Simone Giertz is back — this time with a machine that can chop broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, cucumbers and just about anything.
Already equipped with several quirky machines that take care of most of her morning routine (from getting out of bed to brushing her teeth to feeding her breakfast), the innovative and always hilarious Simone Giertz has taken her ingenuity to the next part of the day: lunch.
That’s because the Maker, who happens to be a lifelong vegetarian, has developed a terrifyingly awesome Chopping Machine. And like her other inventions, the gadget was designed to automate a particular task that would otherwise require spending time and effort.
Why, you ask? “Because I’m lazy (?),” Giertz says. “I’ve spent a significant amount of time chopping, mincing and dicing all varieties of vegetables. Eating healthy is boring enough in itself, why does preparing healthy food have to be such a tedium?”
The Chopping Machine is exactly what it sounds like: a mechanism that can literally chop veggies. It consists of an Actobotics system, two knives and a pair of servo motors, all driven by an Arduino Nano (ATmega328).
The device itself is relatively simple, yet pretty dangerous nevertheless. (Translation: don’t try this at home!) Two servo motors lift the knife up and a spring at the bottom pulls it right back down. With it, Giertz can now slice broccoli, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, zucchini, cucumbers and pretty much anything else… even the board itself.
Intrigued? Terrified? Fascinated? See it for yourself below!
A tiny radio-controlled flamethrower… what can go wrong?
It goes without saying that nothing good can come of a tiny radio-controlled flame thrower, so it’s probably not the best idea to build one. Yet, we couldn’t help but share a recent project from “MAKE-log,” who has done just that.
Admittedly, its creator does warn operating the 13cm x 4cm x 8cm device at your own risk. The RC Flamethrower is fueled by a 35ml deodorant spray. A micro servo pushes down the can’s lever and actuates its valve, while a SparkFun Spark Gap Igniter (no longer available) helps generate the spark and deterministically spit out flames.
The remote is in the form of a Microsoft joystick, which is equipped with an an MCU, an RF transmitter and an LED to denote that radio transmission is taking place.
Meanwhile, the flamethrower itself is based on an ATmega328P and features a transceiver, a DC/DC boost converter for supplying 5V, two Li-ion 11mAh batteries in parallel, a pair of 5-bit RGBs and a Li-ion charger set to 300A. The SparkFun igniter is connected directly to the the Li-ion battery via MOSFET.
That all said, MAKE-log’s compact build does boast several safety interlocks and dons an informative interface. A 128 x 64 OLED display shows the flamethrower’s burn time and remaining battery levels, while a two LEDs and a mini 5V buzzer emit visual and audible warnings for the user. Red indicates fire mode, flashing blue lights suggest a loss of signal.
YOU SHOULD NOT recreate this on your own. We repeat, you SHOULD NOT recreate this on your own. However, MAKE-log provides a detailed breakdown of the build below, and shares the AVR-GCC code for the joystick here.
If you like plants, but sometimes don’t remember to take care of them, you can always take the “easy” route and build your own custom watering and lighting box from scratch. Okay, so building something this involved might not actually be easy, but once it’s set up, Maker Peter Ward should be able to successfully ignore his plants until the box runs out of water.
For control, the aptly named Automatic Grow Boxuses an Arduino Uno (ATmega328) interfaced with an off-the-shelf household outlet timer. As diagrammed in his Instructables article, Ward found a suitable output bit from the timer to signal the Arduino at the appropriate times. This enables the box’s lighting to follow a set schedule, and even allows the plants (or possibly the humans) to sleep in and stay up later on the weekends. The box also has an RGB LED on the front to indicate the status of the plants and the box, including whether it’s too hot or cold, or if the tank needs more water.
According to Ward, he’s “neither am a carpenter, welder, electrician, programmer or gardener. Everything is self-taught and I can therefore understand that others have easier and better solutions.” Despite his modest comments, the build looks extremely good. On the other hand, one would need to be very cautious when dealing with water in close proximity to electronics if this inspires another build.
