Napz is a biohacking device that lets you control your dreams

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This wearable mask wants to make lucid dreams accessible to everyone. 

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For many of us, getting a full night’s of shut-eye is quite the challenge. Between stress, late nights at the office, the kids or simply finding yourself unable to doze off makes getting the desired six to eight hours of sleep nearly impossible. But what if there was a wearable device that could help you get the most of out your limited time catching z’s?

That’s the idea behind Napz — an electronic, biohacking sleep mask designed to not only help you hit the hay but to induce a state of lucid dreams as well. This is the state where sleepers are aware that they are, in fact, dreaming and can control many elements of what happens during their nocturnal experience.

Developed by COCOLAB robotic engineer Octavio Martinez García, the prototype is meant to measure REM using LED lights that shine through the eyelids to stimulate you and bring you to the brink of consciousness where you can actually become mindful of the actions in your sleep. The wearable itself is comprised of infrared sensors, Adafruit NePixels and an Arduino Lilypad (ATmega328) for its brain.

“Napz is a wearable device intended to schedule lucid dreams and thus produce actual rest and better patterns of REM sleep. Its interface allows the programming, design, and analysis of dreams. As everybody is different the device needs to be calibrated to each individual,” Garcia explains.

Dream manipulation is a method commonly used to assist those who suffer insomnia, severe nightmares, PTSD and other sleep disorders. The idea is that, with Napz, users will be able to access controlled dreams much quicker and without the many hours of training typically required.

Napz was recently showcased at V&A’s Digital Design Weekend.

[Images: British Council Creative Economy]

Clara is a smart lamp that helps you stay focused

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Working on a project? Cramming for an exam? This brain-sensing, environment-augmenting lamp uses EEG technology to tell how focused your are and block out distractions. 

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We’ve all been there: It’s late at night, you’re cramming for an exam when suddenly you’re interrupted by the simplest thing. How cool would it be to have a desktop accessory that could give you a kick in the right direction and increase your intensity as you try to finish your studying? Thanks to a group of Makers from the School of Visual Arts, that will soon be a reality.

The brainchild of developers Mejía Cobo, Belen Tenorio, and Josh Sucher, Clara is a brain-sensing lamp that employs EEG technology to tell how focus you are at a task at hand. Embedded with speaker and LEDs, the scene-augmenting device is capable of responding to changes in brainwaves, then reacting to your level of concentration by increasing the ambient music and shifting the light levels.

To bring this idea to fruition, the team used the combination of an Arduino Uno (ATmega328), an MP3 shield, several Adafruit NeoPixels, a SparkFun Bluetooth modem and a Neurosky MindWave Mobile EEG headset to wirelessly measure your “attention” and map the lamp’s color temperature, thereby subtly altering your environment.

As you begin homing in on a specific idea, the light will become crisper and cooler as the volume of the ambient noise emitted from the speaker slowly rises. This helps to enhance your ninja-like focus and block out other distractions.

“The basic structure of the Arduino code is straightforward. The NeoPixel strip is instantiated, then the Music Maker shield is instantiated, then we take advantage of interrupts to listen for, receive and act on Bluetooth serial data while the music is playing,” its creators reveal. “When the MindWave detects ‘activity’ (a number from 0-100 generated via some proprietary algorithm on the Neurosky chip), we initiate the ‘fade’ of the music and the light.”

Looking ahead, don’t be too surprised if you see Clara on Kickstarter in the coming months. Plus, the team hints that they may even migrate to an Arduino Mega (ATmega2560) for its next iteration. Until then, check out rather unique project on its page here.

8 out of the 10 Hackaday Prize finalists are powered by Atmel

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Hackaday reveals the 10 finalists who are one step closer to a trip into space or some big bucks.

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One simple idea can make a difference, but together we Makers can change the world. That was the premise behind this year’s Hackaday Prize, which encouraged participants to build something that matters.

As our friends at Hackaday explain:

“The problems that these projects tackle come from many different angles. Some improve safety in extreme situations by giving emergency workers the ability to detect the presence of dangerous gases, or by helping to find unexploded munitions in war-torn areas. Others make improvements in transportation by working on transportation where infrastructure is poor, and looking toward the future of electric vehicle transportation. There are projects that tackle pollution through monitoring and also by scrubbing pollutants from indoor air. Improvements in wheelchair mobility and advancements in prosthetics can transform the lives of people living with loss of function. And feeding the world can start with more automated farming options, and becoming more efficient with farming methods. These are the problems the finalists have chosen to solve with their entries.”

Now, the pool of 100 semi-finalists has been narrowed down to 10 finalists who are one step closer to walking (or flying) away with the grand prize of a trip into space or $196,883. Plus, four others will claim top prizes each valued between $5,000-$10,000. These winners will all be revealed at the Hackaday SuperConference in San Francisco on November 14th and 15th.

And guess what? There’s a pretty good chance that this year’s winner will have Atmel inside… again. We can’t say that we’re too surprised either, as eight of the last 10 are embedded with AVR or Atmel | SMART MCUs. Here they are…

FarmBot

This open source, automated precision farming machine and software package is designed for small-scale precision food production. Similar to 3D printers and CNC mills, FarmBot’s hardware employs linear guides in the X, Y, and Z directions that allow for tools, such as plows, seed injectors, watering nozzles and sensors, to be precisely positioned and used on the plants and soil. The unit itself is controlled by an Arduino Mega (ATmega2560) + RAMPS stack and a Raspberry Pi 2.

Eye Controlled Wheelchair

The Eyedrivomatic system takes advantage of existing eye tracking technology to enable those who have lost the use of their muscles to operate their own wheelchairs. The system is comprised of a wheelchair-mounted computer running an accompanying app and software, which is connected to a 3D-printed, Arduino Uno (ATmega328) brain box. This command center receives and inteprets the program’s requests and controls a pair of servos that drive an electronic hand to move a joystick in the user’s desired location.

Gas Sensor For Emergency Workers

Designed primarily for emergency response workers, these ‘grenade-like’ sensors can be thrown into dangerous areas to remotely report levels using their voice. With an Arduino Nano (ATmega328) at its core, each ball-shaped gadget is equipped with smoke, liquified petroleum gas and carbon monoxide sensors along with an inexpensive 433MHz transmitter for communication with any basic radio inside the potentially hazardous space.

LUKA EV

The problem that LUKA is attempting to solve is a big one. Mindful that internal combustion engine cars pump billions of tons of pollutants into the atmosphere each year, this group of Makers hopes to provide an open source platform that’ll unlock the possibility for cost-competitive, all-electric automobiles to be built and sold locally, on a global scale. This electric vehicle is capable of achieving top speeds of around 80mph and a range of over 185 miles. Although the concept of an EV is far from new, using hub motors to power it isn’t so ordinary. What’s more, this project will introduce a revolutionary technology to the production line, reducing weight and eliminating a great deal of unnecessary parts along the way. LUKA will also help in energy storage, as your home can power LUKA or vice versa.

Portable Environmental Sensor

The uRADMonitor is able to detect pollutants in the air that otherwise go unnoticeable, ranging from toxic chemicals to radioactive dust or radon. Packed with an array of powerful sensors and an ATmega128, this handheld battery-operated device connects to the Internet via an embedded Wi-Fi module and shares readings to its global network. The online data is then used to build graph, track stats and send automated notifications when certain thresholds are reached.

Light Electric Utility Vehicle

Transportation is major issue in the developing world due to its lacking physical infrastructure, and unfortunately, off-road SUVs are outside the means of the average person. In an effort to make them more accessible to everyone, this light electric utility vehicle is capable of battling harsh environments and rugged terrain. The basic design of the vehicle is made of locally sourced components, and features a frame that can rotate at the point of articulation so that all four wheels are in constant contact with the ground. Steering is accomplished by differential motor control, while each wheel is powered by a single PMDC geared motor via a chain drive. Power comes from two large tubular gel batteries which are charged by solar panels. System control is accomplished by two Arduino Pro Minis (ATmega328) — the first handles the motor controller, the other monitors the current.

