Schlagwort: mega

  • Rapidly create your own capacitive multi-touch sensors with this kit

    Rapidly create your own capacitive multi-touch sensors with this kit

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Rapidly create your own capacitive multi-touch sensors with this kit

    Arduino TeamNovember 13th, 2019

    You likely use touchscreens every day when interacting with your phone — perhaps even to read this article — but prototyping your own capacitive matrix is unfortunately out of reach for most makers and electronics novices. As seen here, researchers have devised a new technique that will allow for easier prototyping of this type of interface, which can function on both flat and curved surfaces, over a variety of materials.

    To accomplish this, the team developed an Arduino library, as well as one for Processing, and used OpenCV to track multiple finger positions. Interactions have been tested with an Uno, Mega and LilyPad, and would presumably work with almost any other Arduino board as needed!

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJxDFejf1Ro?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    We introduce Multi-Touch Kit, a low-cost do­ it-yourself technique to enable interaction designers, makers, and electronics novices alike to rapidly create and experiment with high-resolution multi-touch sensors of custom sizes, ge­ometries, and materials. 

    In contrast to existing solutions, the Multi-Touch Kit is the first technique that works with a commodity microcontroller (our implementation uses a standard Arduino) and does not require any specialized hardware. As a technical enabler, we contribute a modified multi-touch sensing scheme that lever­ ages the human body as a transmission channel of MHz range signals through a capacitive near-field coupling mechanism. This leads to a clean signal that can be readily processed with the Arduino’s built-in analog-to-digital converter, resulting in a sensing accuracy comparable to industrial multi-touch con­ trollers. Only a standard multiplexer and resistors are required alongside the Arduino to drive and read out a touch sensor matrix. 

    The technique is versatile and compatible with many types of multi-touch sensor matrices, including flexible sensor films on paper or PET, sensors on textiles, and sensors on 3D printed objects. Furthermore, the technique is compatible with sensors of various scale, curvature, and electrode materials (silver, copper, conductive yarn) fabricated using conductive printing, hand-drawing with a conductive pen, cutting, or stitching. 

    Website: LINK

  • Rapidly create your own capacitive multi-touch sensors with this kit

    Rapidly create your own capacitive multi-touch sensors with this kit

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Rapidly create your own capacitive multi-touch sensors with this kit

    Arduino TeamNovember 13th, 2019

    You likely use touchscreens every day when interacting with your phone — perhaps even to read this article — but prototyping your own capacitive matrix is unfortunately out of reach for most makers and electronics novices. As seen here, researchers have devised a new technique that will allow for easier prototyping of this type of interface, which can function on both flat and curved surfaces, over a variety of materials.

    To accomplish this, the team developed an Arduino library, as well as one for Processing, and used OpenCV to track multiple finger positions. Interactions have been tested with an Uno, Mega and LilyPad, and would presumably work with almost any other Arduino board as needed!

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJxDFejf1Ro?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    We introduce Multi-Touch Kit, a low-cost do­ it-yourself technique to enable interaction designers, makers, and electronics novices alike to rapidly create and experiment with high-resolution multi-touch sensors of custom sizes, ge­ometries, and materials. 

    In contrast to existing solutions, the Multi-Touch Kit is the first technique that works with a commodity microcontroller (our implementation uses a standard Arduino) and does not require any specialized hardware. As a technical enabler, we contribute a modified multi-touch sensing scheme that lever­ ages the human body as a transmission channel of MHz range signals through a capacitive near-field coupling mechanism. This leads to a clean signal that can be readily processed with the Arduino’s built-in analog-to-digital converter, resulting in a sensing accuracy comparable to industrial multi-touch con­ trollers. Only a standard multiplexer and resistors are required alongside the Arduino to drive and read out a touch sensor matrix. 

    The technique is versatile and compatible with many types of multi-touch sensor matrices, including flexible sensor films on paper or PET, sensors on textiles, and sensors on 3D printed objects. Furthermore, the technique is compatible with sensors of various scale, curvature, and electrode materials (silver, copper, conductive yarn) fabricated using conductive printing, hand-drawing with a conductive pen, cutting, or stitching. 

