Pedosa Glass is a pair of DIY smart glasses — powered by Arduino and built by a 13-year-old app developer.
Hong Kong resident, app developer and 13-year-old Jordan Fung has, according to him, developed “the coolest project [he has] ever made.” This new project, dubbed Pedosa Glass, is essentially a smart glasses attachment powered by an Arduino Nano (ATmega328) that shows him data and control information via a tiny FLCoS (Fast Liquid Crystal on Silicon) display.
As of now, the display has three buttons that can select one of two apps or go to an “about” page. Though it might not have all the bells and whistles of Google Glass, the two apps, a timer and a flashlight could be quite useful in real life. Fung admits that the timer could be a bit more accurate, but the small LED flashlight looks quite bright.
Menu and data display are accomplished using an Arduino TV output library running on the Nano. This seems to work well for his application, even though the resolution is limited to 120 x 96 pixels and displays in black and white.
This device is currently in a prototype state, and Fung plans to eventually make a 3D-printed case for it to hide the electronics. Another improvement would be to get rid of the USB power cable in exchange for a battery. Beyond that, further enhancements include Bluetooth connectivity and more applications. In true Maker spirit, the 13-year-old is asking for suggestions on this or anything else people think he should added to his build.
Feeling InspEYEred? Fung has made the project’s instructions, though limited, available on his Instructables page. Or, you can see what it’s all about in the video below.
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.
A finalist in this year’s Hackaday Prize, FarmBot is a prime example of how the DIY Movement can make a long and ever-lasting impact on our world. The brainchild of mechanical engineer and social entrepreneur Rory Aronson, the project is an open source CNC farming machine that hopes to one day make an open food future more accessible to everyone. Using a web-based application, users can graphically design their farm or garden to their desired specifications by dragging and dropping plants into a map, as if it were a game of FarmVille. Other features include storing and manipulating data maps, a decision support system to facilitate data driven design, access to an open plant data repository, and real-time control and logging.
We recently had the chance to sit down with Aronson to learn more about the project, his inspiration and what the future holds following the Hackaday Prize.
Atmel: What is FarmBot?
RA: FarmBot is an open source CNC farming machine and software package designed for small-scale precision food production. Similar to 3D printers and CNC milling machines, FarmBot hardware employs linear guides in the X, Y and Z directions. This allows for tooling such as seed injectors, watering nozzles, sensors and weed removal tools to be precisely positioned and used on the plants and soil.
FarmBot is controlled by an Arduino/RAMPS stack and an Internet-connected Raspberry Pi 2. The hardware is designed to be simple, scalable, hackable and easily produced.
Atmel: How did you come to the idea for FarmBot? Moreover, what inspired you to enter the contest with your project?
RA: The idea for FarmBot came to me while I was taking an agriculture class in college. One day, a guest lecturer and farmer spoke to us about his newest tractor — one that used a camera and computer vision system to detect and remove weeds. I thought it was pretty cool, but also viewed the system as a band-aid solution. Rather than building something new from the ground up, the agriculture hardware industry is tacking precision systems into historically imprecise tractors at an immense cost. What’s more, there is virtually no equipment available to empower small-scale food producers. This is where FarmBot comes in as a low-cost, small-scale, precision-first system.
In these early days, FarmBot needs a community to become early adopters and help build the open-source technology core. This is why we are on Hackaday — to rally a community that believes in our vision of an open food future, where the consumer is control of the food production process.
Atmel: In line with the Hackaday Prize’s theme, how are you hoping FarmBot changes the world? What’s the mission?
RA: The FarmBot Project vision is to create an open and accessible technology aiding everyone to grow food and to grow food for everyone. In order to achieve this vision, our mission is to establish a community that produces free and open source hardware plans, software, data and documentation enabling everyone to build and operate a farming machine.
Atmel: What’s your vision for FarmBot over the next five years? Where do you see it going? Who would you hope will pick up the project and use it?
RA: Over the next five years, I hope for FarmBot to take a similar path as the RepRap project, where there will be an explosion of innovation from thousands of individuals and entrepreneurs who hack FarmBot technology to work for them, engineer better hardware, write more software features and build more companies that cater FarmBot to the masses.
Atmel: As we know, the Maker Movement has opened the door for everyone from hobbyists to tech enthusiasts to hardcare engineers to tinker around. What’s your personal background?
RA: I grew up tinkering and building myself. I definitely identify as a Maker. As far as technical background goes, I studied mechanical engineering at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA.
Atmel: Why pick Atmel (and Arduino) chips?
