Aside from the Atmel-powered RUMBA, key Lathon features include:
Enclosed build volume
Air filtration
Large high quality prints
Dual nozzle printing
Dissolvable support
Overmolded prototypes
Multiple materials
Standalone printing
“Many printers have an ‘open-air’ printing architecture [and] this approach has many pitfalls. The act of 3D printing is a balance of thermodynamics and kinematics. Any rapid change in temperature such as opening a door will create errors in the print,” Partansky explained.
“These temperature changes can lead to having a single layer of your print be ruined, which can cause a total print failure. The enclosed build volume also prevents curling of ABS (Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene aka LEGO plastic) printed models.”
This is why, says Partansky, the Lathon circulates air in the build volume, constantly passing through two activated carbon filters that drastically reduce the amount of ABS particles in the air.
“[Plus], with an enclosed build volume and an Ultem 2300 print bed you can set your mind at ease as you can make massive prints without errors. With a 12″x9″x8″ build volume you can actually print useful items, not just small toys,” Partansky continued.
“Imagine printing your own Iron Man costume or a carbon fiber wrench; with the Lathon this is possible! The printing surface is made out of Ultem 2300 that does not need any tape or ABS juice to function. Laminating kapton tape to the build surface takes at least 5-10 minutes and applying ABS juice is messy; this will not be a problem. Just use the included heated bed, let the print cool down and the final print simply pops right off.”
Jean-Noël says projected capacity is the primary principle behind his Atmel-powered Ootsidebox, with an electric field projected in front of the existing touch surface affected by movements of the hand. Simply put, it is possible to calculate 3D coordinates and recognize certain gestures by measuring the perturbations of an oscillator caused by the movement of the user’s fingers (or an object) at several centimeters from the control surface.
Recently, Atmel’s Tom Vu had the opportunity to discuss the Ootsidebox with product inventor Jean Noel Lefebvre.
Jean Noel: I kicked off this project 6 years ago and have worked on it full time since March 2013. Most of the parts used to construct Ootsidebox are actually off-the-shelf electronics.
More specifically, I used the Atmel AT90USB1286 microcontroller (MCU) to power the device. Currently, I am exploring the possibility of meshing the popular Unity 3D gaming Engine with Ootsidebox. Combining a well known gaming engine will help us tease out more latent, long-term potential for the project, while simultaneously expanding the boundaries of game play with touchless or hybrid touch/touchless technology.
TV: How does Ootsidebox differ from other touchless and gesture sensor solutions?
JN: First of all, there is nothing at the center. For the microchip solution, you need a center electrode with two layers integrated within the body. In contrast, Ootsidebox is designed to be platform and device agnostic. In fact, the incasing can be modeled to fit around existing technologies and devices. Take, for example, example, the Android or iPad. The idea that you can simply wrap this touchless interface around existing devices and products opens new possibilities while enhancing use-cases for existing devices.
With this external fitting, much like an accessory, one can quickly enable their devices to be touchless, with gestures executed from within 10cm (set to double very soon) at maximum in front of a small screen. The device can be used in many different scenarios. For example, say you are in the kitchen cooking with greasy hands filled with sauce. The Ootsidebox can be set to seamlessly interact with various kitchen appliances – without the user ever having to touch knobs, buttons, glass, dials or sliders. Instead, activating/adjusting appliances can be performed via simple gestures (left to right or circular motions). Of course, there are many additional applications that can benefit from a touchless interface, ranging from home consumer device, gaming, health or even industrial uses.
TV: Can you tell me more about the product design? Is there any particular reason you chose Atmel AVR?
JN: The design is very simple, using only well known “stock components” found on any distributor or reseller site. The more complex part may be found in the 14bits DAC in SPI. Most of the components are “old school” logical chips such as 4000 family (my best friends for a long time in electronics). As for the microcontroller, I didn’t need high performance uC, so 8 bits were enough. The idea is to prepare Ootsideboxfor mainstream adoption via a strategy of simplicity, a philosophy which fits well with Makers and the open source community. In terms of selecting the appropriate uC, I was careful to precisely balance price and performance. I also took into consideration various factors such as the large AVR community, availability of open source libs and the quality of the support and tools from the chip manufacturer. The mindset, reputation and philosophy of the brand (Atmel and Arduino) helped steer my uC choice. In fact, startups today are very closely tied to Maker Movement, reflecting Arduino and Atmel. That’s why I’m very confident when choosing Atmel, because Atmel and the Arduino community really support the Maker Movement today.
TV: How does Ootsidebox differ from other platforms on the market?
JN: It’s really a control device that computes touchless gestures versus touching and manipulating. Most of us are quite familiar with the ongoing touch revolution, as we use the very same interface interacting with smartphones and tablets on a daily basis. In addition, there are already commercially viable products such as Android devices equipped with sensor hubs that are designed to process gestural movement of the hand.
Ootsidebox differs on many levels, as the device is meant to be an add-on or fitting to an already existing device. Easy modification will encourage HMI enhancements for existing products or emerging devices. Remember, a consumer/user does not have to be married to just one product line from a major manufacturer. With Ootsidebox, you can control the devices without touching; move up, down, side-to-side, rotational, and even emulating the click of a button. Perhaps most importantly, the touchless interface will undoubtedly inspire future design roadmaps. For example, the touchless form factor is perfect for industrial and medical use. Just imagine a dentist needing to activate or handle various devices during treatment when messy hands are not necessarily ideal.
TV: What is the future of Ootsidebox? Do you plan on making it open source?
JN: Yes, there are plans to launch a campaign on Kickstarter or Indiegogo to attract more involvement in the development and use of this touchless sensor solution. The platform and innovative slope for additional development is limitless. We plan on releasing Ootsidebox as open source / open hardware, complete with specs for mechanical design. Crowdsourcing will help spur additional innovation, while allowing the platform to accommodate a wider degree of functionality.
JN: Afew years ago, disruptive products and ideas were conceived in garages. Today, the very same process takes place in Hackerspaces, where creativity thrives and technical skills abound. By designing projects in Hackerspaces, Makers and engineers are fully connected with a worldwide network of creative people boasting different backgrounds. This synergy significantly accelerates the innovation process.
TV: What is your personal experience with AVR microcontrollers (MCUs) and Arduino boards?
JN: I was using other brands before I discovered the benefits of AVR uC during my discussions about Ootsidebox with my friends at Elektor Labs.
Also during my stay at Noisebridge Hackerspace, Mitch Altman was using AVR Arduino to teach electronics for newbies (I really love what’s happening there). My first experience with the Arduino environment was with Teensy++ 2.0, based on the AT90USB1286 MCU. This Atmel AVR microcontroller is the one I used for my last prototype of the Ootsidebox tablet accessory, which will be launched soon on Kickstarter or Indiegogo. We are also working on a smaller project with Elektor Labs. Essentially, it’s a “3D Pad” built in the form of a shield for Arduino.
TV: Are touchless gestures the future of user interfaces?
JN: Touchless gestures are a part of the natural evolution of the more traditional user interface. It’s a way to provide a more natural and intuitive user experience, which is somewhat of a growing requirement due to the proliferation of complex equipment in our everyday life. Of course, touchless gesture interaction is also more natural. In the future, with the help of Ootsidebox technology, product designers and Makers will not create electronic platforms to “manipulate” or “interact” with devices, but rather, for individuals to directly “communicate” with them instead.
Really, people expect them to be as smart as living entities. I learned that during various discussions with scientists about the project. In the brain, “communicating” vs. “manipulating” simply does not invoke the same connections pathways. Clearly, touchless and gesture UI are paving the way to a very fascinating evolution of consumer electronics in the near future. That being said, I see touchless user interfaces complimenting, rather than replacing, multi-touch, much the same way the mouse didn’t replace a keyboard.