Your Master Lock has met its match, thanks to Samy Kamkar. That’s because the serial hacker devised a motorized, battery-powered, 3D-printed, Arduino-based mechanism that can crack any combination lock in less than 30 seconds.
KeySweeper
Another security project from Kamkar, this stealthy unit camouflages itself as a functioning USB wall charger and passively sniffs, decrypts, logs and reports back (over GSM) all keystrokes from any Microsoft wireless keyboards in the area.
JöLLY Tracker
Ad agency McKinney introduced a wearable of a different kind. It’s not a fitness tracker. It’s not a smartwatch. It’s an embedded Santa Claus beard that has one job, and one job only: to monitor how much you smile. Should you frown, it’ll emit a friendly little reminder in the form of an electric shock to your face.
Mjölnir Replica
Like Thor from The Avengers, engineer Allen Pan created his own real-life Mjölnir replica that only he could lift by using electromagnets, an Arduino Pro Mini and fingerprint scanners.
Railgun
Most commonly associated with the military or NASA, railguns are electromagnetic projectile launchers based on similar principles to the homopolar motor. David Wirth is neither a soldier or a rocket engineer. Instead, he’s simply a Maker who decided to build a Quake-like blaster with the help of 3D printing and some widely available components.
DIY Overhead Control Panel
Most of us rely on a keyboard and mouse to perform tasks on our computers. Not Redditor user “smashcuts.” Instead, the Maker constructed a fully-functional overhead control panel for his PC, complete with 100 programmable buttons and switches that trigger all kinds of actions, from the useful to the absurd.
True Love Tinder Robot
Just in case contemplating age, location and looks is too daunting of a task, NYU ITP grad student Nicole He has developed a robot that can automatically swipe right or left based on your galvanic skin response.
3D-Printed Skittles Sorting Machine
Not a fan of yellow Skittles? Only enjoy the purple ones? Why waste your time sorting through the candy when there’s an automated machine that can do it for you? That’s exactly what Nathan Peterson did. The Maker 3D-printed a gizmo capable of detecting the color of each Skittle and then spitting them out in different repositories for easy picking.
Protopiper
Tired of always trying to decide whether or not a piece of furniture will fit inside in your living room? For those times where a tape measure will just not suffice, one group of researchers have built a handheld gadget that can actually sketch room-sized objects at scale, in minutes.
Open Source Snow Plow Robot
With winter quickly approaching, wouldn’t it be nice if there was a machine that could do all that tedious shoveling for you — without ever having to step foot outside? Boris Landoni thought so, too. The Maker developed a caterpillar robot that can be remotely operated via a PS2 controller.
Boombox Blaster
While not everyone may have the same taste in music, there are just some cases where we can’t help but to all agree that a tune is godawful. And with the countless stations on Internet radio, it’s bound to happen. This is what inspired the Neo-Pangea crew to dream up a creative project, which adds a gamification element to their boombox selection by turning a NERF target into their “skip” button.
Hairware
These hair extensions let wearers discreetly open applications, send preset messages and broadcast a person’s location.
Circular Knitic
Now this is what we call doin-knit-yourself!
VIDEOBLΛST_R
Spray-painted graffiti is so 2014. Just ask media artist R▲, the creator of a cyberpunk wearable device that enables you to project audiovisual art on a variety of objects and surfaces, ranging from the walls of buildings to the bottom of fire escapes.
Real-Life Space Invaders
Martin Raynsford, who happens to be co-owner of Just Add Sharks, chose to play a real world version of the classic arcade game with laser cutters. The paper invaders were clipped to a plate that used stepper motors for movement, while the 80W laser cutter is driven side-to-side by an Arduino Nano hooked up to a PC via USB.
Moon Phases
As a way to better visualize new, quarter and full moons, Makers Yingjie Bei and Yifan Hu’s interactive, turntable-like installation lets you input a date and see its corresponding moon phase.
BB-8 Replica
Right in time for the debut of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, robot enthusiast and prop-builder James Burton devised his own Bluetooth-controlled, Arduino-driven BB-8 droid.
