Creating an NFC-enabled jukebox with Arduino

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One Maker has built his own jukebox with the help of Arduino, an NFC shield and a few tags.

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Jukeboxes were among the first forms of automated coin-operated musical devices, dating all the way back to the 1920s. Following their inception, the boxes went on to become a common fixture at just about every diner, bar and laundromat, as well as play a prominent role in the sitcom Happy Days. However, with advancement in technologies, the idea of having to deposit a quarter (or two) into a chrome, colorful device became obsolete.

But what about inserting an NFC tag? If you’re wishing to relive some of your favorite jukebox memories, then you’ll appreciate a recent project from Mario Pucci who devised an ingenious way to play some tunes with the help of Arduino. To do this, the Italian Maker used an Uno (ATmega328) running Python and an NFC shield that reads songs programmed on a series of RFID tags as they make their way through the slot on top.

What you will also notice is that the musical machine itself was not made of wood, metal or plastic; instead, Pucci crafted it out of cardboard lying around his house. While it may be no 1952 Seeburg M100C, this DIY gadget is awesome! See it in action below!

Arduinocade is a retro 8-bit game system

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Now you can play your favorite retro 8-bit games on your TV from an overclocked Arduino.

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What can we say? There’s just something about retro gaming-inspired projects that we can’t resist. This week, we stumbled upon a project from a Maker by the name of “Rossumur,” who has found a way to play classic video games on your TV from an overclocked Arduino Pro Mini (ATmega328).

The aptly named Arduinocade boasts old-school, 8-bit color graphics along with four voice sound. All video and audio signals are generated on the Arduino board, with just three resistors, upgraded crystal and a little software magic. By overclocking the Pro Mini to 28.6363Mhz, the Maker was able him to directly manipulate NTSC to produce 27 simultaneous colors.

These colors were created with NTSC color artifacts — a designation that was commonly employed to address several graphic modes in home computers throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s. Essentially, it’s a trick where the display is really black and white, but due to a delay in the signal generation, the bits are out of whack from the reference “color burst” signal and appear on-screen as unique colors.

“Upgrading the crystal to 28.6363Mhz allows us to run at a multiple (8x CPU clock, 4x SPI output) of the NTSC subcarrier frequency,” the Maker writes. “By spitting out bits in the right pattern at the right time we can generate NTSC colorburst and different colors based on the relative phase of the pattern.”

In terms of sound, the audio driver has two parts. As Rossumur explains, the low-level kernel runs every HSYNC, stepping each of the four voices though its wavetable, mixing the sampled voices together based on their current volume and emitting a sample to the PWM/resistor single-bit DAC. This corresponds to a sample rate of 15734Hz. Meanwhile, the high-level task runs every frame at 60Hz, as well as adjusts envelope and modulates frequency of the underlying channels. It’s responsible for parsing data structures containing music and effects, modifying volume envelopes and frequencies, swapping wavetables for different instruments and so forth.

Arduinocade supports a number of IR game controllers, including keyboards, Atari Flashback 4 joysticks and wireless devices like the Apple TV remote. What’s more, the DIY system will let you relive your fondest childhood memories by playing games such as Ballblazer, Caverns of Mars, and of course, Pac-Man.

So, are you ready to spark some nostalgia? Head over to the Maker’s GitHub page here, where you’ll find all of the necessary instructions and code to get started.

Building a ‘My Little Pony’ donation box with Arduino

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One hackerspace has created an over-the-top, extremely awesome donation box with a wind tunnel, LED matrix and dollar bill-triggered tunes. 

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As the vice president of the Los Angeles-based, non-profit hackerspace CRASH Space, software engineer Michelle Leonhart knows a thing or two about donations. At each of their events, the group will typically leave out a little jar for people to contribute to their cause. Up until now, however, that jar was nothing more than an old Cheezy-Poofs container with a small hole cut into its lid.

But shouldn’t a place oozing with innovative projects and dynamic Makers have a collections basket that properly reflected their creativity? Being one of the more whimsical hackerspaces out there, CRASH Space’s mascot is a soldering unicorn named Sparkles. With this in mind, Leonhart decided to go about giving the donation box a My Little Pony makeover.

