Using an Arduino, along with a stepper motor and ball bearings, YouTuber GreatScott! has created a very smooth camera slider.

Time-lapse sequences can be interesting on their own, but if you can add motion to the camera, this adds a really neat element. To give a little extra flair to his video production, GreatScott! built his own motorized slider using stainless steel and aluminum parts. Movement is accomplished via an Arduino Nano controlling a stepper motor, and ball bearings are used to keep the shots smooth. You can see the results and process in the two-part video sequence below.

In this project, I will show you how I repurposed two old camera tripods in order to create a motorized camera slider. The mechanical system consist mostly of aluminium and stainless steel which makes the slider sturdy and pretty decent looking. The electrical system consists of an Arduino Nano with LCD, rotary encoder, limit switches and stepper motor.

Besides the videos seen here, check out GreatScott!’s Instructables writeup as well.

The ‘80s may be long gone, but James Cochrane is bringing the keytar back with the help of an old HP Scanjet. For this, the Maker has taken an Arduino, a stepper motor shield, an optocoupler and an off-the-shelf MIDI keyboard for input, and integrated it into the flatbed scanner’s original features. The end result: the world’s first (and only) MIDI-controlled HP Scanjet keytar.

As he describes in his YouTube video:

This scanner had a hidden command set within the Scanner Control Language which allows you to send musical notes directly to the stepper motor. This is a tedious method where you have to enter the notes and durations manually into a text file (similar to G-code on a CNC machine). I have always used and will always use this method for my old school music videos; however, I wanted to try and build a MIDI-controlled stepper motor.

One day I had one of my HP Scanjets sitting on its side and for some reason it resembled a Roland SH-101 and that’s when I came up with the idea for the HP Scanjet Keytar. What a great way to merge both into a musical instrument.

Those wishing to relive the days of classic yet quirky keytar are in luck. Cochrane has provided a detailed breakdown of the device in the video below, and has shared its code on GitHub.

Maker and astronomy enthusiast Görkem Bozkurt has built a GoTo telescope mount-inspired system that points and tracks any object in the sky using its celestial coordinates. The aptly named Star Track sports a 3D-printed structure along with a pair of Arduinos (an Uno and Nano), a gyroscope, an RTC module, two low-cost 5V stepper motors, and a laser pointer.

Many computerized telescopes have a type of telescope mount and related software which can automatically point a telescope to astronomical objects that the user selects. Called GoTo mounts. Like a standard equatorial mount, equatorial GoTo mounts can track the night sky by driving the right-ascension axis. Since laser pointers are a perfect way to point stars, I thought a laser pointer with a GoTo mount would be a perfect tool for locating stars and to track them.

First I had to design a two-axis mount.

1. 360-degree rotating axis for RA
2. A up-down axis for DEC

After aligning the RA axis with the North Celestial Pole, an Arduino connected with an RTC should be able to calculate and track RA with sidereal time. And you can adjust the two axes to the user input from a computer via serial.

But first I had to find a way to precisely point the mount to given degrees. The main idea was to use step motors and give them a specific step to take. But after a few tests that was not totally accurate.

Instead, I used a gyroscope placed on the laser pointer to track the degrees on the two axes, this way I was able to send a command to the step motor to start and stop the movement if necessary.

Intrigued? Bozkurt provides a basic overview of positional astronomy on his project page, along with all of Star Track’s 3D files, code and assembly instructions.

Do you just really hate yellow Skittles? Only love the red ones? Well, why waste your time sorting them out yourself when an automated machine can do it for you? As part of a recent tutorial, Dejan Nedelkovski has built what we calls the “Arduino Color Sorter” using a TCS3200 color sensor, two hobbyist servo motors, and an Arduino Nano.

How it works is fairly straightforward: The candies are stored within a plastic tube on top of the contraption and dropped onto a platform attached to the first servo. The motor then rotates the platform, bringing the Skittle to the color sensor. From there, the bottom servo moves into position while the top servo rotates again until the candy falls into the guide rail and into its respective bin.

