The Power Suit is an Arduino-powered costume

Just in time for Halloween, a Maker by the name of Michael Teeuw has created a slick costume entitled The Power Suit. Though the ATmega168 MCU powered suit originated as just a fun idea to win a theme night competition with a couple of friends, the end result was actually quite stunning!

“Every once in a while you are looking for a nonsense reason to build something completely useless but absolutely awesome. This year’s trip to the Belgian Ardennes is the number one reason to achieve my childhood dream,” Teeuw prefaced.

The Maker aspired to create a suit which was equipped with built-in sound effects and voiceover, full-color LEDs, real-time audio and manually controlled lighting, independently powered wings, Bluetooth connectivity, and to round out the Tony Stark getup, a mobile app to act as his J.A.R.V.I.S.

Based on a set of football shoulder pads and chest protector, the Iron Man-inspired suit was brought to life using an Arduino Pro Mini to serve as the brains of the system, a Bluetooth Low Energy shield to enable wireless communication, a series of Adafruit NeoPixels to add the visual effects, a spectrum analyzer to transform audio into usable data for the Arduino, and a step-down power converter to run the electronics.

Using the shoulder pads as its base, Teeuw added a pair of ATmega168 controlled servos under each of its flaps to create wings capable of lifting themselves up.

The Maker then attained 72 Adafruit NeoPixels. The center of the suit was fitted with a 24 pixel ring and two-8 pixel strips along the shoulders, while another two-16 pixel rings were situated around the eyes using Adafruit’s Kaleidoscope Eyes tutorial.

In order to enhance its next-gen appearance, Teeuw used a 300 million megawatt speaker connected to a 18 watt amplifier.

Additionally, in order to control the lighting effects, color and wings, the Maker tasked a Nintendo Wii nunchuck connected to the Arduino.

Rounding out Teeuw’s must-have function list was the suit’s coinciding iPhone app. Besides a futuristic designed interface, the iPhone app has five features:

• Playing looping background sounds
• Playing speech sounds with a manual or random trigger
• Playing sound effects with a manual or random trigger
• Playing speech sounds based on Bluetooth feedback from the suit
• Feedback about the current actions and connectivity in a console

Oh, and for those wondering as to whether or not Teeuw won the competition, you bethcha!

Inspired to go make a Power Suit of your own? You can find the detailed breakdown of Teeuw’s build here, and see it in action via the video below.

Loupe is an interactive handheld near-eye display

A group of researchers from Nokia and a number of universities have designed a gadget that has the same benefits of Google Glass, while eradicating the need to wear them around one’s face. The gadget, which is tethered to an Epson Android computer and an Arduino Pro Mini (ATmega168), provides an eye-level display for quick, discreet access.

Loupe is described by its creators as a novel interactive device with a near-eye virtual display similar to head-up display glasses that retains a handheld form factor, while having the capability of gaining access to information feeds.

“We present our hardware implementation and discuss our user interface that leverages Loupe’s unique combination of properties. In particular, we present our input capabilities, spatial metaphor, opportunities for using the round aspect of Loupe, and our use of focal depth. We demonstrate how those capabilities come together in an example application designed to allow quick access to information feeds,” the team wrote in its report.

With its cylindrical shape, the lipstick tube-sized gadget can be held up to one’s eye when a user wants to check their Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and such. When not in use, the device can easily be stowed away in a pocket or worn like a pendant necklace.

The Loupe prototype is comprised of several components, such as a micro-display obtained from Epson Moverio BT-100 binocular head-up display. The team reveals that they disassembled the Epson glasses, discarded its optics and housing, and then extracted one of the LCDs and associated LED backlight. The LCD is a 0.52-inch color display with a resolution of 960 x 540. The front of the display uses simple magnifying optics. For the current prototype, the researchers used a jeweler’s loupe in order to take advantage of its level of magnification.

Loupe was devised with a numerous sensors for input, including an ATmega168-based Arduino Pro Mini used to collect and preprocess sensor data that is then forwarded to the Android control box of the Epson Moverio.

The handheld creation also features nine DOF motion sensing with a 3-axis accelerometer, magnetometer, and gyroscope from Sparkfun. Using a sensor fusion algorithm, this data provides the orientation of the device. Additionally, an infrared proximity sensor is placed on the end next to the optics to determine when the device is placed in front of the user’s eye.

Listed as one of its primary objectives, the device allows quick access to notifications and information feeds that the user may be interested in any time of the day, ranging from social media updates to the latest news. When a new piece of information comes into the Loupe, the display begins to blink as a way to notify the user. Of course, this notification alert from the device occurs only when it is not in use or in an idle stage.

