Manic toilet paper shopping simulated with Arduino
Arduino Team — April 22nd, 2020
Toilet paper is a hot commodity these days, and if you’re loathe to fight with actual people over these rolls, then Jelle Vermandere’s game could be the next best thing. While the game can be enjoyed on your browser, what really sets it apart from other (?) hoarding sims is that it can also be played with an Arduino Uno-based motion sensing rig.
Vermandere’s system is built in the form of a cart handle, and utilizes an accelerometer to sense control directions as you race other carts for the soft paper prize.
Additionally, the computer’s microphone is used to sense loud noises and give you a boost, simulating how you might scream at yourself or other customers to help “win” the day.
This garbage-bot trash talked TEDx Copenhagen attendees
Arduino Team — April 21st, 2020
For TEDx Copenhagen 2019, MAKESOME was contacted about building a trash can. Not just any ordinary waste bin, however, but one that would fit in with their theme of “expect the unexpected” by driving around and being rude to participants. From the video, the bot looks like it was a great success, and something that caught attendees off guard with its “in your face” attitude.
Mechanically, the base of the device is an omniwheel robot, which moves in any direction under the power of four DC gearmotors. An Arduino Uno is the brains of the project, with user interface provided by a PlayStation gamepad over Bluetooth. A Nano takes controls motors, while an MP3 module, amp, and speakers allow it to conversate and joke around while receiving their refuse.
The robot is built around an Arduino Uno used as the main controller and an Arduino Nano for the motor control. Commucation is via an USB Host Shield and a Bluetooth dongle. 2 MDD10A 2.0 motorcontrollers were used to control the 4 JGB37-550 motors. The mp3 player is a Serial mp3 player v1.0 and the amplifier and speakers come from a set of Z150 Logitech computer speakers. Battery is a Tattu 22000 mAh, 14.8V 4 cells LiPo battery. A DC-DC converter was used to deliver 5V for the controllers.
As John Keefe notes in his project writeup, at-home pulse oximeters — which monitor the oxygen saturation in your blood — have been selling out due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While you could try hunt around and find one, he decided to instead make his own device using a SparkFun Pulse Oximeter and Heart Rate Sensor module and an Arduino Uno.
The sensor takes pulse and oxygen level readings from your fingertip, then shows the resulting numbers on an RGB NeoPixel shield. Although the unit is not medically approved to diagnose or treat medical conditions, it’s a neat display method, and it even features heart and lung icons to indicate what you’re seeing.
Electromechanical 7-segment clock made with an Arduino and 28 servos
Arduino Team — April 15th, 2020
Digital clocks are often made out of a series of 7-segment displays, which light up to represent the needed numbers. Michael Klements’ electromechanical project, however, doesn’t use LEDs, but instead physically flips 3D-printed segments into view with 28 micro servos.
When in use, each segment’s bright green surface is clearly visible. When “off,” they’re turned to reveal a slim black edge that goes largely unnoticed.
The device is powered by an Arduino Uno, along with a DS1302 RTC module. Two PCA9685 16-channel PWM drivers control the motors directly, and as they run off of I2C, more servos/digits could even be added if needed.
This system enables users to create room-sized interactive surfaces with spray paint
Arduino Team — April 11th, 2020
If you’ve ever thought of adding a user interface to an everyday surface — like a concrete wall, or even a sofa — MIT CSAIL’s SprayableTech system presents a variety of interesting possibilities.
Input elements, such as buttons and sliders, are airbrushed onto a surface like graffiti with a single layer of conductive ink, while electroluminescent displays can be formed by the application of multiple layers with different properties. Spray paint stencils for these interfaces are created with the help of a toolkit integrated into Blender.
An Arduino Uno is used to control this interactive surface, along with a custom Graffiti Shield. This allows it to handle six inputs and power for two electroluminescent displays.
We present Sprayable User Interfaces: room-sized interactive surfaces that contain sensor and display elements created by airbrushing functional inks. Since airbrushing is inherently mobile, designers can create large-scale user interfaces on complex 3D geometries where existing stationary fabrication methods fail.
To enable Sprayable User Interfaces, we developed a novel design and fabrication pipeline that takes a desired user interface layout as input and automatically generates stencils for airbrushing the layout onto a physical surface. After fabricating stencils from cardboard or projecting stencils digitally, designers spray each layer with an airbrush, attach a microcontroller to the user interface, and the interface is ready to be used.
