Create your own smart heater for $15

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Just in time for winter, this Maker added smart temperature control to his infrared heater. 

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The IoT refers to the idea that things, in this case an infrared heater, can be connected to the Internet. Although at times this may seem like overkill, in this case, it seems like a very practical solution. As creator Yuvaltz puts it, “Both IR heaters I have at home have only two power levels. Without any control, it’s easy to get to either a too hot or a not hot enough situation.” Naturally the Arduino-compatible and Wi-Fi-enabled Cactus Micro (ATmega32U4) was used to take his heater into the 21^st century!

The Cactus module controls a relay, which turns the heater on when appropriate. The control scheme is based on something called a proportional-integral-derivitave (PID) loop, which allows for several factors to be taken into account when deciding on the appropriate heater state.

Since the Cactus is Wi-Fi-enabled, temperature variation as well as power output can be uploaded to a website. Yuvaltz setup a ThingSpeak channel for this device, and was able to generate two very interesting plots. One comparing the temperature data gleaned from two sensors that he tried, while the other plotted the temperature as well as how much power the heater put out at a certain time.

As Yuvaltz notes, don’t try something like this unless you’re familiar with high-voltage safety. A simple remote control is suggested as an alternative, but perhaps even that could be hacked for PID control! Check out his entire build here.

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.

A 3D printer with fully-auomated bed leveling and tool height adjustment

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This Maker will never have to think about leveling or Z height again. 

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3D printers are great pieces of Maker equipment, but they don’t work so well if the bed is not level with the extruder. Aligning these two elements together is commonly known as “bed leveling” or “tramming,” and, although simple in theory, needs to be highly accurate. Jeremie Francois decided to combine automating this process with setting the Z-axis offset (important when using multiple extruder heads) using a bed supported by lead screws on three stepper motors.

The motors that Francois used came pre-assembled with a lead screw, and throwing conventional wisdom aside, chose to use the screws to both drive and guide the bed. These “multi-use” lead screws are then independently controlled to touch a force sensitive resistor attached to the extruder head in different positions in order to level the bed. You can see the procedure in the video below, where he manually adjusts the bed into an offset position. The stepper motors then automatically adjust the bed in calibration mode.

Once this is done, the Z-axis can be controlled in “transparent mode” where all three steppers rotate in unison. This allows the calibration motors to act like a normal Z-axis when using the main Arduino Mega (ATmega2560) to control a print. If you’d like to get a better look at the code for this project, be sure to check out Francois’ GitHub page.

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.

 

 

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!