Author: Inderpreet Singh

107 Articles

Alexa In A Bunny Rabbit

August 16, 2017 by 13 Comments

The Raspberry Pi is the perfect candidate for Google’s AIY where you can talk to a cardboard box with some electronics in it. [BuddyCasino] took on the challenge of squeezing an Alexa Client in an ESP32 and to make things interesting, a bunny rabbit was chosen as the host of the virtual assistant.

A few months ago, we did a teardown of the Google AIY Kit where [BuddyCasino] commented that he managed to port the Echo Dot client into and ESP32. Sure enough, the video below shows a demonstration of the build in action. The project uses the MAX98357A which is the same I2S DAC used in the Google AIY Voice Hat. For the microphone, the device is again an I2S component however unlike the Google AIY kit which uses the SPH0645LM4H, [BuddyCasino] opted for the ICS-43434.

Two NeoPixels are employed as visual indicators for various purposes. This project is an excellent example of how simple and cheap modern-day designs have become. We are hoping to see the author add more features to the design and who knows maybe we will see a Google Assistant port on the ESP32 in the future. Check out the original teardown for more inspiration. Continue reading “Alexa In A Bunny Rabbit” →

Know Thy LED

August 8, 2017 by 80 Comments

The invention of the LED is one of the most important discoveries of our times. They are everywhere, from our flashlights to household lighting and television sets. We don’t need to tell you that a project with more blinkies is better than a project with fewer blinkies. But an LED is not simply an LED; the sheer variety of LEDs is amazing, and so in this write-up, we’ll take a closer look at how to choose the right LED for your next masterpiece. Continue reading “Know Thy LED” →

DIY Wind Turbine For Free Energy

August 3, 2017 by 35 Comments

With electricity cost going up and the likes of British Gas hiking up their price, everyone could use a bit of free energy. There are a number of ways to harvest renewable energy including solar and wind, however, the cost of setting up a wind farm can be quite high. [Mr Tickles] has uploaded a video where he has a cheaper DIY method of making a DIY wind turbine.

His project uses a commercial ceiling fan as a turbine for converting the wind energy into electricity. PVC pipes are used to mount the entire thing such that it becomes portable. A cardboard fin is used to make the propeller face the wind but there are plans to upgrade it in the future. [Mr Tickles] demonstrates his project by lighting up a lamp and then charging a cell phone.

For the price, this hack is pretty neat and can be extended to work with larger fans. For those who are looking at an even simpler version of this build, check out the most straightforward wind turbine.

Continue reading “DIY Wind Turbine For Free Energy” →

3D Printed Curta Gets Upgrades

August 1, 2017 by 16 Comments

It is amazing how makers can accomplish so much when they put their mind to something. [Marcus Wu] has uploaded a mesmerizing video on how to build a 3D printed Curta Mechanical Calculator. After nine iterations of design, [Marcus] presents a polished design that not only works but looks like a master piece.

For the uninitiated, the Curta is a mechanical calculator designed around the time of World War II. It is still often seen used in time-speed-distance (TSD) rallies to aid in the computation of times to checkpoints, distances off-course and so on. Many of these rallies don’t allow electronic calculators, so the Curta is perfect.  The complex inner workings of the contraption were a key feature and point of interest among enthusiasts and the device itself is a highly popular collectible.

As for the 3D printed design, the attention to detail is impeccable. The current version has around 80 parts that need to 3D printed and a requires a few other screws and springs. Some parts like the reversing lever and selector knobs have been painted and digits added to complete the visual detail. The assembly took [Marcus Wu] around 40 minutes to complete and is one of the most satisfying builds we have ever seen.

What is even more amazing is that [Markus Wu], who is a software engineer by profession has shared all the files including the original design files free of cost on Thingiverse. A blog with written instructions is also available along with details of the iterations and original builds. We already did a post on a previous version so check it out for a little more background info.

Thanks for the tip [lonestar] Continue reading “3D Printed Curta Gets Upgrades” →

Spice Up Your Bench With 3D Printed Dancing Springs

July 29, 2017 by 5 Comments

Not all projects are made equal. Some are designed to solve a problem while others are just for fun. Entering the ranks of the most useless machines is a project by [Vladimir Mariano] who created the 3D Printed Dancing Springs. It is a step up from 3D printing a custom slinky and will make a fine edition to any maker bench.

The project uses 3D printed coils made of transparent material that is mounted atop geared platforms and attached to a fixed frame. The gears are driven by a servo motor. The motor rotates the gears and the result is a distortion in the spring. This distortion is what the dancing is all about. To add to the effect, [Vladimir Mariano] uses RGB LEDs controlled by an ATmega32u4.

You can’t dance without music. So [Vladimir] added a MEMs microphone to pick up noise levels which are used to control the servo and lights. The code, STL files and build instructions are available on the website for you to follow along. If lights and sound are your things, you must check out the LED Illuminated Isomorphic Keyboard from the past. Continue reading “Spice Up Your Bench With 3D Printed Dancing Springs” →

The Perfect Tourist Techno-Cap

July 24, 2017 by 21 Comments

How many times are you out on vacation and neglect to take pictures to document it all for the folks back at home? Or maybe you forgot just exactly where that awesome waterfall was. [Mark Williams] has made a Raspberry Pi Zero enabled cap that can take photos and geotag them with the location as well as the attitude of the camera.

The idea is to enable the reconstruction of a trip photographically. The hardware consists of a Raspberry Pi Zero W coupled with a Raspberry Camera V2 and a BerryGPS-IMU. Once activated, the system starts taking photos every two minutes. Within each photograph, the location of the photographer is recorded like most GPS enabled camera.

An additional set of data including yaw, pitch, and roll along with direction is also captured to understand where the camera is pointing when the image was taken. Even if he’s tilting his head at the time the photo was taken, the metadata allows it to be straightened out in software later.

This information is decoded using GeoSetter which puts the images on a map along with the field of view. Take a peek at the video below for the result of a trip around Sydney Harbour and the system in action. The Raspberry Pi Zero and camera combo are useful for a lot of things including this soldering microscope. Hopefully, we will be seeing some DIY VR gear with stereo cameras in the near future. Continue reading “The Perfect Tourist Techno-Cap” →

Meet The Video DJ Machine

July 24, 2017 by 6 Comments

Have you ever wanted to perform as a DJ but found the equipment expensive as well as intimidating? Well, your prayers have been answered by [Dror Ayalon] who has designed Nomnom 2. It is an open source, music mixing project that uses up to 16 video clips to give you control of your next hit album.

You are given charge of a physical control panel that has 16 buttons and four knobs. Each button can be used to turn on or off a particular clip while the knobs control the repetition rate, volume, speed and playable length of each track. An Arduino sits under the buttons and is responsible for sending the information to an application that runs in your web browser. The browser app uses the NexusUI library to control playback of the audio clips and bring to life the entire experience.

[Dror Ayalon] has been busy polishing his project and there are some neat videos of him demonstrating it so check out the videos below. The code is available for down from GitHub and the BOM is available at the Hackaday.io project page. The web app can be ported to a desktop app using electron and a PCB can be designed for the controller for future versions.

For now, it is incredible to see hardware and software, come together in such a harmonious fashion. This may be the start of something wonderful but if you are just looking for a way to annoy the neighbors, check out the Midi Musical Siren instead. Continue reading “Meet The Video DJ Machine” →