Packshotnik: 360 Degree Image Creation

April 10, 2010 by Caleb Kraft 34 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk7_XRgxCas]

Packshotnik is a circuit designed to help with creating 360 degree images. It consists of a main board and motorized rotating platform. The board can send IR signals to a camera to snap pictures at intervals in the rotation. The source code, schematic, and pcb files are all available from the project page. While he is using this primarily for rotating 360 degree images, you could also just plop your camera onto the platform and end up with panoramic sets.

Make A Bandsaw

April 9, 2010 by Caleb Kraft 37 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbOlG7THecM]

Thinking of buying a new bandsaw? Stop it. Make one instead. Not only could you save some money, you could customize it to be exactly what you need. There is a step by step breakdown of the entire construction with tons of great pictures. He even has some great info for general bandsaw use if you’ve already got one.

[via makezine]

Strobe Array For Dance Parties

April 9, 2010 by Caleb Kraft 34 Comments

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/10722768%5D

Check out this slick strobe array for dance parties. Controlled by a DMX512 interface, only a small modification was necessary to get the strobes working. If you’ve played with a small commercial strobe light, you’ll know there’s a potentiometer to control the strobe speed. He simply soldered a relay after the pot. This allows him to tune them to be charged and ready for when the relay is closed.

[via HackedGadgets]

Roomba Dissection Videos

April 8, 2010 by Caleb Kraft 13 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVp6QWcoilk]

Enjoy this 20 minute video dissection of a Roomba 4000. There is lots of great information here, as [Dino] does the dirty work. It is pretty dirty too. Remember, the Roomba is a vacuum. What a pleasant way to waste 20 minutes of your morning. Part 2 is after the break.

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Intruder Alarm McDonald’s Toy Hacking

April 8, 2010 by Caleb Kraft 14 Comments

[malikaii] needed to set up some kind of tripwire style alarm system for his office. His bosses kept sneaking in to find him slacking. So, like any loyal hacker, instead of just working harder he built an alarm system. After a failed attempt to recreate an IR alarm circuit he found on the web and built from old appliance parts, he found the Hack a Day article about harvesting McDonald’s toys. The end result was a fully functional IR detecting alarm for the office doorway. This is pretty simple really, the best kind of hack.

The Trans-atlantic Battery Bunny Divide

April 7, 2010 by Caleb Kraft 21 Comments

This somewhat frightening armature is the base for the iconic energizer bunny. While we love seeing the guts of popular robotics, this brings up an interesting fact. In Europe, the bunny is the symbol for Duracell. There’s an interesting story where Duracell had used the bunny for years in europe, only to inspire Energizer to copy them stateside in 1989. This one will be available on ebay shortly.

Catch a Duracell battery after the break

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Project J.A.R.V.I.S.

April 7, 2010 by Caleb Kraft 59 Comments

[brightcove vid=76029544001&exp3=16977198001&surl=http://c.brightcove.com/services&pubid=245991542&w=470&h=325]

Project J.A.R.V.I.S. is an attempt to create a digital life assistant, or DLA. The name comes from the version in the movie Iron Man. While the details of the build are pretty slim, you can see that he’s using a mac mini for the base with an Arduino controlled RFID reader at his door. What is really interesting is how functional he has actually made it. Watch the video on the site to see a pretty good explanation of features.

[via Gizmodo]