OpenBionics

OpenBionics is an open source initiative for the development of affordable, lightweight prosthetic hands that can be easily reproduced using off-the-shelf materials and rapid prototyping techniques such as 3D printing. The fingers are constructed out of Plexiglas with silicone knuckles that are flexed by tendon cables running in sheaths and extended by energy stored in elastomeric material along their dorsal aspects. Each finger can be selectively locked in place using a differential based on the whiffletree mechanism, resulting in 16 combinations of finger positions with only a single motor. Combined with nine unique thumb positions, 144 unique grasp are possible with the prosthetic hand. Meanwhile, electronics are provided by an embedded Arduino Pro Micro (ATmega32U4).

Vinduino

Given the water crises affecting California, wine growers are in need of low-cost, customizable and easy-to-maintain soil moisture monitoring systems. As luck may have it, Vinduino is an accessible measurement tool for irrigation management that isn’t just ideal for cutting irrigation costs for vineyard owners, it can be just as useful for a wide range of other agricultural applications, science class experiments or even to reduce the H2O consumption of your backyard sprinklers. The system consists of moisture sensors, an Arduino handheld device for taking sensor readings, and a series of irrigation valves, water pressure sensors and data loggers for managing the irrigation system.

Congratulations to all of the 2015 Hackaday Prize finalists, especially those using our chips! As we await next month’s announcement, head over to the contest’s official writeup to see more.

Artist makes music out of spinning fool’s gold

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This Arduino-powered synthesizer can turn a 300 million-year-old pyrite disc into tunes.

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Pyrite is a common, naturally occurring iron sulfide whose metallic luster and brass-yellow hue has earned itself the well-known nickname of fool’s gold. Despite its abundance in nature, there’s a much rarer form of the mineral which is crystallized in a radial shape resembling that of a disc. Interestingly enough, these so-called ‘pyrite suns’ or ‘pyrite dollars’ can only be found in Illinois, some dating back nearly 300 millions years.

But what if you transformed these historic discs into a vinyl record-like music maker? That’s exactly what media artist Dimitry Morozov — aka ::vtol:: — has done in his latest, out-of-the-ordinary project. Ra can best be defined as a synthesizer which employs a laser reader to scan the irregularities of a pyrite disc and translate that data into sound.

“The project originated as a result of an interesting set of circumstances — a pyrite disc was given to me as a gift by a mineral seller in Boulder City,” ::vtol:: explains. “Upon hearing about my works, she asked to do something with such crystal, and refused to take payment for getting it. In the same period, I was reading articles on various ways of archiving and preservation of sounds from the first, historical sources of the recorded sound — wax discs and other fragile carriers. All technologies were based on the usage of lasers.”

Feeling inspired, the Maker decided to create a laser sound reader of his own, which would be able to produce tunes from various uneven surfaces, like that of the pyrite sun, without the help of many resources. In order to bring his idea to life, all that was required was an Arduino Nano (ATmega328), a Raspberry Pi, a DIY laser pickup/reader, stepper and servo motors, as well as a 3W mono sound system that towers above the machine. (There’s an audio output jack, too.)

Along one edge of Ra’s triangular frame lies a control board that consists of nine switches and 10 knobs for dialing in envelope filters and modulations, setting processor parameters and choosing between 16 DSP effects programs. What’s more, ::vtol:: can manually adjust the position of the custom laser reader, as well as the disc’s spinning speed and direction.

Intrigued? You can listen to Ra’s experimental, eerie and somewhat sci-fi-ish sounds below!

Meet Easy Drone XL Pro, the quadcopter that can fly for 45 minutes

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This modular, plug-and-fly drone is said to last three times longer in the air than any other quadcopter.