So whether you’re tired of grouping your Skittles or need to meet the request of rockstars like Van Halen (no brown M&Ms!), you can find the Arduino Color Sorter’s 3D model, code and instructions here.

Coffee, making and hacking addictions are just bound to get out of control. So did [Rhys Goodwin’s] coffee maker hack. What started as a little restoration project of a second-hand coffee machine resulted in a complete upgrade to state of the art coffee brewing technology.

The Brasilia Lady comes with a 300 ml brass boiler, a pump and four buttons for power, coffee, hot water and steam. A 3-way AC solenoid valve, wired directly to the buttons, selects one of the three functions, while a temperamental bimetal switch keeps the boiler roughly between almost there and way too hot.

To reduce the temperature swing, [Rhys] decided to add a PID control loop, and on the way, an OLED display, too. He designed a little shield for the Arduino Nano, that interfaces with the present hardware through solid state relays. Two thermocouples measure the temperature of the boiler and group head while a thermal cut-off fuse protects the machine from overheating in case of a malfunction.

Also, the Lady’s makeup received a complete overhaul, starting with a fresh powder coating. A sealed enclosure along with a polished top panel for the OLED display were machined from aluminum. [Rhys] also added an external water tank that is connected to the machine through shiny, custom lathed tube fittings. Before the water enters the boiler, it passes through a custom preheater, to avoid cold water from entering the boiler directly. Not only does the result look fantastic, it also offers a lot more control over the temperature and the amount of water extracted, resulting in a perfect brew every time. Enjoy [Rhys’s] video where he explains his build:

Thanks to [Pirate14] for the tip!

The CALEIDUINO is an Arduino-based digital and sound reactive kaleidoscope, designed to serve as a toy, an art object, and a tool for teaching electronics and programming in a playful yet creative way.

At the heart of CALEIDUINO is a PCB for connecting an Arduino Nano, a TFT 1.8 “display, an analog 3-axis accelerometer GY-61, a piezoelectric, a switch, and a 9V battery–all of which are housed inside a hexagonal methacrylate case. Just like in any kaleidoscope, t three mirrors in triangular prism shape, while an accelerometer collects a user’s movement to generate the psychedelic graphics and sounds.

In terms of software, the CALEIDUINO uses the Arduino IDE along with the Adafruit GFX and ST7735 libraries. The project is entirely open source and is the work of artist José Manuel González. You can read more about the device here, or see it in action below.

While this recent project may look like something straight out of Simone Giertz’s notebook, it’s actually the brainchild of James Cochrane. The engineer, who admittedly loves building all sorts of crazy machines, has developed an apparatus he calls the IoT Robot People/Pet Affectionator.

As its name would suggest, the Affectionator is an Arduino Nano-driven device that automatically gives his dog T-Bone a pat on the head along with a spoon-fed treat at the touch of an arcade button. That’s not all, though. It even allows the pup to reciprocate by pressing his own button and sending over a token of his appreciation on a fork–which in Cochrane’s case is a gummy worm.

Aside from the Arduino, the Affectionator is equipped with two H-Bridge motor drivers, two geared Pittman motors, and two geared hobby motors.

These days people are more connected with each other, however we are experiencing fewer physical interactions. This device will allow you to provide affection either locally or remotely to your pet without any physical contact. If your pet decides you are also worthy of their affection they can also reciprocate with a pat on the head and a tasty treat.

One day while giving my dog T-Bone a scratch behind the ears I came up with this silly idea. A robot which gives you a pet on the head and feeds you a treat. With the IoT, you can also build two of these and network them across the Internet.

Intrigued? Watch the hilarious idea in action below!

Project-based lessons are a great way to introduce students to the world of electronics. Clearly Jenna Debois agrees, as she has built a DIY classroom clock based on an Arduino Nano. What’s even cooler is that it’s optimized for teachers! 

