Arduino Hacks

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Giving “sight” To The Visually Impaired With Kinect

March 16, 2011 by 27 Comments

NAVI

We have seen Kinect used in a variety of clever ways over the last few months, but some students at the [University of Konstanz] have taken Kinect hacking to a whole new level of usefulness. Rather than use it to control lightning or to kick around some boxes using Garry’s Mod, they are using it to develop Navigational Aids for the Visually Impaired, or NAVI for short.

A helmet-mounted Kinect sensor is placed on the subject’s head and connected to a laptop, which is stored in the user’s backpack. The Kinect is interfaced using custom software that utilizes depth information to generate a virtual map of the environment. The computer sends information to an Arduino board, which then relays those signals to one of three waist-belt mounted LilyPad Arduinos. The LilyPads control three motors, which vibrate in order to alert the user to obstacles. The group even added voice notifications via specialized markers, allowing them to prompt the user to the presence of doors and other specific items of note.

It really is a great use of the Kinect sensor, we can’t wait to see more projects like this in the future.

Stick around to see a quick video of NAVI in use.

[via Kinect-Hacks – thanks, Jared]

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Motorcycle Sound Effects

March 16, 2011 by 12 Comments

[Winfred] was thinking one day, of how the world would be a different place if everything we owned had little start up and shut down sounds like our computers. Historically computers would just beep after passing their power on self test, and many PC’s still do, but in the 1980’s as machines became more powerful and home users wanted more flexibility in their hardware, startup chimes started to creep into our lives. And why not extend that little moment of joy to other objects, like adding Windows XP startup and shutdown sounds to your motorcycle.

Electronically the bill of materials looks like hobby shop catalog, featuring a Freeduino (Arduino variant), Adafruit wave shield, marine speakers, and a cheap-o mp3 amplifier from ebay. While admittedly not the cheapest way to play an audio clip [Winfred] offers a few suggestions to help drop the 100$ price tag, including just skipping it all together and mimicking the sounds with your voice.

Its a fun idea, its sure to earn some odd looks from his neighbors, and it will probably make you chuckle a little too.

Weather Station Turned Data Logger

March 15, 2011 by 10 Comments

Home brewing the perfect beer (or root beer in this case) requires a watchful eye and stable temperature, but [Gregory] has a house that is 120 years old. While we are sure it is a beautiful home, it does have its usual historical issues including temperature fluctuations.

[Gregory] suspects this to be the reason why his root beer is not carbonating, but to be 100% sure he grabbed a weather station (and atomic clock) with a wireless remote thermometer and got hacking. After popping the station apart he was able to quickly isolate the radio receiver and figure out the signaling, a few connections to an arduino, and now he can keep track of the temperature as its logged on to his PC.

Hopefully he can find out if this is his issue or not. Join us after the break for a quick video.

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3D Modeling Out Of Thin Air

March 14, 2011 by 14 Comments

kinect_3d_modeling

It seems that with each passing day, the Kinect hacks that we see become exponentially more impressive. Take for instance this little number that was sent to us today.

[sonsofsol] has combined several open source software packages and a little electronics know-how to create one of the more useful Kinect hacks we have seen lately. His project enables him to manipulate 3D models in GEM simply by moving his hands about in front of his Kinect sensor. Using OpenNI and Ubuntu, all of his actions are tracked by the computer and translated into actions within the GEM 3D engine.

To make things easier on himself, he also constructed a pair of electronic gloves that interface with the system. Using an Arduino, the gloves send different complex commands to the 3D modeling software, just by touching different pairs of fingers together.

You really need to take a look at the video embedded below to get a feel for how complex [sonsofsol’s] “simple” mesh modeler really is.

Looking for more Kinect fun? Check out these previously featured stories.

[Thanks, Jared]

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Passcode Protected Laser Tripwire Alarm System

March 11, 2011 by 13 Comments

laser_tripwire

Sometimes security doesn’t need to be overly complex to be effective. Instructables user [1234itouch] recently built a simple laser tripwire alarm that can be mounted virtually anywhere, complete with a keypad for disarming the device.

He mounted a photo cell in a project box, along with an Arduino and a 12-button key pad. A laser pointer is aimed at the photo cell from across a gap, which results in a steady voltage being read by the Arduino. When the laser beam is broken, a drop in voltage is detected, and the alarm sounds until you enter the proper pre-configured passcode. Entering the passcode triggers a 15 second grace period during which the the alarm cannot be tripped again.

It might not be built with triple-thick steel doors and thermo-sensors, but it’s a simple device for simple needs. In its current form it could be pretty useful, and with a little reworking, there are a wide range of things it could be used for.

Continue reading to see a demo video of the tripwire alarm, and be sure to check out these other tripwire-based security systems.

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Lol Shield Theatre Brings Online Video To The Pixelated Screen

March 11, 2011 by 4 Comments

lol_shield_theatre

[FallDeaf] bought a Lol Shield, and after making all sorts of blinky displays, he thought to himself, “What in the world can I use this thing for?”

In a really slick fusion of hardware, software, and the power of the Internet, he has created what he calls, “Lol Shield Theatre”.

The idea goes something like this:

You visit his site, and create your own “movie” by drawing on his virtual Lol Shield. Add as many frames as you would like, set the frame rate, then submit your creation. From there, you can download an Arduino sketch that contains your entire animation so you can play it on your own Lol Shield. You can also visit his Lol Shield gallery, where you have the ability to watch, download, and vote on movie submissions from other visitors.

He has also provided the source code to drive your Lol Shield, as well as created an API through which you can stream the various animation feeds from his Lol Shield gallery directly to your Arduino via a USB cable.

Be sure to check out the video demo we have embedded below, and show off your pixel cinematography skills over in the theatre.

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Water Droplet Sculpture Using LEDs And Arduino

March 11, 2011 by 19 Comments

This water sculpture can stop drops of water in mid-air. This is accomplished by flashing LEDs to illuminate the droplets at just the right time. But it’s not limited to blinky lights alone. The top of the frame has eight nozzles, each fed by its own pump. An Arduino controls the pumps and the lights making it possible to create different motion effects by adjusting how events line up. For instance, the image above shows just two of the water nozzles on, but in the video after the break it appears one is dripping downward while the other is dripping upward.

Alas, there’s few build details for this but the source code is available for downloading. If we were going to build one of these ourselves we’d probably try to regulate the drips using some solenoids built from scratch. How would you do it? Leave your ideas in the comments.

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