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Looking to take the UAV experience to new heights, Brooklyn-based startup Easy Aerial has developed a lightweight, modular quadcopter that can last three times longer in the air than others on the market today. Not to mention, its price tag and simplicity will make Easy Drone XL Pro accessible to just about everyone.

Following a successful Kickstarter launch for their Easy Drone, its creators have spent the last year listening to customer feedback and designing a new addition to the lineup. Arguably its greatest selling point is that Easy Drone XL Pro can stay in the sky for 45 minutes on a single battery charge. What’s more, the ‘copter boasts a 28-inch span from motor to motor, diagonally, and with its size can effortlessly lift a combined weight of up to three pounds — particularly great if you’d like to attach a GoPro to it.

The flying device features the same modular, plug-and-fly design as its predecessor, along with the same control unit and travel backpack. Easy Drone XL Pro comes in kit form, which includes a sturdy frame, powerful 400KV motors and foldable 15-inch propellers, a proprietary modular command unit with a built-in video transmitter, a remote, a video receiver, a USB telemetry module, an 8,000mAh battery, a charger, and a convenient bag that makes storage a cinch. And not unlike others, a set of versatile AVR MCUs can be found at the heart of this remarkable UAV — in both the video and RC signal receiver boards.

Impressively, Easy Drone XL Pro is capable of carrying a GoPro and a FPV camera for 45 and 50 minutes, respectively, while streaming video to the screen on the ground. However, it should be noted that the weight and flight time are directly correlated — as the weight increases, the flight time shortens.

Sound like a drone you’d love to have? Fly over to its Kickstarter campaign, where Easy Aerial is closing in on its $30,000 goal.

This glove can translate sign language into text and audio

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Maker designs a smart glove that translates sign language from hand gestures into visual text on a screen and audible dialog.

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In an effort to improve communication between people with different disabilities, designer Hadeel Ayoub has developed a smart glove capable of converting sign language into readable text and audio.

The aptly named SignLanguageGlove works by using several flex sensors attached to the fingers that record their position, while an accelerometer​ detects which way the glove is oriented. Built around the mighty Arduino, all of the collected data is fed into a computer program that identifies the gestures and displays the correct output.

Ayoub, who is also a student at Goldsmiths, University of London, has gone through a series of prototypes with each version less clunky than the one before. The original model, which looked like a bunch of wires attached to a winter glove, consisted of five flex sensors, an Arduino board and a four digit graphic numerical display. It worked by interpreting the user’s gestures and translating them into visual letters on a screen.

The second iteration was a bit faster, more durable, and featured smaller hardware. The Maker incorporated a LilyPad Arduino (ATmega328) and tinier flex sensors, as well as revamped the software to allow text to scroll on a screen, deleting the old and adding the new.

Her latest piece incorporates a text-to-speech chip with the majority of equipment sewn into the lining of what appears to be a Rawlings batting glove. She is currently working towards integrating a language translation function into the system, too. This way, when finished with her next prototype (dubbed ​Reach All​), a user will be able to connect to a smartphone via an embedded Wi-Fi module. The motions will then be relayed wirelessly and translated in real-time through its accompanying app.

Pretty amazing stuff, right? You can head over to the Maker’s Tumblr page to see the progression of her work.

Recreate the weather forecast from right inside your living room

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The Tempescope is an ambient display that can visualize various weather conditions inside a box.

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In today’s tech-savvy world, sure you could always download a weather app or turn on the news to check the latest conditions, but what fun is that? Instead, Ken Kawamoto has developed an ambient physical display that can actually visualize the forecast right from the comfort of your living room, reminding you to never forget an umbrella as you head off to work. Initially released three years ago as an open source project, the Maker and his team have since decided to launch a crowdfunding campaign following an overwhelming interest in their design.

While most home weather displays boast an LED screen or other methods of revealing what’s going on outside your front door, Tempescope literally recreates the forecast from your bookshelf, coffee table, desk or wherever else. Described as like “having a window that lets you look at tomorrow’s sky,” the active gadget is powered by an ATmega328 and equipped with a water pump, an ultrasound mist diffuser and a series of LED lights, all concealed inside a clear acrylic box.

