Have you ever wanted to find a Bluetooth device out in the wild while looking like the comic relief character from a science-fiction series? You might like Dendrite, the direction-finding hat from [SolidStat3].
Dendrite is intended for hunting down Bluetooth devices. It’s capable of direction estimation based on signal strength readings from four ESP32 microcontrollers mounted on an off-the-shelf hard hat. Each ESP32 searches for BLE devices in the immediate area and reports the apparent signal strength to a fifth ESP32, which collates readings from all units. It then runs a simple multilateration algorithm to estimate the direction of the device. This information is then displayed via a ring of addressable LEDs around the perimeter of the hat. White LEDs marking the direction of the detected device. The only problem? You can’t see the LEDs while you’re wearing the hat. You might need a friend to help you… or you can simply take it off to see what it’s doing.
Ultimately, this project is a useful direction-finding hard hat that would also make a perfect prop from an episode of Inspector Spacetime. We’ve covered direction finding in other contexts before, too. Meanwhile, if you’re cooking up your own innovative hard hat (or radio) hacks, don’t hesitate to let us know!
I like hacks and I like hardhats (is it a ‘hackhat’?) but my overpowering urge is to keep shouting “Six seasons and a movie!”. Or talk about Kickpuncher III: The Final Kickening. Etc.
Ummm… why, oh why didn’t he put the LEDs under the rim so that the wearer could see them?
Who has a real need for this ?
Nerds :D
Could you eliminate the fifth ESP and LEDs by just hooking a vibration motor to each of the detectors that gets its intensity from the signal strength?
It looks like there’s a lot more detail in the repo around the whole design and build!
My daughter dropped her iPhone 13 mini in a foam pit at an adventure park. I downloaded a bluetooth sniffer on my phone. I anticipated that there were probably very few iPhone 13 minis (correct) so I could assume that if I found one, it was probably her phone. I walked around the pit, stopping every 3ft. It quickly became apparent that there was a ~12ft area where the signal for the 13mini was pretty good. Walked back and forth a little, narrowed it down. Jumped in, found the phone in less than a minute on the floor of the pit. This thing would have made fast work of finding it. Cool idea.
And your head would be protected from a stray piece of Styrofoam to boot
I mean, it would be pretty entertaining to watch a minimum wage worker walk out to a foam pit wearing the hat and helping people find their lost phones. It’s a very niche market, but I bet there’s enough ball and foam pits where you could make a business out of these hats