Instead of having a synth that was controlled by potentiometers, sliders, antennas or ribbons, one Maker has developed a pair of gloves that lets him make sounds by just moving his hands.
If you think about projects Adafruit’s MIDI glove and DrumPants, it’s looking an awful lot like wearable tech and music may be the next big-time duet. Take Sebastian Thinggard Rostved, for example. The Maker has created a nifty hand-worn synthesizer as part of a recent interactive design course at Sonic College in Denmark.
The project, which he callsAcid Gloves, consists of two gloves fitted with a pair of bend sensors, an accelerometer and a force resisting sensor, each of which are hooked up to an Arduino that sends data to MaxMSP for the audio effects. Meanwhile, the Max-patch is controlled by a Max for Live plugin.
“The two bend sensors control the filter cutoff and the amount of filter envelope. The force sensitive resistor controls the amount of filter and amp envelope and the accelerometer controls the filter resonance, overdrive and bitcrush,” the Maker explains. “This part is really hard to control, both physically and programming wise. The physical part is to master your control of your hand. The programming was also really hard and i had to make a lot of filtering of the data, to make it work.”
The idea for Acid Gloves came about after Rostved decided that he wanted a synthesizer instrument that wasn’t driven by potentiometers, sliders, antennas or ribbons like a majority of mixers. And after all, what’s more intuitive than using his own hands? You can watch the wearable device in action below as he orchestrates a variety of beats in a seemingly natural way by simply moving his arms and fingers.
The music-savvy Maker says that he is thinking about turning the gloves into a MIDI controller in the near future, so that he can control his hardware synths. What’s more, he has also obtained a few more sensors to improve the overall design of the project and expand upon its capabilities.
“Although Sebastian looks pretty subdued here operating his tunes, you can see there is the potential to program larger gestures with the accelerometer and really turn this into an interactive show. There is also room for adding some capacitive sensing fabric buttons on the glove, as well as more flex sensors. This could trigger more effects or music samples. On the visual end, it may be fun to add a few LEDs to the fingertips to draw attention to the motions as well,” our friends (and the original spotters of this neat project) at Adafruit explain.
This Maker built a neat wall-mounted weather display that gets the current conditions and forecast from the Internet, and then reveals it as colorful icons.
While we’ve seen plenty of word clocks in recent months, Jason Rolfe decided to do something a little different. Taking inspiration from these nifty projects, the Wyoming-based Maker has created a neat wall-mounted display that doesn’t reveal the time, but the two-day forecast instead.
Similar to how word clocks spell out the hour and minutes, this installation works by illuminating the high and low temperatures, the likelihood of precipitation and even the projected snowfall, along with a corresponding weather image. An Arduino Yún (ATmega32U4) pulls data from the Weather Underground API while a sketch displays an icon (such as a sun or a cloud) based on the conditions. The unit shifts between forecasts for today, now, tomorrow and tonight at 15 second intervals.
Rolfe implemented a 10×10 grid of 100 addressable LEDs, which shine through the device’s laser-cut acrylic faceplate. The electronics are all housed inside a handmade wooden frame with a colonial style moulding.
So how does it work exactly? In the example below, the weather for today would be a high of 45°F with a 60% chance of snow. If any significant accumulation was expected, it would be indicated by either trace, 2″-3″, 4″-6” or 6+”. Who needs the Weather Channel, right? Check out the Maker’s entire project here.
With a snap of your fingers, Boogie Dice will begin to roll all by themselves.
While the concept of intelligent dice may not be anything new, one New York-based startup is looking to do something a little different with the ancient accessory. Unlike other Bluetooth-enabled pieces before it, Boogie Dice aren’t looking to only pair with your mobile devices, they are hoping to replace their ‘dumber’ counterparts in your favorite tabletop games from Yahtzee to Monopoly.
The big difference? Boogie Dice are designed to be sound-activated and roll by themselves, on command. What’s more, they can even be programmed, bringing a new cool factor to game night. Clap your hands, snap yours fingers or bang the table, and the dice will begin to Boogie.