“There will likely be several different types of devices that will offer different technical capabilities and be useful for different purposes. Loupe represents a point somewhere between a phone, a smart watch, and glasses, and there are probably many more devices to be explored,” explained Yahoo Labs Principal Research Scientist Kent Lyons.

While much of the current interest in wearable technology is centered around smartwatches, activity tracking wristbands, and smart glasses, Lyons believes that the market will expand over time. And, as the segment matures, you can bet Atmel’s versatile MCUs will be smack dab in the middle of these platforms and devices.

 

Turn up the tunes with these Maker music designs

If you frequent Bits & Pieces, you know that we love ourselves a good hacked musical devices. Whether it is a series of stepper motors belting our Guns N’ Roses or long outdated computer parts being repurposed into instruments, these techie tunes just warm our hacker hearts. Today, we have two more musical creations to add to our ever-growing list.

Taking inspiration from the Moppy Project — which we have previously featured, Maker Tyler Bletsch puts his own spin on the floppy drive music player.

While he started out by creating his own Floppy Shield for Arduino code (available on GitHub), Bletsch later changed his idea to incorporate a full Arduino library, entitled “Floppy Music.” which is also readily accessibly for download. With this shield in hand, he was able to link not one, but four floppy drives to his board with regular cables to produce one of our favorite movie themes.

Bletsch continues to make updates to his creation, which you can follow along with his breakdown here. Previously, he was selling the boards he had produced, but has recently sold out. Not a bad problem to have, if you ask us!

While the floppy music player has become a common yet awesome hack in the Maker community, a dedicated web radio player is not.

A Maker by the name of Vassilis Serasidis has recently tasked an Arduino Pro Mini (ATmega168) to become an inexpensive web radio player with full stereo sound. There are thousands of radio stations being broadcast across the Internet at any given time and our Maker knew there had to be a way to harness them all.

His design features two switches that allow for station switching, but the heart of the system is the trusty [ATmega168 based] Arduino. Serasidis describes his gadget’s function, “”The Arduino sends a request to a WebRadio server through the ethernet module (ENC28J60). The ENC28J60 is connected to the WebRadio server, sends the request and waits for response from the server.

According to the Maker, he devised the unit so that “the response will be the header information of the radio station followed by the audio stream (MP3 or AAC). The Arduino gets the answer from the server and sends the received data to the VS1053B MP3, AAC or WMA decoder.” In turn, an outward facing LCD will display the information provider.

Those wanting to read Serasidis’ entire tutorial on how to harness the power of WebRadio with an ATmega168 can click on over to his informational guide.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Designing an NES Power Glove Light Suit

Designed by Grant Goddard and Samuel Cooper Davis for Abrams/Gentile Entertainment and made by Mattel in the United States, the Power Glove was originally released in 1989. The next-gen wearable was equipped with traditional NES controller buttons on the forearm as well as a program button and buttons labeled 0-9. Unfortunately, the gaming device failed to catch on in popularity and was criticized for its imprecise and difficult-to-use controls.

However, a Maker by the name of Greg Sowell decided to transform the obsolete NES Power Glove into a psychedelic light suit using addressable LED strips and an Arduino Pro Mini (ATmega168).

The Maker was inspired by a video from one of his favorite bands Hypercrush, which featured a member wearing a Power Glove-like device with lasers coming out of the ends. With a light suit already in his possession, Sowell thought, “Why not control the suit with the Power Glove?” And thus, the project was born.

Additional materials used in his build included:

• 12 – 10k resistors: Pull down for buttons and voltage divider for bend sensors
• WS2812 RGB LED strip from Adafruit or Sparkfun: Used 5-meter strips
• 300 ohm resistor: To protect data pin
• 1000 uF cap: Just before the light strip to protect the lights
• 2-USB cables: To power the system
• 5V 2A USB battery pack
• 2 – 10mm LEDs
• 10-foot stranded Cat 5 cable
• Adafruit’s NeoPixel Library

Interested in learning more? You can find a full breakdown of Sowell’s build on his website here.

Ping-pong gets high-tech with AT42QT1010

Every hip, trendy new office seems to have a ping-pong table sequestered in the corner of a break room. Even if that that has become common practice in the contemporary office, this concept from across the pond at SI Digital has changed the way the game is played!