Our technical evaluation shows that Sprayable User Interfaces work on various geometries and surface materials, such as porous stone and rough wood. We demonstrate our system with several application examples including interactive smart home applications on a wall and a soft leather sofa, an interactive smart city application, and interactive architecture in public office spaces.
With the current coronavirus situation, we’ve been encouraged to wash our hands regularly for 20 seconds – or approximately how long it takes you to hum “Happy Birthday” from beginning to end twice. That sounds easy enough, but do you really do this every time? What you need is some sort of automatic timer, perhaps with a gauge for easy visual reference.
As it just so happens, Gautam Bose and Lucas Ochoa built such a device with an Arduino Uno. The aptly named Wash-A-Lot-Bot detects a person’s hands via an ultrasonic sensor, then ticks a dial timer from 0 to 20 (or rather 20 to DONE!) using a micro servo.
This simple setup can be made with little more than scissors and tape, making it a great way to learn about Arduino and programming while you’re stuck indoors.
Whether it’s with an old friend or new acquaintance, we’ve all had those awkward gaps in conversation. Do you speak next, or let the other person lead the discussion? If that’s not happening naturally, then SASSIE, or “System for Awkward Silence Solution and Interaction Enhancer,” is here to help.
The cylindrical device detects audio feedback via a pair of microphones positioned near each person in a conversation. When a sufficient silence is detected, SASSIE pops a flag out and rotates to indicate who needs to talk. If that wasn’t enough of a hint, it also audibly tells that person to say something.
SASSIE is powered by dual Arduino Uno boards, one of which takes care of the bulk of the control functions, while the other actuates the stepper to spin the top indicator.
1,156 LEDs make up these dual acrylic light-up panels
Arduino Team — March 24th, 2020
What does one do with over 1,000 LEDs, white acrylic, and 288 IR sensors? If you’re Redditor “jordy_essen,” you create an interactive light panel.
In one mode, the user pull a reflective tool across the sensors to draw a paths, with potentiometers implemented to select the color. It can also be set up to play a sort of whack-a-mole game, where one has to activate the sensor in the same area where it illuminates.
For this amazing device, jordy_essen uses not one, or even two, but six Arduino Mega boards to drive the LEDs directly — in turn controlled by a webpage running on a Raspberry Pi. If that wasn’t enough hardware, an Uno is tasked with taking inputs from the color potentiometers.
Using an Arduino/CNC shield setup for ham radio control
Arduino Team — March 16th, 2020
Loop antennas for ham radios use heavy duty variable capacitors for tuning. Since such capacitors need to be physically turned for adjustment, radio enthusiast Jose B.O. made his own remote rig using an Arduino Uno and CNC shield.
The CNC setup allows stepper motors to rotate through a range of angles for frequency selection, and three antennas can be controlled via separate Pololu A4988 driver modules. An optical encoder is used for control, along with buttons for preset frequencies, and a 16×2 I2C LCD display provides visual feedback. Microswitches are implemented to set the upper and lower bounds for the stepper motors.
The Watchman is a 3D-printed robot head that follows your face with realistic eyeballs
Arduino Team — March 9th, 2020
When you step out in public, you’ll often be filmed by a number of cameras and perhaps even be analyzed by tracking software of some kind. The Watchman robot head by Graham Jessup, however, makes this incredibly obvious as it detects and recognizes facial movements, then causes a pair of eyeballs to follow you around.
The 3D-printed system — which is a modified version of Tjhazi’s Doorman — uses a Raspberry Pi Camera to capture a live video feed, along with a Raspberry Pi Zero and a Google AIY HAT for analysis.
This setup passes info on to an Arduino Uno that actuates the eyeballs via a 16-channel servo shield and a number of servos. The device can follow Jessup up, down, left, and right, making for a very creepy robot indeed!
The build uses the laptop’s Enhanced Dictation functionality to convert text into speech, and when a Python program receives the proper keywords, it sends an “H” character over serial to an Arduino Uno to activate the vehicle.
The Uno uses a transistor to control a 12V relay, which passes current to the Jeep’s starter solenoid. After a short delay, the MacBook then transmits an “L” command to have it release the relay, ready to do the job again when needed!