With an AVR chip as its brains, the microcosm in a box interfaces with a PC either through USB or over Bluetooth. Currently, there are three modes of operation: one that animates the next day’s forecast, one that replicates the current weather of any location and shares it with loved ones throughout the globe, as well as another that lets you manually define an animation sequence to play.

Once it is synced up, a simple software program is tasked with retrieving the necessary data from the web which it uses to reproduce real raindrops and clouds, simulate thunderstorms and lightning, as well as emit radiant sunshine. The LEDs change from red to blue to reflect things such as sunrise/sunset and storms, whereas the diffuser will fill the box with mist to match the level of cloud cover outside. For example, if it happens to be raining, the pump will pull water from the lower reservoir and drip it down from the Tempescope’s ceiling, while its embedded lights will emit a purplish hue.

What’s more, you can employ its accompanying app to operate three preset modes or use its SDK to create your own custom program. Meaning, you can set the weather to fit your mood because, after all, everyone loves reading on a rainy day. Want this ambient unit for your household? Head over to its Indiegogo campaign, where Kawamoto is currently seeking $398,000. The first batch of Tempescopes will ship in April 2016 — just in time for those spring showers!

Evapolar is the world’s first personal air conditioner

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This Arduino-powered device not only cools the air, it humidifies and cleans it as well. 

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Especially in the summertime, finding the perfect indoor temperature to accommodate others can be quite challenging. Some offices and schools blast the air conditioning to help with airflow, but this results in goosebumps even when it’s hot outside. At home, people often like to save energy and money, making conditions at home very uncomfortable and sweaty. Luckily, there’s now a solution to this common conundrum.

Aside from simply cooling you down, Evapolar is a personal air conditioner that humidifies and purifies the air around you. The device can sit on your desk, nightstand or tabletop, enabling you to enjoy your own climate, tailored to your temperature needs. It is even more natural, saving energy and money, as well as spreading coolness much like how air moves in nature, rather than producing a strong thread of cold air. In fact, the sleek gadget is eco-friendly and 12 times more energy efficient than its conventional counterparts.

Evapolar is portable and very easy to use. According to its creators, the device works by using the power of water evaporation and evaporative nanomaterial with mineral fibers. It absorbs a large amount of water and produces extremely intensive evaporation from its surface. The characteristics of the nanomaterial allow the size of the device to be even smaller, at one-tenth the size of your typical AC window unit.

Impressive, it takes less only one minute for the cooling effect to kick in and adjust the climate of your desired area with a radius of up to nine feet. Measuring just six inches all around, Evapolar is built around the versatile Arduino Nano (ATmega328). It includes a 710ml water tank and boasts a maximum cooling power of 500W. For its Indiegogo debut, the gadget is available in both white and back, but following the campaign will provide Makers with the option of building their own customizable prototype.

“We believe that technologies should serve in simple things every day. Evapolar is based on the unique technology, but we would like you to enjoy it every day instead of thinking about its complexity,” the startup’s co-founder Eugene Dubovoy explains.

Interested in keeping your cubicle or dorm room cool? Head over to Evapolar’s Indiegogo campaign, where the team is currently seeking $100,000. Delivery is slated for June 2016 — just in time to beat the summer heat!

Petduino is an Arduino-powered virtual pet

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Arduino + Tamagotchi = Petduino 

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Who could ever forget everyone’s beloved virtual pet of the ‘90s, the Tamagotchi? Inspired by his own childhood experience with the toy, Maker Matt Brailsford decided to put a new spin on the old concept by developing a digital companion that you could actually build and configure yourself.

At the heart of the aptly named Petduino lies an Arduino Nano (ATmega328), which can be programmed using the standard Arduino IDE and the custom Petduino Arduino library. The device itself consists of an 8×8 LED matrix for its face and notifications, a pair of tactile buttons mounted for interaction, a light and temperature sensor for detecting its surroundings, a red LED for status messages, a buzzer for a voice, as well as an assortment of ears for choosing which type of “animal” you want your Petduino to be.

