Mechatronics writes -
This is a set of musical bells which are driven by solenoids and controlled by an Arduino microcontroller.There are 8 bells covering one octave.
The bells are controllable from a PC, or the tower can stand alone and play pre-programmed melodies.
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Here is where I would attempt to summarize the meaning behind Bram Knaapen’s “Technology Context Communicator”. It’s a fairly complex subject matter, so I think I will let him do it for me:
The non face-to-face communication of social and emotional experiences between people usually happens through phone or other media like e-mail, IM (instant messaging or webcam (e.g. Skype). The context in which the experiences were experienced plays an important role. Neither the technology nor our way of describing enables us to communicate this context in a way it can be “experienced” by the other person. There still are a few layers of formulation & interpretation in between: you can only imagine.
This project focuses on the design of a system that is able to communicate the real-time context of a remote user so that the receiving person is able to ” feel” as if he/she is there without the translation steps that are required when describing an experience.
Emphasis is on the visual element in experience and thus imaging technology. The final concept is a modular system of connectable triangles that can be mounted to the wall and can project a real-time abstract display of a remote visual context.
More about the “Technology Context Communicator” made from 5 Arduinos [arduino.cc]
I am definitely adding this to the top of my list of “things I have to build”. It looks like an extremely simple solution for displaying video via an Arduino. If any of our readers try this out before I do, post a link in the comments or email me. I would love to see the results. Thanks!
More about Arduino composite video
Collin posted about the Arduino MIDI touchpad a few months ago. At the time, there wasn’t too much information about the project. Now you can get the code and read more about the build on the Arduino forums. It’s always great to see Makers share their code! Thanks ludo!
More about the Arduino MIDI touchpad
In the Maker Shed:
Antique voltmeter displays current air quality from the web - By Tom Igoe…
One thing that disappoints me about computers is how little character they possess. Antique instruments of information display, like Victorian pendulum clocks, barometers, and compasses, and Babbage’s calculating engines, have a presence that modern computers lack.
Yes - it’s true. There is absolutely no item in existence that the Arduino microcontroller platform cannot enhance! Matt stepped up his Thanksgiving experience by adding a plethora of Arduino tech to his pre-cooked holiday centerpiece -
I’m always looking out for new ways to add more shields and components to my Arduino, and this felt like a natural (and festive) experiment, so I gave it a shot: it’s an Arduino, Potentiometer (for user input), accelerometer (to know it’s bearings), and compass (so the turkey’s always facing due north), Lithium Backpack (for mobility of course), and TouchShield Stealth (for output) wired through a fairly large turkey
Now he can monitor vital Turkey orientation data with ease - and of course he outlined his process step-by-step - Introducing the 8-bit embedded TurkeyShield
The Arduino open-source microcontroller platform can be programmed and equipped to perform a nearly endless list of functions. It’s likely the best all-around centerpiece to a modern electronics project. But one of the tasks Arduino is best used for is straight-up fun - the open design means there’s an Arduino board suitable for almost any project, and a wealth of add-on “shields” extends its abilities with ease.
Updated! - This list keeps growing, and growing and …
Starter kits
Arduino Starter Kit - The best way to get going with the very capable microcontroller platform, the starter kit sets you up with a bunch of basic parts necessary for tinkering plus a wealth of knowledge in the included 400+ pages of Making Things Talk, by Arduino developer Tom Igoe. Features -
Price $89.99
Price $65
I will just paste here Reas’ and Fry’s announcement of Processing 1.0, finally the official release of the best open source IDE to learn about programming.
Congratulations Processing! Visit their website here
////////////////////////////////
Today, on November 24, 2008, we launch the 1.0 version of the Processing
software. Processing is a programming language, development environment,
and online community that since 2001 has promoted software literacy
within the visual arts. Initially created to serve as a software
sketchbook and to teach fundamentals of computer programming within a
visual context, Processing quickly developed into a tool for creating
finished professional work as well.
Processing is a free, open source alternative to proprietary software
tools with expensive licenses, making it accessible to schools and
individual students.
[...]
Students at hundreds of schools around the world use Processing for
classes ranging from middle school math education to undergraduate
programming courses to graduate fine arts studios.
[...]
Tens of thousands of companies, artists, designers, architects, and
researchers use Processing to create an incredibly diverse range of
projects.
[...]
Processing was founded by Ben Fry and Casey Reas in 2001 while both were
John Maeda’s students at the MIT Media Lab. [...]
Download images and more text about Processing:
www.processing.org/about/processing-1.0.zip
Foofers made a button-triggered sample player using Arduino + Wave Shield for use as a sound effects enhancement for costumes -
In the example here I’ve got a different animal sound attached to each button on a keypad…but it’s very flexible in that regard, you could use magnetic switches in a glove to trigger different sounds, or pressure sensors in the feet to make stompy noises, things like that.
- Rar Box is Go! [via LadyAda's Ranting]
Make a device that identifies dangerous liquids by analyzing light - By Eric Rosenthal…
After air travel security banned bottled water and baby formula, I began wondering why they didn’t use a device to determine the contents of liquids. If a liquid was detected to be safe, security could allow it on the plane. Spectrometers can identify the chemical makeup of a material by shining light on it and analyzing the precise mix of colors that bounce back.