And that’s not all. Boogie Dice are jam-packed with unique features and abilities that transform them from simple ’static’ accessories into interactive gadgets. They can be configured to react to sound, serve as a timer (goodbye hourglasses!), detect motion and even perform random actions to add an element of surprise to the excitement. To make this possible, each die is equipped with a vibration motor, a microphone, a rechargeable 100mAh battery, an array of three LED lights and a microcontroller (an Arduino was employed in development). What’s more, players can adjust noise sensitivity, roll duration and even LED sequences using its accompanying mobile app.
By default, a Boogie Dice rolls for two to four seconds, emitting a blue light, then stops and glows purple for one second. After a minute without use, the dice goes to sleep. Since they’re programmed by sound, there’s no need to pair or plug anything in. When customizing the dice, they’ll start to blink with their red and blue LEDs, followed by a steady blue light to indicate that the programming was successful.
Boogie Dice are good for up to 30 minutes of continuous rolling or 500 activations, before needing to be refueled. When this occurs, simply place the die onto its charging station and they’ll be ready to go again in approximately 40 minutes.
And while you may not see a pair of magical dice at the craps table anytime soon, you can find them on Kickstarter. Want a set of magical dice for your next game night? Roll over to Boogie Dice’s campaign, which is getting ready to wrap up. Creator Nimrod Back and his team have already garnered well over their asking goal of $50,000, and delivery is expected to get underway in March 2016.
Did you know that 80% of the 2015 Hackaday Prize finalists are powered by Atmel? With only days left until we learn which project will walk away with this year’s crown, we recently sat down with each of the potential winners to get to know them better.
While there are surely amazing bionic hands available for amputees today, their price tag can range anywhere from $40,000 to $100,000. This is life-changing technology that has a tremendous impact on people all over the world, however the vast majority can’t afford it. Not to mention, these devices are often times too heavy. As a result, one group of Makers decided to take it upon themselves to create a low-cost, lightweight, custom bionic hand with the help of 3D printing. The total cost? Less than $1,000 — a mere fraction of its commercial counterparts.
We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with OpenBionics team member Minas Liarokapis to gain a better insight into the project, its inception and what’s in store for the future.
Atmel: What is OpenBionics?
Minas Liarokapis: OpenBionics is an open source initiative for the development of affordable, highly functional, low complexity robotic and prosthetic devices that can be easily fabricated with rapid prototyping techniques and off-the-shelf materials. We have already built a few generations of robotic and prosthetic hands — since 2013 when OpenBionics was founded — and we are continuously working on improving our designs.
Atmel:. How did you come to the idea for OpenBionics? Moreover, what inspired you to enter the contest with your project?
ML: I had the inspiration for the creation of OpenBionics while working on my PhD thesis at the Control Systems Lab (CSL) of the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), under the supervision of Professor Kostas Kyriakopoulos (lab director). He was motivated by the observation that the state of the art robotic and prosthetic hands are overpriced and lack basic functionalities. So, in 2013 the OpenBionics team was set up, consisting of Agis Zisimatos and Christoforos Mavrogiannis and Prof. Kostas Kyriakopoulos also members of the CSL. In 2014, George Kontoudis joined the team.
Since the early beginnings of the OpenBionics initiative, our main priority was to share open designs with the community of Makers, scientists, hobbyists, robotic enthusiasts and later on with people in need (e.g. amputees). Hackaday appeared to be a welcoming community for projects like ours and upon hearing about the Prize we felt this would be a good motivation for us to accelerate the development of our hands.
Atmel: In line with the Hackaday Prize’s theme, how are you hoping OpenBionics changes the world? What’s the mission?
ML: A lot of companies and initiatives claim that they will change the world, it’s a catchy phrase, a nice slogan. We dream about changing the world, we really hope that we will be able to play a significant role in this process at some point. Until then, we want to change people’s lives. To make them happier, more productive, to inspire them to be creative. To help amputees regain their lost dexterity. To educate young engineers, who will eventually become better than us. People will change the world, not initiatives or companies. Together we can change the world and we can make it a better place.
Regarding our HaD Prize project, we have proposed a fully functional prosthetic hand that can execute 144 grasps with a single actuator. This hand weighs less than 300g and costs less than $200. Currently, we are working also on giving to the design a product feel and make it more beautiful. Nowadays, commercially available prostheses cost up to $100.000, more than a sports car. This is irrational and has to be changed. We really hope that products like ours will reshape the prosthetics market. Amputees can build their own prostheses. Hackerspaces, Makerspaces and Fab-Labs can facilitate this process. We really hope that we will trigger a change in this field.