RA: We chose to use an Arduino as FarmBot’s microcontroller primarily because of the community support — most Makers are familiar with Arduino from other projects. We chose the Arduino Mega (ATmega2560) specifically because it pairs nicely with the popular RAMPS shield from the 3D printing world, which includes all of the features that we needed in a driver board.
Atmel: What advice would you offer other Makers when getting into hardware and embarking on a new project?
RA: Do a lot of research on the different hardware available. Everything has tradeoffs, especially when it comes to compatibility with other components. Strongly consider how large and active the community is behind the hardware you choose. I often find that a more popular hardware product is a better choice than the ‘better’ hardware product.
Hardware development is often stifled by the time it takes to ship physical goods like screws, raw materials, tools, and electronics. If you have the budget available, go on a shopping spree! Buy more than you think you need, and get a variety of components that you can play with, even if you don’t think you need them. Simply holding the materials in your hands will lead to new ideas that you would not have had staring at a CAD model or product photos.
Atmel: As you know, we love to help entrepreneurs take their ideas from the MakerSpace to MarketPlace, so we’re wondering… any plans to launch a startup and perhaps even take FarmBot to Kickstarter?
RA: Yes! In addition to creating community resources for the FarmBot Project community, I have started a company, FarmBot.io. We are planning on launching the first ever FarmBot kits on Kickstarter in 2016. FarmBot Genesis is 1.5m wide and 3m in length, perfect for getting started in a small space. Meanwhile, Genesis XL is 3m and 6m in length and capable of growing four times the food of its small sibling.
Atmel: And, we’ve got to ask. If you win, are you heading to space or taking the cash?!
RA: Cash! As fun as space would be, I’m pretty certain I’ll be going in the future when the price comes down. In the meantime, the cash prize will help me bring FarmBot to the masses more quickly.
This Maker modified his electric wheelchair to be voice-controlled using Amazon Echo, Raspberry Pi and Arduino.
Amazon Echo is a device that listens to what you say, and can respond with information or even some simple home automation tasks. Turning lights on is interesting, but Bob Paradiso wondered if he “could push Echo’s utility a little further.” In his case, he was able to modify an electric wheelchair to be voice-controlled using the Echo with a Raspberry Pi and Arduino Uno (ATmega328).
Although Paradiso considered using Echo to add things an Amazon to-do list and IFTTT to carry out an action based on the list, he decided to instead setup the Raspberry Pi to emulate a Hue lighting hub. This meant more direct control of the chair, and less delay between voice command and action.
As seen in the first video below, this type of interface might be cumbersome for day-to-day use, but could possibly serve as an alternate input method. Paradiso is quick to point out that his control method is a demonstration, and “lacks CRITICAL safeties that need to be in place for anyone (but especially someone with significant disability) to use safely.”
Paradiso also tried this out using only Pi-based software PocketSpinx, which, according to him gave “acceptable but worse results.” This can be seen (with a functioning fan at 1:25) in the second clip below.
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.
Radu Motisan is no stranger to the higher ranks of the Hackaday Prize leaderboard, and rightfully so. Not only in the running for this year’s best product category as well as the ultimate grand prize, the Maker was also named a semi-finalist back in 2014 with his uRADMonitor — a web-connected, plug-and-play radiation monitor that tracks beta and gamma emissions around the globe. Piggybacking off of his work thus far, Motisan has decided to take the project one step further by going mobile with the Portable Environmental Monitor. It measures alpha, beta, and gamma radiation, dust, air quality, temperature and pressure using a small, handheld device that uploads data to the Internet over Wi-Fi.
Atmel: What is the Portable Environmental Monitor?
Radu Motisan: The Portable Environmental Monitor with its backend uRADMonitor infrastructure is the next big thing in the IoT: a new pollution tracking platform equipped with top-grade sensors to deliver real-time measurements and notifications to help us protect our health. The readings are mapped to geographical locations, for better understanding of pollution as a phenomenon. As I it see it now, this slowly becomes a new standard for checking environmental quality the very same way we use weather forecasting today.
Atmel: How did you come to the idea for monitor? Moreover, what inspired you to enter the contest with your project?
RM: The idea came from a personal need for uncensored, real environmental data. It was a perfect fit for Hackaday’s call to build something that matters and help the environment at global scale.
Atmel: In line with the Hackaday Prize’s theme, how are you hoping the monitor changes the world? What’s the mission?
RM: The uRADMonitor with the Portable Environmental Monitor unit is an ambitious project, aiming to improve global awareness on pollution, its factors and evolution, and ultimately to increase the quality of life.
