The Otto DIY robot has just taken first place in the coveted role as “best robot to 3D print for your (inner) child”. It’s cute, it dances, it doesn’t cost too much, it’s completely open source, and it’s not impossible to write code for. It’s probably the most refined Bob design that we’ve seen yet. Watch it move in the video below.

We fell in love with the Bob robot when we first saw it, and we apparently weren’t alone. There have been a ton of Bob-clones that have refined the basic design. And until Otto, the Spanish Zowi was the coolest that we’d ever seen.

Why is Otto so cool? They’ve tweaked the design so that, with the exception of some fiddly servo screws, everything just snaps together. The printed parts fit easily on a single RepRap bed, so you can practically churn them out. And the rest consists of very cheap commodity parts that you can easily source online. If four hobby servos cost $20, you could get the whole bot done for around $40.

Since this is a Bob clone, the firmware is approximately compatible with the Zowi. Indeed, there have already been people who’ve run Zowi firmware on the Otto (YouTube), adding Bluetooth to make use of Zowi’s cell-phone remote control. Besides the cute-factor, one of the strongest reasons to build yourself a Bob-style robot is the growing code ecosystem, both around Otto and Zowi. So don’t just sit there, get printing and contribute!

[Marcelo Maximiano’s] son had a school project. He and a team of students built “The Pyramid’s Secret“–an electronic board game using the Arduino Nano. [Marcelo] helped with the electronics, but the result is impressive and a great example of packaging an Arduino project. You can see a video of the game, below.

In addition to the processor, the game uses a WT5001M02 MP3 player (along with an audio amplifier) to produce music and voices. There’s also a rotary encoder, an LCD, a EEPROM (to hold the quiz questions and answers), and an LED driver. There’s also a bunch of LEDs, switches, and a wire maze that requires the player to navigate without bumping into the wire (think 2D Operation).

In addition to the code and hardware diagrams, there is a PDF file on GitHub describing more about the game. It is in Portuguese, though, so most of us will probably need a little translation help. However, a Brazillian site did have an English post about the game, which might be a good place to start.

You might not want to replicate the game, but it is a great example of how much an Arduino can do with some simple externals devices and some attention to packaging.

Sadly, most of our projects look more like this game (no offense to that hacker). Projects like this are way more likely to spark young people’s interest than a blinking LED or a capacitor meter. If you are more in the mood for arcade play, you can also check out Arduinocade.

These small arm-mounted propeller units can carry a skin diver through the water with minimal effort.

YouTuber “PeterSripol” had only a week to prepare for his trip to Hawaii. Rather than purchase a set of fins or a snorkel, he instead hooked up two T100 thrusters that he had lying around to wrist straps. In his setup, these thrusters are controlled by a button interfaced with an Arduino that allows the user to select one of three power levels.

The required battery, as well as other control components are housed inside a waterproof box, and quite a bit of effort was put into making good (and hopefully waterproof) connections!

Unfortunately, the fun was cut short by a cut wire, but it looked awesome nevertheless! You can see the project in action below!

Booze, they say, is one of the major factors that shaped human history. And creating new and faster ways of making booze has always been a big engineering problem, so this project by [Goat Industries] is rather interesting. It’s a completely automated micro-distillery called the NanoStillery.

The whole thing can run unattended, but uploads data on the brewing process for remote monitoring and notification. Given that distilling involves explosive things like alcohol vapor, that’s a big plus. It is all home-made, including the boiler assembled from steel plate and an air-cooled condenser. It’s controlled by an Arduino Mega twinned with a couple of Adafruit boards that interface with the various sensors and pumps that control the flow of booze around the system. There is also an Adafruit FONA board that includes a cellular modem that uploads data to a database to monitor the progress and let you know when it is done.

The Instructable even includes the Arduino code that runs the process. It’s an impressive build from an engineering point of view, and the final touch has to be the creepy Cylon voice that the controller uses to narrate the process. There’s a video tour after the break.

If you are curious about the role of booze and other drinks in the development of technology, I recommend you read A History of the World in Six Glasses by Tom Standage, an excellent book that traces the history of civilization through the history of beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea and cola.

Due largely to the overwhelming dominance of mobile phones, payphones are a sometimes overlooked relic from the 90’s and earlier eras. While seldom seen out in the wild these days, they can however still be acquired for a moderate fee — how many of you knew that? Setting out to prove the lasting usefulness of the payphone, Instructables user [Fuzzy-Wobble] has dialed the retro spirit way past eleven to his ’90 from the ’90s’ payphone boombox.