Atmel: What’s different about it? What’s your vision for the next five years? Where do you see OpenBionics going or what/who would you hope will pick up the project and use it?
ML: Our prosthetic hand design is based on a novel differential mechanism that allows a single actuator to control multiple fingers using a simple intuitive interface based on buttons. This differential facilitates the desired cost and weight reduction. We feel, that the differential is the cool idea.
OpenBionics just started. We have many ideas and many cool designs in mind for the years to come. We want to be part of the open-source revolution! From the beginning our designs have been completely open for everyone to use them and experiment with them. We hope to achieve a level of design simplicity for our products, that will allow everyone — amputees, Makers, scientists and hobbyists — to replicate our hands using the provided assembly guides. Stay tuned for more!
Atmel: As we know, the Maker Movement has opened the door for everyone from hobbyists to tech enthusiasts to hardware engineers to tinker around. What’s your personal background?
ML: We are a team of engineers and we are all working professionally (most of us in academic positions) in the area of robotics.
Atmel: What are some of the core pieces of hardware embedded?
ML: Other than the hardware designed by the initiative, we use [Atmel based] Arduino boards, servo motors and NFC tags for the new design of the NFC ready fingers.
Atmel: What hardware products or projects are you also building at the moment?
ML: We have many different ongoing projects. In the next few months, we will release a new version of our prosthetic hand, based on the Hybrid Deposition Manufacturing technique. Then, we will focus on ameliorating our robot hands. Exoskeletons, rehabilitation and other wearable human augmentation devices are also in our future plans.
Atmel: Why pick Atmel (and Arduino) chips?
ML: Arduino boards with Atmel chips are open source, affordable and well documented. These are characteristics of paramount importance for us.
Atmel:What advice would you offer other Makers when getting into hardware and embarking on a new project?
ML: They should not be afraid to fail. We have failed many times, but we never gave up. We feel that when someone has an idea worth spreading she/he has an obligation to share it with the world, no matter how busy she/he is or what other personal constraints she/he has. Dream, design, build, repeat and in the process you will have a lot of fun!
Atmel: Any plans to launch a startup and perhaps even take to Kickstarter/Indiegogo?
ML: All these ideas have definitely crossed our minds and we are currently in a process of discussing with each other the future of OpenBionics. The only certain thing, is that the initiative will remain completely open source. We are open to new collaborations and we plan to be even more involved in the Makers and open source communities.
Atmel: And… if you win, will you be heading to space or taking the cash?!
ML: Space is fun, but we are four and we cannot decide who to send up there. Moreover, if we get the cash we will be able to do wonderful things and prepare far more exciting designs
Atmel: Anything else you want to tell us and our followers?
ML: Don’t be afraid to dream, design, create, innovate and please keep your minds and your ideas open. Together we are much stronger!
(UPDATE: Liarokapis and the OpenBionics crew took home second place in the 2015 Hackaday Prize.)
A few years ago, Alec Smecher’s boss brought him a souvenir from Mexico City: a tiny television console made of scrap wood, tinfoil and cardboard. Turns out, this little trinket becomes a perfectly good mini TV when paired with the screen of an old I9000 Android phone that he had lying around.
“Of course, no tiny console is complete without a clunky remote,” Smecher jokes. For this, the Maker chose a large clicker which ironically was larger than the TV itself. There was plenty of room inside the remote for a non-LE Bluefruit module from Adafruit, which could communicate with the I9000.
“The big consideration was how to interface the remote control to the phone. I considered using USB OTG, Wi-Fi, and/or writing some custom software on the phone, but in the end I googled the I9000’s Bluetooth support and found that it was decent, though old, and would happily accept a keyboard or mouse,” Smecher explains.
However, Bluefruit doesn’t support matrix keypads. This led the Maker to implement a barebones ATmega328 that was configured to run its own internal clock source. Since the Adafruit board provides voltage regulation that’s usable by the additional MCU, the remote was able to keep its stock 9V battery power supply.
In terms of software, Smecher says that source code was fairly simple — he employed the Arduino Keypad Library and translated keypresses into mouse and keyboard commands for the Bluefruit using the serial interface. Looking ahead, he notes that he may refine the keys and devise a new template for the remote buttons, but for now it’s good to go. Intrigued? Click on over to the project’s original page or stay tuned to see it in action below!
