3D print a Daft Punk helmet with Bluetooth-controlled LEDs

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Harder, better, faster, brighter! 

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If there is one musical group that has inspired more electronics projects than any other, Daft Punk has to be it. Besides just producing awesome electronic tunes, the helmets that they wear are filled with blinking lights. Adafruit’s latest helmet build, which is the brainchild of the Ruiz brothers, features a replica of Thomas Bangalter’s helmet and uses two microcontrollers for lighting control.

Possibly the most impressive thing about this wearable is the work it takes to 3D print something like this. One not experienced with this type of machine might expect to press a button and see a shiny new headpiece to simply pop out of the machine, after printing, the three sections had to be joined together, painted, and sanded in several steps. Additionally, the visor was made separately, and heated to bend it into place.

Of course, the helmet wouldn’t be much fun without an array of blinking LEDs. The visor lights are provided by a NeoPixel strip, cut into two layers and embedded in the helmet. Animations for this portion are enabled by an Adafruit Feather 32U4 Bluefruit LE (ATmega32U4), which offers the ability to communicate over Bluetooth. This, in turn, allows animations to be controlled via a smartphone or even a smartwatch using Adafruit’s “BLE Connect” app. Meanwhile, the NeoPixel rings on the ears are managed by a 5V Trinket board (ATtiny85), with both rings sharing data, power and ground; certainly an interesting technique that one might want to keep in mind for later use.

 

Is your smartwatch stealing your passwords?

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A computer science student has demonstrated that software running on a smartwatch could be used to record a user’s passwords and PINs.

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Unless you eschew modern technology altogether (such as reading websites), chances are that data on you is being collected. Smartphones are capable enough data sponges, but smartwatches have the potential to extend this reach even further. According to Tony Beltramelli’s master’s thesis for the IT University of Copenhagen, the sensors on the Sony SmartWatch 3 (and likely many other present and future watches) are so accurate that they can be used to sense what button you press on a 12-segment keypad with “above-average” precision.

As seen in the video below, it appears that this ability comes from the user actually moving their hand from button to button. The wearable’s built-in accelerometer and gyroscope can sense these motions and then feed that information into a recurrent neural network. Using a deep learning algorithm, Beltramelli is able to sift through all the “noisy data” and detect patterns for various events, such as when the user moves and taps their finger on a touchscreen to unlock a PIN-protected phone or when the user enters a code on an ATM’s keypad.

Interestingly, as reported in section 6.3 of the thesis, the device did a better job of “touchlogging” — recording virtual keystrokes on a touchscreen — at 73% acuracy, versus “keylogging” — where a physical keyboard is used for input — at 59% accuracy. The touchscreen used was larger in this experiment than the keypad, apparently leading to this discrepancy.

“By their very nature of being wearable, these devices, however, provide a new pervasive attack surface threatening users privacy, among others,” Beltramelli explains. “The goal of this work is to raise awareness about the potential risks related to motion sensors built-in wearable devices and to demonstrate abuse opportunities leveraged by advanced neural network architectures.”

As you can imagine, there are still a few limitations that make this type of approach with a smartwatch impractical as an attack against specific targets. For starters, it only works if the person is using the arm that the gadget is on. So, if you have a watch and are concerned about spying, you can simply strap it onto your less dominant wrist. Or alternatively, you could make a habit of typing with three fingers on numeric keypads.

This carry-on bag follows you wherever you go

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NUA Robotics’ new suitcase features a camera sensor that can detect where you are, and travel alongside you while on flat surfaces.

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Good news frequent travelers, you may soon be able to navigate the airport with a piece of robotic luggage. This, of course, will allow you to free your hands to make calls, respond to emails, grab a quick bite to eat or whatever else you do during a layover. Not to mention, this can certainly come in handy for those in wheelchairs or on crutches.

Designed by NUA Robotics, the autonomous suitcase (whose prototype was on display back at CES 2016) is equipped with powered wheels, a camera sensor to avoid bumping into others and Bluetooth technology, which enables it to move alongside its user once activated by its accompanying mobile app.

A built-in rechargeable battery lasts anywhere between 60 to 90 minutes, which is plenty for rushing around the airport or heading to your car in the parking garage. But what happens when it dies? Despair not! Simply pop out the handle and pull it yourself, as if it were any ordinary ‘dumb’ bag. Or, if you have time to refuel, just plug it into an outlet. The suitcase can even be used to juice up any of your mobile devices via USB, and boasts an anti-theft alarm to prevent any envious onlookers from stealing it.

At the moment, the robotic luggage can achieve speeds of up to 3 mph, but that may be enhanced in the coming months. While it is not commercially available yet, you can see it in action below!