With SI Digital’s over-the-top office ping-pong table, each player has an RFID tag embedded into their personal paddle. When they approach the table, they simply wave their handle over a sensor and their image appears on a nearby LCD screen and a game is ready to commence.

Also, instead of tirelessly arguing over the manually tracked score, the team installed two capacitive touch sensors below the table that allow a quick click to add a point under each player’s image. These capacitive touch sensors, built by Adafruit and powered by the Atmel AT42QT1010 were chosen for their ability to trigger precisely after very slight and effortless touches.

Alongside the table, the innovative team placed an Arduino Pro Mini (ATmega168)-powered RFID reader covered with several LEDs to give visual feedback upon being scanned. The RFID tags provide the ability for games to start instantly and for rivalries to be upheld. The team at SI Digital used Node.js and Socket.io to develop an application that gave them the ability to track their live scoring and lifestime statistics. Game on!

For more information on this new spin on the old school Ping-Pong table, take a look at SI Digital’s project review here.

The Enactive Torch enables the blind to “see”

A trio from the University of Cincinnati has adapted infrared technology to provide blind individuals with a form of feedback that allows them to interpret their surroundings.

The handheld apparatus is equipped with distance sensors at one end and a vibrating motor that can be strapped to the user’s wrist. According to its creators, the Enactive Torch provides the wearer with one continuous channel of vibro-tactile feedback to the hand, where the strength of stimulation depends on the distance of the objects in front of the device. With an ultrasonic sensor and an on-board Arduino Pro Mini (ATmega168), the Torch provides constant responses to the user.

“Think of it as a cane on steroids,” writes TechCrunch’s John Biggs. While the cane has worked for quite some time, a smaller, more compact and high-tech Torch could help users navigate around with ease.

The trio of Makers is utilizing an open source platform so that the community at large may benefit from their sensory tool. The schematics and design plans are readily available on the device’s website.

Luis Favela, one of the principal creators of the Enactive Torch, notes that users have similar experiences when using a cane, natural vision or the Torch. “The three modalities are functionally equivalent. People can carry out actions just about to the same degree whether they’re using their vision or their sense of touch.”

According to TechCrunch, Favela tested 27 students by blindfolding them and putting them in an unknown environment. They were easily able to move through doors and avoid walls and were even able to use the device to sense objects near their feet. The resulting data was later presented at the APA convention in Washington, D.C. In the future, the creators hope to shrink the device to a less noticeable size, as to prevent and stigma from being attributed to the users.

To explore the Enactive Torch in more detail, you can check out the machine’s official site here.

Build your own wireless home security system with Arduino

Are you planning on installing a security system in your home soon? Before you start pricing, take a look at this DIY guide from Instructables user Deba168. After all, why buy when you can make your own?

Deba168’s system utilizes a pair of Arduino boards, an RF transmitter, a PIR motion sensor and a few other components to piece it all together. The device primarily uses a PIR motion sensor to detect movement, once triggered, this sensor pings an Arduino unit that catalogs the data. Along with the infrared sensor and Arduino, another Arduino board is employed to control alarms and alerts. The Maker notes that he selected an Arduino Nano (ATmega328) for the transmitter, but that either an Atmel-based Arduino Uno or Pro Mini would also suffice.

In an effort to further secure his home, Deba168 lengthened the range of his device by including an antenna on the RF transmitter and receiver module. “If you look carefully in to the RF transmitter and receiver module there is no external antenna included,” the Maker notes.

While the system now alerts users to motion, Deba168 hopes to include even more functionality in the future. The Maker plans on looking into including an alert for open doors and another notification if appliances are left on. He is also is contemplating how to incorporate a digital camera to take pictures when the motion sensor is triggered.

Pieces this all together and you’ve got a pretty cheap and easy way to keep an eye on things around the house. To read Deba168’s full tutorial, you can check out the original Instructables post here. If you want to browse other ingenious Arduino-powered projects, head over to our Bits & Pieces archives.

Send your hearts fluttering with an ARM-powered wireless platform

A talented Maker by the name of Taylor Alexander, co-founder of Flutter Wireless, has recently gained a large amount of support for the company’s innovative wireless electronics development platform based on Arduino.

No novice to DIY, Taylor has spent a life of hacking, making and transfiguring things to have them do all sorts of different actions than these electronics were originally made to do. At the early age of five, he would break things down and rebuild them to create something entirely different — taking parts from old cameras, stereos and other electronic components, then transforming them into electric cars. From early on, it was evident Taylor was an innovator in the ‘making.’ Now, as everyone has witnessed, there are crowdfunding platforms such as Kickstarter, a startup incubator platform where individuals like Taylor and his co-founders can create value from their extraordinary talents and early fundamental interest.