The top slot in the donation box is equipped with a distance sensor mounted right beneath it in hot pink acrylic hearts. Whenever someone slips in a dollar bill, the sensor detects a change in distance and cues the donation box to react. At this point, the words “THANK YOU” scroll across an RGB LED matrix while emitting the My Little Pony theme song, and two fans begin to toss the bills around as if it were one of those money blowing machines.

The LED matrix is driven by an Arduino Nano (ATmega328), while the sound system consists of a robertsonics MP3 trigger board, SPST relays, a 5V power adapter, as well as a speaker and amp, of course. All of the electronics are housed inside an upcycled, clear acrylic box.

“The robertsonics MP3 board is designed to play an MP3 file every time a trigger is closed. To close a trigger, you just need to close the circuit between the two pins in the trigger. Notice that this board has 15 triggers, and therefore can support up to 15 different sound files,” Leonhart explains. “Right now mine only plays the My Little Pony song, but this leaves room for future upgrades… to play up to 15 different My Little Pony songs.”

Intrigued? Leonhart has provided an excellent tutorial on how to go about constructing a donation box of your own along with all the necessary files, code and everything else you could possibly need. See it in action below!

[s/o Samy Kamkar for sending us the tip!]

What time is it? The TimeDock Sleepeasy will tell you

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This interactive docking station allows your Pebble Time smartwatch to talk to you with a wave of your hand.

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Picture this. You’re in bed, wondering how much time has gone by since you haven’t been able to fall asleep. What if there was a device that could tell you the time so you didn’t need to put your glasses on to find out? At the Pebble Rocks Boulder Hackathon, one team devised a gadget to solve that specific problem.

The TimeDock Sleepeasy is an interactive docking station for your Pebble Time smart watch. The gramophone-like unit allows you to find out what time it is, without having to turn on a light, press buttons or touch the Pebble while it’s on the dock charging. Even better, the device will read the time and talk to you, so you don’t need to do anything except wave your hand.

Inspired by the old-fashioned gramophone, the team created a 3D-printed mount embedded with an Arduino Uno (ATmega328) inside. The 3D design enabled the sound to be amplified mechanically, resulting in a gramophone look-a-like. The Arduino then communicates with the Pebble and leverages a sensor to respond and tell you the time.

The group figured out how to get the Arduino talking to the Pebble, and they used an ultrasound sensor so that users can wave their hand at the TimeDock and learn the time. To open communication between the Arduino and the Pebble, the team configured the ATmega328 board to send a request to the Pebble for the time, then programmed the Pebble to reply with the time and a request to say it. Its creators loaded .WAV files on the Arduino for a range of other notifications programmed on the Pebble — when the Arduino gathers information on the notification, it plays the corresponding .WAV file.

“TimeDock was developed as a charging station for the Pebble Time and Time Steel, and was a successful Kickstarter campaign. For this hackathon, we wanted to see if we could make TimeDock do more than charging. The TimeDocks that you see in use in this article have been modified to allow connection to the smart strap serial data port on the Pebble Time,” the team explains.

Mission accomplished! You can read all about the 48-hour build process on its Hackster.io page here.

Solving the Rubik’s Cube with Raspberry Pi and Arduino

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A Maker duo created a Rubik’s Cube-solving robot using recycled FAC system parts, a Raspberry Pi Compute Module and an Arduino Mini.

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Solving a Rubik’s Cube is no easy feat. In fact, for a vast majority of folks, it’s a downright daunting task. But what if there was an automated mechanism that could do it for you? That’s exactly what the duo of Maxim Tsoy and Wilbert Swinkels has developed. Inspired by other DIY cube solvers comprised of LEGO and Fischertechnik, the Makers brought their creation to life using antiquated FAC-System parts — a modular system developed back in the early 1950s.

At the heart of the machine lies a Raspberry Pi Compute Module along with Arduino Mini. The Compute Module actuates a series of  motors and grippers, while also running a two-phase algorithm from Herbert Kociemba. Aside from that, the ATmega328 board was employed to control an LDR-based scanner which consists of three modified ColorPAL sensors. The data is sent to the Arduino and based on the incoming set of information, the program begins computing how to solve the cube and relays commands to the motors.

“It turned out to be very easy to connect Arduino to Raspberry and make them work together,” the Makers reveal. This called for nothing more than two wires and a level converter from SparkFun.

