Schlagwort: inspector-gadget

  • Building the OG smartwatch from Inspector Gadget

    Building the OG smartwatch from Inspector Gadget

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    We recently showed you Becky Stern’s recreation of the “computer book” carried by Penny in the Inspector Gadget cartoon, but Stern didn’t stop there. She also built a replica of Penny’s most iconic gadget: her watch. Penny was a trendsetter and rocked that decades before the Apple Watch hit the market. Stern’s replica looks just like the cartoon version and even has some of the same features.

    The centerpiece of this project is an Arduino Nicla Voice board. The Arduino team designed that board specifically for speech recognition on the edge, which made it perfect for recognizing Penny’s signature “come in, Brain!” voice command. Stern used Edge Impulse to train an AI to recognize that phrase as a wake word. When the Nicla Voice board hears that, it changes the image on the smart watch screen to a new picture of Brain the dog.

    The Nicla Vision board and an Adafruit 1.69″ color IPS TFT screen fit inside a 3D-printed enclosure modeled on Penny’s watch from the cartoon. That even has a clever 3D-printed watch band with links connected by lengths of fresh filament. Power comes from a small lithium battery that also fits inside the enclosure.

    This watch and Stern’s computer book will both be part of an Inspector Gadget display put on by Digi-Key at Maker Faire Rome, so you can see it in person if you attend.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd74FYTvGX8?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    The post Building the OG smartwatch from Inspector Gadget appeared first on Arduino Blog.

    Website: LINK

  • Replicating Penny’s computer book from Inspector Gadget

    Replicating Penny’s computer book from Inspector Gadget

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    The Inspector Gadget cartoon was, naturally, full of fun gadgets. Even the eponymous inspector’s niece, Penny, got some nifty gizmos. One notable example was her computer book, which was exactly what it sounds like. To pay homage to the classic cartoon, Becky Stern recreated Penny’s computer book using a pair of Arduino boards.

    It isn’t clear exactly which functions Penny’s computer book possesses within the canon of the Inspector Gadget cartoon, so Stern got a chance to exercise her own creativity. She referenced the cartoon to get a sense of the device’s aesthetics, design, and some of its capability. That helped her define the look of the replica device and how it should act. She determined that it should have several buttons (including a grid of illuminated buttons), a small screen on one side, and a big screen on the other side — all inside of a book.

    Stern used two different boards to bring the device to life: an Arduino Nano ESP32 and a Mega 2560. The former monitors some of the buttons and controls the LCD panel on the left side. The latter monitors the green buttons and controls their LEDs. It also drives the LEDs behind the right “screen,” which is actually a static semi-transparent image. The LEDs light up in sequence to create an effect similar to what we see in the cartoon.

    Most of the buttons lack actual functions, but Stern did add some interactivity by utilizing the Nano ESP32. The board hosts a web interface that users can access after connecting to the Wi-Fi network. That interface lets the user select images to show on the left screen, like a video call from Brain the dog, to really sell the visuals.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM45EVcGCyo?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    The post Replicating Penny’s computer book from Inspector Gadget appeared first on Arduino Blog.

    Website: LINK

  • This Inspector Gadget hat actually responds to voice commands

    This Inspector Gadget hat actually responds to voice commands

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    This Inspector Gadget hat actually responds to voice commands

    Arduino Team — October 31st, 2020

    If you ever watched the 1980s Inspector Gadget cartoon, you undoubtedly wanted a hat like his, which can pop out all kinds of useful tools under voice control. Although it won’t allow you to fly off after saying “go go gadget ‘copter,” DJ Harrigan’s replica does produce a spinning propeller and an emergency light with 16 RGB LEDs.

    Underneath this 3D-printed hat is a pair of micro servos, with linkage systems that open the top flaps. A standard servo extends the actual gadget. Controlling the device is a MKR1000, and voice commands are registered via a MikroElektronika SpeakUp click board.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XelqOddKPGc?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    While many characters sparked DJ’s imagination for invention and quest for technical skills, one of the earliest was everyone’s favorite 1980’s cyborg policeman: RoboCop, er uh Inspector Gadget! While Inspector Gadget’s gadgets certainly obeyed the laws of cartoon physics rather than real physics, they’re just beyond the edge of plausibility. So in a year long preparation for Halloween 2021, DJ is setting out to make a voice activated hat that can summon real gadgets from his head. No plastic surgery necessary. Some assembly required. 

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    Website: LINK

  • The Inspector Gadget Marathon with special friends kicks off Dec 17

    The Inspector Gadget Marathon with special friends kicks off Dec 17

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    Go to the profile of Evan Freitas

    Wowsers! Not only is every episode from Season 1 of Inspector Gadget coming to Twitch, but some very special friends are joining in to make this a one of a kind event you won’t want to miss. If the words “Go Go Gadget” mean anything to you, you may want to sit down.

    Beginning December 17 at 10am PT we’ll be airing five hours of Inspector Gadget episodes every day on /twitchpresents through Christmas Eve, December 24. The block will repeat over the course of every day so you can watch them all no matter what time zone you live in.

    But this won’t be any ordinary marathon. And here’s why.

    Show co-creator Andy Heyward will be joining you in chat every day for an hour to watch along and share stories about the show. Is Inspector Gadget more machine than man? What does Doctor Claw look like? Will he ever get Gadget next time? Watch and you may find out. He’s also teaming up with Kid Genius Channel to have Go Go Gadgets inspired by your usernames sketched out and shared on social media after the show.

    Andy will be online 12/17–12/20 from 10:15–11:15am PT and 10:30–11:30 on 12/21.

    And finally, have you ever wondered what some of Inspector Gadget’s gadgets would be like in real life? Prepare to find out. The team at Tested.com is going to be building real-world versions of some of his gadgets LIVE on twitch.tv/tested and challenge some of Twitch’s best and brightest builders with the task of making the Gadget Mobile.

    Before you ask, yes this marathon is co-streamable and clippable, so go nuts.

    It all starts Dec 17 at 10am PT. Don’t forget to follow /twitchpresents so you don’t miss an episode.

    Website: LINK