Android pen plotter snaps, processes, and prints pictures

android-pen-plotter

Here's an Android powered pen plotter that does it all. It was built by [Ytai Ben-Tsvi] to take with him to Maker Faire. He's the creator of IOIO, a hardware interface module designed to communicate with an Android device via USB (host or OTG are both supported). The physical hardware is simple enough. He draws on a pad of white paper using a felt-tipped marker. Located at the top of … [Read more...]

Drinking games and digital logic

Untitled-1

For those of you who might have forgotten, let's go over the rules of Centurion. The object of the game is for every minute, for 100 minutes, drink a shot of beer. It doesn't sound like a lot, but after completing the challenge you'll have had 3 liters of beer (or about eight and a half 12 oz cans) in just under two hours. When [Peter] played Centurion, he found the biggest problem was - … [Read more...]

Homebrew GPS gets ±1 meter resolution with a Raspberry Pi

GPS

We've been following the work of [Andrew Holme] and his homebrew GPS receiver for a while now. A few years ago, [Andrew] built a four-channel GPS receiver from scratch, but apparently that wasn't enough for him. He expanded his build last year to track up to eight satellites, and this month added a Raspberry Pi for a 12-channel, battery-powered homebrew GPS receiver that has an accuracy of about … [Read more...]

Flocking behavior using Mindstorm robots

flock-behavior-with-mindstorm

Do you ever wonder why geese always fly together in a V-shape? We're not asking about the fact that it makes the work load much less for all but the lead goose. We mean how is it that all geese know to form up like this? It's is the act of flocking, and it's long been a subject of fascination when it comes to robotics. [Scott Snowden] researched the topic while working on his degree a few years … [Read more...]

Magnetic CNC marble maze

magnetic-cnc-marble-maze

[Martin Raynsford] figured out a way to sneak some learning into a fun package. He did such a good job the test subjects didn't even know they were teaching themselves just a tiny bit of CNC programming. The apparatus above is a marble maze, but instead of building walls [Martin] simply etched a pattern on the playing field. The marble is a ball bearing which moves through the maze using a … [Read more...]

Timelapse of the 3d printed gun being printed.

gunthumb

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbdTShDxig4 Once the DoD requested the 3d printed gun files be removed from the internet, a couple things happened.   The Streisand Effect went into full force. The file was shared all over and can still be found easily.   I suddenly realized that I was going to be printing a 3d printed gun and doing another article on it even though I had just written an … [Read more...]

Altering automotive window motors for use in your projects

automotive-window-motor-for-your-projects

We agree with [Mário Saleiro] that the motors from a car's power windows make for a fantastic high-torque solution to your next project. If you have a you-pick junkyard in your town they'll be dirt cheap after you put in a bit of time to find and removing the parts from the yard. But you'll probably want to add a few extra steps to get them ready, and he's done a great job of documenting how he … [Read more...]