[Paul] wrote in to show us this little project he did for his kids. His children love playing with their toy cars. In an effort to give them even more fun while playing, [Paul] built a stop light for them. He’s using an ATtiny13 to run them and has the source code available on his site. Not only did the kids get a new toy, he got an excuse to go build something in his workshop.
[atduskgreg] posted this interesting setup to flickr. He’s using two toy cars as a switch. He has wired into their metal undercarriages so when they collide, the circuit closes. We’ve seen some pretty nifty home made interface items, but usually they are posted with a clear purpose or a project. This one is a little puzzling. Does he intend to keep using the cars or was he just fooling around? Is he working on a toy that does something when they crash? Was he merely bored and wanted to see what he could attach to his Arduino. We may never know.
This train layout is so small it nearly defies photography as much as it defies expectations. Built by model railroad enthusiast [David Smith], this is a model of a model: an N scale (1:160) layout inside a Z scale (1:220) world! For size reference, the entire layout is shown under a ballpoint pen tip in the photo above. And it actually runs!
Of course with this being Hack a Day you know there’s going to be some shenanigans involved. Pause the hi-def YouTube video at the 0:50 mark and see if you can puzzle it out first. The remainder of the video and [David’s] project page reveal how this all works, and it’s no less amazing even with the trick exposed. Check out his other ludicrously small mechanical wonders as well!
[via RetroThing]
since we are on the topic of rubick’s cube hacks, i would probably be derelict in my duties if i didn’t mention the manhattan sculpture that a crew of hackers briefly transformed into 512-cubic-feet of rubick’s goodness.
this one definately ranks right up there with the mit media lab srubbing bubbles. art hacks are so incredible. they have a subversive way of giving regular folks a brief look at life through hacker goggles.
correct me if i’m wrong, but technology was supposed to make our lives easier, take care of us, make us dinner, raise our children, and, fulfill our every dream.
so what has technology done for you lately? nothing? well, my friend, today we have a hack that will change your life forever. today sammo sent us a link to jp brown’s amazing rubick’s cube solving robot.
the final task on my big list of things to do can finally be crossed off. life is good.
kno one forwarded me a link to a diy lazer tag system that is off the hook.
MilesTag uses a digitally encoded signal allowing differentiation between up to 32 players and 7 teams, and supports a wide range of weapon types, including mines, area-denial and even non-conventional weapons. Damage inflicted by each weapon is scalable, and the performance of each weapon is fully configurable (rate of fire, ammo capacity, reload time, etc.).
the trogdornator (pictured above) really caught my eye. source and schematics are included so you and your friends can get together and build you own game. but make sure to pick your friends carefully — they must have courage, cunning and the ability to hack.
if you haven’t seen this project before, it’s well worth a look. the author shows us how to control billy from a pc104 embedded pc running linux. included is an introduction into using open source tools for creating audio transcriptions, which can then be used to make billy lip-sync to custom audio clips.
the software controls the bass via the pc’s parallel port. if you are interested in doing something like this, you might also want to check out the article we recently posted on controlling an r/c car from your parallel port.
toy hacks and controlling devices from your pc are really great topics. i’d love to see more hacks like this. make sure to send in your tips!