Atmel: What’s makes the device so unique? What’s your vision for the next five years? Where do you see the monitor going or what/who would you hope will pick up the project and use it?
RM: It’s different because its open — transparency is important to guarantee the quality of equipment and of the resulting collected data. There was considerable effort to develop both the hardware and software glueing this together and I’m happy the results so far exceeded the expectations with innovative devices. In five years, the project’s name should be already known worldwide with more people using it. It addresses both end users and companies to monitor living spaces, offices but also cities, plants, production centres. The hardware involved is constantly shaping to new ideas that make this solution even better. Next step is providing larger scale monitoring solutions for cities and running a few field tests.
Atmel: As we know, the Maker Movement has opened the door for everyone from hobbyists to tech enthusiasts to hardcare engineers to tinker around. What’s your personal background?
RM: By training, I’m a software engineer. By hobby, I’m a chemist, physicist and electronics amateur. By heart, I am the man that will use the best of his skills to build technology that matters — that has an impact on other people’s lives. Luckily this background allowed venturing into the corners of hardware design and production, with ease.
Atmel: What are some of the core pieces of hardware embedded?
RM: The Portable Environmental Monitor uses an ATmega128 MCU as the brain of its operation, having to handle complex operations like driving sensors, WLAN communication, real-time user GUI on a large touchscreen display, Geiger high voltage circuit, and finally, the power management involving the rechargeable battery and a high efficiency inverter. Then, there is also a BME680 sensor from Bosch Sensortec that does wonders at a very low energy cost.
Atmel: Are there any other hardware projects you’re also building at the moment?
RM: There is the new City Air Quality project, which involves a custom Portable Environmental Monitor hardware but with a Bluetooth connection to a smartphone and air quality sensor, all fixed to the outside of a car, to run the first live tests on pollution and build an experimental environmental heat map. The know-how will be used for a miniaturized version that addresses bicyclists in an effort of reducing pollution in cities. All under a new startup company that I’m working to shape at the moment…
Atmel: We’ve gotta ask… why go with Atmel chips?
RM: Because they are great!
Atmel: What advice would you offer other Makers when getting into hardware and embarking on a new project?
RM: When you build something, finish the job! Don’t just leave endless meters of jumping wires in unfinished tests and breadboards. Instead, think big, design a case for your new gadget, build a prototype and try entering production to test your idea on the real market. Playing is nice, but the real world and solving problems of others, are by far more appealing.
Atmel: You mentioned something about working on launching a startup. What does this entail? Will you perhaps be taking this project to Kickstarter/Indiegogo in the near future?
RM: Yes! The startup is in its early phase, preparing all the documents and local legal requirements. The crowdfunding campaign will happen… in just a few days!
Atmel: And… if you happen to win the grand prize, will you be heading to space or taking the cash?!
RM: My childhood dream was to become an astronaut. As I see it now, this is a one time opportunity, but it also makes it a though question since I am now a more responsible young parent.
Atmel: Anything else you want to tell us and our followers?
RM: Yes. Life is short, and the Hackaday’s “build something that matters” thing is not a cliché, but the very first thing we need to consider every time we wake up in the morning. Make the plan, aim and shoot. There is not time to waste, since there are so many things that can be improved in this world and we are all responsible for that. And those with certain skills have even higher responsibility.
This Maker has discovered a way to repurpose soot into ink for printers.
Black printing ink, commonly found in printers and copy machines, is one of the most consumed products throughout the world. And although it may be quite the cash cow for some companies, one Maker believes that we can make it easily enough using soot found in the air of our polluted cities.
MIT Media Lab graduate Anirudh Sharma — who some may recall from his Arduino LilyPad-based hepatic shoe for the blind — says that his invention, if scaled, can offer a much cheaper alternative to the exorbitant costs of ordinary ink.
“This is not an attempt to win over the pollution. Just a minor itch that led me to build something cool from observations arising from nostalgia of the days back in India,” Sharma explains. “There’s so much soot/pollution around us, especially in crowded cities. What if the same could be repurposed to generate ink for printers?”
And so, the Maker created Kaala — a device that can suck up harmful pollutants from the surrounding air, separate the carbon black, and instantly repurpose it into printer ink with the help of alcohol and oil. This liquid can then be injected into any ordinary HP C6602 printer cartridge for regular use. It’s important to note that, in order for the system to work, it first needs to be exposed to exhaust.