Camera Restricta
Looking to put an end to touristy photos, Philipp Schmitt has developed a new type of ‘smart’ camera that determines its location via GPS and then combs through online images that have been geotagged in the same place. If the device decides that too many images have been taken at your location, it retracts the shutter and blocks the viewfinder, disabling you from taking any more pictures there.
Open Sesame
MIT student Dheera Venkatraman figured out a way to unlock an Internet-connected door by simply saying the words “open sesame” into his Android Wear smartwatch.
Cover That Judges You
Have you ever judged a book by its cover? Well, Dutch artist Thijs Biersteker and creative studio Moore turned the tables on the old-school idiom with a book cover that sizes you up before letting you read it.
Heartbeat Car
Sure, there has been quite a bit of talk around a future filled with autonomous vehicles. But what about cars that can reflect a driver’s heartbeat? That’s exactly what Lexus has set out to accomplish with its first-of-its-kind, specially-designed coupe that uses biometric technology and electro-luminescent paint to visualize the thrill of driving an RC F from both an emotional and physical perspective.
The Typewriter Symphony
A computer scientist at Tufts University hacked his 1960s typewriter to turn it into a mechanical printer. Even better, the keystrokes play percussive music while printing out a document.
Antenna
Dmitry Morozov (commonly known as ::vtol::) came up with a prototype truncheon that sends a text message to an police officer’s mother every time it is used, in an attempt to prevent cop brutality. This was just one of several impressive projects from the Russian artist this year.
Knife-Wielding Tentacle
In what may surely be one of the most abstract (and dangerous) DIY gadgets of all-time, YouTuber “OutaSpaceMan” unveiled a robotic tentacle that flails a Swiss Army knife around in the air. We all know what you’re wondering, why a knife bot? According to his video description, the project was designed “to amuse those who may be bored. Just right now I think the world needs a laugh.” The better question is, how will he turn this thing off?
3D-Printed Rubberband Sentry Gun
Let’s just say that you’ll never have want to fling rubber bands with your fingers again.
Jacobson’s Fabulous Olfactometer
Knowing all too well the dangers of air pollution, Susanna Hertrich built a head-mounted contraption that offers sensory augmentation for the human olfactory system under extreme living conditions. The wearable enables you to directly sense chemicals in the air and as a warning signal, modifies your face similar to a specific form of animal behavior called the ‘Flehmen response.’
Impacto
The brainchild of researchers at Hasso Plattner Institute’s Human-Computer Interaction Lab, this Arduino-driven band can be worn around the arm, leg or foot, and when combined with a VR headset and custom software, allows you to ‘touch’ objects or ‘feel’ like you’ve been hit in virtual reality.
Electric Knife Orchestra
What do you get when 16 knives and one meat cleaver come together to perform a Bee Gees hit? This.
Bedfellow Robot Bed
Forget self-driving cars, Randy Sarafan over at the Instructables Design Studio has created an autonomous bed that seeks out people and makes new friends along the way.
MyoWare Bionic Claws
While we’ve seen plenty of ‘X-cellent’ DIY Wolverine projects in the past, Advancer Technologies founder and die-hard Maker Brian Kaminski has surely topped the list of clawesomeness. With his 3D-printed bionic accessory, he simply flexes his arms — and snikt! — the claws extend in a matter of seconds.
Environment Dress
Marìa Castellanos and Alberto Valverde have designed a smart dress that measures the aggressiveness of your environment and analyzes how it affects mood and behavior. Its embedded sensors can detect variations in noise, temperature, atmospheric pressure, ultraviolet radiation or the amount of carbon monoxide present in our daily life. All this information is then transferred, via Bluetooth or open Wi-Fi networks, to a smartphone and generates a big database with the geolocated references.