 

Novi is a 4-in-1 DIY home security system

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Say goodbye to contracts, monthly fees and false alarms.

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Did you know that four burglaries occur every minute in the United States alone? That’s a startling one every 15 seconds. The good news is that most convicted burglars (90%) claim they want to avoid homes with alarm systems, saying that if they did encounter an alarm, they would abandon the attack. However, the bad news is that nearly two-thirds of homeowners fail to turn it on at all times. And, when it comes to security, many are often faced with expensive systems and pricey monitoring fees. Understandably so.

However, one Provo, Utah-based startup is looking to change that with their new IoT solution. Novi Security is a 4-in-1 DIY security system that’s making it increasingly easier for homeowners to install small detectors throughout their house that can notify them of any motion or smoke — all without the need of contracts and monthly costs!

The kit is comprised of a base station and sensors, and are equipped with an ATmega128 radio and an Atmel | SMART SAM4S processor. The battery-powered sensors are simply affixed to the ceiling and boast an HD camera, motion and smoke detectors, and siren. This allows the system to provide homeowners a peace of mind by sending a series of three photos right to their mobile device, while immediately emitting a siren if smoke or motion are recognized while away.

In the event that this occurs, the alarm will sound, the monitor will relay the images to the base station (plugged directly into a router), and the base station will transmit the photos over to an accompanying app. Once the alert is received on the smartphone, the user will then have the option to call for help, check in at home, arm/disarm, as well as request more pictures for greater clarity.

Turning foggy air into a reliable water source

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FogFinder is a system that generates a new renewable water source for communities, and relies on Arduino and XBee to get the job done. 

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Alright, so it may not be possible to create water out of thin air. However, with a bit of engineering, scientists in Chile are turning foggy air into a reliable water source for nearby residents. The process is almost entirely natural: the sun desalinates the water, the winds push the water to a higher elevation, and gravity allows the collected water to flow back down to the village.

Using large fog collectors, which consist of mesh mounted on a rigid structure, to capture impacting fog water droplets from the air and tapping into the natural processes mentioned above, fog collection could be an economical way to gather and distribute clean water.

The fog collectors are typically installed on hillsides and remote areas where fog is abundant. These installations are especially common in arid climates in Chile where rain runs scarce. As fog passes through, the droplets impact the mesh fibers and collect in a trough below. One of the real challenges and opportunities for innovation lies in determining where to install these collectors, how to orient them, and understanding how efficient they are at collecting water from the air.

While at the Universidad de los Andes in Santiago Chile, Richard LeBoeuf, Associate Professor at Tarleton State University, and Juan de Dios Rivera, of the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, developed a new type of sensor called the “Liquid Water Flux Probe” to measure the availability of water at current and potential fog collector sites. The sensor measures the liquid water content and speed of the fog and can be used to understand the optimal location and orientation for each of the collectors.

The sensor is part of a larger system called FogFinder, which Richard LeBoeuf developed in collaboration with Juan Pablo Vargas and Jorge Gómez at the Universidad de los Andes. Together they designed and engineered the solution, which includes wireless networking.

With the primary challenge of measuring fog liquid water flux out of the way, the team needed to design a device capable of being deployed in extremely remote environments and easily retrieve sensor data. Since there is no power source to plug into out in the desert, the options are either solar or wind power. Due to their simplicity, a separate solar power system, comprised of a solar panel, battery, and charge controller, is used in conjunction with the FogFinder unit.

To facilitate the collection and transmission of sensor data, the team chose to build the foundation of FogFinder with Arduino and XBee. Both components offered a fast and easy way to get started prototyping the design. Each sensor node is comprised of an Arduino Mega (ATmega2560) and XBee module, and the team even designed and built custom boards to regulate voltage, interface the sensors and store data on a microSD card.

The node gathers data on liquid water flux, humidity, temperature, flow-rate from fog collectors, pressure, wind speed, as well as wind direction.

The team settled on using XBee for local wireless communication since it provided greater range and required less power than Bluetooth. The ZigBee protocol also offers the flexibility to create a mesh network and configuration settings to conserve power-saving valuable battery life. With external antennas and mountain top to mountain top placement of each radio, they have achieved a reliable 1 km link.

Once the data is collected, it’s sent to a remote server over a cellular network. Using a BeagleBone SBC and a cellular modem, data is taken from the local XBee ZigBee network and can be accessed on a remote computer. This information is then analyzed to assess the performance of the fog collector.

What’s next for FogFinder? As the team wraps up the prototyping stage, they’ll be conducting calibration in a wind tunnel to prepare for field tests.  Once the testing phase is complete, the team will work to deploy them as part of a pilot program and start connecting more Chilean residents to a clean source of water.

