Stanford researchers led by post-doctoral fellow Nariman Farsad have built a machine that sends text messages using common chemicals.

If you’re building a project, and need to send a signal from one component to another, solutions generally involve wiring them together, or some sort of radio, perhaps Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. Farsad, however, has been working on something entirely different. His system uses commonly-available chemicals to turn a liquid, either basic or acidic, in sequence as a binary communication protocol.

But instead of zeros and ones, it sends pulses of acid (vinegar) or base (glass cleaner). The researchers type their desired message in a small computer, which  sends a signal to a machine that pumps out the corresponding “bits” of chemicals. The liquids travel through plastic tubes to a small container that reads the solution’s pH. Changes in pH are then transmitted to a computer that deciphers the encoded message.

Once perfected, a messaging system like this could be used by devices inside of a human body or by tiny robots communicating with a chemical trail like ants. It can even leave secret messages that others wouldn’t even know to look for. Though still in its infancy, this method could open up an exciting array of possibilities!

You can read all about the fascinating system on Stanford’s page and see more below!

Developed by a team of UC Berkeley students, Skintillates is a wearable technology that mimics tattoos.

When you think of temporary tattoos, you likely think of something that comes out of a gumball dispenser, or perhaps “art” that you got on a spring break trip. As interesting as those may be, Skintillates is taking things to the next level.

These “epidermal wearable interactive devices” can serve as everything from passive and active on-skin displays, to capacitive and resistive sensors for controlling gadgets, to strain gauges for posture detection.

Using several layers allows these designs to stick to the skin, integrate various electronics, and have visible art for others to see. Electronics can mean that the tattoos can integrate sensors, or perhaps even LEDs. In at least one case, these lights are programmed to flash along with the beat of music, driven by an Arduino hidden under the wearer’s clothing.

Just like the traditional temporary tattoos often worn by children and adults alike, Skintillates flex naturally with the user’s skin. Our simple fabrication technique also enables users to freely design and print with a full range of colors to create application-specific customized designs.

You can find more on this project on the Hybrid Ecologies Lab page and read the team’s entire paper here.

(Photos: Eric Paulos)

If you’re tired of waiting around to get an autonomous vehicle, PolySync’s Open Source Car Control Project (OSCC) development kit can be had for under $1000.

Autonomous cars are still in their infancy, and can cost upwards of $100,000. If you’re willing to do some of the work yourself—and trust a machine you modified to drive you around—PolySync has an Arduino-based kit (nearly) available to help you build your own.

You can pre-order a kit right now for $649, and you’ll have program each Arduino module yourself when you receive it. You’ll also need a 2014-or-later Kia Soul on which to install it, chosen for its combination of drive-by-wire controls as well as relatively low price. Keep in mind, however, the project is intended for R&D and off-road use only.

The OSCC Project is built around a number of individual modules that interoperate to create a fully controllable vehicle. These modules are built from Arduinos and Arduino shields designed specifically for interfacing with various vehicle components. Once these modules have been programmed with the accompanying firmware and installed into the vehicle, the vehicle is ready to receive control commands sent over a CAN bus from a computer running a control program.

You can find the full press release for this project here and more info on its GitHub page.

(Photos: PolySync)

Though it’s been done before, this 3D-printed Thomas Bangalter helmet is absolutely amazing!

Daft Punk hasn’t toured in over a decade, but their music and general look seems to be becoming more and more popular. Perhaps this is due, in some small part, to the fact that Makers can now build a very good replica of their iconic helmets. Though the design for this helmet is available for download, looking at a design and building it are two different things.

In addition to printing and finishing this prop (no small task), redditor “CrazyElectrum” did quite a bit of soldering. Getting all the electronic components to “play nice” with each other certainly took a good amount of work as well!

The helmet consists of 326 LEDS with 10 programmed displays, all controlled via Bluetooth and a custom smartphone app. Meanwhile, the ears are equipped with a pair of WS2812B strips. CrazyElectrum originally employed an Arduino Uno for its brains, but later moved to a Pro Mini due to its smaller form factor, and used six 74HC595 8-bit serial to parallel shift registers.

You can find more pictures of this build on Imgur, and read more about the project on 3Ders. 3D printing files are available on Thingiverse, and code on GitHub.