In the video below, you will see that Sharma employed a lit candle and its flame to show off Kaala. The demonstrated device’s pump catches the soot from the burning candle, which is then used to fill a modified HP inkjet cartridge with a mixture of vodka and a little olive oil. For printing, the Maker coupled presumably an Arduino Mega (ATmega2560) with Nicholas C Lewis’ Arduino InkShield, which enabled him to print at a 96dpi resolution.
Looking ahead, Sharma intends on improving the soot collector. He plans to suck the soot through a chamber that uses capacitive plates to filter out the carbon from dust in the air. This principle is commonly exercised by chimneys to reduce the carbon particles injected into the atmosphere.
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.
Amyotrophic laterals sclerosis, more commonly known as ALS, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Typically, motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. However, with ALS, the progressive degeneration of the motor neurons leads to their demise. When these motor neurons die, the brain’s ability to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, people eventually become unable to speak, eat, move and breathe.
Cognizant of this, the Maker trio of Patrick Joyce, Steve Evans and David Hopkinson have developed an eye-controlled wheelchair system that will enable those who no longer have use of hands to regain their mobility, not only ALS sufferers. This innovation, dubbed Eyedrivomatic, is a yet another prime example that a Hackaday Prize entry can make a lasting impact on the lives of others. We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with team member Patrick Joyce to get this thoughts on the contest, learn about his inspiration for the project and what the future holds for the truly remarkable machine that will give those with quadriplegia a second lease on life.
Atmel: What is Eyedrivomatic?
Patrick Joyce: Eyedrivomatic is an eye-controlled wheelchair system that allows quadriplegics to take control of their mobility, by providing a hardware ‘bridge’ between users’ Eyegaze equipment and their wheelchairs.
Atmel: How did you come to the idea for it? Moreover, what inspired you to enter the contest with your project?
PJ: I have ALS, a terminal disease which takes away use of your muscles, your ability to eat and breathe, and sooner or later, inevitably, takes your life as well. Two years ago, as I was steadily losing the use of my hands, I suddenly realized to my horror that when they did go completely, I would no longer be able to move my own wheelchair. Subsequently, I would have to rely on carers to move me. I figured I’d better do something about that.
When I heard about the Hackaday Prize, I thought ‘wow, a trip into space!’ What I didn’t realize was just how motivating entering would be, and how dramatically the deadlines would speed up the rate of progress on the project — it’s been a heck of a ride.
Atmel: In line with the Hackaday Prize’s theme, how are you hoping your device changes the world? What’s the mission?
PJ: My original goal of helping my future self retain independent mobility soon changed, when I realized the scale of the problem. My mission quickly became helping everyone in this awful position, worldwide. At the moment, Eyedrivomatic is a first-world solution to a first-world problem. It relies on the user having Eyegaze equipment and an electric wheelchair. I can’t do much about quadriplegics without wheelchairs, but I’m actively working on a webcam-based system for those without Eyegaze equipment.
Atmel: What’s different about it? What’s your vision for the next five years? Where do you see the project going or what/who would you hope will pick up the project and use it?
Truth be told, ALS will likely take my life sometime over the next couple of years, so getting the Eyedrivomatic project to the point where others can continue its maintenance and development is paramount. I’m nearly there — just some work left to do on the software. From there, the priority will become getting the system out to the people who need it.
Atmel: As we know, the Maker Movement has opened the door for everyone from hobbyists to tech enthusiasts to hardcare engineers to tinker around. What’s your personal background?
PJ: These processes are hindered by my inexperience in all the disciplines necessary for a project like this. Before getting ALS, I was an artist… a painter. My work never paid the rent, so I earned a living as a tree surgeon, or even more recently, a plumber. None of which was much use when it came to 3D design and programming. However, Arduino is a perfect platform for someone such as myself. Powerful and versatile, yet simple and easy to use. And, Arduino combined with 3D printing — now that’s marriage made in heaven. I certainly couldn’t have designed Eyedrivomatic without them.
Atmel: What are some of the core pieces of hardware embedded?
PJ: Eyedrivomatic employs an Arduino Uno (ATmega328), which has enough processing power to run the entire system with plenty to spare for add-on features. Aside from that, there’s a four-channel relay shield, a servo/sensor shield, an optional solar phone charger, some servos and a few other components that can be found on its Hackaday page here.]
Atmel: What advice would you offer other Makers when getting into hardware and embarking on a new project?
PJ: My advice to those wanting to become Makers, but daunted by their lack of skills: Arduino, Arduino, Arduino! It’s perfect for beginners, and provides you with programming instruction as you go along – at your own pace. Then, get hold of a 3D printer and learn Sketchup or Autodesk 123D.