Clearly, this kind of technology can help save lives, while reducing nosocomial risk in healthcare environments. It may also allows drivers to stay more attentive to the road when navigating with gesture-based infotainment. Personally, I’m dreaming of disruptive aesthetic designs in the field of high-tech consumer electronics. I can’t wait to see what a guy like Philippe Starck will be able to create. As I noted earlier, this project is 100% open and we invite everyone to participate on Twitter. Just post your questions and suggestions here: @OOTSIDEBOX, while including the hashtag #AtmelBlog. I’ll answer you personally. You can also check us out here on Facebook.
Skirmos is an open source, versatile laser tag system that features an ATmega328P microcontroller (MCU), Arduino bootloader, color LCD screen (acts as a realtime HUD) and an infrared LED.
Additional key specs include:
RF module
SD card slot
Sound card (accepts .mp3 and .wav)
Speakers
RGB LED grids (stretch goal)
Internal LEDs
Infrared receivers (38khz)
16mhz clock
Plastic transparent custom shell
USB port (data from computer to system)
“The hardware will make Skirmos better than airsoft and lasertag combined. It maintains the realism, range and ruggedness to play outdoors like airsoft, while having the accuracy, feedback, and dynamic cheat-proof gametypes of lasertag,” Skirmos rep Allan Ivanov wrote in a recent Kickstarter post.
“This means the final design of the systems will include accurate iron sights and a rail system for attachments for ranges over 500 feet.”
According to Ivanov, Skirmos rifles communicate with one another via radio, with infrared optics facilitating “extreme ranges” for sniping. On the software side, Skirmos allows players to easily alter fire modes (semi-automatic, three-round burst, automatic, etc), as well as the rate of fire. Plus, each player is assigned a specific ID to avoid friendly fire incidents.
In addition, Skirmos offers a trio of preset gametypes: basic, free-for-all and team slayer. However, the platform is ultimately expected to boast an almost unlimited number of gametypes.
“Because of the open source aspect, you will be able to create your own gametypes. This might be tweaking with the respawn time on Capture the Flag, to creating your own objectives and modes,” Ivanov explained.
“So imagine playing custom gametypes that other users have made like Search and Destroy. Rest assured, you won’t need to be a programming master to design your own games. If Skirmos is successful, we will create an auto-builder, a drag-and-drop program to quickly and easily create new gametypes (stretch goal).”
The Creative Robotics crew has debuted LEO, an open source robotic kit powered by Atmel’s versatile ATMega32U4 microcontroller (MCU).
Additional key specs include an Arduino bootloader, 12 digital I/O pins via an I2C port expander, configurable pull up/down and interrupt capable, 6 digital I/O directly connected to the ATMega32U4 MCU, two PWM capable pins, four external interrupt capable pins, USART and I2C Serial ports, 12 analog inputs, user programmable button, as well as a ‘COMM Hood’ and ‘IO Hood’ comms expansion system.
Leo also features (dual) four wheel and tracked configurations, front and rear tactile bumpers, dual HUB-ee motor plus slave motor connections, dual wheel quadrature encoder reading (128 counts per revolution), dual motor current feedback, automatic motor disable when powered by USB, Arduino robot compatible connector/mounting holes, as well as comprehensive firmware supporting encoders, external IO, PID Speed control and a serial command set.
“LEO is the product of over a decade of design experience in building autonomous robots, experience that also inspired the creation of our HUB-ee wheels,” a Creative Robots rep explained in a recent Kickstarter post.
“Unlike most small robotic platforms on the market LEO can be reconfigured from simple symmetrical two wheel drive to four wheel drive in a matter of minutes – and [is packaged] with a pair of modular tactile bumpers at each end for basic obstacle detection.”
LEO is also quite moddable, as Makers can easily add expansion boards using a dual ‘Hood’ stacking system.
“Hoods are a bit like shields, you can use them to add functionality like extra processors, manual controls, sensors and wireless radios. We call them hoods because LEO is a vehicle (and cars have hoods) and also to differentiate them from the shield system,” said the rep.
“LEO can have two different types of hood at the same time, one for general analog and digital I/O and a second just for serial and I2C communications. This allows you to fit LEO with a Bluetooth, ZigBee or Wifi module without interfering with the general purpose I/O.”