This bug-like bot enables Makers to easily migrate from graphical style programming to written code.
Pet rocks were all the rage in the mid-’70s, and then came the Tamagotchi in the ’90s. So what could be the next craze in the current millennium? Pet robots? It’s not a far reach. Robotics has been a disruptive innovation in STEM education, with a growing number of kits being deployed by K-12 educators to teach science and engineering. These easy-to-build and even easier-to-understand sets continue to provide students with a basic overview of programming concepts, with hopes of inspiring more children to pursue STEM disciplines. However, students will eventually need to move on to writing “real world” programming languages like Java, Python, C, and C++. Plum Geek saw this need, and came up with the next logical step to prepare the next wave of hackers, tinkerers and Makers.
Meet Wink — a low-cost, Arduino-based robot that instructs students how to write code, while programming the robot’s behavior as well. The project was originally conceived by a team of Makers who wanted to help transition students from graphical programming to more powerful written code languages. With Wink, students will learn the foundations of the C programming language, which is widely used to control microprocessors used in all manner of robotics, embedded systems, automation, and the growing Internet of Things revolution.
The Wink robot includes a free and open curriculum with lesson plans and guide videos that could be easily adopted at home, in the classroom, and at workshops. Students will train their new pet robot by programming common robotic tasks such as line following, light seeking, barrier detection, and autonomous roaming, while also leaving room for students creative experimentation.
If Wink looks vaguely familiar, that’s because the bug-like bot is the sibling of Plum Geek’s earlier Kickstarter success Ringo. These palm-sized pet robots may be small, but still pack quite a punch. Built around an Arduino Uno (ATmega328) at its core, Wink runs on a fast motor and each motor can be independently driven forward or backward. At full speed, it can zoom across the floor or table in the ‘wink’ of an eye — surely quicker than any pet rock you ever had!
What’s more, the bot is equipped with three sensors on top to measure any light that’s straight ahead and 45 degrees to either side, an infrared barrier headlight tucked under its nose to detect obstacles that stand in its way, four more sensors underneath for high-speed line following and edge detection, as well as a piezo buzzer to emit simple chirps and alarms. Onboard is a rechargeable 240 mAh LiPo, giving you hours of fun and experimentation.
Interested in a new pet robot for your house or classroom? Head over to Wink’s Kickstarter campaign, where its creators have once again stormed right by its initial goal. The first batch of units is expected to ship sometime in January 2016.
This selfie booth is like something straight out of The Walking Dead.
What can we say? We’re a sucker for innovative photo booth projects. And although we’ve seen some pretty cool ones in the past, none may be as spooktacular and gruesome as this one from Donnie Plumly.
This Halloween, the Maker decided to transform his cubicle into a scene like something straight out of The Walking Dead. The aptly named Zombie Selfieis comprised of a molded silicone arm, which is clipped onto his office partition via a custom steel mount, and a vibration sensor that’s hooked up to an Arduino Uno (ATmega328).
The Arduino detects when one of his colleagues touches (or slaps) the zombie hand, thereby triggering the picture-taking sequence. An IR LED helps snap the photo, which is then sent along to an Eye-Fi card in his Canon camera. From there, the selfie is put into a Dropbox folder and an IFTTT recipe tweets the image to the Twitter handle @ZombieSelfie.
And similar to our good pal Quin Etynre’s B&W Instant Selfie project, Plumly connected the camera to a monitor so that users could preview their photo. What’s more, he turned the sleep functions off on the camera and the monitor so the last image taken would always be displayed.
What do you get when you combine a pumpkin with Tetris? Pumpktris, of course! Three years ago, Nathan Pryor built a fully-playable version of the classic game right into the Halloween doorstep decoration with LEDs for the display and the stem serving as its controller.
Instead of the glow of a candle, this particular pumpkin got his illumination courtesy of 128 LEDs embedded inside. The Maker had originally planned to use an LoL Shield for the LED matrix, but logistically decided that it wouldn’t work. And so, he created his own LED matrix and programmed it. Set to a Halloween-themed version of the ever infectious Tetris soundtrack, Pryor’s project has certainly left all the nerds talking for years.