After winning the South African National Barista Championship in 2009, Neil Maree decided to actually start a company to make coffee roasting equipment. Genio was the result, and after some work, his machines can now roast coffee to perfection using recipe input via an Android app.

Once instructions are transferred, a heavily modified Arduino Due controls the roaster depending on user preferences. Maree first tried an analog solution, then used a PLC before deciding that the Arduino was what he needed.

All of Genio’s roasters have a control panel with a variety of traditional switches and knobs, and then a not-so-traditional tablet mount. The app sends a “roast profile” to the roaster over a Bluetooth connection.

Perk your interest? You can take an inside look at the roasting machine factory on htxt.africa here.

After recently meeting each another in Cologne, Simone Giertz and Laura Kampf decided to put their creative minds together to build a cartoon-inspired robot for Kampf’s dog, Smudo. The idea is fairly straightforward: a device that “makes a dog walk itself” by dangling a piece of sausage in front of their head.

The contraption consists of a lightweight, ergonomic aluminum harness that bends over Smudo, along with an Arduino Uno and a servo motor tasked with wiggling the hot dog around.

You can see how it works and hear more from the creators themselves the video below!

Our friends at VisionMobile have just launched their 12th developer survey, focusing on a 360-view of developer tools, skills and salaries.

The State of the Developer Nation Survey features questions on topics like programming languages, platforms, app categories, new technologies, revenue models, IoT verticals, and more. Not to mention, this 15-minute survey is actually fun! Based on your responses, you’ll get a personalized profile showing what type of developer you are, and what kind of character you’d be in a fantasy world. A mage? A fighter? A dragon slayer?

After completing the survey, you’ll get the chance to see how your answers compare to other developers in your country. Participants can even win one of several prizes, which include a MeccaNoid G15 KS, an Apple Watch Series 2, an Oculus Rift headset, a Pixel Phone, and Udemy courses, among many other awesome things.

Ready to get started? Take the survey here! You’ll also be the first to receive the State of the Developer Nation report (due out March 2017).

Imgur user “Bodaciousbus” set up his apartment window fans to only circulate air when not filled with smoke.

Living in a communal area like an apartment or condo has its benefits, but there are several hassles to deal with as well. One in particular are neighbors who smoke right outside. If you’d like to leave a window open for ventilation, perhaps in combination with a fan, this can be quite annoying.

Bodaciousbom solved this issue with a series of fans connected to a smoke detector sensor and an Arduino. If the air is OK, the fans are allowed to blow, pushing homemade flaps out of the way and ventilating the apartment. There is also a series of LEDs to show the current status of the outside air.

I’m still a rookie with Arduino, but an experienced tinkerer. This project took me a couple of hours to complete, but overall was not too bad. I can relax now, knowing that my window fan will only run when the air outside is free of cigarette smoke (among other things).

Are you faced with a similar problem? Be sure to check out the project in more detail here.

A few days ago, we launched the MKR2UNO Adapter, which enables you to easily turn an Arduino Uno form factor project into a MKR1000-based one. Simply mount your IoT board to the adapter, plug in any Uno shield and have a wireless device in no time.

Our newly-published tutorial provides a step-by-step overview of how to build a WiFi-controllable robot using the MKR2UNO Adapter with a MKR1000 and an Arduino Motor Shield.

This project combines the Arduino MKR1000’s web server and Arduino Motor Shield’s capabilities to drive a pair of different DC motors. A basic interface is hosted and hard-coded in the MKR1000, allowing the user to maneuver the robot up, down, left or right.

Check out all of the schematics and code here!

If you grew up in ’80s or early ’90s and owned a Nintendo system, chances are you’ve played Duck Hunt. In the classic light gun shooter video game, players would aim their NES Zappers at duck targets as they appeared on the TV screen. So what do you do when you still own the once-popular accessory? If you’re Warner Skoch, you turn it into a controller for your lamp and small devices.

The setup consists of a couple Arduino Pro Minis. Skoch embedded one board in the Zapper with an IR emitter and another in a box with an IR receiver, which also has an outlet for him to plug in his lamp or other gadget.

The receiver watches for a signal from the Zapper, which then triggers the relay inside the box on and off. The actual IR receiver part is separate, however, mounted behind a Duck Hunt duck made from Perler beads.

Spark up some NES nostalgia and watch Skoch’s project in action below!