The entire system is mounted onto an MDF base, which houses all of the electronic components. It should be pointed out that, at first, an Arduino was implemented as the brains of the entire operation. However, the Makers realized that an RPi would be a much better suitor for the job. After all, the sophisticated cube solving algorithms required quite a bit of memory — more than the Arduino could provide.

Pretty cool, right? See it in action below, and check out the project’s elaborate overview here.

Automating an old sprinkler controller with Moteino

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Maker upgrades his sprinkler controller by integrating it with his Monteino home automation gateway.

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It seems like everyone across the U.S. is experiencing a drought these days. So when it comes to conserving water, an older sprinkler system may not be the most efficient in doing the job. Cognizant of this, Felix Rusu decided to channel his inner Maker and to upgrade his unit by integrating the outdated irrigation controller with his home automation gateway. This, of course, enabled him to define his own schedule and control it wirelessly from his smartphone, among a few other things.

“I took apart the sprinkler controller to figure out how it works. There are two boards, one hosts the 24VAC TRIACs and circuitry that powers the solenoids. The other was a controller board with user interface, LCD, buttons etc. This gets power from the first board and controls the TRIACs through a ribbon cable. A quick continuity test reveals the pins of the ribbon connector control the gates of the TRIACs, simple enough,” the Maker explains.

At the heart of it all lies a Moteino (ATmega328). To interface it with the sprinkler system, Rusu first had to create a PCB interface. This board, which he calls the IOShield, features a buck power supply that regulates the 24VAC power of the sprinkler down to 5VDC for the MCU and two 74HC595 shift registers. The output from the shift registers are connected to a pin header where the stock computer would normally have been plugged in. It should also be noted that the IOShield is daisy-chainable and features 16 channels along with 16 indicator LEDs.

“I have nine sprinkler zones, but one IOShield will support up to 16 outputs. I can use the TRIAC board and only tap into the nine zones that are active,” Rusu writes. “I can just use the first board with all the TRIACs and then replace the clunky standalone sprinkler controller board with the IOShield+Moteino combo for completely wireless control and integration to the gateway.”

With some programming and an accompanying mobile app, the new board is able to take over the sprinkler’s TRIACs, enabling him to turn on and off the zones with a touch of a finger. Intrigued? You can read all about the Maker’s project here, or listen to his detailed overview below.

[h/t Hackaday]

Building a life-size animatronic Terminator

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Maker creates an animatronic, ATmega328 powered T-800 out of balsa wood and cardboard.

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If you liked the ‘80s blockbuster hit Terminator, then you’ll love this recent project from Kaled Souky. That’s because Maker has created an impressive T-800 Model 101 replica primarily out of balsa wood and cardboard. And we’re not talking about just a static statue either, it’s actually a life-size animatronic prop.

The model’s head and arms are actuated by an ATmega328 based controller board, along with several servos and pulleys. The legs are not motorized, however, and there to offer support.

“One of the most demanding parts of the mechanical design was the arm holding the gun,” he writes. “On the levers of the third kind that conform the shoulder joints and elbow, much weight is generated, so the servos and pulleys exert a force that achieve a torque of over 40kg/cm respectively, to easily overcome the resistance that can offer the hand holding the gun, which when the arm is fully stretched, its length reaches over one meter long.”

The Maker programmed the T-800 by writing some code in the Arduino IDE, which allowed him to control the position, velocity and acceleration of the servo.

“For determining the angular position in some joints, the reading system of resistive variation is used, and in other cases a mechanical system of counterweight is applied,” the Maker explains. “The energy is provided by a commercial power supply that provides five volts and 10 amps, plus also features a DC boost converter with adjustable regulator, which collaborates with the best driving performance of some servos.”

Pretty awesome, right?

Disney researchers found a way for devices to communicate using LEDs

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Visible Light Communication enables the interaction between objects using only LEDs.

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If devices are going to communicate with one other, more times than not it’s going to be done through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. However, wireless networks aren’t always available and Bluetooth can drain battery life. Knowing this, a Disney Research team has come up with an alternative way for Internet of Things objects to ‘talk.’ How, you ask? Through LED lights.

Unlike incandescent or fluorescent bulbs, the brightness of LEDs can be controlled with extreme precision. Meaning, they can be turned on and off at very high frequencies that are faster than the human eye can detect. Aside from that, LEDs can even be used as receivers just like photodiodes.