As a fan of Iron Man, Forsyth channeled his inner Tony Stark and even programmed the system to respond to “JARVIS, let’s get things going!”
A wireless monitoring solution for solar power systems in remote locations
Arduino Team — March 2nd, 2020
Researchers in Thailand have developed a ZigBee-based wireless monitoring solution for off-grid PV installations capable of tracking the sun across the sky, tilting the panel hourly. The elevation for the setup is adjusted manually once per month for optimum energy collection. The prototype is controlled by a local Arduino Uno board, along an H-bridge motor driver to actuate the motor and a 12V battery that’s charged entirely by solar power.
The system features a half-dozen sensors for measuring battery terminal voltage, solar voltage, solar current, current to the DC-DC converter, the temperature of the power transistor of DC-DC converter, and the tilt angle of solar panels according to the voltage across the potentiometer.
Data is transmitted wirelessly via an XBee ZNet 2.5 module to a remote Uno with an XBee shield. The real-time information is then passed on to and analyzed by a computer, which is also used to set the system’s time.
Wireless sensing is an excellent approach for remotely operated solar power system. Not only being able to get the sensor data, such as voltage, current, and temperature, the system can also have a proper control for tracking the Sun and sensing real-time data from a controller. In order to absorb the maximum energy by solar cells, it needs to track the Sun with proper angles. Arduino, H-bridge motor driver circuit, and Direct Current (DC) motor are used to alter the tilt angle of the solar Photovoltaic (PV) panel following the Sun while the azimuth and the elevation angles are fixed at noon. Unlike the traditional way, the tilt rotation is proposed to be stepped hourly. The solar PV panel is tilted in advance of current time to the west to produce more output voltage during an hour. As a result, the system is simple while providing good solar-tracking results and efficient power outputs.
A wireless monitoring solution for solar power systems in remote locations
Arduino Team — March 2nd, 2020
Researchers in Thailand have developed a ZigBee-based wireless monitoring solution for off-grid PV installations capable of tracking the sun across the sky, tilting the panel hourly. The elevation for the setup is adjusted manually once per month for optimum energy collection. The prototype is controlled by a local Arduino Uno board, along an H-bridge motor driver to actuate the motor and a 12V battery that’s charged entirely by solar power.
The system features a half-dozen sensors for measuring battery terminal voltage, solar voltage, solar current, current to the DC-DC converter, the temperature of the power transistor of DC-DC converter, and the tilt angle of solar panels according to the voltage across the potentiometer.
Data is transmitted wirelessly via an XBee ZNet 2.5 module to a remote Uno with an XBee shield. The real-time information is then passed on to and analyzed by a computer, which is also used to set the system’s time.
Wireless sensing is an excellent approach for remotely operated solar power system. Not only being able to get the sensor data, such as voltage, current, and temperature, the system can also have a proper control for tracking the Sun and sensing real-time data from a controller. In order to absorb the maximum energy by solar cells, it needs to track the Sun with proper angles. Arduino, H-bridge motor driver circuit, and Direct Current (DC) motor are used to alter the tilt angle of the solar Photovoltaic (PV) panel following the Sun while the azimuth and the elevation angles are fixed at noon. Unlike the traditional way, the tilt rotation is proposed to be stepped hourly. The solar PV panel is tilted in advance of current time to the west to produce more output voltage during an hour. As a result, the system is simple while providing good solar-tracking results and efficient power outputs.
The South Florida Science Center recently commissioned a beautiful new 10” aperture refactor telescope. Its dome, however, was opened by hand; so in an effort to modernize this part of the setup, Andres Paris and his brother “patanwilson” added a windshield wiper-style DC motor to automate the process.
The “window to the heavens” is now operated by an Arduino Uno via a high current H-bridge capable of passing along up to 20 amps. User interface is provided by an IR remote control and reed switches stop the door’s motion at the appropriate points.
A pair of 12V batteries enable the system to move within the dome and the voltage displays — that can be turned off remotely — to show how much power is left.
