[max] lets us know about this DIY ‘PS3 SIXAXIS’ style programmable controller. It’s a USB device that uses an accelerometer to provide an interactive human interface. They put one inside a model airplane and use it with a flight-sim. (I’d like to see them add some gyros to add some realistic resistance to the plane interface.)
Laser 3d Scanning With A Webcam
[Jan] noted that they’ve come up with an interesting, low cost method of 3d scanning over (Update: http://www.david-laserscanner.com/wiki) at the Institute for Robotics and Process Control. Once the software is calibrated with the preset background image, a laser line is run over the object (Just think about every sci-fi laser scanner you’ve ever seen) The software appears to measure the contour of the object by the breaks in the line as it’s passed over the object. Once a mesh of measurements is taken, the object can be reconstructed in the software. According to [Jan] “With Their technique they won the Main Prize of the “work group for Pattern recognition” this Year in Berlin.” Now, make it work under something besides windows and .NET.
Get your Design Challenge entries in! The 25th is rolling up on us quick!
Digital Camera IR Filter Removal
We’ve run across the idea of IR filter removal in the past. [Tony Z] pointed out this nice little how-to on removing the IR filter from a Canon a540 or a530 digital camera. I’m pretty blase about gutting electronics, but even I get a bit nervous about opening up recent model digi-cams. It’s so easy easy to jam sensitive gears… (don’t ask) Aside from my bad mini-dv experiences, the sub-200 6 megapixel platforms could make some interesting projects.
You guys are rocking at the Design Challenge! Keep those entries coming.
DIY MP3 How-to
Just a quick note – my How-To on building your own MP3 player is up. It’s more of a build walk-through and a review of MAKE’s Daisy MP3 player kit.
In case you missed it, Ben Heck put up a How-to on making your own robotic hand. It’s more of an exercise in CAD design with the intent to cut the parts on a CNC machine. It’s a great view into Ben’s workflow. He used to torture er train graphic artists at some point, and he puts that experience to work in his designs. Speaking of which, you might dig his SCART video switcher.
I’ve got to say that I’m impressed with the effort I’ve seen so far on the Design Challenge. You’ve got five more days to get em in.
Before I forget, I need a good supplier of teflon/ptfe insulated wire (at a decent price). Suggestions?
POV Orb Project
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a new twist on POV hardware. This time it’s ‘the Orb’ – comprised of a set of LEDs that rotate to form a sphere. Hopefully more docs are forthcoming. It looks like all the hardware except the motor is contained on the boards inside the sphere – maybe power is provided via the two ends of the spindle? The visuals are driven by a pic C18 with hall effect sensors to provide position readings.
Thanks to [phishinphree] for the tip.
Don’t forget – 6 more days to get in your Design Challenge entry. I’ve gotten some great stuff so far – it’s going to be tough to choose a winner.
IM Serial Puppet
[Pierre-Philippe] sent in his instant messenger USB puppet. It’s a little silly, but I like it. The puppets servo is driven by a pic controller with a max232 serial/ttl converter. To make things interesting, it responds to people entering and leaving gaim or xchat.
Gesture Laser Pointer Control
After I linked his basic laser pointer webcam interface the other day, [mnt] sent me this excellent demo of his gesture based laser pointer control. This one works alot like graffiti on the old palm pilots. My question? What does he make when he’s not sick?