Similar to how two ships passing in the night can communicate via Morse code, a couple of IoT gadgets can now secretly converse through the visible light generated by an LED — a method that the team calls Visible Light Communication, or VLC. Not only can it illuminate a room, but the MCU inside each bulb is capable of transmitting and receiving data.

“VLC creates opportunities for low-cost, safe, and environmentally friendly wireless communication solutions. We focus on connected toys and light bulb networks,” the team writes. “Our work targets a full system design that spans from hardware prototypes to communication protocols, and applications.”

Though the concept of “Li-Fi” has been around for a while, as expected, it would appear that many of VLC’s initial examples are focused primarily on toys. (It is Disney, after all!) Among them included a toy car that can turn on its own lights and come to life when placed near a lamp, as well as a princess dress whose embedded LEDs are activated whenever a wand with its own light comes near.

“LED-to-LED Visible Light Communication allows interaction between toys by only using LEDs. No dedicated hardware is required. When multiple devices are networked with each other, we organize the communication with our software protocols,” the researchers add.

However, the technology has other potential applications as well, with an adapter connected to the headphone jack of a smartphone or tablet to receive signals from overhead lights operating at wavelengths unnoticeable by the human eye. This, for instance, opens the door for LED emitters to be placed around a store to beam notifications to the smartphones of shoppers.

Using a simple mobile app on the device, the lightbulb data can be used to tell a story and visualize both pictures and text. When off, no data is transmitted. When switched back on, the storytelling continues.

As you can see in the photo above, the researchers employed various Arduino Uno boards (ATmega328) as part of the study’s testbed. Read all about the project here.

Building a 3D-printed, Arduino-powered dog feeder

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Maker creates an over-engineered, automated treat feeder for his pup using Arduino and his Ultimaker 2. 

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We’ve seen some pretty sweet pet projects as of late, and this recent one from JonPaul Laskis surely doesn’t disappoint. The Maker has designed an over-engineered DIY solution to feed his pup a treat after every meal.

Upon finishing his dinner, Laskis would always give his dog a Dentastix treat to help maintain his oral hygiene. However, the treat wasn’t always delivered at the same time, which as any pet owner knows, isn’t something our furry friends enjoy. This inspired him to build an automated machine that would dispense a treat for his impatient pup without requiring his assistance.

How it works is pretty straightforward: The dog places its paw on a lever, which activates the machine. From there, the device will decide if a treat will be granted or not. (The machine is programmed to only dispense one every eight hours.) When not in operation, it will remain off to conserve battery. The feeder is able to keep track of the appropriate times and the amount of treats remaining in the tube before rotation by storing these values in the EEPROM of an embedded Arduino Uno (ATmega328). These values reset after each treat.

Laskis designed his project in SolidWorks and 3D printed each of its plastic components in lime green PLA with his AVR powered Ultimaker 2. In addition to these parts, the automatic feeder is comprised of a dozen six-inch-ling clear acrylic tubes and a laser-cut sheet metal base.

Want to make one of your own? Head over to the Maker’s Thingiverse page to get started. Meanwhile, you can see it in action below!

Sort your Skittles with this 3D-printed, Arduino-powered machine

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Sort the rainbow! 

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Not a fan of yellow Skittles? Only enjoy the purple ones? Why waste your time sorting through the candy when there’s an automated machine that can do it for you?

That’s exactly what Nathan Peterson has done. The Maker has created a 3D-printed device that can detect the color of each Skittle and then spit them out in different repositories for easy picking. Powered by an Arduino Uno (ATmega328), the sorting machine uses a Zitrades color-sensing module to identify the various shades of candy as they make their way through the dispenser.

Beyond that, the project consists of photo interrupters, three DC motors, a photo resistor and an Adafruit motor shield. Peterson employed a small LED to illuminate the Skittle and accurately read its color. From there, the gears rotate, the sorter begins to move, and the candy is released into its respective bin.

While it works for Skittles, the mechanism isn’t quite suitable for M&M’s, though. The reason? “Because M&Ms are a bit smaller and get jammed easier. Also M&Ms have six colors, and this machine is only designed to sort five,” the Maker reveals.

Peterson details the entire process, along with some thoughts on what would have worked better, on his Hackaday.io page here. In the meantime, watch it in action below!