Hacking Sensoria, The Smart Sock

August 10, 2013 by Marsh 11 Comments

sensorSock

Sensor-meets-sock product “Sensoria” won’t hit the shelves for a while, but [Andrew] managed to snag a Sensoria Gaming SDK and has hacked the smart sock to control an inexpensive toy helicopter. Seldom do we see projects this rugged yet clearly effective. The sock sends data via its companion device—a Bluetooth anklet—to LabVIEW. LabVIEW subsequently talks to an attached Arduino to manipulate a servo that [Andrew] just…duct taped to the helicopter’s controller. The result: a a quick and dirty hack that proves surprisingly intuitive, providing accelerator-style foot control to drive the throttle. Check out a video of [Andrew] punishing his helicopter after the break.

This is the first hack we’ve seen for the Sensoria, which is still in the crowdsourcing phase over at Indigogo. They have already reached their funding goal, but a few SDKs remain unclaimed. You can watch an official video of the sock’s sensors lighting up a heat map in real time below.

And, if you missed it, have a look at the AsTeRICS project’s helicopter controlled by neck muscles.

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Supercharging Your Digital Calipers

August 8, 2013 by Marsh 56 Comments

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A dead battery in your digital calipers usually means a trip to the store for a new button cell. Not for [Trevor]. His hack substitutes a super capacitor, guaranteeing you’ll never need to rummage around for one of those pesky watch batteries again.

These calipers require only 20 seconds to reach a full charge that can last for a few days. Better still, [Trevor] designed a simple circuit with a voltage regulator at the end of the cord to allow charging via USB: just remember to flip the switch from “discharging” to “charging” mode. Although this is a fairly straightforward hack, its design is impressively tidy. The super capacitor fits perfectly at the end of the display and slides along with it, keeping it away from any important printed numbers. If these are the same calipers everyone seems to have these days, it looks like it may still fit in the provided case, too.

If you’re looking for more ways to beef up your calipers, try upgrading them with a Bluetooth module.

The Cramp: A MSP430-powered Crane Lamp

August 8, 2013 by Marsh 17 Comments

theCramp

If you think your last project required a lot of soldering, take a look at [Multivac’s] remote controlled and fully-articulable desktop crane lamp. Sure, it’s a 430 microcontroller combined with an LED driver, 32 LEDs, PWM control, and some moving parts: but take a closer look at the structure. The Cramp uses an old HDD as its base, with the crane spinning around the main bearing that previously supported the platter. A system of spools and pulleys provides a reasonable range of motion to the rest of the build. Relocating the entire assembly, however, is evidently an unpleasant task.

[Multivac] based his design on a Liebherr LR1750 Crawler Crane, which he meticulously pieced together using leftover copper salvaged from an upgrade to his home’s mains wiring. A mountain of solder secures what must include several hundred joints—possibly more. The head of the lamp is an elegant exoskeleton-interpretation of industrial designer Eero Saarinen’s TWA Flight Center. You can see the Cramp in action in the video below.

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