Who should chip in the most to restock the community coffee supply at work is a common point of contention at some offices. This RFID infused coffee brewer called Juraduino by [Oliver Krohn] solves the issue at his workplace once and for all by logging how much is being consumed by each person and how often; quite the diplomatic hack.

[Oliver] donated his old Jura Coffee maker to his office with some added hardware cleverly hidden underneath the faceplate of the machine. An Arduino mounted within runs the show, powered through mini USB from the logic unit of the coffee maker itself. Once a co-worker swipes their RFID card over the front of the machine, a real-time clock module stamps when the coffee was requested, and then logs the amount selected by that person on a mini SD card. The data stored is sent via an additional bluetooth module to a custom app [Oliver] created with MIT App Inventor for his phone which displays the information. These details can then be exported in the form of an email addressed to everyone in the office at the end of the week, announcing definitively who can be counted on to restock the bulk of the community supplies.

Though there isn’t a link available with further documentation, [Oliver] mentions in the ‘details’ portion of his video that he’d be happy to share that information with anyone who contacts him regarding the project. You can see the Jura at work below:

Last year, during the first celebration of Arduino Day more than 240 user groups, makerspaces, hackerspaces, fablabs, schools, studios and educators throughout Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa and Australia planned activities, workshops, events for a wide range of audiences and skillsets. They celebrated together the open source community gathered around Arduino globally.

We are now organizing the second edition of this worldwide anniversary celebrating Arduino community and the makers’ movement. Everyone can participate in the role of organizer or as a participant.
Stay tuned because at the beginning of February we’ll be launching the open call for entries. In the meanwhile check the countdown here http://arduinoday.tv – Hashtag: #ArduinoD15

Forget playing games for cash -- if you really want to raise the stakes, try losing your actual blood when you lose in the virtual world. That's the concept behind Blood Sport, a crowdfunded project that modifies game controllers to drain your body when your character takes damage. Their Arduino-based technology turns a gamepad's rumble signals (which often indicate that you've been hit) into commands for a blood collection machine. In theory, every digital punch or gunshot draws some of the red stuff from your arm. And before you ask: Blood Sport limits transfers based on your age, medical conditions and weight, so you won't pass out just because your gaming skills aren't up to snuff.

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Via: Kotaku

Source: Kickstarter

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[psgarcha] took a year-old Arduino Uno on an international trip and upon returning found something was wrong. Every time he would try to upload, he would get the dreaded avrdude error, ‘stk500_getsync(): not in sync resp=0×00′. The Rx light would blink a few times during the attempted upload, but the tx light did not. Somehow, something was terribly wrong with the ‘duino, and [psgarcha] dug deep to figure out why.

To test the quality of the Arduino’s serial connection, [psgarcha] performed a loopback test; basically a wire plugged into the Tx and Rx pins of the Arduino. Sending a short message through the serial port showed the problem wasn’t the USB cable, the ATmega16u2 on the ‘duino, or any traces on the board. This would require more thought.

The main reason for the error would then be no communication between the computer and the ‘duino, the wrong COM port selected, the wrong board selected in the Arduino text editor, or timing errors or a corrupt bootloader. The first three errors were now out of the question, leaving timing errors and a corrupt bootloader. Troubleshooting then moved on to ordering a new programmer, and still this didn’t work with the broken Uno.

Frustrated with one of the greatest failures to become an Arduino tinkerer, [psgarcha] took a good, long look at the Uno board. He glanced over to an Arduino Mega board. Something looked different. On the Uno, the resonator had blown off. Problem found, at least.

Replacing the blown part with a hilariously large can crystal oscillator, [psgarcha] was back in business. This isn’t how you would fix 99% of getsync() errors, and it’s difficult imagining a situation where a this part would randomly blow, but if you’re ever looking at a nearly intractable problem, you need to start looking at what really shouldn’t fail.

Awesome rework, though.

This is a post about workbenches, but not the benches you’re probably thinking about. Workbenches meant for electronics development are simple matters – just about any flat surface, a few shelves for equipment, and an anti-static mat will be fine for every conceivable use.  Workbenches for woodworking are a separate matter entirely. There’s actually quite a bit of history behind the development of the woodworking workbench, but the basic idea is a thick laminated wood top, integrated vices, holes in the work surface for bench dogs, and ergonomics that allow for comfortable use of hand tools. The basic design of these benches hasn’t changed much in several hundred years, and [Dirk] thought the design was ready for a modern update.

Yes. This one moves on its own. It’s a robotic woodworking workbench that lifts the workpiece and table up to a comfortable position. The lifting mechanism is a quartet of Acme threaded rods all powered by an Arduino-controlled stepper motor linked together with sprockets and chain. There’s a remote control to raise and lower the bench, and a few batteries tucked behind the mechanics to allow for off-grid operation.

A bench must be sturdy, and this one has clamps on the frame of to clamp the ‘elevator car’ securely to the bench. Leveling casters make this bench mobile, giving [Dirk] the ability to move it around the shop, or from site to site. An integrate face vise and a twin-screw end vise securely hold the workpiece to the table, and a linseed oil finish make scratches and gouges easily repairable.

The majority of the frame is constructed out of birch plywood cut on a CNC, so if you have a Shopbot or other large router available to you at the local hackerspace, building this bench for yourself is a much simpler matter than the mortise and tenon joinery of a more traditional woodworking workbench. If you end up building this bench, be sure to pick up the casters [Dirk] used; this thing weighs 800 pounds. Massive, heavy, and an excellent bench that can be passed down to your grandkids. Video below.

Based on open source technology and programming, LUZ is a lighting project that product designer Marina Mellado designed and targeted to those people who are physically and psychologically affected by the lack of sun or daylight.

Luz is a one meter diameter ring of light. It connects two LED stripes RGB SMD5050 to an Adafruit TCS34725 sensor ( which I use to get the temperature of colour (K) and the light intensity (Lux) Values ) and an Arduino Uno.

The electronic system is programmed to modify gradually the light-color sensibility of the lamp depending on the weather conditions when the sensor is positioned by the window.

Check the video below to see the lamp in action:

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