A company called Studio Diip has created a motorized go-cart. For fish. Though "why" is the first question that comes to mind, at this point we're only able to give you the "how." When Little Dory starts to swim in a particular direction, her movement is captured by a top-mounted web cam, processed by a Beagleboard and used to steer the Arduino-controlled carriage under her bowl. As seen in the video after the fold, that lets her follow her muse outside the aquarium's confines. We're hoping this experiment makes it beyond the lab one day, as we're pretty damned curious to see where a fish wants to go. ("Away from the cat" or "towards the ocean" seem like safe bets.)

Filed under: Misc, Transportation

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Source: Studio Diip

Chances are you've clutched a lightsaber or two in your time, whether that be an inexpensive imitation of the iconic Jedi weapon, or a deluxe model. You may even be a veteran duelist, but unless you're willing to commit murder with a Star Wars toy (or, someone else could just score the bout, we guess), then the dance always ends with no true victor. If you think that something with a name like Sabertron can't solve this dilemma, then these aren't the swords you're looking for. Just launched on Kickstarter, the idea of Sabertron is pretty simple: foam sword, electronics to detect blows, LED scoreboard above the grip. The current prototype uses an Arduino board with accelerometer to register hits, with Xbee handling the wireless connection so swords know when they've merely collided, and when to shut off LEDs after an opponent's successful strike. Also, a control panel and screen built into the grip lets you pick between different game modes for one-on-one combat.

During the year, LevelUp intends to created a chest/back mounted scoreboard with proximity detection that'll allow for multiplayer battles, with other accessories for the Sabertron range expected later. While it's aimed at Star Wars fans and live-action role players primarily, only a fun-sponge would be incapable of enjoying a few rounds of Alliance vs Empire with a buddy. And, with early bird pledges of $99 getting you a pair, breaking the will of Jedi scum doesn't have to break the bank.

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Source: Kickstarter (Sabertron), LevelUp

There's something oddly romantic about taking a piece of archaic technology and giving it new life as a work of 21st century art. Take the Royal Empress typewriter you see above. This particular model was built in 1961 and eventually landed in the hands of Amanda Gelb as graduation gift. She and her fellow classmates, Jinyi Fu and Quingyuan Chen, looked at the hunk of aging metal and saw potential instead of an obsolete writing tool. For their installation at the ITP Winter Show, they wired up each of the keys to an Arduino for tracking what a user types, then paired that with a tiny projector that displays the letters on a sheet of paper wrapped around the platen.

The "face" part of the equation comes from the webcam mounted to the top of the typewriter case. It uses brightness to map a silhouette of the person sitting in front of it and fills only the darkened areas with letters, creating an ASCII portrait in real time. The code also automatically loops the letters you type, so even if you press only a single key the picture will appear. Of course, you could also type out a love letter or a quick blog post and the whole thing will be wrapped inside the confines of your outline. When you're done, you can press the re-labeled print key and a laser printer spits out your portrait.

While there are already plenty of apps and sites out there that will automatically create ASCII versions of images, there's something alluring about sitting in front of gorgeous piece of hardware and creating it live. Plus, there are few things in this world as satisfying as pressing down the stiff keys of an old typewriter, hearing the titular onomatopoeia and seeing the letter appear before you. Especially when you know you're creating a work of art, even if you're a terrible writer.%Gallery-slideshow157402%

Filed under: Misc, Alt

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Capacitive sensing isn't limited to your smartphone. In fact, you can use contact with human skin (or any other conductive surface) to trigger almost any circuit. And the Touch Board from Bare Conductive wants you to combine your DIY spirit with the ability to turn practically any surface into a sensor. At the heart is an Arduino compatible microcontroller (based on the Leonardo) with a few extras baked in, including a Freescale touch sensor connected to 12 electrodes and an audio processor for triggering MIDI sounds or MP3 files. While you can simply trigger the electrodes by touching them or connecting them to any conductive material, such as a wire, the Electric Paint Pen really opens up the input possibilities. It's just like a paint marker, often used for small scale graffiti, except it spits out conductive black ink that can turn a wall, a piece of paper or almost anything else into a trigger. In fact, it's preloaded with a bunch of sample sounds on a microSD card so that you can simply paint a soundboard out of the box.

The Kickstarter startup has already more than quadrupled its target funding, but there's still a few days left to get in on the fun. For £45 you can get a Touch Board (with microSD card), an Electric Paint Pen and your choice of either a micro USB cable or a rechargable lithium battery for your untethered projects. And, since its pin compatible with most Arduino shields, you can add even more capabilities to the Touch Board for more complex projects. For example, pop on a relay switch shield, like the one included in the £100 light switch kit, and you can turn your lights on and off or tackle any other high-voltage project on your wishlist. And, since the Electric Paint can also act as a proximity sensor, you could potentially build a dimmer that brightens the room as you bring your hand closer to the wall. For the requisite sales pitch and demo, check out the video after the break.

