Like LEDs through the hourglass...
By Donald Melanson 
posted Mar 17th 2007 5:23AM
posted Mar 17th 2007 5:23AM
Proving once again that there are few things that can't be made better with LEDs, Dhananjay Gadre of the Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology has whipped up this flashy take on the venerable hourglass, with plans already in the works for an improved version. In its current state, the LED hourglass less-than-accurately imitates falling sand, with a Z-axis accelerometer able to detect when it's been flipped over (we're guessing that top bit detaches). Planned improvements include a more accurate LED lighting pattern, and enclosing the whole thing in a perspex tube to make it a little more presentable. Until then, however, you can check out the prototype version in action in the video after the break.
NSIT!! That's in New Delhi (India)!! Where I live!! I have friends attending that!
Wow... I mean, seriously. I never thought I'd live to see the day that something from a local college here would make Engadget...
Thanks. This made my day. :-)
"Wow... I mean, seriously. I never thought I'd live to see the day that something from a local college here would make Engadget..."
And thank god it's with this amazing thing. What the hell was the guy who made this thinking in the first place? This blows...
Why is the bottom half of the hour glass filling up from the top instead of the bottom!?
This is awful, can't see why it could have even been conceived. When I read the title I thought it was one of those novel spinning persistence of light thing, but this is just a bunch a crappy flickering LEDs!
Jeez, what a total waste of time. If ever there were an example of leaving something alone this is it!!!
Needs refinement, big time. In time it should look like stuff really is falling from one chamber to the next, piling up the way it should.
This is craptacular.
it sucks and blows at the same time!
actually watching Days of Our Lives would be more interesting.
Okay. On watching the video, I gotta say: It sucks. Sucks more than a vacuum.
But hey, it's STILL Indian, and it STILL made Engadget! So woo hoo!
I like the concept a lot, but the execution is horrible. They need to program the LEDs to mimic the sand's actual movement, like the fact that the bottom half fills from the bottom up, not from the top down. They should also make a model on a much larger scale to amplify the effect. I hope this is just a test version for now.
A 3D wireframe with surface mount LEDs at the intersections would be neater. Could be done with multiplexing. Have the two halves with separate electronics and synchronized by a IR link (Both sides would have to have batteries. Embed in acrylic resin to support the two structures.
With this you could have the building up effect.