OpenSurgery
Frank Kolkman at London’s Design Interactions/RCA set out to explore whether building surgical robots, outside the scope of regulations, could plausibly provide an accessible alternative to expensive professional healthcare services worldwide. Made from a combination of off-the-shelf components and custom 3D-printed parts, the open source machine could permit people to perform keyhole surgery on themselves using just a Playstation 3 video game controller. Psh, what could go wrong?
Sensible Data
As a way to demonstrate just how easily people are willing to give up their personal information to participate in something fun, ECAL student Martin Hertig’s unique installation collects a user’s data, judges their mood, age, gender and beauty, and then creates a faux passport that is also randomly sent to another participant without them knowing.
Ex Machina Sound Reactive Wall
If you’ve ever watched the sci-fi flick Ex Machina, then chances are you’re familiar with Nathan’s (played by Oscar Isaac) infamous dance scene. The character flips a switch to transform his home’s concrete-walled lounge into a disco floor, complete with music-synced flashing lights. For those of us not lucky enough to be billionaires and install high-tech walls inside our homes, engineer Dan Chen has revealed that it only takes some laser-cut cardboard, LEDs and a little ingenuity to devise an affordable replica of the groovy, sound-reactive light fixture of your own.
Super Ventilagon
Alejandro Cura, with help from friends Jorge Crowe and Cristian Martinez, decided to attach an Arduino Nano to fan blade and play a version of Super Hexagon in a more “circular” format.
Remote-Controlled AT-AT Walker
What do you get when you combine an Arduino, an Adafruit Servo Shield, an Xbox 360 controller and a 1981 Kenner AT-AT Walker? A toy that Star Wars fans like Dave Stein have always dreamed about as kids.
Personal Space Defense System
Don’t you hate when people invade your personal space and get right up in your business? What better way to send a message than by squirting them with a water gun? Well, DJ from Instructables has an automated solution that takes care of that task for you. If someone gets a bit too close, an embedded sensor pendant will detect the invader and the Super Soaker Electro Storm will blast a few shots of H2O in their direction.
Android Autonomous Vehicle
One team of students at the University of Gothenburg turned an RC car into a self-driving vehicle capable of following street lanes, parking and overcoming obstacles.
Clara
Working on a project? Cramming for an exam? This brain-sensing, environment-augmenting lamp uses EEG technology to tell how focused your are and block out distractions.
Chilflix
Have you ever found yourself craving a citrusy beverage on a hot summer afternoon only to turn on Netflix in search of something equally refreshing? Or maybe pondered what show would go best with your late night bite? Apparently a team of FirstBuild hackers has — their fridge magnet recommends movies based on what time of day you’re snacking.
Grasp
Learning new skills which are more physical and instructional in nature has always been limited by the constraint of a mentor and the learner having to be in the same space. Akarsh Sanghi wanted to change that. His shoulder-worn tool provides a mentor with real-time insight into a learner’s environment through the coupling of a first person POV and an instructional laser pointer.
DORA
This robot wants to bridge the gap between immersive virtual simulations and real world physical telepresence. An Oculus Rift can track a user’s head movements and orientation, whether up/down, left/right or forward/backward. That data is then wirelessly transmitted to the bot’s Arduino and Intel Edison MCUs, prompting its camera-equipped head to mimic the headset wearer’s movements.
Building blocks for kids just got cooler and smarter.
If there is one toy that has managed to be a staple in every kid’s play area, it’s probably building blocks. But in today’s screen-based world, digital devices lately have been the focus of playtime. Now, the analog building block just got a tech upgrade for the 21st century kid. PlayDXTR is a set of building blocks with embedded technology that can observe, monitor and quantify a child’s cognitive development.
PlayDXTR comes from the playful imaginations of Rene Lund, Mikkel Moos, Frederik Nielsen and Kenneth Madsen at DXTR Tactile. Their goal is to “bring toys toward the future by leveraging modern technology with good old-fashioned play,” and their latest product does just that.
27 different smart and magnetic blocks, called Kubits, make up playDXTR. With its built-in sensors, each Kubit can communicate with other Kubits by registering motion, direction, orientation and relative connections. An accompanying mobile app prompts children to construct things and arrange blocks in certain ways, which creates a stimulating and imaginative play experience for kids.