    Website: LINK

  • Rapidly create your own capacitive multi-touch sensors with this kit

    Rapidly create your own capacitive multi-touch sensors with this kit

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Rapidly create your own capacitive multi-touch sensors with this kit

    Arduino TeamNovember 13th, 2019

    You likely use touchscreens every day when interacting with your phone — perhaps even to read this article — but prototyping your own capacitive matrix is unfortunately out of reach for most makers and electronics novices. As seen here, researchers have devised a new technique that will allow for easier prototyping of this type of interface, which can function on both flat and curved surfaces, over a variety of materials.

    To accomplish this, the team developed an Arduino library, as well as one for Processing, and used OpenCV to track multiple finger positions. Interactions have been tested with an Uno, Mega and LilyPad, and would presumably work with almost any other Arduino board as needed!

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJxDFejf1Ro?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    We introduce Multi-Touch Kit, a low-cost do­ it-yourself technique to enable interaction designers, makers, and electronics novices alike to rapidly create and experiment with high-resolution multi-touch sensors of custom sizes, ge­ometries, and materials. 

    In contrast to existing solutions, the Multi-Touch Kit is the first technique that works with a commodity microcontroller (our implementation uses a standard Arduino) and does not require any specialized hardware. As a technical enabler, we contribute a modified multi-touch sensing scheme that lever­ ages the human body as a transmission channel of MHz range signals through a capacitive near-field coupling mechanism. This leads to a clean signal that can be readily processed with the Arduino’s built-in analog-to-digital converter, resulting in a sensing accuracy comparable to industrial multi-touch con­ trollers. Only a standard multiplexer and resistors are required alongside the Arduino to drive and read out a touch sensor matrix. 

    The technique is versatile and compatible with many types of multi-touch sensor matrices, including flexible sensor films on paper or PET, sensors on textiles, and sensors on 3D printed objects. Furthermore, the technique is compatible with sensors of various scale, curvature, and electrode materials (silver, copper, conductive yarn) fabricated using conductive printing, hand-drawing with a conductive pen, cutting, or stitching. 

    Website: LINK

  • Rapidly create your own capacitive multi-touch sensors with this kit

    Rapidly create your own capacitive multi-touch sensors with this kit

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Rapidly create your own capacitive multi-touch sensors with this kit

    Arduino TeamNovember 13th, 2019

    You likely use touchscreens every day when interacting with your phone — perhaps even to read this article — but prototyping your own capacitive matrix is unfortunately out of reach for most makers and electronics novices. As seen here, researchers have devised a new technique that will allow for easier prototyping of this type of interface, which can function on both flat and curved surfaces, over a variety of materials.

    To accomplish this, the team developed an Arduino library, as well as one for Processing, and used OpenCV to track multiple finger positions. Interactions have been tested with an Uno, Mega and LilyPad, and would presumably work with almost any other Arduino board as needed!

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJxDFejf1Ro?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    We introduce Multi-Touch Kit, a low-cost do­ it-yourself technique to enable interaction designers, makers, and electronics novices alike to rapidly create and experiment with high-resolution multi-touch sensors of custom sizes, ge­ometries, and materials. 

    In contrast to existing solutions, the Multi-Touch Kit is the first technique that works with a commodity microcontroller (our implementation uses a standard Arduino) and does not require any specialized hardware. As a technical enabler, we contribute a modified multi-touch sensing scheme that lever­ ages the human body as a transmission channel of MHz range signals through a capacitive near-field coupling mechanism. This leads to a clean signal that can be readily processed with the Arduino’s built-in analog-to-digital converter, resulting in a sensing accuracy comparable to industrial multi-touch con­ trollers. Only a standard multiplexer and resistors are required alongside the Arduino to drive and read out a touch sensor matrix. 

    The technique is versatile and compatible with many types of multi-touch sensor matrices, including flexible sensor films on paper or PET, sensors on textiles, and sensors on 3D printed objects. Furthermore, the technique is compatible with sensors of various scale, curvature, and electrode materials (silver, copper, conductive yarn) fabricated using conductive printing, hand-drawing with a conductive pen, cutting, or stitching. 