Filed under: Misc

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Source: Touch Board (Kickstarter)

Notice how so many maker projects require open-source hardware like Arduino and Raspberry Pi to function? Intel has, and the company is leaping into bed with the former to produce the Galileo development board. Galileo is the first product packing Intel's Quark X1000 system-on-chip, Santa Clara's (designed in Ireland, trivia fans) new low-power gear for wearables and "internet of things" devices. Don't imagine, however, that Intel is abandoning its X86 roots, as Quark's beating heart is a single-thread Pentium-based 400MHz CPU. As part of the new project, Intel will be handing out 50,000 of the boards to 1,000 universities over the next 18 months -- a move which we're sure will make Eben Upton and Co. delighted and nervous at the same time.

Filed under: Misc, Wireless, Intel

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If you were wondering what happened to the Arduino Yun after it missed its original June release target, you can relax: it's now on sale worldwide. As promised, the $69 (€52) design combines a garden variety Leonardo board with a WiFi system-on-chip running Limino, giving owners a customizable wireless access point with Ethernet, USB and a microSD slot. Tinkerers can also program the Arduino component over the air using a newly updated developer environment. Those already sold on the concept can buy an Arduino Yun at the source link, while newcomers can check out an introductory video after the break.

Filed under: Misc, Networking

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Via: Arduino Blog

Source: Arduino Store

Writing code for an Arduino-friendly board is relatively easy; creating the board is the hard part, unless you live and breathe electrical engineering. If HackEDA has its way, however, the design process could be almost as easy as window shopping. Its new Kickstarter-backed project lets tinkerers choose from a list of parts and get a made-to-order board without knowing a lick about PCB assembly -- algorithms sort out the finer details. While the initial effort includes just 36 combos based around an Atmega328 processor, contributors who want tangible hardware can pay anything from $30 for a bare board through to $10,000 for the first stages of mass production. The truly committed will have to wait until December for the finished goods, but those willing to try HackEDA can use its existing web tool for free.

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Source: Kickstarter, HackEDA

Olympia Circuits is best known for its Arno board and Arno Shield, which are designed to ease the Arduino learning curve by providing a bevy of pre-wired sensors and controls along with detailed instructions for several DIY projects. The company announced a couple of new products at Maker Faire this past weekend: the Arno Digital RGB Add-On and the SODA HE-1.0 Arduino datalogger. With the former, your Arno simply gains three RGB LEDs, while the latter stands for "Simple, Open Data Acquisition, High Efficiency." It's an Arduino board with screw terminals designed around Atmel's ATmega32u4 that features a real-time clock (RTC) with battery backup, a high-precision ADC and a microSD card slot. The RTC can either wake the entire board or trigger an interrupt at set intervals, which makes the board very power efficient when used in the field. Olympia Circuits will be updating its website with more info shortly (including availability and pricing). Until then, don't miss our hands-on gallery below.

Gallery: Olympia Circuits at Maker Faire 2013

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Source: Olympia Circuts

The Arduino Robot wasn't the only interesting product the Italian company launched at Maker Faire this past weekend. Arduino Yún combines a Leonardo board (featuring Atmel's ATmega32u4) with a MIPS-based WiFi SoC (Atheros AR9331) running Limino (an OpenWRT / Linux derivative). It includes everything you'd expect from a Leonardo board plus WiFi, wired Ethernet, a USB host port and a microSD card slot. The Arduino side can be programmed wirelessly and communicates with the WiFi SoC via SPI and UART interfaces using the new Bridge Library, which delegates networking to the Linux side. Out of the box, the board behaves just like any standard WiFi access point with a full web interface -- it even allows SSH access. Arduino Yún is the first of a family of WiFI-enabled products and will be available late June for $69. Check out the gallery below for some closeup shots, and follow the source for more details.

Gallery: Arduino Yún at Maker Faire 2013

Filed under: Misc, Wireless

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Source: Arduino blog

There's a new kid on the Arduino block, and it's called the Arduino Robot. Launched yesterday at Maker Faire Bay Area, it's the company's first product that extends beyond single microcontroller boards. The Roomba-like design, which we first saw in November 2011, is the result of a collaboration with Complubot. It consists of two circular boards, each equipped with Atmel's ubiquitous ATmega32u4 and connected via ribbon cable.

The bottom board is home to four AA batteries (NiMH), a pair of motors and wheels, a power connector and switch plus some infrared sensors. By default it's programmed to drive the motors and manage power. The top board features a color LCD, a microSD card slot, an EEPROM, a speaker, a compass, a knob plus some buttons and LEDs. It's programmed to control the display and handle I/O. Everything fits inside a space that's about 10cm high and 19cm in diameter.

Pre-soldered connectors and prototyping areas on each board make it easier to customize the robot platform with additional sensors and electronics. It even comes with eleven step-by-step projects and a helpful GUI right out of the box. The Arduino Robot is now on sale at the Maker Faire for $275 and will be available online in July. Take a look at our gallery below and watch our video interview with Arduino founder Massimo Banzi after the break.

Gallery: Arduino Robot at Maker Faire 2013

Filed under: Misc, Robots

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Via: Make

Source: Arduino