Pumpktris’ face is comprised of a grid of square and holes, which were made using a drill to ensure consistent size and spacing. Pryor then wired each LED bulb externally so that he could space them apart, filling in each hole of the grid. The entire gadget is driven by an Arduino Duemilanove.
Meanwhile, a short-handled joystick was attached to the stem, which was cut off and reattached to ensure easy mobility when playing. The joystem toggles the internal joystick, enabling players to move the Tetris pieces which light up on the LED grid.
And just when you thought your jack-o’-lantern was awesome… Watch Pumpktris in action below and be amazed!
This tactile interface is designed for fully autonomous cars and hopes to help mediate the trust issues between man and machine.
Self-driving cars are no longer a futuristic idea, with an estimated 10 million expected to hit the roads by 2020. In fact, companies like Mercedes, BMW, Tesla and Nissan are among countless others that have already begun to implement these autonomous features into their automobiles. Although such vehicles offer obvious benefits such as faster travel times, enhanced safety and more convenience, some folks believe it eliminates a sense of freedom, expression and control while behind the wheel. In order to promote a positive relationship between man and his machine, Felix Ros has developed Stewart — a servo-controlled joystick that will help overcome society’s reluctance in embracing fully autonomous vehicles.
Stewart will provide you with constant updates about the car’s behavior and its intentions. However, if you don’t agree on the car’s next course of action, you can manipulate the tactile interface to change this. The device will learn from you in the same way that you can learn from it, hopefully resulting in a mutually trusting relationship. It should be noted that Stewart is merely a middleman between the autonomous vehicle and its driver, and is no way intended to actually control the car.
Through nuanced force feedback, Stewart will tell you what the car plans to do next, such as which direction it will choose and whether it will accelerate or brake. Yet, if you disagree with the vehicle’s planned course of action, you can intervene with the joystick to get the car to take your preferred route, or to simply drive in a different style. According to Ros, this puts emotion back into driving within the margins of what is considered safe.
“So why would you want to control a car that drives itself? Learning to trust a (new) technology takes time. A feeling of control can help to build a mutually trustful relationship,” Ros explains. “Humans are very unpredictable creatures that tend to change their minds frequently. For example: while driving you want to make a detour or you may need a coffee break. These changes of plan can easily be communicated to the car trough Stewart.”
Let’s face it, Halloween is arguably one of, if not, the best night to be a Maker — a celebration full of carving, candy, costumes, and of course, some creative decorations. To pay homage to All Hallows’ Eve, we’ve decided to compile a list of a few tricks, which are surely a treat to see!
Talkin’ Skeleton
Tired of having to greet those trick-or-treaters personally? With an Arduino Duemilanove (ATmega168) for a brain, this talking skeleton will take care of all that mumbo jumbo for you, with a variety of your own prerecorded phrases. Muahahahaha!
Terrifyin’ Demon Costume
A monster mash-up of animated LED backpacks and a wave shield voice changer creates a rather terrifying, electronic demon mask.
Findin’ Out Whose the Fairest of Them All
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest scariest one of them all? This wall-mounted installation plays animations based on input from various sensors and features four characters — with each character responding to the sensor inputs with its own personality. There’s even a photo booth feature as well.
Knockin’ on the Box
Simply knock on this ATtiny45 embedded box and it’ll knock back. If you tap on it a special number of times, it’ll play a secret tune, too!
Rulin’ a Bunch of Scarecrow Minions
Having already become quite the ‘ween must-see in his town, Maker Ryan Hughes decided to up his creative game by making a display of scarecrow minions lorded over by Pumpkin King.
Droppin’ Spiders
Spook those coming to your doorstep by dropping fake spider whenever someone comes near. Using an Arduino Uno (ATmega328), a ping sensor and a few servos, this automated mechanism will sense when a trick-or-treater approaches and release the eight-legged prop accordingly.
Textin’ Pumpkins
Add some interactivity to your haunted house by devising a Twilio-based web app that changes the color of pumpkins using an Arduino and a few LED strips. As a bonus, Maker Jarod Reyes included a power-switch to turn on a fog machine and also added a little eerie jazz music when trick-or-treaters texted “chaos” to the app.
Playin’ Some Pumpktris
As its name would suggest, Pumpktris is a fully playable version of Tetris built into a pumpkin with 128 LEDs for the display and the stem serving as a game controller.