As the child plays with the blocks, the movement is monitored and analyzed, subsequently delivering data to parents about their child’s developmental progress. To name a few, parents will receive real-time information on their child’s critical thinking, problem solving, planning, memory, motor skills and attention span. Additionally, playDXTR offers insight to games and activities that can strengthen certain skills. What’s great about playDXTR is that it’s a fun toy for kids and a useful tool for adults.
Inside the waterproof, shock-resistant casing of the Kubit are RBG LEDs, a Bluetooth Low Energy module and motion sensors. Funds from the project will help the DXTR team assemble the next generation of hardware, which will include a 32-bit microprocessor, a low-power IMU and a rechargeable lithium polymer battery.
Just in time for The Force Awakens, one Maker has built his own 3D-printed, remote-controlled BB-8.
Although we’re just days away from the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it’s safe to say that BB-8 has already become the breakout star of the film. Since first laying eyes on the soccer ball-sized droid in the trailer, it has seemingly captured the hearts of everyone — whether a fan or not.
Instead of rushing to stores and purchasing a mini BB-8 of their own, several Makers have opted to build their own cute metallic orange ball with a beeping head. Take software engineer Jean-René Bédard, for example. His version is entirely 3D-printed, hand-painted and powered by a simple ATmega328 based, Arduino-compatible robotic platform.
The Maker designed his BB-8 in SketchUp and then spit him out using two Dremel Idea Builder 3D printers — a process that took roughly 50 hours to completed and called for over 650 feet (200 meters) of PLA filament.
Although it may not roll like the one in the Hollywood flick, Bédard’s bot can balance itself on a pair of wheels and be controlled with a basic RF remote. It is equipped with authentic sounds and several Adafruit LEDs to give it the full effect along with its orange and silver nail polish exterior. What’s more, the beeping BB-8’s head moves via a micro servo actuated by the Arduino.
This project will surely awaken your Maker forces. See for yourself below!
Zach Burhop’s Trinket-powered piece is complete with 3D-printed ornaments and a custom LED star.
Two years later and Zach Burhop’s Christmas tree is still spreading some holiday cheer. Back in 2013, the industrial designer by day and Maker by night may have built one of the most geeked-out decorations of all-time. And with December 25th quickly approaching, we figured what better time to reminisce about the amazing tinyAVR-powered piece — complete with 3D-printed ornaments and a custom LED star.
“I was very disappointed in what you can buy — mostly just classical decorations. I saw the ornaments and had started playing around with the LEDs and thought this would be an awesome mashup,” Burhop explained.
In terms of electronics, the engineer (who happens to be a huge Adafruit fan) had some NeoPixels and Trinkets (ATtiny85) lying around. A two-meter LED strip was driven by the tiny MCU, and ran through the center of the tree, fading out through the branches. Another Trinket was tasked with controlling the 3D-printed tree topper’s animations. He also picked up an AC brick at a local thrift store, which handled all of the necessary power requirements for the 120 or so lights.
What’s more, you’ll notice that Burhop selected a white tree, which proved to be the ideal backdrop for the flickering, addressable RGBs and colorful DIY ornaments. Trust us, you’ve got to see it in action.
Now you can build your own NFC-enabled infinity mirror coffee table.
Have you always wanted to add some Tony Stark-like effects to your living room? Well, thanks to Pierre Charlier, you’re in luck. That’s because the French engineer, who recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for the KeyDuino, has shared a tutorial for an impressive infinity mirror table.
To bring his idea to life, Charlier upgraded a $159 IKEA RAMVIK coffee table with 152 RGB LEDs and a 19” x 27” mirror for that sweet illusion. He placed the mirror underneath the furniture’s glass top, outlined the inner edge with a strip of LEDs and layered the original glass surface with a reflective car tint. The unit itself is powered by a 5V 6A supply.
