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Wireless presentation controllers prove juicy targets for hackers
Wireless presentation controllers have changed corporate life forever. Instead of businessmen and women staying tethered to their keyboards while delivering boring PowerPoint presentations, they can wander about the room, gesticulating authoritatively with an ego-boosting gadget in-hand... while delivering that same boring presentation. Now a security researcher by the name of Nields Teusink is showing that those wild gesticulations open the door to crazy hacks, with most wireless presenters being recognized as full keyboards -- some even as keyboards and mice. With no encryption provided it's a (reasonably) simple task for an attacker to replicate the signal, escape the presentation, and completely compromise the machine. Teusink uses an Arduino board for his work here, impressing us while sending a chill into the hearts of slide gurus everywhere.
Seeeduino Film is just the thing for all your flexible Arduino needs
The Arduino microcontroller: fuel for so many delightfully geeky projects. Your wacky instruments and DIY 'less lethal' weapons will be getting a lot 'looser' soon, thanks to Seeed Studio and it's Arduino compatible flexible printed circuit (FPC) board. Unlike most circuit boards, the insulating material in an FPC is -- wait for it -- flexible (hence the name). Featuring a fully functional Atmega 168 / 328 breakout, USB-Serial interface, a built-in charger circuit, and more, the Seeeduino Film only exists in prototype form at the moment. That said, the company said that it is making several units available "for community inspiration." Hop on over to the source link to get in on the ground floor.
Steampunk Arduino Watch tells time, plays Breakout, thrills the world
We've seen no shortage of homegrown watches in our lifetime, and the quantity of Arduino-based gadgetry that graces the web each day might just outnumber the quantity of humans incensed by BP right now. But so far as we can tell, this is the first instance we've seen of the two combining in holy matrimony. The delicately crafted Arduino Watch: Steampunk Edition actually lives up to its name, providing augmented sensing of temperature and range, a 16-bit color drawing program, Breakout game and the ability to display time in digital, analog or binary. Best of all, the creator asserts that various other sensors and programs can be added on a whim, which is something your $4,000 Sea-dweller most certainly cannot say for itself. Speaking of cost, we're told that the whole shebang can be crafted for around $250, but considering that you'll be a local hero should you actually duplicate the effort here, you owe it to yourself to give those source links a long, hard look.
iPad arcade cabinet built out of cardboard
ThinkGeek posted an iPad arcade cabinet as an April Fool's joke this past year, but gamer Hideyoshi Moriya actually did build just such a cabinet out of cardboard and hardware -- you plug the iPad into a dock, and then you can control software with the joystick and buttons via an Arduino board. You can see a full video of the device running (along with some cute puppies) after the jump below. ThinkGeek was only kidding, and Moriya is just joking around, but there is definitely a viable demand for something like this. Sure, the cabinet form built out of cardboard is totally a prototype, but a little stand that you could just plug the iPad into and then control arcade games with buttons and a joystick? That thing would sell like hotcakes.
Xbox 360 controller dictates R/C racer on video
At this point, off-the-shelf Arduino microcontrollers aren't anything special, and honestly, neither is an Xbox 360 gamepad that manipulates them over USB. What is special, however, is the dedication that turned this unassuming R/C car into a reality-blurring 3D racing videogame. Like any Xbox 360 racer worth its salt, the triggers make this car stop and go, the left analog stick aims the front wheels, and the right stick offers full camera control. Though the wireless camera's a little wonky and the Bluetooth modem's range is limited, a video demonstration proves it capable of canine annoyance from an adjacent room. Think of the potential with a proper sidewalk racetrack... and some turtle shells. Video after the break, code to roll your own at the source link.
Students accelerate cubicle arms race with PlayStation Eye-tracked, iPhone-guided coilgun (video)
DIY weaponry gets more lethal with each passing year; where once we were content with a simple foam missile launcher, technology has progressed such that our automated turrets now spew screwdriver bits, airsoft and paintballs. As progress forges ahead, two engineering students at the University of Arkansas have added injury to insult with this four-stage DIY coilgun. Using an Arduino microcontroller to actuate the firing mechanism and steer the monstrous wooden frame, they nimbly control the badass kit with an iDevice over WiFi, and line up targets using a repurposed PlayStation Eye webcam. While we'd of course prefer to have our phone SSH into the gun over 3G, we're not going to argue with success. We'd like to keep our lungs un-perforated, thank you very much. See it in action after the break.
Cellbots get Nexus One upgrade, ad-hoc motion control (video)
Sprint and Verizon may have shunned the Nexus One, but that doesn't mean the handsets can't be put to good use: these Android-controlled, Arduino-powered Cellbots now feature the one true Googlephone as the CPU. At Intel's 2010 International Science and Engineering Fair in San Jose, we got our hot little hands on the DIY truckbots for the first time, and found to our surprise they'd been imbued with accelerometer-based motion control. Grabbing a Nexus One off a nearby table, we simply tilted the handset forward, back, left and right to make the Cellbot wheel about accordingly, bumping playfully into neighbors and streaming live video the whole time. We were told the first handset wirelessly relayed instructions to the second using Google Chat, after which point a Python script determined the bot's compass facing and activated Arduino-rigged motors via Bluetooth, but the real takeaway here is that robots never fail to amuse. Watch our phone-skewing, bot-driving antics in a video after the break, and see what we mean.
Twitwee Clock checks tweets with old world charm
We've seen a few cuckoo clock-inspired projects over the years, but one of the more obvious, a twitter clock, hasn't been among them -- until now, that is. Dubbed the Twitwee Clock, this contraption built by Haroon Baig relies on an Arduino (what else?) and an LCD to display incoming tweets, and an old fashioned mechanical cuckoo to notify you when a new one has arrived. That could obviously get on your nerves pretty quickly if you're simply watching your main Twitter feed, but the clock can also be setup to follow any twitter stream or search to give the cuckoo a bit of a rest. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be any plans for building your own, but you can get a glimpse of the clock's internals at the link below, and check it out in action after the break.
With 'Ping' clothing, status updates literally tap you on the shoulder
Arduino-powered clothing is nothing new; we've seen CO2-detecting dresses, compass belts and inbox-checking T-shirts all within the last six months. But this Ping social networking garment concept is not quite the same thing. Where those were DIY projects with a single-function, Ping is the brainchild of a professional UI designer... and the fabric itself is a social network UI that registers your movements as attempts to communicate. Woven with flexible sensors and conductive threads connected to an Arduino Lilypad and Xbee, clothing made from the fabric can detect when you lift a hood or tie a ribbon and wirelessly send Facebook status updates accordingly -- or tap you on the shoulder in a number of different rhythms so you know not only when, but who might be trying to get in touch. Designer Jennifer Darmour imagines a future in which clothing offers full-body 3D gesture recognition and senses our environment. When we can reliably use it to control our computers, we hope she'll get in touch.
Android and Arduino-packin' Cellbot features voice recognition, autonomy, and charm to spare
The Cellbots gang has been furiously productive as of late. Not even a month after their wooden "boxbot" was first spotted on You Tube the project has moved on from its humble beginnings of lumber and windshield wiper motors to a full-on a neon green acrylic Truckbot that uses a G1 and Arduino board combination for control. Sure, we've seen Android-powered robots before, but these guys have done some pretty cool things, and have no intention of stopping now. They've already implemented an ultrasonic range detector so the 'bot can override the operator and prevent itself from running off a cliff (although we'd like to suggest mounting one on the rear as well -- for obvious reasons), voice recognition, and the Android compass into the control system. If anything, the amount of progress makes this project very well worth keeping an eye on. Move past the break to see some video, and then hit the source link to keep up with the action yourself.
T-shirt modded to let you know when you have new emails, won't tell you why your friends are avoiding you
You probably don't have enough reminders that you're always a little behind, right? Well Chris and his wife Madeline decided to make one more for themselves: a t-shirt that lights up when you have new emails, and also tells you the number in your inbox. Using an Arduino Lilypad microcontroller, a few LEDs, conductive thread, and a Bluetooth dongle to communicate with an Android phone nearby (which has access to the inbox), Chris took a custom printed shirt and rigged up this badboy. It's actually pretty good looking as far as these things go, but we still don't know if we need this in our already alert-ridden lives. Regardless, the video's after the break if you're thinking about cobbling together your own. [Thanks, Juergen ]
Welcome to the world, Arduino Nano 3
Hello, there, little guy. The new Arduino board's just been outed, and it's not kidding about the 'nano' part. The Arduino Nano 3 boasts an ATMEGA328, breadboard capabilities plus Mini USB support built-in, and a bunch of other tweaks -- like moving the power LED to the top -- have been made in the interest of saving energy and space. Other features of this new kid on the block include an automatic reset during program download, auto sensing / switching power input, ICSP header for direct program download, and a manual reset switch. Hit up the source link for a bit more info... or to get ordering -- you can grab one up for $34.99.
Carnegie Mellon student shows that 64 pixels is enough for Mario (video)
There are 2,073,600 pixels in a 1080p TV, yet Carnegie Mellon student Chloe Fan has blown our minds by showing that you only need 64 of them to have a little fun with Super Mario Bros. She wired an Arduino to an 8 x 8 LED matrix through a breadboard, then scaled the first level of the game down to a resolution that makes the 160 x 144 resolution Game Boy look positively high def. The controls are similarly simplified: one button to move Mario (the slightly more orange dot) right, and a second to jump. She also wired up a separate board to play the game's theme song, as you can see in the embed below, but be aware: the video ends before the theme song does, meaning you'll be humming it to yourself all day long.
Hack: The iPod serial library enables homebrew remote controls
Warning: If you are baffled by people who think dismantling technology is fun, and completely fail to understand the excitement of building robots to battle other robots, this post may not be for you. Just so you know. On the Make: magazine blog, they recently posted a piece about the evolution of a project. It was an iPod remote from last year that has gone from a "start and stop" only device to a full featured remote. It is a lovely piece of tech, powered by Arduino hardware. Arduinos are open-source circuit boards and software you can use to develop interfaces with all sorts of electronics. I remember reading the first post about this remote last fall and being interested in where he would take this project, mostly because I love seeing what people do with Altoids tins. I have to admit hooking one up to a giant "Easy" button for my car never really occurred to me, though. I really like the idea of building my own remote; partly so I can say I did it, but also because it would be a nicer way to get my iPod or iPhone (depending) working nicely with my car stereo. Honestly I only understand about half of what he's talking about in this article, but I'm good at following instructions and I am reasonably handy with a soldering iron, so this doesn't look completely unreasonable. If I do end up building one I'll be sure to post all about it for you. In the meantime, have you built an unholy alliance between your Roomba and your iMac, or any other variety of Mac Tech Mashup? Tell me about it, I'd love to see what you all can do! Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/finsprings/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Analog Tweet-O-Meter shows city-specific Twitter activity the old fashioned way
Never mind keeping track of how many gold medals Bermuda, Cayman Islands and Monaco rack up during the Winter Olympics; the real nerds are watching to see exactly how many tweets are being pushed out per minute from a smattering of cities around the world. CASA's Tweet-O-Meter has been running on a webpage for awhile now, but frankly, the novelty tends to wear quickly. These, however, are far more tempting to the retinas. What you're looking at above are a few analog Tweet-O-Meters, which do exactly what you think they do: showcase the amount of tweets that are leaving New York, London and Paris at any given time by moving a needle within a conventional gauge. Head on past the break for a video, and be sure to express your reaction on your favorite up-and-coming social networking site. [Thanks, Dr. Andrew]
DIY photog creates laser trigger for remote DSLR snapping
There's just no two ways about it: the integrated self-timer is easily one of the most amazing technologies to ever be invented. Yeah, we said it. Unfortunately, beeping for ten seconds while a shooter races to get in position isn't always ideal or fun, and that's where isharq comes in. His Arduino-based mod is amongst the most flexible out there for DSLRs, enabling it to morph from a basic laser trigger hack to something that senses heat, movement or sound (just to name a few) and then makes your camera react accordingly. As it stands, his setup triggers his DSLR to snap a shot whenever a laser beam is broken, and if you're eager to see more, be sure to peek the in-action video just past the break. Oh, and the source link holds all the secrets to recreating something like this in your own laboratory. [Thanks, Simon]
Pyxis OS demo video sports high production values despite DIY Arduino hardware
We're absolutely loving what all the cool kids are doing with Arduino hardware -- the robots, the instruments, the fashion -- but when it comes to getting stuff done, well, let's just say we're not giving up our smartphones yet. A new project from Skewworks could change that, an Ardiuno-based operating system called Pyxis. It provides a UI for launching applications, easy access to microSD storage, and graphics routines that make creation of apps and games much more simple. If you want to code in anything other than assembly you'll need to pay up for the professional edition of Pyxis Studio, but we're thinking you can scrounge up the $10 to make that happen. There's a quality video demonstration after the break, but we'd recommend turning down those speakers before clicking through -- unless you're really ready to rock out.
Bleep Labs builds Arduino-based Nebulophone, wants to sell you one
What do you get when you mash together an Arduino-based synth with a Stylophone-like keyboard? A month ago, even we wouldn't have known, but now that Handmade Music Austin has come and gone, we're happy to say that this beautiful concoction leads to the creation of a Nebulophone. Unfortunately, there's no video (yet) to showcase what this musical wonder can do, but we're told that it has "adjustable waveforms, a light controlled analog filter, LFO and an arpeggiator that can be clocked over IR." Hit the source link if you're looking for all the code, schematics, and instructions necessary to give yourself a weekend project, and feel free to drop the guys / gals there a line if you're interested in just buying one.
Arduino and accelerometer harmoniously come together in DIY music controller
Look, Physical Computing can be a drain. Particularly when your Summa Cum Laude status is hinging on you acing the final. We're guessing that one Ryan Raffa managed to pull off a pretty decent grade, as his final project is nothing short of delectable. In a (presumably successful) attempt to wow onlookers and professors alike, Ryan cooked up an audio controller that utilized an ADXL 335 accelerometer (for motion sensing) and an Arduino board that communicates serially with Max MSP. The controller itself boasts inputs for five tracks and the sixth button applies a delay to all of the tracks; he was even kind enough to host up the Max MSP and Arduino code (it's there in the source link), and if you're interested in hearing what all the fuss is about, be sure to hop past the break and mash play.
Twittering Arduino-powered laser tripwire captures trespassers -- digitally (video)
Spare a thought for the modern thief. They have to face off against phones that can broadcast their location, laptops that lock themselves down, a LoJack service for iPods, and now a laser tripwire that can twitter pictures of unwanted visitors. It's a decidedly DIY Arduino-based project, but unlike many similarly powered offerings that we hit, this one is described as being very easy -- as far as Arduino-based projects go, anyway. Check out the instructions at the read link, or just enjoy the little demo video after the break if you're feeling lazy.