OpenAstroTracker is a tracking and GoTo mount for DSLR astrophotography
Arduino Team — February 26th, 2020
Stars appear to stand still, but wait a few minutes and they won’t be in quite the same place. This means that if you want to take a long-exposure image of the sky with your DSLR you’ll have to either embrace the streaks, or use tracking hardware to compensate for this movement. Naturally, this specialized equipment can be quite expensive, but a seen here, you can now make your own 3D-printed OpenAstroTracker controlled by an Arduino Uno.
The device features a 16×2 LED display/keypad shield, along with an optional Bluetooth module for interface. When set up, it slowly rotates the camera to compensate for star movements via two steppers on a gimbal assembly.
Duel Disk System blends physical cards with a virtual playfield
Arduino Team — February 21st, 2020
Yu-Gi-Oh! and other similar card games can be quite popular, but actually finding a group to play with can be challenging. Online games, on the other hand, have their advantages yet render your deck pretty much useless. As a way to combine these two worlds, Augusto Masetti has created a prototype Dual Disk System that will allow you to play with real cards in a virtual playfield.
To play, participants attach NFC stickers inside a card sleeve, which are scanned by an NFC reader controlled by an Arduino Uno. The card ID is then compared to the YGOProDeck API database via a computer, giving players a tactile element to this virtual competition.
Masetti’s project is still a work in progress, though we can’t wait to see the final version!
AAScan is an open source, Arduino-powered 3D scanner that uses your phone
Arduino Team — February 18th, 2020
3D scanners are amazing tools that literally let you turn everyday things into three-dimensional computer models. As seen on Reddit, if you want to make one yourself — using little more than a spare Android phone, Arduino, stepper motor, and 3D-printed parts — the AAScan by QLRO could be an excellent option.
The device spins an object on a 3D-printed turntable using an Uno and ULN2003 driver board, allowing it to take ~180 images automatically via a Python script running on the phone. These images are then combined in Meshroom to create a brand new 3D model.
You can check out a demo of AAScan in the video below, rotating an apple to take pictures of each side.
This joystick-controlled machine draws light trails using a laser
Arduino Team — February 10th, 2020
Lasers are awesome. Glow-in-the-dark surfaces are, too. As seen here, Justin and Brett were able to combine the two into an excellent drawing machine made from scrap materials and discarded wood.
Their device uses a pair of gearmotors under Arduino control to actuate a rack-and-pinion gantry system over a canvas painted with phosphorescent powder. A laser is mounted at the end of this setup, which traces luminescent patterns on the surface as it moves.
User interface is via a simple joystick arrangement, with a housing 3D-printed in PLA that’s reminiscent of a Nintendo Wii Nunchuk.
Check out the demo in the video below and read more about the project in the duo’s write-up.
Carve 2.5D shapes out of foam with this Arduino-controlled hot wire cutter
Arduino Team — February 8th, 2020
You may have a 3D printer or other “digital” tools like a laser engraver or CNC router, but what if you want to work with Styrofoam? As How To Mechatronics demonstrates in his latest project, many of the same techniques used there can be implemented to make your own Arduino-powered hot wire cutter.
This build is constructed with 20x20mm aluminum extrusion and 3D-printed parts, and uses an Uno board and CNC shield to drive three stepper motors. Two of these motors manipulate the wire in the horizontal and vertical directions, while the third controls a turntable that rotates the foam as needed.
As seen in the video below, it’s a brilliant design. Written instructions can be found in How To Mechatronics’ blog post, which walks you through the entire process from assembling the machine and connecting its components to preparing shapes and generate the G-code.
This Arduino device turns on a workshop’s air filtration system whenever it hears a saw
Arduino Team — February 3rd, 2020
Modern woodworking tools are amazing, allowing you to make any number of useful or decorative objects from the comfort of your garage. Unfortunately, they also produce a lot of dust, so YouTuber “Atomic Dairy” came up with the idea to install an air purifier that can cleanse the shop air eight times per hour. This only works if turned on, so he automated its operation with an Arduino Uno and a solid-state relay (SSR).
The AudioBot system uses a microphone to listen for loud noise, indicating that a saw is on and thus dust creation. When detected, the Arduino then signals the SSR to run for two hours to literally clear the air.
There’s also a start button and RF control unit to trigger the fan for an hour or add an hour to the current run time, which is displayed on a small LCD screen. A stop button cuts off the filter immediately when needed.