Creepin’ Out Guests With Skully
This super simple yet creepy skull is attached to a single servo with LEDs in its eyes. Placed on the ground and masked with a net, this decoration will surely catch a couple of guests off guard.
Trickin’ Guests
Trick or treat? Ben Harben’s Halloween gadget comprised of an Arduino, a Nerf gun, a Gatorade bottle water reservoir and a coat hanger-turned-corkscrew makes either a matter of possibility.
Dishin’ Out Treats Automatically
Admit it, waiting around to dish out candy can get a bit boring. Just like everything else, why not automate it? This candy dispenser — equipped with an Arduino, X10 and Twilio — utilizes a pair of servos to both open the chute and mix the contents. What’s more, the contraption can be controlled via smartphone or SMS.
Skippin’ the Candy Bowl
Instead of putting out a candy bowl on your porch, this nifty, Arduino Leonardo (ATmega32U4)-driven vending machine will disperse the Halloween sweets without you ever having to leave the couch. (See it in action here.)
Trippin’ the Alarm
Fill your decorated room with smoke, then challenge haunted house goers to navigate the LASER Maze without tripping the ATmega168 driven alarm.
Snappin’ Selfies With Zombies
This Maker’s build employed a molded silicone arm, a custom steel mount to clip to an office partition and a vibration sensor hooked up to an Arduino. Once the arm is slapped, a photo is taken via an IR LED and passed to an Eye-Fi card in the camera. The pic is then put into a Dropbox folder and an IFTTT recipe tweets it.
Fire-Breathin’ Jack-o-Lantern
Let’s just say: Kids, don’t try this one at home. We repeat: Kids, or adults for that matter, don’t try this at home! One Maker decided to create a fire-breathing jack-o-lantern using an Arduino Uno (ATmega328) and a sonar proximity sensor to detect distances. As you can see, this wasn’t safe enough place on the doorstep.
Gettin’ Mystical With Gemma
Looking to stir up some fear with your Halloween getup? Adafruit’s Becky Stern has you covered. She has crafted a mystical hood equipped with LED eyes, which is perfect for your next Jawa, Black Mage, or Orko costume. The interactive garment features a Gemma (ATtiny85) that causes two NeoPixel Jewels to slowly fade on and off for the full spooktacular eye effect.
Trappin’ Candy Thieves
Don’t you just hate it when trick-or-treaters take all of your candy? This year, you can stop that! Keep those treat thieves away by using an Arduino to detect when someone has their hand in the candy bowl, and use a solenoid to shoot silly string at those gluttonous visitors!
Lightin’ Up Your House
Shelby Merrick has adorned his home with a light show that would certainly impress Clark Griswold, that’s for sure! The Maker designed special ATXmega8E5 based controller (dubbed FloodBrain) that switches a set of 12 flood RGBs to achieve the desired effects seen below.
Bringin’ Splatterhouse to Life
Clay Cowgill is dead-icated to Halloween, so much so that he made his own Splatterhouse arcade cabinet. Aside from a lot of little details on the outside, the Maker added some circuitry inside that triggers real world effects based on in-game variables.
Soarin’ UFO Style
If you’re not a fan of Halloween and are frightened by the mere thought of aliens, we recommend that you don’t visit this house on October 31st. One Maker has crafted a pretty impressive DIY UFO project using cardboard, tape, tinfoil, 8mm of diffused Adafruit NeoPixels and an Arduino Micro (ATmega32u4).
Controllin’ Zombie Dolls With Arduino
Umm… This. Is. Creepy.
Poppin’ Out of the Ground
Speaking of zombies, this Arduino-powered prop features a motion-activated, pivoting head along with corresponding sound effects and some smoke machine goodness.
Flyin’ Ghosts Around the Neighborhood
Thanks to this dressed up quadcopter, Casper won’t be the only ghost you’ll see flying through the night sky.
Visitin’ the Haunted Mansion
Those who’ve ever been to Disney World’s Haunted Mansion can now bring some of that magic home to their front yard this Halloween… with the help of an Arduino Uno (ATmega328).
Blinkin’ Eyes of Doom
Looking for an interactive way to dress up the walkway while spooking some trick-or-treaters? These randomly-changing, multi-colored and ATtiny85 powered eyes should do the trick.
