This autonomous robot feeds on filthy water

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The Row-bot is a self-powered robot that can eliminate pollutants and contaminants from water.

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Don’t expect to find the tiny robot pictured below swimming in any bathtub or pool anytime soon; in fact, you won’t probably won’t find it in any clean body of water. That’s right, the Row-bot thrives on pollution — the more, the merrier.

Inspired by beetles and other insects like the water boatmen bug who feed off nutrients found in the dirty water it swims in, researchers at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory have developed an autonomous machine with hopes of eliminating pollutants and other dangerous contaminants.

When it is hungry, the Row-bot opens its soft robotic mouth and rows forward to fill its microbial fuel cell (MFC) stomach with nutrient-rich dirty water. It then closes its mouth and slowly digests the nutrients, before using the bio-degradation of organic matter to generate electricity via bio-inspired mechanisms. That same electrical energy keeps the Row-bot propelling to a new location for another gulp of H2O.

In order to produce the most efficient movement possible, the researchers tried to mimic the water boatman whose legs are covered by swimming hairs that span laterally to maximize drag during the power stroke and collapse to minimize drag during the recovery stroke. But whereas the insect has hair-covered legs, the Row-bot’s propulsion mechanism is comprised of a 3D-printed paddle powered by a tiny 0.75 watt brushed DC motor.

Row-bot consists of a 3D-printed composite structure with a rigid frame supporting an elastic membrane — each paddle is stretched out to increase the paddle surface area during the power stroke. The membrane has a hinge that changes the angle of attack on the part of the paddle that remains underwater during the recovery stroke to reduce its frontal area, and therefore, its drag.

This robot has plenty of practical applications, such as remote sensing and environmental monitoring. Row-bot can be used in any kind of water, from fresh to salt to waste water. For instance, they can be thrown in a polluted pond and rove for months, while feeding on the filth and cleaning as they go.

“The work shows a crucial step in the development of autonomous robots capable of long-term self-power. Most robots require re-charging or refuelling, often requiring human involvement,” explains Jonathan Rossiter, Professor of Robotics at the University of Bristol and BRL.

Just think of the possibilities… Head over to the Row-bot’s official paper here to read more.

Maker creates an Arduino lightning detector

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Now you can use an Arduino to detect lightning along with an approximate distance.

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Lightning is both beautiful and terrifying, and should generally be enjoyed indoors. You could watch the weather report to see what is on the horizon storm-wise, but if that’s not available, you can instead turn to your own personal lightning detector.

Texas-based engineer Kevin Palivec decided to build his own, based on the AS3935 lightning sensor. This sensor interfaces with an Arduino Nano (ATmega328), which provides the brains of the operation. The Arduino, in turn, is hooked up to a Nokia LCD display for output, as well as a few buttons in order to select the needed options. As seen in the video below, Palivec has designed a neat interface for his sensor, including a cloud that floats around onscreen.

As for the design’s functionality, Palivec claims that “the MOD-1016 can detect storm fronts up to 40km away, trigger interrupts on your microcontroller to let you know about weather events and changes in storm distance — you can even tell as storm fronts move closer and move further away.”

Pavilec does videography for a local high school football team, so besides being an interesting project, he could see this device being a useful tool for that endeavor. Perhaps, something like this could even be used for lightning photography, though one would need to engineer a way for it to interface with the camera’s shutter release.

Intrigued? Head over to the project’s page here.

RumBot is a party machine that makes drinks in seconds

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Simply place your cup on any of its five locations and a pre-programmed recipe will begin dispensing.

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If you plan on hosting a holiday party in the coming weeks and anticipate a decently-sized turnout, you may want to check out this project from Alex Bucella. The Wake Forest University student has developed an drink-making robot that’s capable of dispensing up to five different cocktails at the same time.

RumBot is equipped with a set of five reflective optical sensors, each represented by a different drink. Whenever a cup is placed on one of these sensors, the machine is triggered and a pre-programmed recipe begins dispensing the beverage of choice into your mug in as little as three seconds.

Drink selection is handled by an Arduino Uno (ATmega328), which communicates via simple digital I/O with an all-in-one servo motor. This moves the nozzle into place, and then controls the on-time of five pumps to begin pouring the cocktail. RumBot’s frame is comprised of wood and several 3D-printed plastic parts.

One of its most notable features, however, is the strength knob in the top righthand corner. This old-fashioned interface allows you to select the alcohol level of a particular drink — from “virgin” (none) to “lightweight” to “problem” (you’ll probably need a DD). Any recipe can be accommodated, too.

The source code is written to dispense a variety of mixes, including a Hurricane, a Daiquiri, a Bolo Lemon, a Bolo Lime and Bucella’s special concoction. Impressively, the Maker estimates that this nifty device could keep a party of 100-plus people going without anyone having to wait in line.

Intrigued? Head over to the 2014 Hackaday Prize quarterfinalist’s page here, or watch the Maker provide an overview of the project below.

