Nunk on Droise is an art installation where noise is made depending on how drunk you are. In a configuration that could be called a cthoilet, the sensors shown above are alcohol sensors. Though we initially thought this would be testing urine, the description states that it tests the breath of the participant. Unfortunately there aren’t any schematics or code, though you can see how it is all assembled from the flickr pool. You can also see a video demonstration of the prototype.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po8F6lIFhkk]
[Electricunicycle] put together this radio controlled mobile theater system to amuse his neighborhood pals. It is a projector and what looks like an electric wheelchair base. He has managed to fit a decent sound system in there as well, which required a second battery. This is pretty cool, though we could see ruggedizing it a little more to be able to drive around in fields. He states “this is one of the faster movie theaters around”. This makes us wonder what the competition is like.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcj9Sdiohog&w=470]
This neat accelerometer controlled marble maze adds a level of fun to retrieving a gum ball. You have to first navigate the maze using a controller that has a dual axis accelerometer in it to control the angle of the platform. Though that does look like a wii accessory, there is no wiimote in there. Only after you have completed it will the gum ball machine dispense the candy. [Dan] constructed everything himself, which might explain the lack of “pits” for the marble to fall into in the maze.
More details on the build and source code are available on his page.
[via hacked gadgets]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB15-uSNvHA]
We stumbled onto one of [Nik Melton]’s projects, an Omni-car. It is omnidirectional, meaning it can go any direction at any time without having to turn. The body was designed by him, then printed with a 3D printer. The control scheme is what interests us though. He has found a simple way to wire it to get the job done. Sure you can see that it suffers from some pretty bad “drift” when trying to go in a straight line, but overall, we think he pulled it off well.
You might want to take a few moments to look around his project page. This guy has done a bunch of fun stuff like delta robots, strange hybrid wheel/leg robots, tesla coils, and arm mounted flamethrowers. Judging by the videos, he’s pretty young too. We think his guy has a bright future ahead of him.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upl7F5p0DHY]
[Scott Holden] went all out this year and built an amazing Tauntaun costume. The Tauntaun from Star Wars was massive, standing 8 feet tall, and usually carrying a rider. [Scott] wanted to make it the correct size, and ultimately pulled it off. He had to build custom stilts to get the leg angle correct as drywall stilts were too straight. The rest is mainly pvc and fur. We think he did a fantastic job on this. The effect is quite nice, and we can imagine that in person it is even better.
Take note at the bottom of page 3. Apparently, he got pinned in the costume in his workshop and almost had to spend the night on the floor in the costume. That’s pretty wild, at least he was warm.
[via makezine]
Introducing the Thingamagoop2! Remember that awkward looking box with two LEDacles sticking out and a bunch of strange buttons and knobs that with some circuit bending synthesized different sounds that kept your neighbor up for hours on end? Well now its back! Smaller and one less LEDacle, but jam-packed with more features – like our personal favorite: the ability to program it via Arduino. Check out a video of the ‘music’ after the break. Continue reading “Thingamawha? Thingamagoop2!”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdWwtApn6aI]
[Aki] wanted to do some stationary cycling to get in shape. Unfortunately, his stationary cycle is located in his garage which doesn’t supply much inspiration or amusement. His solution was to build a VR rig so that he could ride around inside google street view. He has rigged a simple sensor to his wheel to determine his speed and he’s using a vuzix VR 920 as a display and orientation sensor. While he notes that it isn’t perfect, or even reliable, we think it is pretty cool. He can go sight-seeing, while getting in shape from his own garage. We have to wonder if he gets a headache after a while though.
