Arduino Sip N Puff Switch

March 4, 2011 by Kevin Dady 7 Comments

[kayakdiver] is developing a SIP and PUFF controlled kayak, but in order to start you first need a SIP and PUFF switch. These devices allow the user to lightly sip or puff into a tube to control switches or sensors, and are sometimes mounted in joysticks for control of a computer, or wheelchair, etc, but finding the cost prohibitive the next best thing was to whip up their own.

The design is clean and direct featuring off the shelf tubing and fittings, 2 pressure/vacuum switches, and an Arduino. Each one of the switches can detect pressure or vacuum, so one switch set to each is fed though a Y and up to the mouthpiece, since everything is sealed this has the advantage of only needing pressure and not airflow making it more comfortable for the user over long periods, and keeps down on humidity in the tubes.

Haptic Feedback For The Blind

December 17, 2010 by Chris Nelson 32 Comments

[polymythic] Is helping the blind see with his haptic feedback device called HALO. At the heart of the device is an Arduino Mega 2560 which senses objects with a few ultrasonic range finders and then relays the information back to the user using some vibration motors from old cell phones. The user can feel the distance by the frequency at which the motor pulses. The faster the motors pulse the closer an object is.

This kind of sensing is something that it can be applied to pretty much any sensor allowing the user to feel something that might be otherwise invisible. While haptic feedback is nothing new its good to see continuing work with new sensors and different setups.

Fixing The Future

November 10, 2010 by Joseph Thibodeau 59 Comments

[iFixit] (who we’ve posted about many times before) has launched a passionate manifesto promoting the skills and knowledge of repair as a solution to technological consumerism and waste. They use powerful footage of electronic waste dumps in Ghana to make the point that we must collectively change the way we use and relate to our high technology–take a look after the break.

The manifesto rallies against the practice of withholding repair knowledge such as manuals, error codes and schematics–putting responsibility in the hands of manufacturers–but also makes it clear that it is up to every one of us to inform ourselves and to value functionality over novelty.

Considering the many-faceted resource crisis that we are headed towards, any efforts to push our behavior towards a sustainable and considerate way of life should be considered. As hackers we repair, reuse and rethink technology as part of our craft–but we are also privileged by our enthusiasm for technical challenges. The real battle is to disseminate the kind of knowledge and skills we possess into the general population. This is where the heart of [ifixit]’s message comes into play: the creation of an open, editable online repair manual for every electronic device. If you have something to teach, why not pop over and help expand their database?

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DTG Using A Stock Printer

June 27, 2010 by Mike Szczys 27 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qc3OrrsnMHs]

Here’s a Direct-to-Garment device that uses a stock printer. [Jeff German] used an Epson R1900 with the stock firmware to get the results seen in the video. His hardware modifications involve adding two buttons to the printer’s circuit board. For DTG beginners this certainly lowers some of the obstacles to getting started. [Jeff] is working on detailed instructions but for now take a look at our own How-to for building a DTG printer.

Thermos Temperature Meter

March 15, 2010 by Mike Szczys 22 Comments

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

We’re always a little surprised by how well a vacuum thermos works, but eventually the contents will cool down (or warm up depending on what’s in there). [Gamesh_] added a temperature meter to his thermos using an Arduino and a temperature sensor. The original post is in Portuguese but [Bruno] republished it in English.

The temperature sensor has been repurposed from a digital thermometer meant for taking your temperature. Holes for the LEDs making up the indicator bar were melted in the side of the plastic housing. When the hot liquid is poured out at about 0:45 into the video you can glimpse the Arduino hanging our on the other side of the pot and a power cord running off behind the laptop. It would be nice to see this migrated over to a less powerful chip and run from a small coin cell, but we like the concept.

One Minute Review Of Your Wasted Time

March 9, 2010 by Mike Szczys 16 Comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuvR98k5KBU]

It’s easy to throw around the accusation that you waste time throughout the day. Now you can prove it by reviewing everything you did on your computer, all in just one minute. [Dan Paluska] ground out some code to take screenshots and assemble them into a video.

His script ties together the open source tools FFmpeg, ImageMagick, and scrot. It takes a snap every 15 seconds in a 10 hour period for a total of 2400 frames. He even outlines the process to automatically upload these clips to YouTube. Just remember, if you’re doing something naughty, there’ll be a record of it.

Putting On A Show In The Rain

February 7, 2010 by Mike Szczys 12 Comments

Let’s face it, walking around in the rain sucks. [Matth3w] is trying to add a little whimsy to an unpleasant experience by adding an LED matrix to his umbrella. The array contains 80 LEDs that are individually addressable. This is a mutiplexed array that relies on a MIC2981 source driver for the eight rows (or rings in this case), with the ten columns handled by the Arduino. The effect is quite nice as you can see in the video after the break. Now that he’s proven this works, you might want to etch your own PCB in order to get rid of the Arduino board and prototyping shield, making it easier to waterproof the control circuitry. This would make a nice addition to your illuminated umbrella stock.

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