Maker creates his own 3D printer for under $100

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Rather than spend thousands of dollars on a 3D printer, this Maker made his own out of a DIY CNC machine and a 3D printing pen.

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3D printers have come a long way over the past couple of years. However, even despite their ubiquity, many of these machines are still pretty darn expensive. The more impressive devices can run anywhere from $2,000, while DIY kits can still set you back a couple of hundred dollars. Instead, Tinkernut developed a way to build his own for less than $100.

How, you ask? By hacking a $45 3D printing pen and transforming it into an entire printer. 3D printers are comprised of four basic parts: a bed, filament, a hot end and an extruder. In the video below, Tinkernut elaborates upon his decision-making process as well as the steps that he had taken in bringing the project to life.

For the bed, the Maker employed parts from an old three-axis CNC router that he built out of CD drives, which is connected to a 3D printing pen for the hot end and extruder. According to Tinkernut, the pen made for a better choice than a hot glue gun, especially considering the fact that it already came with built-in extruder functionality.

Tinkernut’s pen featured three standard buttons: thickness, backward extrusion and forward extrusion. He proceeded to tear down the handheld gadget so that he could automate the latter, which would be simulated by an Arduino Uno (ATmega328) to turn the system on and off.

Admittedly, the makeshift machine is a bit restricted when it comes to the size and resolution of an object that it can print, but hey, it’s $100! You can follow along with Tinkernut’s exhaustive build here, or simply watch it in action below!

Control this robotic wing with your ears

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::vtol:: gives you wings… well, sort of.

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Ever wonder what it would be like to give yourself wings or perhaps a tail? Well, Moscow-based artist Dmitry Morozov has. So much so that the Maker, who we’ve come to know as ::vtol::, has developed a robotized installation that does just that.

Commissioned by the Center for Art and Media (ZKM) in Karlsruhe for this year’s GLOBALE: Exo-Evolution exhibition, the aptly named wing project measures eight feet wide and is suspended 10 to 13 feet in the air. And that’s not even the most impressive part — what ::vtol::’s interactive robotic wing can do is mind-blowing.

A thin cable hangs from wing, the end of which is outfitted with dermal miographic sensors that measure the electrical potential of muscles. Visitors are encouraged to place these sensors on their heads just behind the ear and rhythmically swing the object by simply moving their ears.

“The main idea of the project is an ironical and at the same time serious research on the topic of development of new instruments and prostheses as ‘extensions’ of human body and accordingly its possibilities and potentials, which are being revealed by new technologies,” ::vtol:: explains. “At the same time, it’s an attempt to stimulate people to perceive and train the body in a different way, expanding the limits of self-control and self-organization in order to adapt to the new conditions.”

An Arduino Uno (ATmega328) serves as the brains of the operation along with a series of servo motors, linear actuators and cords. As for its software, ::vtol:: is using the Pure Data programming environment.

Intrigued? Check out the project’s official page here, and be sure to watch it in action below!

This smartwatch strap turns hand gestures into commands

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Carnegie Mellon University’s Human Computer Interaction Institute has come up with a way to translate hand movements into commands for your smarwatch.

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Most smartwatches today have tiny touchscreens, which aren’t always the easiest things to navigate. As a way to make browsing menus, answering calls and reading messages more intuitive, a team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon’s Human Computer Interaction Institute have developed a prototype gesture-sensing strap that can see inside a wearer’s arm and track the movements of their muscles. While it may still be a while before such a product is commercially available, Chris Harrison and Yang Zhang are well on their way to making it a reality.

The concept is based on electrical impedance tomography (EIT), a technique commonly found throughout medical and industrial settings. However, these devices are large, expensive and cumbersome to wear. What you will notice is that Harrison and Zhang’s unit, named Tomo, is exponentially smaller and less invasive, allowing it to be integrated into consumer electronics typically worn your wrist, like a smartwatch strap.

A simple EIT setup involves one emitter that sends out a high-frequency AC signal captured by a receiver. This data can be used to calculate the impedance between the electrodes and interpreted as desired. Multiplying and multiplexing the number of emitters and receivers can produce many path combinations and subsequently generate a two-dimensional map of an object — or in this case, the muscles inside a user’s wrist. With enough measurements gathered, an image of inside the arm can be mapped and analyzed in a way that’s quite similar to PET and CT scans.

To test their theory, the researchers built a prototype band with eight electrodes that each send a small electrical signal through the wearer’s arm, and then capture its strength coming out the other side. An Arduino Pro Mini (ATmega328) was interfaced with a bio-impedance sensing board, and transmitted the calculated impedance to a laptop over Bluetooth.

Although the images generated by Tomo are pretty low-res, they are still able to provide enough detail for a machine learning program to distinguish between a wide variety of hand and finger gestures being performed, such as swiping, pinching, giving a thumbs up, or our favorite, the Spider-Man.