Conspicuously mounted in the corner of his office, a rangefinder sets the phone to ringing when somebody walks by — a fantastic trap for luring the curious into a nostalgia trip. Anyone who picks up will be prompted to punch in a code from the attached mini-phone book and those who do will be treated to one of ninety hits from — well —  the 1990’s. All of the songs have been specifically downgraded to 128kbps for that authentic 90’s sound — complete with audio artifacts. There’s even a little easter egg wherein hitting the coin-return lever triggers the payphone to shout “Get a job!”

[Fuzzy-Wobble] notes that a payphone bracket is indispensable as most all payphones are made of cast iron, and nobody likes holes ripped out of their walls due to improper mounting. They’ve also provided their code as well as links to other tutorials for aspects of the build — such as the Adafruit music maker — throughout. Now you’ll have to excuse us as we groove while lost in a reverie.

Kick it back an extra decade and you get an 80’s boombox bluetooth speaker.

[Thanks for the submission, Alex S!!]

Using ultrasonic sensors attached to a person’s arm, researchers have found a way to let you “feel” distant objects.

The concept of this project is surprisingly simple, but as shown in the test video below, seems to work quite well. Using an Arduino Uno to coordinate everything, when rangefinders see a nearby object, like a wall, the system triggers the corresponding vibrators. This allows someone to sense what is nearby without seeing or touching it.

An obvious use case for something like this would be to help visually-impaired people navigate. Perhaps it could also serve in an application where you need to pay attention to something you can’t quite see, sort of like how an animal’s whiskers warn them of danger before contact is made.

The idea is to have a set of rangefinders in armbands that point outwards around your body. Each armband also has vibrators in that vibrate against your skin at an increasing frequency as the range from each sensor gets smaller. The left armband covers your left-side surroundings, and the right your right-side.

You can see more details on this sensor assembly on RepRap Ltd’s page, including how its case was printed directly on fabric!

Cut in the shape of a gamepad, this controller sits on the floor for kids to enjoy!

Maker Jegatheesan Soundarapandian had gotten bored with computer games, and decided he, or rather his daughter, needed a new way to interact with the PC. What he came up with was a controller covered in cloth, with switches embedded between this covering and a wooden base.

Switches were made out of CDs and aluminum foil, which could be a good technique for others experimenting with unique interface devices. Control is accomplished with an Arduino Uno that communicates with a PC via a Bluetooth module.

Ready to play games and run apps by foot? Check out the project’s page on Instructables!

Need a gift idea for that special person in your life? A present that inspires his or her creative side is always a good option. With the holiday season officially underway, we’ve rounded up a few guides to help with your search, ranging from kits for young Makers to stocking stuffers for techies. Whatever you choose, be sure to spend over $150/€100 and take advantage of our FREE SHIPPING all December long!

UNDER THE TREE: BUNDLES & KITS
Who needs toys when you can build your own inventions?

• Arduino and Genuino Starter Kit – It’s a classic! With 15 projects, this kit is the perfect starting point for anyone looking to tinker around with electronics and coding. Available also in German, Spanish and Italian!

• MKR1000 Bundle – Ready to spend your holiday break building your first Internet of Things device? The MKR1000 Bundle is based on our powerful Wi-Fi board and includes all the components needed to add connectivity to your design.

• Road to Santa Claus Kit - Remember the old advent calendar? Well, we’re giving it an IoT twist with the brand-new MKR1000-based Road to Santa system! Step-by-step instructions on how to assemble the kit can be found on our Project Hub!

Explore more bundles and kits!

YOUNG MAKERS
Let kids unwrap their imagination

• littleBits Premium Kit – Might as well call it a box o’ fun! With this set, kids can learn the basics of electronics, explore STEAM principles and form the foundations of critical thinking, all while creating whirring, buzzing gadgets. The littleBits Premium Kit consists of 14 color-coded modules that magnetically snap together to form larger circuits, guaranteed to keep curious minds engaged for hours. With over 600,000 possible combinations, you can let your imagination run wild!

• Bare Conductive Celebration Circuit Set – Create three flashing greeting cards using Electric Paint. This interactive kit guides users through drawing a circuit, and attaching LEDs and batteries.

Browse more gifts perfect for Young Makers!

STOCKING STUFFERS
Boards, books, and other goodies!

• Yún Shield – A powerful IoT shield that brings Yún features to your Arduino or Genuino, enabling you to remotely upload sketches to your boards. Connecting to your WiFi network is simplified with the Yún Web Panel and dedicated ”YunFirstConfig” sketch.

• Arduino and Genuino T-Shirt – Wear your Maker pride with this gray Uno shirt.

Find more stocking stuffers!

A fully open source, Arduino-compatible microcontoller based on the RISC-V architecture.

Read more on MAKE

The post The Open-V, World’s First RISC-V-based Open Source Microcontroller appeared first on Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers.