Comments on: Distance detecting pc

By: me

me — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:00:13 +0000

Stop blind people from walking into things?

By: blueeeyesm

blueeeyesm — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:23:52 +0000

I can see this being useful for those with vision problems. All they would need to do is lean in and and the text adjusts dynamically to suit their eyes’ focal point. One would need an initial calibration, but that can be easily set. Further implementation could be based on a per-user basis with settings for each user.

I can see the reverse being set too for large HDTVs. The closer you lean in, the resolution increases and text size decreases.

This would be a handy function for applications like Photoshop – lean in and you increase magnification of the image.

By: Kyle McDonald

Kyle McDonald — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 06:02:17 +0000

The ultrasonic theremin posted above is super impressive!

Another technique for sensing distance from a computer is to use the frame of the computer as an electrode for capacitive sensing. If it isn’t plugged into the wall, it becomes its own ground. You need some sort of microcontroller to measure capacitance, but it doesn’t take any extra components. Here I just swapped back and forth between “ICH SEHE DICH” (I see you) and black + playing random locations in memory out to the audio:

http://vimeo.com/1690428

By: nc

nc — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 06:54:02 +0000

Is it just me or is the arduiuno an expensive and necessary component?

By: saimhe

saimhe — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 05:06:04 +0000

Yet another [beneficial] side effect: chase away your cat who likes to warm oneself on the laptop keyboard. They might not like ultrasound… but, of course, that depends on actual transmitted power. Did someone test that? I haven’t a rangefinder handy. (There are of course software solutions for cats but I won’t bother unless my fluffy manages to do something nasty.)

By: aficionado

aficionado — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:07:22 +0000

the worst part about this whole thing is how easily you people are trolled

By: Ninja

Ninja — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 07:46:35 +0000

Two words.
TAPE MEASURE.

By: drake

drake — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 06:43:21 +0000

@pokey: Not to be offensive . . . but did you post results on the web? This is the first I’ve seen this done with results posted. Sometimes its not about how you can use it, or how new the idea is, its about the results and the documentation. Just because you have done it before does not mean there isn’t anyone who hasn’t and needs ideas for hacks. Yes it is basic, but it has potential for other uses. Think of how it could be used in a smart home or a smart car. Some people cant afford specialized equipment but still need to know how it is done so they can find a solution for their needs.

By: pokey

pokey — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 04:12:55 +0000

@drake: I hooked a PIR motion sensor to my work PC’s parallel port ten years ago to lock the screen when I’m away and turn on the desk lamp via X10 when I log in and am at my desk. Many others have done the same with RF transponders, bluetooth MAC sniffing, cameras, and ultrasound. This isn’t novel or unique.

By: Drake

Drake — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:14:51 +0000

Just because you don’t see it as a hack does not make it a hack. Surly you can figure out how to make it work with a proxi sensor from a poloroid or without using an audrino. Its about the core idea that can be innovated upon. Use your brains and make it better or find more applications for such.

By: supershwa

supershwa — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:30:55 +0000

is caleb kraft a neophyte who also just happens to be a freshman in engineering school?

caleb chooses a lot of really weak subjects — just “ooh that’s cool child’s play” stuff versus real hacks. why is this guy still writing for hackaday?!

i mean, come on — the cell phone shoe is a krafty caleb classic: http://hackaday.com/2009/02/11/cell-phone-shoe/

By: kris

kris — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 15:26:52 +0000

You guys are posting comments about how you can use this so your screen turns on or off if your around it on your computer?????well thats already been done .My alienware laptop can tell if im there in front of it or not and with facial recognition it can even tell if it is me and it will not respond to anybody else.I believe that this could be usefull for reading text at different distances becouse it can automaticly adjust the text size .If my laptop could do that i would be very happy.

By: mike

mike — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:54:08 +0000

It would be cool to hook it up to a motion sensor camera – and then configure them both to a automated paint ball gun – have the computer calculate the proper tragectory and stuff

or just measure a penis or two

By: doodoo

doodoo — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 04:38:45 +0000

i don’t know why this is such a big deal. connecting an ultrasound sensor to an arduino and making it control things on your computer is about 10 lines in the arduino sketchpad and 30 lines of processing on the computer. and the wiring is USB -> arduino, 5V/ground/analog from sensor to microcontroller.

By: jermy

jermy — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 03:01:42 +0000

penis mesurer