Not only has Kickstarter offered a new way of doing things, but the platform is reshaping the business and creation cycle for people with talents in technical and creativity. The site has enabled people to get financing, allowing inventors to obtain the investment needed much faster at the early stage of incubation and product development. This money can then be better used to scale faster and prove its concepts early on via social acceptance and crowdfunding with the merits of community and validation.

The powers of the Maker Movement — a fabulous combination of getting the media, bloggers and influencers onboard, riding pre-existing trends, thinking outside the box, conducting frequent demonstrations, all while responding to the ideas and wants of the community. Arguably the most important aspect of the DIY revolution is the validation and acceptance of the community wanting to endorse and witness an idea come to fruition. At an individual level, it’s an exciting and opportunistic time for an inventor or anyone looking to contribute to the landscape of technology or where it is going. These are some of the most compelling reasons as to why Flutter Wireless is able to prove innovative ground, validate their product ideas and infuse the necessary capital to promote more success across communities. As in its Kickstarter’s illustration, the wireless electronics development platform can be communicated from of a large 3,200 ft (1km) usable range. It is packaged with a powerful Atmel ARM-based SAM3S processor, coupled with integrated encryption using Atmel’s ATSHA204 cryptographic chip as the device to secure it’s system.

So, how does this wireless platform work? Well, as the Flutter Wireless site explains:

“Creating Flutter networks are easy, even if it’s just two boards. Specify networks in Arduino code or configure Flutter with our mobile app. Once configured, devices can enter and exit the network seamlessly. This makes it extremely easy to set up a network at home (or anywhere else) where all of your projects can reliably communicate. Flutter is like a second network for your devices.”

In fact, in the landscape of connecting devices and IoT, an individual building out of a wireless project shouldn’t have to be too expensive. “Flutter was built from the ground up with cost in mind, that’s why our boards start at just $20. We’ve worked hard to keep costs as low as possible and deliver you a quality product you can afford to use in as many projects as you’d like,” explains Taylor. The startup extraordinaire Taylor has helped further the ecosystem development by leveraging the concepts of “shields” and designing a handful of various protocol shields for Flutter. It’s really focused on individuals who want to get started quickly and build heterogeneous nodes of connected devices on a network. The Flutter boards come shipped with breakout boards and socket headers, combined with the power of connectivity to various protocols (Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy or conventional Bluetooth 2.1). The Flutter Wireless platform is comprised of the network shield which connects to your home router, creating a bridge between mobile devices (M2M) the Internet and Flutter. For a wireless system, the important factors are range and reliability. According to Flutter Wireless Kickstarter:

“We use WiFi everyday, but take a few steps down the driveway and coverage quickly becomes scarce. Flutter is a different kind of wireless system, completely self-contained with over a half-mile range. This allows for a wireless platform without borders, and no longer being chained to a router means your projects are free to follow you out the front door, through the yard, and down the street.”

As previously discussed in Bits & Pieces, the combined Flutter Wireless Development platform is quite comprehensive, considering it’s Kickstarter and crowdfunding origins. Flutter Wireless comes packaged with Atmel’s ATSHA204 to ensure maximum secure storage and protection of encryption keys. Flutter is designed to address security and wireless in a combined package. The platform is comprised of a design, which encompasses a special cryptographic hardware (Atmel’s ATSHA204) that integrates cryptography into every communication layer of the software. In essence, this gives the user ultimate control over who can and cannot communicate with their devices.

The project is given strengths by making it accessible via the Open Source community – ensuring the possibility of enhancing the roadmap by contribution to improve upon Flutter Wireless foundation though the power of the community. Furthermore, Flutter’s wireless concept seamlessly routes messages across a varied number of connected devices to reach their destination. It’s sort of like a lily pad of daisy chaining across many nodes or protocols. With that said, there is a world of potential in the IoT buildup for a number of reasons. Arduino already has a big open-source following. First, this is already proven (via the Maker Movement and Maker Faire) and it’s one of the easiest ways to bridge the physical and digital worlds together. Flutter Wireless can be a node in a larger mesh network, which could be useful for large public projects. (i.e.  Let’s say, a hobbyist or passionate drone user wants to fly his drone to the next town over, keep it connected across RC and mesh networks all within good range and security).