    Website: LINK

  • This suitcase game lets you bring the escape room experience anywhere

    This suitcase game lets you bring the escape room experience anywhere

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    This suitcase game lets you bring the escape room experience anywhere

    Arduino TeamNovember 12th, 2019

    To experience an escape room, you normally need a rather large dedicated space. This project, however, by creator Jason R, takes this physical clue-solving concept and shrinks it down to fit within a small suitcase!

    To play, participants have to work their way through a series of problems, supplied in the ‘TOP SECRET’ documentation attached to and inside the device, connecting jumpers, flipping switches, and turning knobs as needed. 

    A computerized voice guides you along the way, with LEDs and an LCD panel providing visual output as you save the day. The game is controlled via an Arduino Mega, while power supplied by a rechargeable USB power bank.

    I created an “escape room-esque” game that is contained within a small suitcase. In total, there are about 15-20 puzzles and sub-puzzles that need to be solved in order to disarm the “explosives”. Players are given 60 minutes to arrange puzzles, decipher clues hidden in QR codes, connect cities in maps to form numbers, decode morse signals, and other similar things. 

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK6nwx5pwIw?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    Website: LINK

  • ElastImpact brings a bit more realism to VR

    ElastImpact brings a bit more realism to VR

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    ElastImpact brings a bit more realism to VR

    Arduino TeamNovember 11th, 2019

    If you’ve ever used a VR system and thought what was really missing is the feeling of being hit in the face, then a team researchers at the National Taiwan University may hold just the solution. 

    ElastImpact takes the form of a head-mounted display with two impact drivers situated roughly parallel to one’s eyes for normal — straight-on — impacts, and another that rotates about the front of your face for side blows.

    Each impact driver first stretches an elastic band using a gearmotor, then releases it with a micro servo when an impact is required. The system is controlled by an Arduino Mega, along with a pair of TB6612FNG motor drivers. 

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJ3TaJvJXOg?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    Impact is a common effect in both daily life and virtual reality (VR) experiences, e.g., being punched, hit or bumped. Impact force is instantly produced, which is distinct from other force feedback, e.g., push and pull. We propose ElastImpact to provide 2.5D instant impact on a head-mounted display (HMD) for realistic and versatile VR experiences. ElastImpact consists of three impact devices, also called impactors. Each impactor blocks an elastic band with a mechanical brake using a servo motor and extending it using a DC motor to store the impact power. When releasing the brake, it provides impact instantly. Two impactors are affixed on both sides of the head and connected with the HMD to provide the normal direction impact toward the face (i.e., 0.5D in z-axis). The other impactor is connected with a proxy collider in a barrel in front of the HMD and rotated by a DC motor in the tangential plane of the face to provide 2D impact (i.e., xy-plane). By performing a just-noticeable difference (JND) study, we realize users’ impact force perception distinguishability on the heads in the normal direction and tangential plane, separately. Based on the results, we combine normal and tangential impact as 2.5D impact, and performed a VR experience study to verify that the proposed 2.5D impact significantly enhances realism.

    Website: LINK

  • Competition robot picks up (almost) all the balls

    Competition robot picks up (almost) all the balls

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    Competition robot picks up (almost) all the balls

    Arduino TeamNovember 9th, 2019

    For the Warman Design and Build Competition in Sydney last month, Redditor ‘Travman_16 and team created an excellent Arduino-powered entry. The contest involved picking up 20 payloads (AKA balls) from a trough, and delivering them to a target trough several feet away in under 60 seconds.

    Their autonomous project uses Mecanum wheels to move in any direction, plus a four-servo arm to collect balls in a box-like scoop made out of aluminum sheet. 

    An Arduino Mega controls four DC gear motors via four IBT-4 drivers, while a Nano handles the servos. As seen in the video, it pops out of the starting area, sweeps up the balls and places them in the correct area at an impressive ~15 seconds. 

    It manages to secure all but one ball on this run, and although that small omission was frustrating, the robot was still able to take fifth out of 19 teams. 

