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.

 

 

Make your own Arduino-powered laser engraver at home

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Instead of shelling out hundreds of dollars, a 16-year-old decided to build his own professional-looking machine. 

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If you don’t have a laser cutter, and would like one (after all, who wouldn’t?) you could buy one for thousands of dollars…. or build one yourself. 16-year-old “MichielD99” decided to do just that, and documented the entire process on Instructables.

Control is handled by an Arduino Uno (ATmega328) running the grbl CNC controller software. This, in turn, runs two stepper motors via driver boards, as well as a laser via its own separate driver. It’s noted that this configuration could even be used as a CNC router if a rotary tool and Z-axis was added.

What really sets this project apart is the beautifully-made physical structure. It’s constructed primarily from 18mm and 12mm sheets of MDF, which translates to roughly ¾” and ½” thick material. It’s been 3D-modeled, and the cutouts are available as PDF images and STL files. This means that if you want to replicate it, all you have to do is print the PDFs out, then use a bandsaw to cut out the appropriate pieces. STL makes it possible to replicate with a laser or CNC router. Some work with a Dremel tool will also be needed, though this could possibly be avoided if using a CNC router to make the cuts.

If you’re going to create one of these yourself, this engraver is a great place to start (right after you purchase a pair of safety goggles meant for your laser’s wavelength). For another take on this type of tool, check out this build using similar electronics with a frame made of aluminum extrusion.

Maker creates his own barebones Arduino for $5

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Don’t have $25 to spend on an Uno? Piece together your own board instead.

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When it comes to the Maker community, Arduino has become the go-to board for anyone looking to bring a project to life. Despite its popularity and ease of use, Instructables user Gursimran Singh asks, “Why spend $25?” Rather than having to dig into his wallet, the DIYer decided to create his own barebones version.

The build starts out with a fairly involved bill of materials, including an ATmega328P to power the board’s logic, as well as another AVR chip to handle serial communication. These components are then combined to make a board based on the Beeduino DIY Arduino with a built-in programmer and serial interface. Interestingly, the Beeduino costs a claimed $6, while the Singh’s Gduino comes in a dollar less. Perhaps one estimate is off, or the Gduino author has cheaper part suppliers.

Either way, both projects are impressive, and good resources if you want to attempt to devise your own Arduino-like MCU. Both guides feature a section on how the board was etched, drilled, and components soldered to it. Though it has to be really cool to see something like this come together, the process seems somewhat time-intensive. $25 might be a reasonable price to pay for something already assembled depending on your project goals.

On the other hand, if you want to truly build a quadcopter from scratch, you could construct your own board and use it as an Arduino Uno quadcopter flight controller!

Become a DIY pinball machine wizard

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This Maker was able to recreate an arcade classic using commercially available parts and an Arduino Mega.

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Pinball machines might not be a common sight in America anymore, but if you’re nostalgic about these ancestors of video games, chances are you’ve thought about owning one yourself. Since you’re reading this blog, there’s also a good chance you’ve thought about building one!

Bob Blomquist decided to go from thinking about it to actually constructing his own using commercially available parts, including an Arduino Mega (ATmega2560). As you might suspect, as shown at 9:10 in the video below, even a relatively simple table like this requires a massive amount of wiring.

Blomquist’s project features several interesting techniques, including the use of an off-the-shelf voltage divider too step down the 24 volt power used with the “pop bumpers.” This allowed the bumpers to be powered by 24 volts, while this output is reduced to 5 volts for Arduino input. In this case, the circuit tended to leak current, so an analog input was employed to filter out false signals.

The voltage divider is a very useful concept in electronics, and more information on building one of these yourself can be found here.

Besides showing off a few electronics tricks, this detailed video also reveals all kinds of interesting components used in a standard pinball table. They are quite interesting in their normal use, and for that matter, some of them could certainly be repurposed for other Maker projects!

Build a 3D scanner with infinite resolution for just $50

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All you need is a DSLR camera, an Arduino, a stepper motor driver, a stepper motor, an IR LED and a LCD shield.

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Looking for desktop 3D scanner with inifitinite resolution? Well, the good news is that you can get your hands on one for just $50. The bad news is that, you will need a DSLR camera. That’s because Maker Whitney Potter was able to create his own using a Nikon and an Arduino-driven stepper motor.

“Desktop 3D scanning has made great leaps in recent years but it still has great limitations,” Potter explains. “Scanner hardware is built around a specific scan volume and resolution. You can get decent results, but only if your object fits that sweet spot. If you’re object is too small, or too detailed or your scanner is just having a bad day, your scan will look like a potato. Luckily there is another approach.”

The method he is referring to is photogrammetry, which constructs 3D images from a set of partially overlapping 2D images. The limiting factor with this approach is the quality and spacing of the photographs. Each picture must be well exposed and perfectly focused. Plus, there must be sufficient overlap between the photos so the rendering software knows where each shot belongs. Although this can be done with some practice on larger objects, it is virtually impossible with smaller subjects. This is where the Arduino-powered stepper motors come in handy.

As aforementioned, Potter’s DIY 3D scanner employs a stepper motor controlled by an Arduino Mega (ATmega2560) to turn the scanned item by a fixed amount. An infrared LED then triggers the camera’s wireless sensor, setting off the shutter. This process is repeated until photos have been collected from all angles, allowing one’s photogrammetry software to reproduce an accurate and high-res 3D image of the subject.

Meanwhile, an LCD display shield with a set of buttons enables a user to command the Arduino. With these buttons, the user can select the number of pictures to be taken per revolution. The scanner can run in two different modes. In automatic, it takes a picture, advances the stepper and repeats until it has completed a whole revolution. Whereas in manual, each push of the button captures a picture, advances the stepper and waits. According to Potter, the latter is particularly useful for scans where each photo needs to be framed and focused manually.

Although Potter’s Arduino sketch has been configured for a Nikon DSLR, it can be set up to work with pretty much any other brand of camera. The Maker utilized Sebastian Setz’s Multi Camera IR Control library, which allows it to work with any model that uses an IR remote.

In terms of photogrammetry software, Potter recommends Agisoft Photoscan and Autodesk Memento, as well as Autodesk 123D Catch for those on a budget. Intrigued? Head over to the Maker’s Instructables page where you can find a step-by-step breakdown of his project.

Creating a new LEGO TECHNIC interface

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This hackerspace swapped out the Apple II for an Arduino and a touchscreen.

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Readers that were born in the 1980s or early 1990s may remember something called “LEGO TECHNIC.” These were advanced LEGO components that, along with other interesting mechanical parts, could be electrically driven and even controlled with an Apple II computer.

The LVL1 Hackerspace in Louisville was fortunate enough to receive a set as a donation, including the 70455 interface module. Unfortunately, the space did not have a working Apple II to interface with it, so a member decided to “simply” make an Arduino interface for the device instead.

Going from donation to interface completion took several years, but the first step was to open up the box. Although looking inside things is generally a good thing to try when hacking unknown equipment, this proved unnecessary since it was already documented and available online. Based on research, an Arduino shield was then created to interface the Arduino outputs with the LEGO control box.

After everything was wired, code was written to control it, and thus the TECHNIC components. A touchscreen was added to complete the build as seen in the video below.

Although certainly an interesting exercise in resurrecting “ancient” technology, another alternative would likely have been to directly power the light and motor using a motor shield. Then again, what fun would that be?

Get back at annoying neighbors with this Arduino stereo system

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This system will automatically blast loud music whenever your neighbors are too loud. 

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Unfortunately, you don’t get to choose your neighbors. However, what can choose is how you put up with them. Take YouTuber “Jamil,” for example, who decided to take a more passive-aggressive (and rather genius) approach for dealing with the obnoxious folks next door.

As you can see in the video below, the Maker built an Arduino-controlled stereo that automatically blasts annoying music right back at them. The system consists of a microphone that detects when the nearby residents plays loud tunes, which triggers a CD player that emits a snippet of The Baha Men’s “Who Let the Dogs Out?”

Do you have a neighbor who you can’t stand? Feel free to seek revenge just like Jamal, but this time, go ahead and pick any overplayed annoying song you’d like.

Watch this 3D-printed sculpture create an optical illusion

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Math and art come together to blow your mind.

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A group of German Makers have developed an animated, kinetic sculpture that produces a controlled 3D zoetrope optical illusion. Flux was designed to play with the eye’s perception of space and depth without using any sort of strobe or camera. Simply turn it on and watch it ‘deform.’

As you can see in the video below, a 3D-printed hemisphere rotates at a certain speed while emitting a specific light frequency based on the Fibonacci sequence. (For those unfamiliar with this sequence, it begins with zero then one, and each subsequent number is the sum of the previous two.)

Inside the device lies an Arduino Uno (ATmega328) that controls the motor speed by checking the actual speed with a Hall sensor and an Arduino Mini that shutters its 20W LED 48 times per second.

Be prepared to have your mind blown…

Watch-a got for today’s weather forecast?

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The Weather Watch monitors air pressure and temperature to provide its wearer with the forecast. 

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If you want to know the weather, but care more about geeky style than accuracy, this wrist-mounted watch might be a good project for you. As creator “AgentMess” puts it, “It is obvious that the device cannot obtain the accuracy of established forecast services, but what it lacks in precision it makes up for in style.” He also notes that if you’re not interested in its weather prediction capabilities, “You can use it when you are going for a walk at night to be seen by cars and other road users.”

The display is made using a 16 x 8 LED matrix with a “backpack” to control the display, and its “predictive power” is accomplished using an Adafruit FLORA (ATmega32U4) with a GPS module and barometric pressure sensor. The idea is that the air pressure outside can be used to roughly predict upcoming weather. Since air pressure varies by altitude, the GPS module is employed to compensate for pressure changes due to movement.

As you might suspect, the accuracy of this gadget can be thrown off when indoors, but hopefully its not as important there anyway. Of course, there are all kinds of other things one could do with a GPS-enabled wrist display. This project, though very cool in its current form, is just begging for improvement. If you have any ideas, the original Maker invites you to leave them in his original article!

‘Sup Brow? Send a message to your friend by making a muscle

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Text a friend by lifting your eyebrow using a MyoWare muscle sensor and an Adafruit Bluefruit Feather board. 

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In today’s world, there are all kinds of ways to message one another. There’s texting, emailing, Skyping, Snapchatting, and countless other forms of communication. But what if you could send a message to your friend by simply raising your eyebrow?

This was something Adafruit’s Becky Stern and Kate Hartman wanted to make a reality in their recent wearables project, ’Sup Brows. To bring this idea to life, the duo employed a MyoWare muscle sensor along with a Feather Bluefruit 32U4 LE (ATmega32U4) microcontroller to transmit a signal through the phone to Adafruit IO and then IFTTT to trigger an SMS.

“It’s really neat to use non-verbal communication like facial expressions as an interface for electronics,” Hartman explains.

As cool of a project as this may be, ‘Sup Brows is simply the beginning. Since it’s connected to IFTTT, the possibilities of what you can accomplish by creating a recipe and just raising your eyebrows are endless. Similarly, Stern and Hartman note that it can also be hooked up to a variety of other muscles to have activities prompted by other facial expressions, gestures and actions.

So whether it’s booking an appointment with your cosmetic surgeon when your Botox wears off or getting yourself out of a date with a butt dial, everything is fair game. Intrigued? Head over to Adafruit’s tutorial page to get started.