The winning formula:

ARM + Encryption + Easy Development + New IoT-Based Radio + Mesh + Shields + Open Source + Community + Crowdfunding = Thousands of lines of agile code, mesh support, tagging, and various protocol features required to support IoT buildup

Potential applications for Flutter Wireless include:

• Quadcopters
• Landscape sensors
• Agriculture remote sensor installations
• Remote security implementations
• Crowdsourcing spectrum analyzers
• RC hobbyists

Flutter still finds itself under development and continually evolving. The prototypes were designed with the Sparkfun Arduino Pro Mini for rapid development and proof of concept. Out of this ideated adventure, a new generation of boards are in the process being developed with Atmel SMART™ ARM-based SAM3S, a very affordable, versatile and powerful ARM core processor with a capacity for speed and storage space to suit any designer’s connected device project.

•  Atmel SMART™ SAM3S Cortex™ M3 Flash MCU (ARM based processor at 64MHz)
•  Cryptographic key storage using Atmel’s SHA204 CryptoAuthentication
•  Mesh networking capable
•  1,000+ meter range
•  915 MHz operating frequency
•  1.2 Mbps* max data rate
•  3.3v system voltage
•  10-40mA current draw (normal use)

More details can be found via the Flutter Wireless website. Devices found within this innovative wireless development platform can be found at Atmel’s product ARM processors page and said security components can be located on Atmel’s Cryptography product page.

A DIY altimeter for RC planes

A Maker by the name of Qubist has created an Arduino-based altimeter targeted at RC planes. For the uninitiated, an altimeter or altitude meter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level.

According to Qubist, the DIY altimeter documented on Instructables is capable of measuring altitude with an accuracy of 0.3 meters, all while saving the highest and lowest values.

Key project components include:

• Arduino Pro Mini (ATmega168 MCU)
• 40 mAh Lithium Polymer battery
• LCD bubble display
• MPL3115A2 Altitude Sensor
• 3D printed case (optional)
• Button
• Switch
• JST connector

“The entire build adds up to around $30, but you may have some or most of the parts lying around already,” said Qubist.

“You can make this! It is not a very difficult project, and could be good practice for through-hole soldering and coding if you want to do modifications.”

Qubist kicks of the DIY altimeter project by soldering the bubble display, adding the button and JST connector/switch.

Next up?

“Solder the JST connector into the GND and RAW pins on the Arduino. Then, cut the lead that goes to RAW in half. This is where the switch circuit will be added so we can turn the device on and off. Glue the switch into place. Push it right up against the button so there is enough space to program the Arduino with FTDI later. I used superglue to stick it in place. We won’t be using any of the pins that it is covering up so you can glue it right onto the board,” he continued.

“Next, twist the JST connector so it is facing the rest of the board instead of the switch. This will allow the battery to plug in (there wasn’t enough space before). Only one of the leads of the connector is in the Arduino now, so it should be easy to twist. You may need to do some supergluing to get the metal pins that stick into the plastic part of the JST connector to stay in place. Solder the button into the cut lead of the JST connector as shown in the picture and you are done with the power circuit.”

After connecting the altitude sensor, Qubist prepares and installs the battery, uploads the sketch and makes a 3D case to house the completed device.

Interested in learning more? You can check out the project’s official Instructables page here.

Video: Atmega328p MCU drives LINBUS signal injector

Zapta has created a LINBUS signal injector powered by Atmel’s Atmega328p microcontroller (MCU) to simulate an automatic “Sport Mode” button press in his vehicle.

Essentially, the Atmel-powered signal injector connects on a LIN Bus between the master and slave – observing and manipulating the data flowing on the line. 

The device is also equipped with a 115kbs serial interface for programming and logging bus activity on a standard computer, along with two LIN bus ports.

“One acts as a slave and should be connected to the LIN bus master and another that acts as a master and should be connected to the LIN bus slave,” Zapta explained in a recent blog post.

“The firmware includes a set of files named with the prefix custom_ that implements an application specific logic (simulating pressing the Sport Mode button of my car whenever the ignition is turned) and should be modified to match the target logic and behavior.”

In addition, the USB/Serial port is also compatible with the Arduino IDE (emulating an Atmel-powered Arduino Mini Pro) which can be used to edit/compile/download software updates.

“The serial output of the injector can be viewed directly with a terminal emulation software or using the provided script that adds timestamp,” Zapta added. 

”The injector provided sample application is configured for 19,200bps linbus that uses LIN V2 checksum but can be configured for busses with different speeds and checksum formula.”

Interested in learning more? You can check out the project’s official page and relevant files here.