    Website: LINK

  • Competition robot picks up (almost) all the balls

    Competition robot picks up (almost) all the balls

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    Competition robot picks up (almost) all the balls

    Arduino TeamNovember 9th, 2019

    For the Warman Design and Build Competition in Sydney last month, Redditor ‘Travman_16 and team created an excellent Arduino-powered entry. The contest involved picking up 20 payloads (AKA balls) from a trough, and delivering them to a target trough several feet away in under 60 seconds.

    Their autonomous project uses Mecanum wheels to move in any direction, plus a four-servo arm to collect balls in a box-like scoop made out of aluminum sheet. 

    An Arduino Mega controls four DC gear motors via four IBT-4 drivers, while a Nano handles the servos. As seen in the video, it pops out of the starting area, sweeps up the balls and places them in the correct area at an impressive ~15 seconds. 

    It manages to secure all but one ball on this run, and although that small omission was frustrating, the robot was still able to take fifth out of 19 teams. 

    Website: LINK

  • This 3D-printed SCARA robot dispenses ball bearings

    This 3D-printed SCARA robot dispenses ball bearings

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    This 3D-printed SCARA robot dispenses ball bearings

    Arduino TeamNovember 8th, 2019

    SCARA robots are often used in industrial settings to move components in the proper location. In order to demonstrate the concept to students, Nicholas Schwankl has come up with a simple unit that employs three servos and 3D-printed parts to dispense 4.5mm bearings.

    The device runs on an Arduino Mega (though an Uno or other model would work) and as seen in the video below, it twists its ‘shoulder’ and ‘elbow’ joint to position its dispenser tube. Once in place, a micro servo releases a bearing, allowing the tiny steel ball to drop into an empty slot.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQYdKZ0CGOI?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    STL files, a parts list, and Arduino code are available in the Schwankl’s write-up.

    Website: LINK

  • This 3D-printed SCARA robot dispenses ball bearings

    This 3D-printed SCARA robot dispenses ball bearings

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    This 3D-printed SCARA robot dispenses ball bearings

    Arduino TeamNovember 8th, 2019

    SCARA robots are often used in industrial settings to move components in the proper location. In order to demonstrate the concept to students, Nicholas Schwankl has come up with a simple unit that employs three servos and 3D-printed parts to dispense 4.5mm bearings.

    The device runs on an Arduino Mega (though an Uno or other model would work) and as seen in the video below, it twists its ‘shoulder’ and ‘elbow’ joint to position its dispenser tube. Once in place, a micro servo releases a bearing, allowing the tiny steel ball to drop into an empty slot.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQYdKZ0CGOI?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    STL files, a parts list, and Arduino code are available in the Schwankl’s write-up.

    Website: LINK

  • Check your run time on a stretchable electroluminescent stopwatch ‘tattoo’

    Check your run time on a stretchable electroluminescent stopwatch ‘tattoo’

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    Check your run time on a stretchable electroluminescent stopwatch ‘tattoo’

    Arduino TeamNovember 4th, 2019

    A stretchable light-emitting device becomes an epidermal stopwatch.
    Image: Adapted from ACS Materials Letters 2019

    Imagine if your watch wasn’t mounted on your wrist, but was instead integrated into a sort of temporary tattoo on the back of your hand? Such an idea is now one step closer to reality, thanks to new research into alternating-current electroluminescent (ACEL) display technology.

    While normally such displays require well over 100VAC to produce sufficient brightness, scientists have worked to get this number down into the 10-35V range, allowing them to be used in much closer proximity to human skin. 

    To demonstrate this technology, the team constructed a 4-digit 7-segment display that can be applied to one’s hand, using an Arduino Mega and driver circuitry to turn it into a digital timepiece.

    More information can be found in the researchers’ paper published in ACS Materials Letters.

    Website: LINK

  • Check your run time on a stretchable electroluminescent stopwatch ‘tattoo’

    Check your run time on a stretchable electroluminescent stopwatch ‘tattoo’

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    Check your run time on a stretchable electroluminescent stopwatch ‘tattoo’

    Arduino TeamNovember 4th, 2019

    A stretchable light-emitting device becomes an epidermal stopwatch.
    Image: Adapted from ACS Materials Letters 2019

    Imagine if your watch wasn’t mounted on your wrist, but was instead integrated into a sort of temporary tattoo on the back of your hand? Such an idea is now one step closer to reality, thanks to new research into alternating-current electroluminescent (ACEL) display technology.

