Why use a simple knock on the door when you can wire up a laser to tell you a bathroom is occupied? Gone are those awkward moments when taking care of business is unceremoniously interrupted. Thanks to the folks at Intuity, checking to see if somebody is in the WC is as easy as checking for the red dot of a laser or a real-time HTML5 app on your smartphone. [Thanks, Martin!]
A blog post touched my heart.
While learning Clojure some years ago I stumbled upon a project that used Clojure and Arduino. Immediately, I wanted to try it out, I searched for where to get a board within my city(Port-Harcourt) or my country. I was disappointed , there was not a single distributor within the whole West Africa. It occurred to me that I may not be the only one facing this challenge and for my subcontinent to reduce poverty, we need to be part of Arduino world. How would they hack if there is no prototype board to play with? Who would supply boards when there is no distributor? These were the questions that came to my mind. Thereafter, I seized this wonderful opportunity and approached Arduino manufacturing team for distributorship. I was surprised that my application was approved. They even encouraged me to have online presence which they would link to.
Such a problem is faced by many people of the developing economy world. The first step to learning is to have access to learning tools.
One may ask what about Electrical/Electronics engineers? Well, we have them, and they have started showcasing their “unique capabilities”. Most University kids in Nigeria do not spend enough time with Micro-controllers and Microprocessors or should I say that they are intimidated. But they still yearn for a simple platform to help them get started.
“Now the good news, school kids in faraway Ghana are using Arduino boards in their Physics practicals. This is amazing! Thanks to a dutch volunteer who asked for Arduino boards in order to engage his pupils. Another wonderful story , very close to my heart is that of a secondary school kid from a privileged home(in Lagos) whose hobby is to hack Arduino board.” Writes the Nigerian Distributor.
Are you a maker in a developing nation? Would you like to spread the Arduino message? Or has Arduino touched your life in a special way? Do write to us. 
Via:[emekamicro]
[Video Link] Kelsey Klevenberg of the cloud texting service Zipwhip says:
We made the Textspresso machine to show off our cloud texting technology. It’s a robotic coffee machine. It utilized java script, 3 arduino microcontrollers, a couple servos, an ikea cupboard, and about 100 other pieces. We think it’s great. We’re open sourcing the plans in the coming weeks.
A sparsely known fashion label C&A introduces a new initiative called ‘Fashion-like’ in it’s Brazillian store. A unique feature to import ‘likes’ on a particular clothing as compared to another may interest other labels too!
In an age when the ‘likes’ can be bought and influenced using facebook Ads, maybe if an unbiased way of finding that out is tailored, it may prove to be the next generation deciding feature in fashion and apparel design.
This is doable using an Arduino too! Probably with a lot more features!
Is there a maker in the house? 
Via:[TheVerge]
A device that opens the websites using physical world interaction? This is a step closer to the internet of things. Using our beloved Arduino and RFID tags, we can think of a lot many applications of this device!
Too lazy to create your own Arduino + RFID reader? No fear! Arduino internet Gizmo is here.
A detailed Step-by-step making instruction is given here.
What websites are you going to keep as your shortcuts today?
Via:[TheVerge]
Remember this?
A good tutorial by Sparkfun will help us make the above display. Before we begin let us take a few questions on Open Frameworks.
Q> What is Open Frameworks?
openFrameworks is a very handy software library written in C++ that is written for the sole purpose of reducing the software development overhead faced by designers and artists that would like to create pieces that use various media (graphics, sound, video, electronics, etc.).
Q> Why Open Frameworks when there is Processing?
Because there are some things that oF is well suited for that Processing just can’t handle. oF is much better at creating projects that use a lot of 3D Graphics, computer vision libraries like OpenCV or projects that involve the real-time manipulation of video. Also, while Processing requires a Java backend, oF is simply a set of C++ libraries, meaning that developers comfortable with C++ will be right at home.
Q> Where can I find more data and examples on Open Frameworks?
You can start by reading this article.
Try it, it works!
Via:[sparkfun]
“MathWorks is the leading developer of mathematical computing software. MATLAB, the language of technical computing, is a programming environment for algorithm development, data analysis, visualization, and numeric computation. Simulink is a graphical environment for simulation and Model-Based Design of multidomain dynamic and embedded systems. ”
Now that the basics are clear, let us enjoy the beauty of the new feature!
“Simulink built-in support for hardware is a big boost to project-based learning,” said Dr. Farid Golnaraghi, professor and director of Mechatronic Systems Engineering at Simon Fraser University. “Our engineering students who learn control theory by creating and running models in Simulink can now easily test and tune their algorithms on hardware, without knowing embedded systems.”
Simulink provides built-in support for the following platforms:
Arduino Uno and Mega 2560 microcontroller boards for robotics, mechatronics, and hardware-connectivity tasks
BeagleBoard-xM single-board computers for audio, video, and digital signal processing
LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT robotics platform for robotics applications
As you know MATLAB is a product of MathWorks, and is widely used for data visualization, attaching an Arduino would be really beneficial and wonderful applications from the maker community can be expected!
Via:[Businesswire]
We’ve had RGB LCD displays in the Maker Shed for a while now and while they are really cool, they take up a bunch of pins on an Arduino. This new Positive RGB LCD Display Shield fixes that problem by using I2C for communication. Using I2C, what once took 9 pins now takes only 2! Since the shield uses the I2C bus, you can add other I2C sensors to the same pins driving the LCD. It’s a great way to incorporate an LCD into your Arduino projects without the messy wiring! It even includes 5 input buttons for building projects that require a user interface. Very nice!
Features:
- Dimensions: 2.1″ x 3.2″
- Comes with a 16×2 RGB backlight LCD, positive display
- Plug and play with any Arduino ‘classic’ – UNO, duemilanove, diecimilla, etc as well as Arduino Mega R3.
- Uses only the I2C pins – Analog 4 & 5 on classic Arduinos, Digital 20 and 21 on Arduino Mega R3
- Note: The shield comes as a kit and requires soldering!
Write an Android app to control an LED light shirt. The app communicates to an ATmega128 via a BlueSMiRF Bluetooth transceiver. The microcontroller outputs data on the SPI to daisy-chained shift-register-controlled constant-current regulators driving RGB LEDs.
Author: Michael Kane
How I turned my old broken guitar into a speaker.
Author: Daniel McGregor
Slow day at work? Want to turn your mouse into a cool practical joke? Make this vibrating mouse and have some fun with your co-workers.
Author: Gene Bergmann
Recycle wine corks into a functional and stylish cork board.
Author: x2Jiggy
I started this robot a couple of weeks ago, it's just plywood, plastic wheels, some hitec 615mg servos that were laying around modified for continous rotation. Currently control is through an Arduino Uno being fed by an RC receiver. I have a PING sensor and some IR LED's that I think might make it a bit more interesting in the near future. The code is really ugly at the moment. I'll attach it to this post as soon as I figure out some place to stick it.
Some other pics:
