Have you always wished you had some sort of artistic abilities? Well, thanks to one Maker, a tiny machine can help. Da Vinci, van Gogh, Rembrandt, Monet, Picasso. Those are just some of the names responsible for pioneering art as we have to come to know and love. Fast forward several years, the Maker Movement is ushering in a new […]
Gardening + Arduino = Garduino? City dwellers immersed in the daily hustle and bustle seem all too often tend to overlook interacting with neighbors. Drawing on urban gardening practices and the space limitations of community housing, a team of Makers from the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design recently created Air Garden as an innovative way to form bonds among nearby tenants. “We seek […]
Maker repurposes an old-school Morse code into a wireless connected device. Dating back to the mid-1800s, Morse code refers to a method of transmitting text information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment. The code was originally developed so that operators could translate the indentations marked […]
There’s music making and then there’s making music. From gloves that play tunes to modded printers that blare songs, Makers have proven that just about anything — and we mean everything — can be transformed into sound. And well, as you can tell from our #ThrowbackThursday chippy takes on ‘90s hits, we love music. Not to mention, a […]
If you live in a somewhat ordinary home, chances are it is cluttered with remote controls of every kind. And, while the universal remote of yesteryear could control your TV, VCR, cable box and a few other devices, the rise of smart homes is ushering in a new era of controllers that command everything from lighting and blinds to […]
Whether at home or in your dorm room, we’ve all forgotten about a load of laundry at one time or another. Making matters worse, it’s likely your clothes became a bit moldy and musty after sitting for too long. Well, in an effort to combat forgetfulness, MakerBee has devised a useful, Arduino-powered alert system that will send you a text […]
As previously covered on Bits & Pieces, UK-based Maker Philip Case (referred to many as “Cap”) has set his sights on a project that will make the lives of many living with a disability easier. Cap, who is confined to a wheelchair due to an unfortunate accident, has been diligently working to further develop his incredibly innovative, all-purpose e-wheelchair. The e-wheelchair enables chair […]
Is your remote control collection growing exponentially these days? Instead of constantly using the process of elimination to figure out which remote controls your Blu-Ray player’s volume, MAKE Magazine’s Tony DiCola designed a DIY smart remote that will solve your all of your troubles. An Arduino Yún (ATmega32U4) is used as the brains of this smart remote, […]
After a hackathon earlier this year, members of the Mikamai team modded an old raggedy (and creepy) doll that was left behind into, well, an even creepier Halloween accessory. The London-based agency used an Atmel ATtiny85, Arduino Yún (ATmega32u4) and a single CR2032 battery to power the toy. To round out its possessed effect, the team decided to put a pair of red […]
What if your umbrella could help protect the world from air pollution while it protected you from rain? Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design students Saurabh Datta, Akarsh Sanghi, and Simon Herzog recently debuted an umbrella capable of just that. Appropriately dubbed “Sensing Umbrella,” the smart device has the ability to collect air pollution data during a nice stroll […]