As if that weren’t enough, Charlier decided to add to the magic. Hidden under the table, the Maker equipped the IKEA piece with his NFC-enabled, Arduino-like board which enabled him to control its hue with just a tap of a smartphone. One scroll of the color wheel opens up unlimited possibilities.
Intrigued? See it in action below! Meanwhile, you can check out KeyDuino on Kickstarter, where it has successfully garnered over $14,000 from more than 230 backers.
The True Love Tinder Robot will “find you love, guaranteed.”
Are you an active user of popular social media dating apps? Have you made some poor decisions lately? Well, fear no more. Nicole He, a graduate student at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program, has developed a robot that reads your body’s reaction as you browse through Tinder profiles, and then swipes right or left based on your skin’s response. In fact, she promises the bot will “find you love, guaranteed” merely by reading the change in your galvanic skin response over a period of time. (Meaning, how sweaty your palms get.)
As simple as today’s sites make finding a potential suitor, if contemplating between age, location and looks still requires too much thought, the True Love Tinder Robot can be your perfect wingman. The system itself is powered by an Arduino, and includes a pair of servos to move the hand, some LEDs, a text-to-speech module, a bunch of wires, a speaker and a couple of sheets of metal that act as a skin sensor. There is also an indentation for your palms.
With Tinder open, you put your smartphone down in from of the rubber hand. Once you’ve placed your hands down on the sensors, a robotic voice (inspired by the villain GlaDOS from Portal 2) guides you through the process and questions your feelings. As you are looking at each profile, the True Love Tinder Robot will read your true heart’s desire through the sensors and decide whether or not you are a good match with that person based on how your body reacts.
For instance, it’ll ask things such as “Do you see yourself spending the rest of your life with this person?” If it determines that you’re attracted to that person, it will swipe right. If not, it will swipe left. Throughout the process, it will make commentary on your involuntary decisions. Although galvanic skin response may not be the most precise measurement, it is often used by Scientologists for spiritual auditing and by law enforcement as part of polygraph tests.
The first prototype of the bot actually attempted to incorporate facial recognition, but was later swapped out for galvanic skin response. The idea behind GSR is pretty straightforward: when you see or experience something stimulating, your skin reacts appropriately by creating an electrodermal response. As your skin gets a little wetter, it becomes more conductive to electricity. GSR then measures that physiological feedback through skin conduction.
“In a time when it’s very normal for couples to meet online, we trust that algorithms on dating sites can find us suitable partners. Simultaneously, we use consumer biometric devices to tell us what’s going on with our bodies and what we should do to be healthy and happy. Maybe it’s not a stretch to consider what happens when we combine these things,” He explains.
The premise is that a computer may actually know you better than you know yourself, so why not let it pick you a date? While chances are the installation may not choose your future hubby or wifey, it’s still a pretty nifty project nevertheless.
“I want this project to be sort of amusing, kind of creepy and slightly embarrassing. I want the user to feel a tension between the robot assuring you that it knows best and not being sure whether or not to trust it. I want the user to question whether or not we should let a computer make intimate decisions for us,” He writes.
Oh the weather outside is frightful, but this LED fire is so delightful!
It’s December, and if you live in the Northern Hemisphere it’s most likely starting to get cold outside. Modern HVAC systems are great for automatically keeping your dwelling properly heated, but there is still something magical about having an actual fire to keep everyone warm. What’s not magical is the effort required to start and fuel a fire, as well as the inherent risk of things getting out of control.
Maker Jason Tumblin decided to bridge this gap with his LED fire log. Though it likely provides only a miniscule amount of heat, it does at least simulate the look of a burning log using an Arduino Esplora (ATmega32U4) and an LED strip. As seen in the video below, it’s a pleasing effect and the Esplora provides convenient built-in control capability.
The really unique thing about this build is that the log that is meant to be on fire is made from an actual burned log. A rectangle is cut into the top of it where a piece of plexiglass is placed. LED strips are glued under the glass, and above it are placed cut chunks of wood. Spaces in these chunks are naturally left when these pieces are attached, allowing light to filter up through the top.