Atmel: Has this process inspired you to launch a startup and perhaps even take to Kickstarter/Indiegogo?
PJ: I’ve no plans to crowdfund an Eyedrivomatic manufacturing project at the present time, though I’m hoping someone else will.
Atmel: And… if you win, will you be heading to space or taking the cash?!
PJ: I would love to go into space! But Eyedrivomatic was a team effort, and sadly we can’t all squeeze in that one seat. So boringly, we would take the cash.
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.
Phiro is a LEGO-compatible robotics toy that kids can play, code and innovate in various ways.
Research shows that one of the most effective ways for kids to learn problem-solving is through robotics and coding. This is an area that sisters Deepti Suchindran and Aditi Prasad — who are the founders of Boston-based startup Robotix — hope Phiro can play an integral role. The LEGO-compatible kit will enable the future generation to program and solve challenges in a more engaging and interactive manner, whether that includes making a movie or cleaning their room.
Robotix has acquired many years of experience teaching coding and robotics to several K-12 schools. Along the way, they have discovered that such gadgets are usually expensive, use proprietary programming languages and are not so fun for its young user base. Instead, the team is looking to change that with an affordable robotics toy that will assist kids in learning to code and develop computational thinking skills. Young Makers will be able to enhance their coding skills in five different ways, either without a computer or with open source programming languages.
With Phiro, children can play music, create games, flash lights, detect faces and much more. The combination of programming and playing with such a toy will empower the next generation to pursue STEM-related disciplines and to become the innovators of tomorrow.
And so, Robotix has launched a pair of ATmega2560 powered robots for two different age groups: Phiro Unplugged and Phiro Pro. Both units come fully assembled and are ready for use right out of the box. First, Phiro Unplugged is designed for those between the ages of four and eight, and is an excellent instructional tool for sequential programming and binary coding. The best part is that it can all be achieved without a computer. Meanwhile, Phiro Pro has shares many of the same qualities as the Unplugged and then some.
Geared towards Makers between nine to 18, users can program their bot with a computer, tablet or smartphone, which connects wirelessly over Bluetooth to an assortment of programming languages: Scratch 2.0 (MIT), Snap4Arduino (UC Berkeley/Citilab) and Pocket Code mobile apps (Graz University of Technology). Learners can link to an online community that will encourage collaboration, sharing, and of course, more education.
Perhaps one of its greatest selling points is its LEGO compatibility. For instance, Phiro lets you transform your robot into a bull dozer or snow plow with LEGO attachments, and command it to navigate your room and clean your things!
“Be endlessly creative and transform Phiro into an animal, alien, car, join your tea party, or anything you imagine with Phiro’s LEGO-compatible connector. Kids can personalize their own Phiro robots,” the Robotix crew writes. “Want speed? Create code for a remote control in Scratch 2.0, Snap4Arduino, Pocket Code mobile app’s and gear up Phiro with LEGO parts and watch your race car go!”
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.
Confined spaces can be a dangerous part of rescue work, especially for miners and firemen. Not only do they have to worry about walls caving in and trapping people, but hazardous gasses. And while there are several expensive robotic devices out there that can take gas sensors deep into these tight areas ahead of rescuers, Eric William has come up with a much cheaper, more efficient alternative to remotely sniff the air before entering. The Maker has developed a $30 gas sensor “grenade” using a basic Arduino and a few other components, which is capable of analyzing the environment and reporting its levels with real voice output.
Atmel: What is the Gas Sensor for Emergency Workers?
Eric William: It is a simple gas sensor which monitors for smoke, liquefied petroleum gas (propane, butane, etc.) and carbon monoxide. It is made to be thrown into any unknown or potentially dangerous area before human entry and it relays the gas levels back to the user located at a safe distance via radio frequency. The levels are then broadcasted as human voice in English so anyone can understand the conditions/risks in the area.
Atmel: How did you come to the idea for the Gas Sensor? Moreover, what inspired you to enter the contest with your project?
EW: For several years, I was responsible for the safe work and rescue (if needed) of approximately 18 employees working in industrial equipment. We used industry standard air monitors, which like almost all models, are designed to be worn by the user. This made it quite difficult to measure the conditions in an area before a person enters that area. We resorted to suspending them via string, etc. I wanted a unit which could be tossed into the area from a distance or dropped from above into any area — but one simply did not exist.
