When you swipe a card through a reader, you expect it to read a magnetic stripe on one end. In other circumstances cards might contain an RFID chip, but what if the card only had a pattern of colors on it?

That’s the idea behind the Color Lock system by Rudec Technologies. The cards have a pattern of four colors printed on one side, which are read by an array of LEDs and a TCS230 color sensor when pulled through a slot. An Arduino Uno then takes this information and lights up an LED if the correct sequence is recognized.

This is a door locking system that uses a card with a preset color sequence printed on it to unlock the door. The system is still in the prototyping stage, i’m waiting for the actual lock part to arrive in mail to continue developing this. The idea behind this system is to avoid using RFID authentication, as it can be ‘stolen’ without contact, and this system offers a simple physical object that you use to authenticate yourself – think of it as an updated physical key. The system can offer much more than the conventional keys: if you lose your key, you simply print a new one, you can use a number of different keys for the same lock (or just one if you choose), the system logs all entries with timestamps (useful for tracking access), you can use your regular printer to print new keys, you can unlock it via Wi-Fi when paired with your phone or another device, the system can be used to authenticate in various situations (doors, cabinets, computers, entry points etc.

It’s an interesting concept that could be taken in a variety of directions depending on security needs. A clip of the prototype can be seen below!

Witaya Junma decided to combine creations from three different time periods: a Spirograph (1965), Stirling engine (1816), and an Arduino board developed in the 2000s to form a unique art piece.

What he came up with is the Spirotrope, which invites users to draw a pattern using a Spirograph, then place it in a special holder that spins it with a Stirling engine. This engine also provides electrical power for the Arduino, allowing it to blink a light on the moving pattern at various rates.

These flashes make the drawings appear to rotate at different speeds, and several patterns can even appear to move independently, forming a unique layered effect.

Hardware used includes a Stirling engine, Arduino, Spirograph, motor 12 DC, LED 3V, B10K, Capacitor 470uf 16v, diode 1N4001, TIP 31 and round belts. Software: Arduino

Stirling engine is a heat engine that operates by expansion of hot air, which is created by an alcohol burner in this work. The engine does two jobs: it turns the wheel by giving power to the belt and generate AC currents by spinning the generators. The currents are then converted to DC by a 1N4001 diode and fed into a set of capacitors, which stabilize the currents before powering up the Arduino board. The board controls the frequency of LEDs, which can be controlled by turning the B10K potentiometer.

The blinking LED creates the illusion of moving patterns from a rapid succession of static images.

Be sure to check it out in the video below. More project details are available in his write-up and on Creative Applications.

[Dickel] always liked tracked vehicles. Taking inspiration from the ‘Peacemaker’ tracked vehicle in Mad Max: Fury Road, he replicated it as the Mad Mech. The vehicle is remote-controlled and the tank treads are partly from a VEX robotics tank tread kit. Control is via a DIY wireless controller using an Arduino and NRF24L01 modules. The vehicle itself uses an Arduino UNO with an L298N motor driver. Power is from three Li-Po cells.

The real artistic work is in the body. [Dickel] used a papercraft tool called Pepakura (non-free software, but this Blender plugin is an alternative free approach) for the design to make the body out of thin cardboard. The cardboard design was then modified to make it match the body of the Peacemaker as much as possible. It was coated in fiberglass for strength, then the rest of the work was done with body filler and sanding for a smooth finish. After a few more details and a good paint job, it was ready to roll.

There’s a lot of great effort that went into this build, and [Dickel] shows his work and process on his project page and in the videos embedded below. The first video shows the finished Mad Mech being taken for some test drives. The second is a montage showing key parts of the build process.

Paper and cardboard are very versatile and accessible materials for making things. It’s what was used to do some target practice with this working paper and cardboard gun. With the right techniques foam core can be worked into an astonishing variety of shapes, and we also made a case for the value of a desktop vinyl cutter on any well-equipped hacker’s workbench.

[smash_hand] had a clear goal: a big, featureless, white plastic disk with RGB LEDs concealed around its edge. So what is it? A big ornament that could glow any color or trippy mixture of colors one desires. It’s an object whose sole purpose is to be a frame for soft, glowing light patterns to admire. The disk can be controlled with a simple smartphone app that communicates over Bluetooth, allowing anyone (or in theory anything) to play with the display.

The disk is made from 1/4″ clear plastic, which [smash_hand] describes as plexiglass, but might be acrylic or polycarbonate. [smash_hands] describes some trial and error in the process of cutting the circle; it was saw-cut with some 3-in-1 oil as cutting fluid first, then the final shape cut with a bandsaw.

The saw left the edge very rough, so it was polished with glass polishing compound. This restores the optical properties required for the edge-lighting technique. The back of the disc was sanded then painted white, and the RGB LEDs spaced evenly around the edge, pointing inwards.

