some fish steer their own tanks

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These two projects give ‘Go Fish’ a much more literal meaning.

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Oh, boy! This is gonna be good, I can tell.” 

Sure, we may still be a few years away from ubiquitous autonomous cars, but what about the world’s first driverless vehicle for fish? Believe it or not, this is actually something that several folks have sought to make a reality.

First, there’s Dutch design group Studio Diip who back in 2014 modded an existing tank with wheels and sensors that enabled its inhabitant to operate the vehicle by swimming in a specific direction. According to its creators, the aptly dubbed Fish on Wheels was “an attempt to liberate fish all over the world.”

A transparent tank is equipped with a webcam positioned above the water, a battery-powered Beagleboard-XM and an Arduino-controlled robotic car. The camera tracks the fish’s movement using the contrast between the fish and the bottom of the tank. Meanwhile, little Nemo’s position inside the tank is then employed to send commands to the Arduino to steer the gadget in that direction. The whole device is completely standalone.

“Up until now driving vehicles has been limited to mankind only, but now your pet fish can also put the pedal to the metal,” the team writes.

Interestingly enough, Studio Diip weren’t the only ones hoping to “encourage more development in enhanced pet mobility.” Maker Adam Ben-Dror recently trained his Siamese fighting fish (named José) to not only jump out of the water to get food on command, but to follow his hand as he circles it around the outside of the bowl.

Knowing that José is more than a mindless creature with just three-second memory, Ben-Dror decided his fish should have more freedom to swim around more than just the confines of its 1.5-foot-wide tank. That is what led the Maker to create the Abovemarine, a vehicle that allows his pet — or any other fish — to roam around and interact with its fellow land dwellers.

The Abovemarine is equipped with an Arduino and a camera that tracks José’s movement in real-time, while a computer running OpenCV processes the directional information and actuates the mobile tank’s three omni wheels.

High school student creates a smart wearable for Parkinson’s patients

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OneRing monitors motor distortions and generates patient reports.

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After school activities for the average high school student typically entails sports practices, music lessons and homework; but creating a smart medical device for a disease that affects 10 million people seems unlikely. That’s not the case for Cupertino High School sophomore Utkarsh Tandon. Tandon is the founder of OneRing, an intelligent tool for monitoring Parkinson’s disease.

OneRing is a wearable that captures movement data from a patient, algorithmically identifies Parkinson’s tremor patterns and classifies the severity. Tandon first became interested in studying the disease when he watched a video of Muhammad Ali, who has Parkinson’s, light the Olympic torch in 1996. After volunteering at a local Parkinson’s institute, the 15-year-old decided to build a company that focuses on improving the lives of those affected by this movement disorder. He began working on signal processing and machine learning algorithms, before evolving the concept and founded OneRing.

OneRing quantifies Parkinson’s disease movements and its mobile app leverages the data collected to generate smart patient reports that physicians can use to better prescribe medication. At the core of the device is its machine learning technology. The OneRing has been trained to model various Parkinson’s motor patterns such as dyskinesia, bradykinesia and tremors. A Bluetooth module encased inside the 3D-printed plastic ring allows it to communicate with its accompanying iOS app to provide time-stamped analytics about the patient’s movement severity during the day.

The ring itself currently comes in three sizes, each varying in diameter: 18mm, 19mm and 20 mm. Tandon and his team hope to develop a “one-size-fits-all” piece in the near future.

With this Kickstarter campaign, Tandon hopes to deploy OneRing to a local Parkinson’s institute where the device can be used in exams and sent home with patients. Ultimately he wants to bring OneRing to patients all around the world in hopes of suppressing the condition’s rapid progression. Interested in the cause? Head over to the OneRing project page, where Tandon and his team have already doubled their pledged goal of $1,500.

The 101 Sensor Kit is an easy-to-follow, Arduino-compatible kit for Makers

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OSEPP’s latest kit will help Makers create interactive projects using common sensors and modules.

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Have you always wanted to build your own smart sensing device for the Internet of Things but don’t know where to start? Thanks to OSEPP, you’re in luck! The Vancouver-based startup has developed a comprehensive kit that enables Makers of any level to create interactive projects with the sensors commonly found throughout our daily lives.

The 101 Sensor Kit consists of a shield and 14 modules, including a temperature sensor, a fan motor, LEDs, a microphone, a piezo buzzer, a knob, a PIR, a photocell, a push button, a 4-digit touch sensor and more. Designed with novices in mind, the set is Arduino-compatible and requires no prior electronics experience. Simply open up the box and follow along with its step-by-step manual, which also features sample codes and diagrams.

“Whether it’s the light sensors in your smartphones and laptops, the motion sensors found to control patio lighting, or smoke alarm sensors in your home, our kit helps you understand these common sensors that encompass our lives,” the team explains. “By the end, you will have a strong foundation of understanding how to incorporate a large range of sensors for any project you can think up!”

If you’re looking for a quick and easy way to get started with electronics, you may want to head over to the 101 Sensor Kit’s Kickstarter campaign where OSEPP is currently seeking $8,585. Delivery is slated for June 2016.

Meet the world’s first smart fingerprint padlock

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With TAPP, you no longer have to worry about lost keys or forgotten combination codes.

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Padlocks are great for securing your belongings, but they’re a hassle to deal with if you lose the keys or forget the combination code. And with a quick search online, anyone can learn how to pick a lock. Not very useful anymore, is it? Well, the team at Pishon Labs has a 21^st century solution to this problem.

Meet TAPP, the smart access padlock that opens with your unique fingerprint, no key or combination code needed. The Toronto-based team came up with TAPP because they feel that traditional units are inconvenient and outdated.

TAPP uses a cutting edge encrypted fingerprint sensor, and grants access with just a tap in 0.8 seconds. Have you accessed a lock any faster? Unlike other padlocks, TAPP has a built-in alarm that will activate if the lock is cut or if anyone without authorization tries to open it. Or if you want to grant access to certain people, the accompanying app will let you authorize up to 200 fingerprints. You can even customize the time, location and duration of access. TAPP can be used for multiple purposes because it’s water resistant and can withstand rain and snow.

There are two versions of TAPP available. TappLock has a lithium-ion battery, which can last up to three years on one charge, while TappLock Lite is equipped with a replaceable battery that can last up to six months. Both have Bluetooth 4.1. integration, allowing you to use your phone as the key to your lock and to receive real-time updates on its remaining battery life.

Interested? Head over to TAPP’s Indiegogo page, where the Pishon Lab team has already doubled their goal of $40,000. Delivery is expected for Nov. 2016.

This Roomba sucks up dirt to the Jaws theme song

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Maker Marcel Varallo doesn’t just vacuum, he goes to war against the dust mite.

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Lucky for those who hate sweeping and vacuuming floors, there are robotic devices that can take care of these tedious tasks for us. And although Roombas do a fairly decent job in cleaning our homes, like with most things, it could do better. This is why Marcel Varallo decided to upgrade his iRobot 530 Series into a dust mite-battling vehicle that he calls Doomba.

Ever since the Roomba made its debut, hackers have loved getting their hands on the bots and modifying them to suit other purposes. Initially, Varallo simply wanted to “jazz up the default speed” of his roving gadget, but why stop there? He proceeded to make a few more modifications, such as mounting a webcam to the front and adding a UE Boombox that emits the iconic Jaws theme and the Flight of the Valkyries as it sucks up its prey.

A Raspberry Pi with Wi-Fi enables webcam hosting, remote triggering of tasks and schedule management, while wireless control is handled through a PS2 receiver dongle and an Arduino Nano (ATmega328). Varallo even included a capacitor bank to prevent brownouts from the Doomba’s SPI port.

“By the end of all this it had blown out to something much bigger than I intended and was more work than I would have liked,” the Maker admits. Those wishing to mod their own robotic vacuum should check out Varallo’s detailed project page.