This motorized skateboard is controlled by hand gestures

A Maker named Aditya has created a prototype skateboard controlled by simple hand gestures.

“I was just sitting in our Robotics Lab doing nothing. And then I had this idea to make an automatic skateboard, operated only by hand gestures,” Aditya explained in a recent blog post. “I [then] started gathering the parts. We had some very high torque BLDC motors just sitting there, with 75KG/CM of torque each making it 150KG/cm. [We] also had a uC board with [an Atmel] ATmega 16 on it, [as well as a] few long wires, limit switch and a bunch of connectors.”

As the Hack A Day crew notes, the sensor for hand gestures is currently connected by a control wire, although Aditya expects to transition to a wireless RF unit at some point in the future.

Aditya says he first assembled the chassis before kicking off the electronics side of the project, which included a breakout board for the ATmega 16 mounted on the corner of the deck. The above-mentioned board is apparent tasked with monitoring an accelerometer for steering as well as throttle.

“The accelerometer had been abused in a previous project so he had to add an extra switch to bolster his available inputs,” writes Hack A Day’s Mike Szczys. “We were glad to hear that he also included a kill switch, since putting the control of those motors in the hands of a damaged accelerometer is a bit sketchy.”

Additional information about Aditya’s hand-gesture controlled skateboard can be found here on his official blog here.

12-year-old Quin Etnyre is a Maker and teacher

Quin Etnyre is only 12 years old, but he is already an accomplished Maker working to change the world – one Atmel-powered Arduino board at a time.

Indeed, Quin’s Twitter biography reads: “I’m a 12-year-old maker that loves Arduino and electronics. I run my own electronics company selling @ArduSensors and will be going to MIT in 7 years.”

Quin recently launched a company dubbed “Qtechknow” which manufactures ArduSensors, ultimately negotiating a deal with SparkFun to sell the Qtechknow kit en masse.

Jeff Branson, SparkFun’s educational outreach coordinator, says Quin is a “bellwether” for a whole generation of Maker kids, many who haven’t even been identified yet.

“We’re seeing more and more kids like Quin getting together and teaching each other,” Branson told PopSci.

For his part, Quin says he is rethinking K–12 education, coming up with a much better system called the “New Qtechknow School.”

“School is pretty boring, but it could be a lot more interesting and interactive. More hands-on and more mentoring,” the young Maker explained. “It’s fun to teach other kids, and little kids look up to older kids. It helped me learn when I was young because it was fun.”

In addition to Quin’s Qtechknow kit, the  Maker is also known for his FuzzBot which he built using the Pololu ZumoBot Chassis Kit for Arduino, an Arduino Leonardo (ATmega32u4), a pan/tilt small servo and a Parallax Ping Ultrasonic Distance Sensor. As Makezine’s Stett Holbrook notes, Quinn  programmed most of the code himself using the Arduino IDE, ZumoBot and the Ping libraries for Arduino.

You can read more about Quin the Maker here, the FuzzBot on Instructables and the Qtechknow on Sparkfun.

This biomedical device is going open source

This August, a team of researchers from FabLab Pisa and the University of Pisa’s Center for Bioengineering and Robotics will kick off an exciting new project known as OS4BME, or Open Source for Biomedical Engineering.

The project’s goal? Introducing the medical device world to a DIY & Makers philosophy. Indeed, OS4BME wants to help facilitate the development of simple, low-cost and high-impact biomedical devices such as neonatal baby monitors.

According to the official Arduino blog, the course is slated to take place at Kenyatta University (Nairobi) and will involve a number of staggered tracks, including configuring a 3D printing system, developing a neonatal monitoring device, using open source and designing solar-powered electronics based on the Atmel-powered Arduino platform.

“Participants will play an active role in the identification of components, design, assembling and testing of the device and in the discussion of regulatory issues in its development,” the Arduino blog explained. “Close attention will [especially] be paid to safety, ergonomic aspects and regulatory standards for biomedical devices.”

Arduino has announced its official support for the project, sending the research team a number of UNO boards, along with Wi-Fi and GSM shields to be used during the course. The components will subsequently be donated to the Kenyatta University and Fablab Nairobi.

OS4BME was created by Prof. Arti Ahluwalia (Univ. Pisa), Daniele Mazzei and Carmelo De Maria (Fablab Pisa, Centro E.Piaggio).

This pop-up electronic DIY book is powered by Arduino

A Maker by the name of Antonella Nonnis has created a unique interactive electronic book powered by two Arduino boards. The book, titled “Music, Math, Art and Science,” was inspired by the work of Munari, Montessori and Antonella’s very own mother.

“The book contains movable parts and uses the electrical capacitance of the human body to activate sounds and lights and other sensors like a button for the math page,” Nonnis explained in a recent blog post.