    While normally such displays require well over 100VAC to produce sufficient brightness, scientists have worked to get this number down into the 10-35V range, allowing them to be used in much closer proximity to human skin. 

    To demonstrate this technology, the team constructed a 4-digit 7-segment display that can be applied to one’s hand, using an Arduino Mega and driver circuitry to turn it into a digital timepiece.

    More information can be found in the researchers’ paper published in ACS Materials Letters.

    Website: LINK

  • Surf Window is an interactive beach diorama that displays surf conditions

    Surf Window is an interactive beach diorama that displays surf conditions

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Surf Window is an interactive beach diorama that displays surf conditions

    Arduino TeamOctober 29th, 2019

    While some of us live directly beside the beach, others—the vast majority, in fact—reside inland where we can’t see the waves on a day-to-day basis. As a solution to this issue, surfer-maker Luke Clifford came up with his own “Surf Window,”an interactive diorama that shows real-time surf conditions at a glance.

    The Arduino Mega-controlled device pulls beach info from the Magicseaweed API, then adjusts the laser-cut wooden stage to match. Indicators include starfish that light up depending on how good the surf conditions are overall, a physical wave model that moves up and down to represent height, a rotating seagull to reveal wind direction, and more. 

    Whether you’re a landlocked surfer, or just someone who wants to know more about the environment, this looks like a really interesting gadget. The build is currently wrapping up a Kickstarter campaign if you’d like to have your own!

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNoDUJFFODE?feature=oembed&w=500&h=375]

    Website: LINK

  • 5 Arduino projects to get you Halloween-spired

    5 Arduino projects to get you Halloween-spired

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    5 Arduino projects to get you Halloween-spired

    Arduino TeamOctober 28th, 2019

    October 31st is almost here and we’re all super excited, because this is the perfect time for some DIY fun! Nothing to wear? Not a problem! Need a spook-tacular decoration? We’ve got just the thing.

    To help get you into the spirit, we’ve selected a handful of Halloween-themed projects from the Arduino Project Hub that will surely catch the attention of trick-or-treaters (or send them screaming into the night.)  

    Make your Echo Dot a bit more interesting than a hockey puck using an Arduino Uno, a Motor Shield, a 3.5mm TRS splitter, and an amplified speaker.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DigawnHFQQ?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    This Arduino Mega-based robot can be operated remotely from your smartphone or move about autonomously, complete with creepy lights and a terrifying soundtrack.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz-JMVZ8wHg?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    Stand out as you walk through the neighborhood by customizing a store-bought mask with an eye made of LEDs and a mouth that flashes red. 

    Here’s a quick, last-minute scare prank for your porch. Drop a fake spider on anyone that tries to ring your doorbell via an Arduino Uno, an HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor, and a servo. 

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5KjmB5nf54?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    Add some special effects to your party with a 3D-printed, Arduino Nano-powered fog machine that’s controllable over Bluetooth. 

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhL9i5he0LY?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    Have a project of your own? Be sure to share it with us! 

    Website: LINK

  • Check the time, date and conditions on this ILC1-1/8L clock

    Check the time, date and conditions on this ILC1-1/8L clock

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Check the time, date and conditions on this ILC1-1/8L clock

    Arduino TeamOctober 24th, 2019

    While OLED displays and the like are extremely versatile, there’s still something really charming about vintage VFD tubes. Christine Thompson (AKA ChristineNZ) in fact built her latest clock specifically to use eight ILC1-1/8L VFD tubes, which each stand nearly four inches tall.

    The device is equipped with an Arduino Mega board, a MAX6921 VFD driver, a DS3231 RTC module, and a BME280 sensor that allows it to also show pressure, humidity and temperature in both Celsius and Fahrenheit. 