As a proof-of-concept, Harrison and Zhang modded a Samsung Gear watch to demonstrate how Tomo can augment interactions with nothing more than hand movements. For example, envision being able to sift through a list of messages, and grasping to open one or stretching your fingers to close it. Or picture answering the phone by doing nothing more than clenching your fist and dismissing an incoming call with a flick of the hand. Pretty cool, right?

Intrigued? Head over to the project’s paper here, or see it in action below!

Save yourself from procrastination with this lock box

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This anti-procastination box is perfect for those who are a little too obsessed with their smartphones and need to be productive.

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Technology, it seems, has advanced past the point of only being there to help us. It now helps, then takes back by wasting our time watching cat videos or checking Facebook for the fourth time in the last minute. If you need to get something done, Alexis “DigitalJunky” Matelin has a solution: his Arduino-based timed lock box.

With his box, you simply place the phone inside, set a timer for when you’d like to be disconnected from the little screen, then get to work on what needs to get done. Interestingly, Matelin was inspired by the parts available, not necessarily his need for peace and quiet. According to him, “I had a spare segment display and wondered about what I could make out of it. Hence was born the idea of the anti-procrastination box.”

Besides the display, the custom-cut box features an Arduino Nano (ATmega328), buttons, wire and various other electrical bits. Physically, locking is accomplished with a solenoid and a small piece of modeling clay for it to rest against, securing the lid.

The final result looks quite clean, and surely something like this could be more useful than the typical hack. As clever as this lock box is, we wouldn’t be surprised to see someone ripping it open if the urge for a digital fix gets too strong to resist!

[h/t Hackaday]

Open your garage door with this DIY keypad

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Tired of being locked out of your house? Build an Arduino-powered keypad.

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SamJBoz often found himself in the same predicament: he would arrive home, only to realize that he didn’t have his garage remote. Subsequently, like any good Maker would do, he decided to design a simple keypad with a four-digit access code that would grant entry to him, his family and any other friends he’d wish to give quick access whenever a handheld remote was not available.

He’s been using the system for roughly a year now, and has yet to encounter any problems. The device itself runs on a 5V Arduino Pro Mini (ATmega328), and consists of a 4×4 keypad, a small custom PCB and a few other electronic parts.

The keypad allows for up to 10 four-digit pin numbers, has a user set master pin number to create and delete user pin numbers, and flashes two-color error codes if something goes wrong.

Have you ever come home to find the door locked and your keys elsewhere? Well, luckily SamJBoz has provided all of the documentation and files on GitHub so you too can build your own and avoid finding yourself in those situations.

Building a robotic switch to automate your air conditioner

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This Maker created an Arduino-powered, servo-based device to turn his AC unit on and off. 

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If you want to control AC power with an Arduino or other platform, the simplest way is (normally) to use a relay. In Tyler Bletsch’s case, he moved into a new office with a manually-controlled air conditioning unit. As he puts it, “I’m not going to put up with a hot office in the morning, nor will I let the unit blow cold air all night and weekend when nobody’s around. Instead, I will build some crap.”

Well said. Since it’s generally a good idea to keep office equipment unmodified, this “crap” took the form of an Arduino Nano (ATmega328)-controlled servo to physically turn the switch on and off — as seen in the video below. This could, we suppose, be considered to be a very complicated form of a physical relay.

An interesting feature is that, since the horn swings out of the way when not in use, you can flip the switch manually “like a barbarian.” According to Bletsch, the bracket allows control of any U.S. standard wall switch. Because of this flexibility, you should be able to use this technique to control nearly anything, though it usually makes many folks uneasy to automatically power things when they’re not around.

Additionally, the interface consisted of a few tactile buttons and an OLED screen, which displays information like the day and time. In terms of software, he used the Time Library for real-time clock logic, the Adafruit GFX Library to show pixels, and the Native Servo Library to run the servo.

If you’d like to make your own, the Maker has made the code available on GitHub and the 3D-printable files on accessible on Thingiverse.

This alarm clock slaps you in the face to wake you up

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Always seem to hit the snooze button? Well, this alarm will hit you instead. 

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A teeth cleaning helmet, check. A breakfast feeding robot, check. So what’s the next morning routine Simone Giertz has set out to automate, you ask? Getting you out of bed. Let’s face it, there’s nothing worse than waking up from a sound slumber. How many times have you hit the snooze button or dismissed an alarm only to shoot up hours later and realize that you accidentally slept in? To help avoid situations like these, the always innovative (and hilarious) Maker decided to build an alarm mechanism that literally slaps you in the face with a rubber arm to jumpstart your day.

In order to accomplish this, Giertz picked apart an ordinary alarm clock, wired it to an Arduino Uno (ATmega328), and controlled a 165rpm brushless DC motor through a relay.

Those wishing to get into more detail will be happy to learn that she has provided an elaborate overview of the project in the first video below, and followed it up with a demonstration of the system. Don’t feel like being slapped in the face? You can always get ejected out of bed instead… just sayin’.