This year when I created the basic prototype I happened to see the Hackaday contest on social media on the very night I tested the first voice transmission. I thought it would be a great way to get the open source project out to the world as the timing was perfect.
Atmel: In line with the Hackaday Prize’s theme, how are you hoping the sensor changes the world? What’s the mission?
EW: My hope is that anyone, anywhere can take the design, code and instructions to easily reproduce the sensor themselves. Areas of the world without access to the industrial versions (they are quite costly at $1,000 or more) could utilize these to add at least some layer of protection. Since they can be recreated at a minimum of cost, perhaps a cost-effective mass produced version can be developed, and existing companies can take the concept and fill this gap within their own product line. Regardless of who supplies it, I think having it available to the world will potentially save lives.
Atmel: What’s different about the Gas Sensor? What’s your vision for this “grenade” in the next five years? What/who would you hope will pick up the project and use it?
EW: I know of no existing air monitor which can be deployed by the user into any area and receive the results from a safe distance whereby removing all exposure to the unknown risks. All existing ones I have used require the user to see an LCD screen and hear the audio alert (beeper) within the device. The price to reproduce this project is so low (under USD $30 is no problem) they could simply be disposable if mass produced.
In the upcoming years, I envision the project could be improved with additional sensors for oxygen and hydrogen sulfide. This would give it more functionality than most commercial ones already in use today.
My hope would be that people in far more industries could then use this simple device. In my mind, I could see it expand from industrial applications to anyone entering an unknown areas. As the cost could be very low, almost any employee could carry one and toss it into any area before entering if there is a chance of an unsafe atmosphere. This could span all industries with confined spaces (almost all industrial installations), mining, utility workers, emergency responders of all types, city workers, HVAC (heating ventilation & air conditioning), inspectors, hydro workers, telephone workers… this list goes on and on.
Atmel: As we know, the Maker Movement has opened the door for everyone from hobbyists to tech enthusiasts to hardcore engineers to tinker around. What’s your personal background?
EW: I have been an electronics hobbyist since a very young age. In my professional career, I came from 10 years in the automotive repair industry where I did all types of repair but specialized in diagnostics. I left the industry for a career in alternative energy. After some time performing repairs and maintenance on industrial wind turbines, I was put in charge of the maintenance of a large industrial wind farm. After several years I left this role for a position in technical support specializing in the software operating systems and diagnostics.
Atmel: What are some of the core pieces of hardware embedded?
EW: At its core, the ATmega328 (Arduino Nano) does the work. Beyond that, there is only and MQ2 gas sensor, a battery and a small ASK transmitter.
Atmel: What hardware products or projects are you also building at the moment?
EW: I have too many! 🙂 I am doing ongoing work on an Arduino-based satellite project designed to share the basic cubesat concept and enable anyone to recreate a basic satellite facsimile at home. I plan some upcoming improvements and changes to my Arduino/human brain interface which operates a 3D-printed robotic arm.
I am most excited, however, about a project I am building which is an easily portable educational classroom that can be used anywhere in the world. It is completely standalone and requires no conventional utilities such as hydro or communication access. It should allow anyone, anywhere access to basic educational tools as well as more advanced technology based learning and development.
EW: The price and availability makes them truly amazing devices. The community behind them makes it easy for anyone to create just about any project with almost zero experience. The sheer amount of freely available code and information already published makes just about any design or project a possibility for anyone.
Atmel: What advice would you offer other Makers when getting into hardware and embarking on a new project?
EW: Just dive in. Get a few basic components, like the Arduino boards, and make something you are interested in. Everyone starts with blinking an LED but after that build what you want — don’t just follow a book of projects. Google for the answers to problems you encounter (you will be astounded at how many times your exact question has already been answered). Ask questions in forums and share your projects back with the world so others may benefit.
Atmel: Any plans to launch a startup and perhaps even take to Kickstarter/Indiegogo?
EW: Not for this project- it is free for the world. I have a couple ideas I think I may someday try crowdfunding, but for now I enjoy just releasing them open-source so all can take them forward.
Atmel: And… if you win, are you heading to space or taking the cash?!
EW: Although a trip to space has long been a dream of mine, I just got married a few months ago so I think I may be in hot water if I didn’t take the cash! [Laughs] With the money I may just be able to take this project (perhaps others) to production. That would be nice.
Atmel: Anything else you want to tell us and our followers?
EW: Thank you to Atmel, Hackaday and all those who have supported the 2015 prize entries as well as open source projects in general. You are all amazing!
Don’t miss our other interviews with fellow HaD Prize finalists Chris Low and OpenBionics!
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.