Our Fanboy wood shop air filter is an overpowered air cleaner that we run whenever we are cutting or sanding wood projects in the shop, which is often. The AudioBot is an Arduino device that turns the Fanboy on whenever it hears us using a large tool like a table saw or miter saw. That’s right, it works by sound! This relieves us of the tedious task of plugging in the Fanboy when we work and remembering to unplug it a couple hours after we finish in the shop.
Could we just have bought a timer to use with the Fanboy? Yes. But it wouldn’t be sound activated and wouldn’t have all of the cool LEDs we have on the AudioBot. Plus the AudioBot only cost around $30 and it was REALLY fun to build. So in our shop the AudioBot is better than any commercial timer we could have gotten.
“The Arduino lie detector determined that was a lie”
Arduino Team — January 28th, 2020
Want to know if someone is telling you the truth? Well, unfortunately Juan Gg’s “USB Polygraph” isn’t a professional product and won’t actually give you an answer. However, it is a neat exploration into biometrics that incorporates Arduino, some sensors, and data visualization.
The DIY lie detector does measure one’s galvanic skin response, pulse, and breathing, so it’s an interesting way to observe “suspects” when questioned. Perhaps one could even use it to monitor a person’s vitals when performing various physical activities.
The device collects sensor readings via an Arduino Uno. These are then passed along to a nearby computer over serial, which graphs everything using a custom Python program.
If you’d like to make your own, code and mechanical files are available on GitHub!
This is a USB Polygraph, which I designed and built as a classroom project on June 2018. The hardware side is pretty simple, an Arduino UNO collects data from some sensors and sends it via serial. On the computer, a Python program takes that data and not only graphs it, but it also allows the user to save it, manages questions and adds question and answer markers to the graphs so results can later be inspected. All results are saved in .txt files.
Automate your door latch with a simple app-controlled system
Arduino Team — January 20th, 2020
Adnan.R.Khan recently decided to give his room’s sliding door latch an upgrade by designing a mechanism to open and close it, using little more than an Arduino Uno and Bluetooth module.
His automated device is operated via a smartphone app written in MIT App Inventor, and it employs a shield to control a small DC motor. The motor then pulls a cable wrapped around two pulleys in order to move the simple barrel latch in or out.
It’s an amazing display of what can be done with parts at hand and basic tools, and could certainly inspire other home security hacks. Be sure to check out the build process and the setup in action below!
Um dir ein optimales Erlebnis zu bieten, verwenden wir Technologien wie Cookies, um Geräteinformationen zu speichern und/oder darauf zuzugreifen. Wenn du diesen Technologien zustimmst, können wir Daten wie das Surfverhalten oder eindeutige IDs auf dieser Website verarbeiten. Wenn du deine Einwillligung nicht erteilst oder zurückziehst, können bestimmte Merkmale und Funktionen beeinträchtigt werden.
Funktional
Immer aktiv
Die technische Speicherung oder der Zugang ist unbedingt erforderlich für den rechtmäßigen Zweck, die Nutzung eines bestimmten Dienstes zu ermöglichen, der vom Teilnehmer oder Nutzer ausdrücklich gewünscht wird, oder für den alleinigen Zweck, die Übertragung einer Nachricht über ein elektronisches Kommunikationsnetz durchzuführen.
Vorlieben
Die technische Speicherung oder der Zugriff ist für den rechtmäßigen Zweck der Speicherung von Präferenzen erforderlich, die nicht vom Abonnenten oder Benutzer angefordert wurden.
Statistiken
Die technische Speicherung oder der Zugriff, der ausschließlich zu statistischen Zwecken erfolgt.Die technische Speicherung oder der Zugriff, der ausschließlich zu anonymen statistischen Zwecken verwendet wird. Ohne eine Vorladung, die freiwillige Zustimmung deines Internetdienstanbieters oder zusätzliche Aufzeichnungen von Dritten können die zu diesem Zweck gespeicherten oder abgerufenen Informationen allein in der Regel nicht dazu verwendet werden, dich zu identifizieren.
Marketing
Die technische Speicherung oder der Zugriff ist erforderlich, um Nutzerprofile zu erstellen, um Werbung zu versenden oder um den Nutzer auf einer Website oder über mehrere Websites hinweg zu ähnlichen Marketingzwecken zu verfolgen.