As noted above, Leo is an open source robot project, with all the PCB schematic design files, CAD files for the bumper and caster wheel available for download under the creative commons attribution sharealike license. Software libraries will also be accessible on GitHub.
32×16 Red/Green LED matrix (capable of producing 3 colors: red green and orange)
3x 24mm arcade buttons
DS1307 based RTC w/ LIR2032 battery Digital DS18B20 temperature sensor (-55°C to +125°C)
RFM12B (915 Mhz or 434 Mhz) only available in V2 as option
USB programming w/ optional FTDI adapter/cable (not included)
6-12 VDC (positive tip) Power Supply
1-3 Watt draw (aprox., depends on Color and Brightness)
7.5″ x 4.75″ x 3.75″ (aprox), 1 lb 8 1/4 oz (687g) w/o external Power supply
The talking clock is equipped with an internal backup battery, while all settings are saved to flash memory (EEPROM). Meaning, alarm setting and preferences will be preserved during a power outage. Since all audio files are kept on SD card inside, users can change alarm tones, or replace voice prompts with their own.
Additional features include:
Dual custom alarms
10 alarm tones, such as melodies or special effects like trains, thunder or police sirens
Change display color to green, red or orange
12 or 24 hour mode
Celsius or Fahrenheit selection for temperature sensor
LEWE – an open source biometric wristband – is built around the Atmel-poweredArduino Mega board (ATmega1280) and a number of shields, including Bluetooth, RTC and color LCD.
According to Boris Landoni of OpenElectronics, the goal of Project LEWE is to leverage available tech and create a low cost platform using sensors for data collection.
“Clearly this version is quite hulking, but we wanted to explain how to make the [platform],” said Landoni.
“[Ultimately, everything can be] integrated into a single board or two, in a more compact fashion that can be worn thanks to a special container with a wristband.”
The current iteration of the LEWE prototype currently supports at least five functions, including:
Measuring body temperature and sweat rate
Local display of recorded data
Relaying information to a smartphone app
Sending and storing data to the cloud
Organizing data in graph form for analysis
On the app side, LEWE is designed to communicates with an Android smartphone.
“The app consists of a main activity, in which the last data received from the wristband are shown, [along with] a secondary activity that displays the diagram containing all the data,” Landoni added.
“By clicking the icon of the gear, you can enter the app settings [to] connect and configure the cloud access information.”
Interested in learning more about LEWE? You can check out additional information on OpenElectronics here.
The Ormerod 3D printer features a heated bed, lightweight high-powered hot-end with an integrated cooling fan (ducted to cool the top of prints), a simple elegant drive for 1.75mm diameter filament, a pre-assembled wiring loom and an industry-standard ATX power supply. The Duet (Ormerod board) is equipped with both USB and Ethernet ports, allowing Makers to drive the platform with a conventional RepRap app like Pronterface or control the platform via a standard web browser.
The new RepRap’s firmware also features bed-plane correction and orthogonal axis compensation. Recently, RepRap creator Adrian Bowyer sat down with Simone Cicero of OpenElectronics to discuss the future of open source desktop 3D printing and RepRap. Regarding the Ormerod, Boyer emphasized that the new model was designed to be quickly and easily assembled.
“Plus it has [Atmel-based] 32-bit ARM electronics and ethernet, so you can drive the machine from a web browser,” he said.
In terms of upcoming 3D printing trends, Boyer said one of the most important is likely to be multi-material machines, or platforms capable of putting down mixtures and separating materials with diverse physical characteristics.
“This requirement is much easier to meet with fused filament fabrication (FFF) and inkjet machines than it is with stereolithography or SLS. Having said that I think that SLS will have a growing role at the low end, once one can get reasonable-cost solid-state lasers that will do tens of watts,” he explained. ”We have subtractive technologies already of course. I personally think that combining subtractive with additive is a bit of a dead end. It reintroduces all the problems that we invented additive manufacturing to get away from.”
Bowyer also noted that most of the innovation in fused filament fabrication originated from the OS community.
“A lot of that is now being commercialized, [yet] a lot of that commercialization is staying OS,” he confirmed.
In addition, Bowyer commented on the rapidly growing RepRap community.