The device is made using laser-cut wood pieces, NeoPixels, a real-time clock module, and packs plenty of customizable features like:

• An additional digit that keeps track of the block or period- an especially useful feature for rotating block schedules
• The ability to program holidays into the code to prevent the block from advancing on days when school is not in session
• LED digits that fade from green to red as the end of the period or block approaches so that a single glance can convey the remaining class time
• A countdown timer triggered 6 minutes before the period ends that flashes between the time and the remaining time- a useful feature for signaling cleanup time
• Other light effects that can be triggered during lunch, free periods, after school, or other special occasions

Debois not only created a step-by-step guide, but also shared all the documentation on GitHub and a detailed video of the build process.

An entry in this year’s Hackaday Prize, Dtto is a snake-like robot designed to be modular and self-reconfigurable.

Inspired by Bruce Lee’s famous water quote, Dtto can transform into various shapes by changing the position and connection of its 3D-printed modules. As Hackaday points out, each section of Dtto is a double-hinged joint. When two come together, magnets help them align. A servo-controlled latch solidly docks the sections, which then work in unison. Impressively, it can connect and separate segments autonomously – without any human intervention. Creator Alberto believes the versatility of the bot will enable it to perform rescue missions, explore unknown environments, and operate in space.

The open-source robot consists of an Arduino Nano, a Bluetooth HC-06 module, an NRF2401+ radio transceiver, two SG92R Tower Pro servos for main movement, three Tower Pro SG90 micro servos for coupling, and a WS2812 RGB LED. For its latest iteration, the Maker has made a few design improvements to allot for 25% more internal space, a data bus connecting the two blocks and Tower Pro MG92B motors. Future modules will even include a built-in camera, an ultrasonic sensor, a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and a magnetometer, to name just a few. Until then, you can follow along on its project page and check out a few of its videos below.

Jochen Maria Weber’s Foxes Like Beacons is an exploratory project using open data of public radio stations with inexpensive, low-power signal detection in order to create an open positioning system. According to the designer:

Today’s satellite based GPS enable and augment uncountable everyday processes, ranging from logistics to fitness trackers and even intimate dating applications. These proprietary systems are mostly invisibly controlled and curated by governments, military and economic actors. Since GPS ubiquitously affect our interactions and experiences with our environment, economy and privacy, Foxes Like Beacons questions this present model, thus opening up space for speculations about alternative navigation systems and new models for interaction.

Open data about public radio stations, transceivers and open source signal detection can be used to calculate geo positions.

So, Jochen developed three example devices based on the same technical structure using very low-power, open and off-the-shelf technology. This consists of an omnidirectional antenna, a 4.3″ TFT screen, a compass, gyroscope and barometric altitude sensor, a radio frequency tuner, a battery, an Arduino Nano (for signal processing), and a Rasperry Pi 2.

Precision and miniaturization can be extremely increased using customized parts, and by building on the distributed infratructure of public broadcast radio, Foxes Like Beacons is not subject to any kind of central control or curation.

First, Device No.1 measures the received signal strengths and decodes the identifiers of minimum three stations. Open data about their transceiver locations and respective transmission power is used to calculate distance to each transceiver and which can therefore be triangulated, in order to get a users geo location. Incorporating more stations leads to a higher resolution and more accurate geo locations.

Next, Device No.2 enables users to navigate by pleasing of sound rather than geographical information, following “geo-acoustic” maps. It automatically adjusts the volumes of simultaneously played stations according to proximity.

Finally, Device No.3 speculates about further applications by analyzing and interpreting signal modulations which occur due to factors like electromagnetic radiation, weather, and geographic conditions. These modulate radio signals in characteristc ways which can be interpreted and incorporated in navigation/exploration.

Foxes Like Beacons is part of the ongoing project “Stupid, Messy Networks,” which investigates the process of digital networks becoming ubiquitous infrastructures and moreover how these new infrastructures empower or constrain actors in economical, political and social interactions.

(via Creative Applications)