We love lasers, you love lasers…who doesn’t love them?
[Matt Leone] recently took his passion for lasers over the top and built a little something called the Laser Ball. Fed up with the deluge of of LED cubes floating around online, he says that the Laser Ball is the new sheriff in town – and we’re inclined to agree.
He bored a bunch of holes in a standard tennis ball, and fitted it with 14 red laser diodes. Before he installed the lasers into the ball he modified each with a small bit of diffraction grating to liven up the display. The lasers were connected to a Teensy micro controller, which was stuffed inside the ball along with a small rechargeable LiPo battery.
While the laser ball was pretty awesome already, [Matt] decided that it wasn’t finished just yet. Using an IR remote package from Adafruit, he added the ability to trigger the Laser Ball’s light patterns from afar. You know, just for kicks.
Be sure to check out the video below to see the Laser Ball in action!
via BuildLounge
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dGcRKjl0EI&w=470]
What about eyes safety ?
Laser Ball(tm) requires parental supervision.
Always wear eye protection while enjoying your Laser Ball(tm)
Keep Laser Ball(tm) away from children, pets, and those sensitive to lasers.
Do not look directly at Laser Ball(tm)
Do not taunt laser fun ball.
This is a terrible idea. 5mw is enough power to cause permanent eye damage.
Blinded by science!
I’m sure the lasers in dance clubs are more powerful, so how they get away with it?
@Shawn
Lasers for entertainment are regulated by rules set by the FDA. They cannot be directed to the crowd.
http://www.fda.gov/Radiation-EmittingProducts/RadiationEmittingProductsandProcedures/HomeBusinessandEntertainment/ucm118907.htm
Basically, this ball is laser russian roulette.
*singing* “Blinded by the Light” :D
The diffraction gratings split each into at least 9 beams. Though the center beam is still strongest, its getting distributed out
outstanding work ;) i like it!
I know what im using for a set of POI.
my thoughts exactly
Ugh. Another *-“Labs” person. Labratory? Really? What are you people doing besides what the manufacturers of the consumer-grade products you bought expect you to?
Come off it.
Also, while <1mw (I assume they're <1mw) is really low-power, This isn't as smart as you think it is.
Lab coats…
http://xkcd.com/699/
Finally, a fun project to do with the 12 unopened laser pointers I have left from the 36 I bought ages ago from DealExtreme. The diodes+lenses from them are easily removable for other uses.
The 2nd reply was supposed to be a new ‘thread’, this website has a weird commenting system, I wish it were possible to edit/delete your posts.
So, your point is that anyone can do it and you’re trolling me by saying you’re going to do it now? I really don’t understand.
^ Baha. Okay. I thought that may have happened. :)
Ugh, some people and their ideals.
The “xLab(s)” people arent usually affiliated with “real” labs sure, but the people who are probably aren’t allowed to say so unless they work for a super cool company. An easy distinction for the OCD in you.
Since we’re on the subject, can hackerspaces count as labs? If so I could be an i3 lab tech if I spent any time there
Holy FSM this is so cool! I want to build a whole pile now!
Much awesome packed into a little ball. Great video as well, especially liked the “oh no” moment with the re-solder. Touching back to the first post, is there a concern about eye safety?
Love the video – great project!
Basically be careful with 5mW laser and you will be fine. Not something *I* would like to stare into, but you will be fine as long as you try to avoid staring into them for more than a second.
Love the build, love the documentary, I cried when the wire broke.
Great documentation. Those songs fit it perfectly, I especially like when the slow, depressing part of the music coincided with the wire mishap. I think this could be marketed and sold at laser light shows. They could toss it around the crowd.
Unfortunitely they probably couldn’t toss this around in a crowd without everyone signing waivers first, our litigation-happy, decadant western society being what it is.
BURNINGMAN!!!
I have got to build a couple of these for BurningMan. People. Will. Freak. Excellent idea, Great implementation. Thank you.
great video, clever i think,
This would get me back into tennis! :)
Now we’ll finally know how Roy Von Baker became king of laser ball?
It looks like it is filled with hot plasma!
dammit gema, how i hate you -.-
i cant watch this video in germany without a proxy.
…and jugglers around the world suddenly reach for their wallets. :grin:
>This video is no longer available do to copyright claim by ELO.
Not bad :-)
that is SO darwin, lolz 50 bucks says poster cant post replys in the next few days… or ever read a computer again.
AKA: unfair weapon, espically if laser power is upped… and by weapon i mean a blind man is a dead man in war… when real guns are also involved
PPS: SOMEONE MAKE A MW2 ADD-ON OF THIS !!!
EDIT: … forgot to say how awesomesauce-ness it is… awesome when viewed from a CCD
I’d love to see one suspended from an RC quadcopter on a foggy night.
I LOVE the Electric Light Orchestra, great choice. Also, great project!
Metalocalypse anyone?
Thanks for all the comments everyone!
The Laser Ball has passed all my laser safety tests with flying colors!… :) And just in case you were wondering both my retinas are still in good working order.
@cdilla – a flying Laser Ball?!… I like it!
Awesome
Bad ass idea! I wouldn’t be able to put this thing down. I’d probably end up chain smoking way to many cigs for the “smoke fx” haha!
Awesome man, great job. This looks like a blast.
Great job on the project, and very nice work time compressing the video too. This looks like something we’d see Hollywood using, great for special effects. And if you hang one from a small helium balloon using a black thread and let it float over a housing tract at night I wonder how many UFO reports it would generate?!
For everyone worried about blindness, couldn’t just unfocus the laser a bit? Also, wouldn’t this still be pretty impressive as a LED ball? RGB LEDs and juggling would look pretty rad!
…
I’ve got some soldering to do.
It’s all fun and games until somebody loses an eye. Then it’s fun and games that you can’t see.
Awesome!
Add an accelerometer – then fire it off at the top of a high throw up in the air over a crowd – Looks like some mega weapon designed to kill entire crowds.
:-)