Those wishing to learn more about the project can follow along here.

FITGuard is an impact-indicating mouthguard

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This mouthguard can detect the severity of a hit and alert coaches when a player might have a concussion.

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Whether you’re on the football or baseball side of the argument, sports in general is America’s favorite pastime. The sad truth, however, is that there are 3.8 million sports-related concussions per year. From quarterbacks to catchers, athletes across the spectrum face the risk of traumatic head injuries in every game. Some athletes continue playing injured without them or their coaches realizing how critical the impact is, which is why Force Impact Technologies is creating smart sporting equipment to detect injuries and preventing further damage to the brain.

The Los Angeles-based company’s first product, FITGuard, is a smart mouthguard that detects the severity of an impact to the head. It visually indicates how intense the impact was, using embedded LEDs. Force Impact strives to improve the quality of athletes’ lives by integrating technology and sports.

When in use, FITGuard continuously samples rates of acceleration, and when the peak rate breaches a threshold, the LEDs will change colors. A green light indicates a low-impact blow, blue means there is a moderate risk of injury and red signifies severe impact, alerting coaches and referees to immediately remove the player from the field. FITGuard is Bluetooth-compatible and can communicate with any BLE-enabled smartphone. The accompanying mobile application provides parents, coaches, and leagues with insight into an athlete’s injury and previous impact history. FITGuard’s app considers the user’s weight, gender, and age to measure the impact of a blow, giving quantifiable data to make informed decisions.

Force Impact Technologies is taking the next step in curtailing chronic concussions that threaten the lives of athletes with FITGuard. Preorders of the device are available for $129 and first units are expected to ship by April 2016. To learn more about the product, visit the Force Impact Technologies website here.

Change the color of your shoes with your smartphone

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Can’t find the perfect shoes for your outfit? No worries! This pair can change colors in seconds. 

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Have you ever spent hours looking for shoes to match an outfit, only to never arrive at a decision? Well, French company Eram, digital agency Phoceis and startup BlueGriot may have come up with a solution… or sole-ution! That’s because the collaboration has developed a lineup of smart footwear, appropriately named #CHOOSE.

An earlier model consisted of an open toe sandal driven by an Arduino Micro (ATmega32U4), while the latest iteration — which we had the chance to see firsthand at CES 2016 — is a fashionable white low-top powered by a LightBlue Bean (ATmega328P). With an accompanying smartphone app, users can now change the color of their footwear to match their attire in a matter of a few seconds.

All the electronics are housed inside the sole. Communication is handled through Bluetooth, while optical fiber and an LED are tasked with illuminating different hues. There’s even a battery in each shoe, which can be refueled when placed on an induction-charging mat.

What’s more, the app even features a color scanner that enables a wearer to truly match the shoe to any outfit, a handbag or whatever other accessory. While clearly still in its early stages, could such footwear become the future of industry? After all, it’s only a matter of time before smart clothing becomes mainstream.

The good news is that you won’t have to wait too long to get your hands on some, as the company hopes to have them on sale by the end of the year. They’ll likely be priced somewhere in the ballpark of $150 to $200.

 

Ruggie is the alarm clock that will actually get you out of bed

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Thanks to Ruggie, you no longer have to lose to the snooze.

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If you’re not a morning person, the task of waking up probably consists of multiple alarms going off, followed by several snooze buttons. By the time you actually do get up, you’ve realized you overslept and have to rush to work feeling groggy and tired. Not a great way to start the day right? Fortunately, there’s a new and better way to wake up and get out of bed early.

Meet Ruggie, a memory foam rug and alarm clock that needs to sense pressure for at least three seconds before shutting off, making it the ultimate snooze proof alarm. Founder Winsom Tam rethought the design of traditional alarm clocks when he, like millions of other people, struggled with waking up. The team touts that Ruggie will help you get out of bed easily, feeling more optimistic and more productive.

The problem with snooze buttons on today’s alarm clocks is that we inevitably fall back into bed. Ruggie eliminates that possibility because it requires that you stand on the rug to stop the alarm. By then, you’ve already gotten over hard part — getting out of bed. You can also choose how you want to start you day. If you’re annoyed by the blaring beeping noise of older alarm clocks, Ruggie can play any custom sound you want by connecting it to your computer via USB and dragging in the sound files. This opens the possibility of waking up to positive affirmations, goal reminders or your favorite song. Or you can choose the Ruggie’s presets of soothing alarms.