    The retro-themed timepiece packs a speaker and an MP3 module to play chimes every 15 minutes, and in addition to the digits on the front has a secondary display and control panel on the back for setup. The unit is housed in a mahogany frame with shaped copper supports, nicely complementing its glowing green numbers.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIt0i_Hu4O0?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    Website: LINK

  • Gigantic game of Operation powered by Arduino

    Gigantic game of Operation powered by Arduino

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Gigantic game of Operation powered by Arduino

    Arduino TeamSeptember 24th, 2019

    As a kid you may have played Operation, but certainly never anything like this nine-foot-tall version from SPOT Technology. This device is not only impressively large, but assists doctors in their surgical pursuits with a CNC gantry setup to pull out obstructions.

    In the game, amateur surgeons control the system using a small arcade cabinet next to the patient (Sergio), moving a magnetic gripper with a joystick and buttons. A camera rides along and transmits images to the cabinet, hopefully leading to a clean extraction. If the gripper isn’t aligned correctly, a button on the plunger reports the doctors error, and Sergio’s nose lights up red to indicate a failed surgery. Two Arduino Megas are implemented, one on the CNC playfield itself, another in the cabinet.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JY5ZzrXb14M?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    The project will be on display at the Philadelphia Mini Maker Faire on October 6th if you’d like to see it in person.

    Website: LINK

  • Zany MIDI guitar made from barcode scanner and Arduino

    Zany MIDI guitar made from barcode scanner and Arduino

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    Zany MIDI guitar made from barcode scanner and Arduino

    Arduino TeamSeptember 23rd, 2019

    You’ve seen barcode scanners register the price for your groceries, and likely in many other applications, but did you ever consider if one could be made into an instrument? Well we now know the answer, thanks to this MIDI guitar by James Bruton.

    Bruton’s amazing device presents a matrix of barcodes arranged on the instrument’s four necks, allowing him to select the note to be played with a scanner gun.

    The scanned code then triggers a note that’s piped to an output device via an Arduino Mega and MIDI shield. A joystick, spinner, and arcade buttons are also available for functions such as note cutoff, changing the octave, and pitch bends.

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

    Website: LINK

  • Robo-snake slithers across the ground under Arduino control

    Robo-snake slithers across the ground under Arduino control

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    Robo-snake slithers across the ground under Arduino control

    Arduino TeamSeptember 13th, 2019

    What has a dozen servos, a WiFi camera, and an Arduino Mega for a brain? Nevon Projects’ snake-bot, of course! 

    This impressive robot uses a total of 12 servos for locomotion and can travel across a variety of surfaces under the control of Android app, or autonomously via a sensor mounted to a smaller servo on the head.

    The snake’s electronics are split up between a head section that houses batteries and the sensor, and a tail bearing electronics including the Arduino. 

    The project is available as a kit, or could certainly provide inspiration for your own project if you want to start from scratch. Check it out oscillating across the ground on tiny rollers in the video below, along with a surprising transformation into a square shape at just before the 1:45 mark.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC-CfQxdCn8?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    Website: LINK

  • Robo-snake slithers across the ground under Arduino control

    Robo-snake slithers across the ground under Arduino control

    Reading Time: < 1 minute

    Robo-snake slithers across the ground under Arduino control

    Arduino TeamSeptember 13th, 2019

    What has a dozen servos, a WiFi camera, and an Arduino Mega for a brain? Nevon Projects’ snake-bot, of course! 

    This impressive robot uses a total of 12 servos for locomotion and can travel across a variety of surfaces under the control of Android app, or autonomously via a sensor mounted to a smaller servo on the head.

    The snake’s electronics are split up between a head section that houses batteries and the sensor, and a tail bearing electronics including the Arduino. 

    The project is available as a kit, or could certainly provide inspiration for your own project if you want to start from scratch. Check it out oscillating across the ground on tiny rollers in the video below, along with a surprising transformation into a square shape at just before the 1:45 mark.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UC-CfQxdCn8?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    Website: LINK

  • Play chess using voice commands and Arduino

    Play chess using voice commands and Arduino

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Play chess using voice commands and Arduino

    Arduino TeamSeptember 3rd, 2019

    Consider the game of chess. It’s a game that flexes one’s “mental muscles” rather than relying on brute strength, but if you don’t have the ability to actually move the pieces, things get a bit more challenging. If you’re playing against another human opponent, he or she could move for you based on what you say, but with this chess machine by ‘diyguypt,’ the board does the job for you!