According to Brailsford, Petduino was conceived as a fun way to teach young Makers various skills like soldering, coding, animation, music and sensors. Each kit will ship as a collection of simple through-hole electrical components, circuit boards and laser-cut parts that can be easily assembled with nothing more than a basic understanding of soldering. So whether you’re a kid looking to begin tinkering or an adult wanting to spark some Tamagotchi nostalgia, Petduino is perfect for everyone! Head over to its official page to learn more.

ANDBOT is a C-3PO-like robot for your home

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ANDBOT is a humanoid that is less of a robot but more of a companion to you and your family.

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If there’s one thing that recent crowdfunding projects have demonstrated, it’s that social robots will soon be making their way into our homes. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, either. Think about it: You’d never have to worry about all those tedious chores. No more sweeping. No more laundry. No more doing the dishes. Heck, no more arguments with your significant other for failing to do something!

Developed by the team over at Advanced Robotics, ANDBOT is a C-3PO-esque humanoid that can handle daily activities and protect your household. The robot boasts an impressive range of hand/arm motions that allows it to perform complex tasks, with human-like precision. For instance, you can have it hand deliver breakfast to you in bed or should you get locked out of your home, simply text ANDBOT and it will unlock the front door for you.

Its creators also designed ANDBOT with expandability in mind. Meaning, you will have the option of adding on various modules, whether it’s a vacuum attachment for spring cleaning, a beer holder for your Monday Night Football party, and even a rim for some indoor NERF basketball action.

“Robots have been around for some time, but not many can offer the human likeness as ANDBOT, where its arms can move 90 degrees up/down and hands can rotate 360 degrees. With its full range of motion, imagine the possibilities,” the startup explains. “Not all robots are created equal. With ANDBOT, it is as close to human as you can get, with a full range of hand and arm motions. What we do with our hands, so can ANDBOT, holding, pulling, opening, pushing, etc.”

ANDBOT is equipped with facial recognition, which enables it to decipher between your family members and unwelcomed guests. And just like us, the humanoid is capable of sensing different emotions and then reacting with appropriate responses. Having a bad day? Your social bot will always be there for you, especially when no one else is around.

So, what functionalities does ANDBOT possess? For starters, it can serve as your personal assistant with up-to-the-minute reminders and information, your security guard with remote monitoring for intruders and dangerous gases sensors, your smart home controller with light, thermostat and media center integration, your workout buddy, your own chef, or simply your favorite bedtime storyteller. The hope is that it will become less of a robot and more of a companion to you and your family.

The humanoid is driven by an Arduino Due (SAM3X8E) along with a pair of Arduino Uno (ATmega328) boards. ANDBOT relies on Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for communication, a 12V lithium-ion battery for power and and runs on the ROS/Android platform. In terms of its electronics, the bot features two HD speakers, LEDs for eyes, a multitude of sensors (ultrasonic, sound, bumper, humidity, carbon monoxide, air quality and temperature), an accelerometer and gyroscope, a LIDAR-Lite laser, a PIR motion detector, motor drivers, a camera and a 10.1″ touch display on its belly.

What’s more, ANDBOT will send notifications to your smartphone via its accompanying app whenever its embedded sensors are triggered. There’s even a built-in portable oxygen system for the elderly or those living in fire prone areas. The better question is, what can’t this social robot do?

Lastly, as we’ve seen with other platforms, ANDBOT will be open source with an SDK that can be used to help expand and improve its capabilities. And more importantly, you will have access to an extensive developer community to further the advancement of the robot.

Phew, that was a lot… sound like a companion you’d like to have in your household? Head over to ANDBOT’s Indiegogo campaign, where the Advanced Robotics team is currently seeking $150,000. You’ll have to sit tight, though, as delivery isn’t expected to get underway until April 2016.