Ruggie has a minimalistic design measuring at 15.5″ by 23.5″, suitable for any room. Its bright LED display doubles as a night light and its touch sensor is what makes sure you’ve gotten out bed. If you want to know the time, just tap the rug. Ruggie can be cleaned in the washer but first you must take out the electronics inside.

Ready to be the early bird that gets the worm? Head over to Ruggie’s Kicksstarter page, where Tam and the team have already well surpassed their initial goal of $36,113, with more than 1,000 backers to date. If all goes pending to plan, delivery is slated for September 2016.

Riots is a plug-and-play wireless network of sensors and controllers

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The Riots family is a low-cost, minimalistic and Arduino-compatible solution for remote sensing, monitoring and controlling your environment.

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It all began when propellerhead Samuli Stenudd fearlessly went to battle against the jumble of wires. He could not fathom how cumbersome and laborious it was to create a useful device out of a kit or components, nor why he had to always physically connect a wire to it in order to program updates. As any engineer would, he decided to roll up his sleeves and tackle these problems head-on. Stenudd set out to devise a new way to easily monitor his environment and smart gadgets in an inexpensive, effective and minimalistic manner. And so, Riots was born.

The Riots family consists of a “Mama” and several “Babies.” An individual Mama is the gateway to the Internet and can manage hundreds of uniquely tasked Babies, which are interconnected within a mesh network. These nodes can also communicate with one another without any external control.

Thus far, fully-functional prototypes include sensors for temperature, pressure, light and motion, capacitive touch buttons, DC control and USB connectors.

To get started, simply attach the Babies wherever desired. Connect the Mama to the Internet and add each node to your account. From there, you can remotely link, manage, monitor and even reprogram new tasks for all family members.

For example, say you wanted to keep tabs on the humidity level inside your bathroom. Place a Riots Air on the wall and another inside the vent, and hook the Mama up to the web. These Babies could then collect and visualize real-time information on your smartphone. Other applications include recording energy consumption, tracking belongings, ensuring doors are locked, and even being informed when a loved one arrives home, among many other things right from your Internet-enabled device.

At the heart of every unit lies a Riots Core, which is equipped with an ATmega328P, an RGB LED and an nRF24L01+ radio module. The real magic doesn’t happen, however, until it is joined with a Riots Base to make it an actual Riots Product. The mesh network itself is completely expandable, and the Riots family is entirely open source and Arduino-compatible.

Programming and data are globally accessible via the Riots Cloud or locally through private wireless networks. The Riots Cloud stores data from all the deployed Riots Products, provides management features and a basic user interface. Beyond that, remote development, over the air updates and debugging of individual Riots Products can be done through the cloud as well.

Looking for an easy, affordable and open source IoT solution? Head over to its page on Kickstarter, where Stenudd and the Riots Instruments team are currently seeking $30,000. Delivery is expected to get underway in May 2016.

 

Droppler measures water consumption by listening to how much noise your faucet makes

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Nascent Objects is a modular electronics platform that lets you piece together new devices like LEGO. 

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The historic drought impacting much of the west coast has led government officials to impose several water restrictions in recent months. Cognizant of this, Nascent Objects has teamed with Shock Top and design firm Ammunition to develop a new, modular water conservation device dubbed Droppler.

Debuted at CES and now live on Indiegogo, the monitor employs advanced audio recognition technology to track water consumption in real-time. Housed inside its sleek, 3D-printed white shell (also referred to as a ‘Nascent Shape’) are a mini CPU, an LED strip and a microphone capable of detecting the sound of flowing water. And unlike most existing solutions on the market today, Droppler doesn’t need to be attached to the plumbing.

Instead, simply place it next to a sink, toilet, shower or whatever else, and a light display on the front will slowly decrease as the water runs, offering quick and easy visual feedback. Beyond that, Droppler uploads that data to its accompanying iOS or Android app, which allows users to set goals, view report cards and even receive insights to curb their H2O habits.

But that’s not all. Being modular in nature, users can effortlessly transform and customize their own gadget by breaking down Droppler’s electronics and plugging them into a different chassis. Just remove the processor from its existing Shape, recombine it with a separate camera or speaker module, and pack both bits into another shell to create either connected home security system (called CouCou) or a wireless music streamer (named Red).

By the end of 2016, Nascent Objects hopes to have six devices in total, all using the same few swappable components. And that’s only the start. Looking ahead, the team’s product roadmap encapsulates the vision of an unlimited, cost-efficient marketplace for the most imaginative consumer electronics, which includes everything from a palm-sized drone to a bike computer to an IFTTT hub.

Does this have you saying “H2O my gosh?” Then head over to its Indiegogo campaign, where the Nascent Objects crew is currently seeking $70,000. Delivery for the Droppler is expected to get underway in June 2016.