    The system uses an Android-based Arduino Voice Control app to take in commands, and passes this information along to the Arduino Mega concealed under the board via an HC-05 Bluetooth module. It then controls a pair of stepper motors to move an electromagnet into place, which pull the pieces across the grid as if by magic! 

    Code and build info are available in the project’s write-up, and the two videos below shed a little more light on how it works.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odIh5PzQ_sc?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcCRY0Uhluc?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    Website: LINK

  • Steampunk radio and clock display with dual Arduino Mega control

    Steampunk radio and clock display with dual Arduino Mega control

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    If you want to create your own steampunk/mad scientist entertainment center, it would be hard to top this radio/clock setup by Christine Thompson. 

    Her device displays the time and date on eight VFD tubes, arranged on top of another eight that show the radio frequency and volume, along with the ambient temperature and pressure read by a BMP280 sensor.

    A wide variety of lighting effects, motor-driven clockwork, coils, and even an automated Morse key cement its steampunk theme, and it’s nicely housed in a restored radio cabinet. 

    The project is controlled by a pair of Arduino Mega boards linked together via I2C, and Thompson’s write-up has all sorts of tidbits for potential retro-display builders.

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNr5fjqYvFQ?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    This project is without doubt the most complex I have undertaken, with sixteen IV-11 VFD tubes, two Arduino Mega cards, ten LED Neon light circuits, a servo, an electromagnet, two MAX6921AWI IC Chips, five DC power supplies, a HV power supply, two DC Volt meters, a DC Amp meter, FM stereo radio, 3W power amplifier, LCD screen, and keyboard. Apart from the above parts list, two software programs had to developed from scratch and finally the construction of the entire radio required about 200 hours of work.

    I decided to include this project onto the Instructables site not expecting members to reproduce this project in its entirety but rather to cherry pick the elements that where of interest to them. Two areas of particular interest to the site members may be the control of the 16 IV-11 VDF tubes using two MAX6921AWI chips and its associated wiring, and the communications between two Mega 2650 cards.

    The various components included into this project have been sourced locally, except the IV-11 tubes, and the MAX6921AWI chips both obtained on EBay. I wanted to bring back to life various items that would otherwise languish in boxes for years. All of the HF valves where sourced with the understanding that all where failed units.

    Website: LINK

  • Horizontal laser harp is like none you’ve ever seen before

    Horizontal laser harp is like none you’ve ever seen before

    Reading Time: 2 minutes

    Horizontal laser harp is like none you’ve ever seen before

    Arduino TeamAugust 19th, 2019

    Apparently not content with a traditional laser harp, Jonathan Bumstead set out to take things in a different direction. What he came up with is a device whose laser strings are arranged horizontally, and loop though its boxy structure for an amazing audiovisual effect. 

    The aptly named Upright Laser Harp is divided up into six rows, which each contain two laser/photoresistor pairs for an instrument total of 12 notes. Each laser is reflected once before hitting its photoresistor to wrap the entire structure in light, and values are sensed by an Arduino Mega as note inputs. Sounds are then generated by an Adafruit Music Maker Shield, and different MIDI instruments are selected with a rotary switch and a stepper-based electromechanical display system. 

    Laser harps are musical devices with laser beam “strings.” When the beam is blocked, a note is played by the instrument. Usually laser harps have the beams travel vertically in the shape of a fan or vertical lines. 

    In this project, I built a laser harp with stacked laser beams that propagate horizontally. The beams reflect off mirrors to form square shaped beam paths. Instead of a MIDI output like my previous laser harp, this device has built-in MIDI player so the output is an audio signal. This means the device does not have to be connected to a computer or MIDI player (e.g. keyboard) to play sound. Both built-in speakers and audio output jack are available for playing music.

    Be sure to check out the mini-concert and build details in the video below!

    [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1oTBekbUT4?feature=oembed&w=500&h=281]

    Website: LINK