“The pages [were designed] using recycled materials that I collected during years in London (paper, fabrics, LEDs, resistors, wires, foil paper, glue, cardboards). It [is] powered by two Arduino Diecimilas (Atmel ATmega168): one controls the paper pop-up piano and the other controls the arts and science page. [Meanwhile], the math [section] runs autonomously with 2 3V cell batteries.”

The two Arduinos can be powered with 2 9V batteries, although Nonnis says they are more stable if run off a USB via a PC.

The above-mentioned book was given by Antonella as a birthday present to her 6-year-old niece Matilde. Additional information about the DIY pop-up can be found here on the official page of Antonella Nonnis.

Wireless solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to a future world where all types of electronic devices link to each other via the Internet. Today, it’s estimated that there are nearly 10 billion devices in the world connected to the Internet, a figure expected to triple to nearly 30 billion by 2020.

And as Maker Afroditi Psarra recently noted, wearable computing is on track to ultimately connect our physical bodies (wearable tech) with the Internet of Things (IoT).

Clearly, wireless connectivity is more important than ever, as as wireless extends from PC peripherals and home entertainment applications to the smart grid and beyond. To support these sophisticated applications, Atmel offers a complete line of IEEE 802.15.4-compliant, IPv6/6LoWPAN based, ZigBee certified wireless solutions.

They are based on Atmel’s family of RF transceivers, 8-bit and 32-bit AVR and ARM microcontrollers. To facilitate rapid development and speed time to market, Atmel offers a variety of free software stacks, reference designs, wireless modules and development kits. Simply put, the provide everything engineers need to meet the unique needs of low-cost, low-power, wireless control and sensor network applications.

Key features include:

• Single-Chip Solutions — The Atmel IEEE 802.15.4-compliant single-chip solution combines an AVR microcontroller and best-in-class 2.4GHz RF transceiver. This particular combo is ideal for applications requiring minimal board space and cost – without compromising on MCU and RF performance.
• Transceivers – Atmel’s wide range of high performance, low-power IEEE 802.15.4-compliant transceivers support regional 700/800/900MHz frequency bands available in China, Europe, Japan and North America, as well as the 2.4GHz band available worldwide. For maximum flexibility, these unique RF transceivers can be combined with Atmel’s microcontrollers over the SPI Interface.
• Bundles – Flexible IEEE 802.15.4-compliant bundles make it easy to create a solution that is appropriately aligned to your application needs.
• Modules – ZigBits are compact 802.15.4/ZigBee modules featuring record-breaking range performance and exceptional ease of integration. ZigBits also pack a complete FCC/CE/ARIB certified RF design that eliminates costly and time-consuming RF development and gets your product to market on-time and on-budget.

Additional information about Atmel’s MCU Wireless controllers can be found here.

Afroditi’s Arduino Lilypad projects

Afroditi Psarra has used the versatile Arduino Lilypad (ATmega168V or ATmega328V) to power various Maker projects, including those involving embroidery, soft circuits and DIY electronics.

“The LilyPad has allowed me to explore the [relationship] between crafts connected with women’s labour such as knitting, sewing and embroidery with electronics and creative coding – as well as the creation of soft interfaces of control. In my project Lilytronica I am currently using the Lilypad to create embroidered synthesizers that I use to perform live,” Psarra told the official Arduino blog.

“Considering that the LilyPad is not designed for creating sound, and you only have digital outputs and 8 MHz clock speed, the result is a very rough, primitive sound quality, which I personally like a lot. In my interactive performance Idoru, I am exploring the body as an interface of control of sound through the use of wearables. In this project, the LilyPad acts as a controller, [while] the sound is produced in SuperCollider.”

According to Psarra, wearable computing is likely on track to connect our physical bodies with the Internet of Things (IoT).

“I personally feel that we can certainly expect developments around wearables and locative media and various medical applications,” she said. “For now, the most interesting applications in wearables are around fashion, art and music, and they require a certain craftsmanship to be made.”

Interested in learning more about wearable tech? Check out what Atmel has been up to in this rapidly evolving space.

Environmentally conscious clothing with Arduino

My Air, My Health recently challenged Makers to create a wearable device capable of measuring air quality, along with heart and breathing rates.

“The required system design must be capable of linking air pollutant concentrations with physiological data, providing geocoded and time-stamped files in an easy to use format, and transmitting this data via existing networks to a central data repository,” reads the contest guidelines outlined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Institute of Environmental Health Services (NIH).

And that is exactly what Conscious Clothing did, courtesy of David Kuller, Gabrielle Savage Dockterman and Dot Kelly. Indeed, the Conscious Clothing team designed a system that calculates inhaled particulate matter while simultaneously collecting basic health stats. The resulting information is subsequently transmitted and displayed in real-time on a Bluetooth-enabled device.

According to the official Arduino blog, the Conscious Clothing prototype is built around an Atmel-powered Arduino Lilypad (ATmega168V) connected to a particulate matter air sensor that hangs near the neck. There is also a series of stretchy strips of silver-knitted yarn wrapped around the chest to measure breathing.