“I rather think that it has all the robustness and the agenda of a colony of microorganisms. Which is to say that it is pretty robust because it has no agenda. This is not to say that the people involved are not like-minded – they are,” he continued. ”But their distinguishing characteristic is their desire to solve technical problems and to tell people about the answers. I suppose that that is some sort of agenda, but it is not really an agenda as a synonym for plan.”
Last, but certainly not least, Bowyer offered his perspective on what other major fields could benefit from a RepRap-like approach.
“The biggest has got to be genetic engineering and synthetic biology. Both those are ideal candidates for the RepRap approach – they are easy for individuals to do; they require no very fancy or expensive equipment, and the results can be profound. I’m actually rather surprised that there isn’t a bigger community of biohackers than there is,” he added.
Fifteen-year-old Angad Daryani has developed a number of open source projects in recent years, including an e-reader for the blind, a solar-powered boat, an automated gardening system (Garduino) and Sharkbot, a 3D printer powered by the Atmel-based Arduino Mega (ATmega1280).
Daryani, who is also the co-founder of Makers Asylum in Mumbai, recently told DNA that he plans on making SharkBot the most affordable 3D printer in India.
“We have designed almost every part ourselves. We will have different models of SharkBot at different prices- but the goal is to sell 3D printers and expose everyone to 3D printing at a very low cost,” he explained. “The logistics and business of Sharkbot will be handled by my dad’s nationwide computer peripherals company – Kunhar Peripherals. We have offices all over the country and thus we are looking at creating a nationwide revolution.”
Daryani also noted that he specifically chose an Arduino Mega to power the SharkBot.
“One needs a lot of I/O pins for a 3D printer. [You] need pins to drive 4-5 stepper motors, 2 mosphets, a graphic lcd, a digital encoder and several other sensors and switches,” he said. “The board we have developed is an all in one, single sided PCB board for 2,000 INR. It’s [specifically designed to] control 3D printers.”
Last, but certainly not least, Daryani emphasized that he will not be only be focusing on the SharkBot, but rather, looking to create a Maker Movement revolution in India.
“Everything that I make, is open sourced so that everyone else can learn how it works or re-make it,” he concluded.
According to Tegelbeckers, the theoretical printing area of the DeltaTrix is 280mm (11 inch) in diameter.
“As a square this works out as (almost) 200x200mm (8″x8″), which suits the used ‘MK2A’ heated bed,” he explained.
“As it is also useful to be able to remove items, the gap between the uprights is just over 295mm. The maximum build height is around 280mm (11”).”
The DeltaTrix is powered by Atmel-Arduino RAMPS electronics, with a linear delta robot layout providing a mechanically simple motion platform for moving the print head (only).
Additional features and capabilities include an LCD display, SD memory card, support for PLA and ABS filament, independent operation (no need to be attached to a PC), igus linear slides with pretension, Reprappro Hot End and quick changeover print head assembly.
A Maker by the name of J Rodriguez has designed an open source guitar pedal with KiCad. Users of the device can program their own effects in C/C++ or download ready effects from an online library.
pedalSHIELD – which plugs directly into an Atmel-poweredArduino Due (SAM3X8E ARM Cortex-M3) – allows users to learn about digital signal processing, effects and synthesizers without extensive knowledge of electronics or programming.
So, how does pedalSHIELD work? Well, according to Rodriguez, the guitar input signal is amplified and sent to the Arduino for processing. The Atmel-based Arduino Due is then tasked with Digital Signal Processing (DSP), which includes modifying the signal and adding effects (delay, echo, distortion, volume). Once the waveform is processed, the signal is relayed from the Arduino DACs to the guitar (summing) amp.
pedalSHIELD uses 2 ADCs and 2 DACS in parallel to achieve higher bit resolution (2 x 12bits). However, a 1 DAC- 1ADC is also possible without additional mods.
The pedalSHIELD currently includes a custom 3D printed cover designed and manufactured by Shuttl3d. Made of ABS plastic with 3mm thickness, the cover protects the electronic circuits while adding a touch of color to the pedal.