The physical build is almost always the difficult part in a project like this — achieving good diffusion of LEDs is a topic we talk about often. [smash_hands] did an impressive job and there are never any “hot spots” where an LED sticks out to your eye. With this taken care of, the electronics came together with much less effort. An Arduino with an HC-05 Bluetooth adapter took care of driving the LEDs and wireless communications, respectively. A wooden frame later, and the whole thing is ready to go.

[smash_hands] provides details like a wiring diagram as well as the smartphone app for anyone who is interested. There’s the Arduino program as well, but interestingly it’s only available in assembly or as a raw .hex file. A video of the disk in action is embedded below.

Making LED lighting interactive comes in many different shapes and forms, and as the disk above shows, shifting color patterns can be pleasantly relaxing.

There’s no limit to the amount of work some people will put into avoiding work. For instance, why bother to get up from your YouTube-induced vegetative state to adjust the volume when you can design and build a remote to do it for you?

Loath to interrupt his PC streaming binge sessions, [miroslavus] decided to take matters into his own hands. When a commercially available wireless keyboard proved simultaneously overkill for the job and comically non-ergonomic, he decided to build a custom streaming remote. His recent microswitch encoder is prominently featured and provides scrolling control for volume and menu functions, and dedicated buttons are provided for play controls. The device reconfigures at the click of a switch to support Netflix, which like YouTube is controlled by sending keystrokes to the PC through a matching receiver. It’s a really thoughtful design, and we’re sure the effort [miroslavus] put into this will be well worth the dozens of calories it’ll save in the coming years.

A 3D-printed DIY remote is neat, but don’t forget that printing can also save a dog-chewed remote and win the Repairs You Can Print contest.

Proving that duct tape really can do anything, [StudentBuilds] uses it to make a workable controller out of a glove. To be fair, there are a few more bits too, including paper coated with pencil graphite and tin foil, which forms a variable resistor you can read with an Arduino analog input. You can see the entire thing in the video below.

The source code is simple at this point — eventually, he plans to control a robotic hand with the controller, but that’s later. However, there’s no promised link to the code in the description, so you’ll have to freeze frame and type. However, it is pretty simple — just read the analog pin values to determine the specific values for each finger.

There was a slight issue with the build. At first, all the sensors read the maximum (1023). That necessitated changing the fixed resistor to a much higher value. Also, be sure to read the notes on the screen as the original schematic has a small error corrected with a note. One end of the voltage divider needs to go to 5 V. The schematic shows both ends going to ground.

Is this going to be wildly accurate? No. It isn’t even going to be repeatable if you build multiples and the calibration will probably even change with age. Still, it is cool that you can take a few pieces of scrap material and do something with it. Also, the homemade sensor approach might spur your imagination to make other pencil-based sensors.

If you want something a bit more mechanical, try Lego. If you can’t think of anything you want to control with such a glove, maybe try your hand at music.

Of all the ways to open up a lock, there are some tried and true methods. Keys, combinations, RFIDs, picks, and explosives have all had their time and place, but now someone else wants to try something new. [Erik] has come up with a lock that opens when it is shown a pattern of colors.

The lock in question uses a set of color coded cards as the “keys”. When the cards are inserted in the lock, a TCS230 color sensor interprets the pattern on the cards and sends the information over to an Arduino Uno. From there, the Arduino can command the physical lock to open if the pattern is a match, although [Erik] is still waiting on the locking mechanism to arrive while he continues to prototype the device.

This is a fairly unique idea with a number of upsides. First, the code can’t be “stolen” from inside a wallet like RFID cards can. (Although if you can take a picture of the card all bets are off.) If you lose your key, you can simply print another one, and the device is able to handle multiple different keys and log the usage of each one. Additionally, no specialized equipment is needed to create the cards, unlike technologies that rely on magnetic strips. Of course, there’s always this classic way of opening doors if you’d rather go old school with your home locks.

Hey everyone, it’s me again.

So today I’ve been working on a project: recreating Steve Grand’s artificial neural networks from the old “Creatures” games on Arduino. Why, you ask?

read more

Hey everyone, it’s me again.

So today I’ve been working on a project: recreating Steve Grand’s artificial neural networks from the old “Creatures” games on Arduino. Why, you ask?

read more

There’s perhaps no other game more classic than Pong, and likely none that require fewer control inputs, making it perfect for “porting” to a Sony Watchman. While an amazing piece of tech when introduced in the early ’80s, the current lack of analog TV signals means they only receive static.

As seen here, hacker “sideburn” decided to do something about it, and removed the tuner and decoder chip, making space for an Arduino Nano in the device’s housing. To complete the build, he hooked up the Arduino outputs to TV inputs, along with the tuner as a paddle controller and built-in switch as a start/pause button, and was able to seal the unit up again.

The result is a retro gaming system that looks completely stock, playing Pong as if it was there the whole time. Be sure to check out the video to see it in action!