Additional information about Conscious Clothing can be found here.

Maker camp kicks off on Google+

Dale Dougherty, founder and publisher of MAKE magazine and Maker Faire, officially kicked off Maker Camp 2013 yesterday. The free summer camp for teens – hosted on Google+ – runs for the next six weeks.

“Maker Camp is a whole new kind of camp: an online summer camp that is completely free and open to everyone. Maker Camp takes place wherever you are, by letting you do fun activities and share them with others through the Google+ platform. You’ll make cool projects, go on epic virtual ‘field trips’ and meet awesome makers,” Dougherty explained in a blog post.

“This is Maker Camp’s second summer, and the format is similar: Each weekday morning, we’ll post a new project or activity on our Google+ page—30 things to make over six weeks. Each weekday afternoon, tune in to a live Google+ Hangout On Air to meet expert makers who create amazing things. And like last year, our Field Trip Friday Hangouts will take you to new places that few of us get to see.”

According to Dougherty, Maker Camp has added a few items to make this year’s version even better. For example, there’s a new Google+ Community for Maker Camp, along with a network of affiliate camps so Makers can create together in a local library, youth club or designated Maker-space.

“If there’s a campsite near you, you’ll find it on this map,” he continued. “We’ve worked with Google to supply many of these campsites with maker equipment like soldering kits, LEDs and [Atmel-powered] Arduino microcontrollers (good for making robots and other gadgets).”

Most importantly, says Dougherty, Maker Camp hopes to foster the DIY (do-it-yourself) spirit in young people.

“We want each camper to see how much there is that you can do and how much there is to explore all around you. Once you begin doing things, you’ll meet others who share your interests, and you can collaborate to work on projects together,” he added.

“We call that DIT (do-it-together). Google+ is a platform for that kind of collaboration, and it extends to any location and any time zone. And when Maker Camp comes to an end, you’ll have friendships that last beyond summer. What each of us can do is pretty amazing, yet what we can do together is even more amazing. In that spirit, I invite you all to join us at Maker Camp, starting today.”

Interested? You can follow Maker Camp on Google+ here.

Building an Arduino-powered Nerf Vulcan sentry gun

BrittLiv – a chemical and biological engineering student – has transformed a Nerf Vulcan into a sentry gun capable of automatically aiming and firing at targets.

The azimuth and elevation mount for the gun is constructed out of plywood – with each axis controlled by a single servo attached to an Arduino Uno powered by Atmel’s stalwart ATmega328 MCU.

As the Hack A Day crew notes, the talented Maker also increased the voltage flowing to the gun’s motor, as well as the overall strength of the Vulcan by replacing a 2kg spring with a 5kg spring.

Meanwhile, targets are tracked with a webcam via Processing and some code from Project Sentry Gun. Of course, individuals wearing an Instructables t-shirt will be spared the otherwise inevitable barrage of plastic darts.

Additional key specs include:

• Servo for the turn axis: BMS-660DMG+HS
• Servo for the tilt axis: Hitec HS-805BB
• Wire
• TIP120 transistor
• 1N4004 diode
• 1k resistor
• Pin header
• 6 Volt battery pack
• 5 kg replacement spring for the Vulcan
• Optional: Paint and plastic primer for the gun
• 3 mm lead pearls or something similar as a counter weight
• 6V 3700mAh battery pack
• 9.6V 2000mAh battery pack
• Webcam
• Laptop

You can learn more about BrittLiv’s Arduino-powered Nerf Vulcan sentry gun on Instructables here.

Arduino Workshop Is A Hands-On Introduction With 65 Projects

Earlier this week, Bits & Pieces took a closer look at an instructional book for Makers that describes how to use various Atmel-powered Arduino boards in a wide variety of LEGO projects. Today, we are getting up close and personal with another Maker book titled “Arduino Workshop: A Hands-On Introduction with 65 Projects.”

Penned by John Boxall, the book kicks-off with a basic overview of Arduino, although it quickly moves on to discuss various electronic components and concepts.

“Arduino Workshop will teach you the tricks and design principles of a master craftsman,” said Boxall. “Whatever your skill level, you’ll have fun as you learn to harness the power of the Arduino for your own DIY projects. As your understanding grows, the projects increase in complexity and sophistication.”

Projects detailed in the book include:

• A digital thermometer designed to chart temperature changes on an LCD
• A GPS logger capable of recording data from your travels to display on Google Maps
• A handy tester that can check the voltage of any single-cell battery
• A keypad-controlled lock requiring a secret code to open
• An electronic version of the classic six-sided die
• A binary quiz game to challenge your number conversion skills
• A motorized remote control tank with collision detection to prevent crashes

“Arduino Workshop: A Hands-On Introduction with 65 Projects” can be purchased in e-format from Amazon for $13.17 here.