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Archives: July 2007

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July 31, 2007

Make your own multitouch displays and software apps

Multitouch display technology has been gaining a lot of visibility recently, both with Microsoft's Surface interactive tabletop displays and the iPhone's slick gesture-based interface. Ignoring some of the particulars, the guts behind this technology is relatively simple, and you can make you own multitouch interactive display for little over the cost of a projector (the most expensive part of this setup).

An acrylic panel is edge lit with infrared leds. When your finger comes in contact with the acrylic, it scatters infrared light out the back where it is visible via infrared camera. As long as nothing is touching the acrylic, very little of the light escapes, instead just reflecting around inside. Image processing takes care of detecting tips of fingers and relaying their location to application software. Since the camera "reads" the whole display in parallel, it is easy to detect multiple fingertips at once, even those belonging to multiple users. All this sensing goes on in the infrared spectrum, leaving us free to utilize the visible spectrum to display interactive software.

So, a sheet of acrylic, some LEDs, a projector and a webcam and you're in business. Below is an example of this setup in action:

As you might imagine, there's a lot of software that translates the infrared fingerpresses that the webcam sees into a usable operating system or application interface. You're not entirely on your own with this. There's an image processing library called Touchlib which will handle passing your C++ app screen touch events. The community of Touchlib developers seem to be pretty active and have put together a number of open source, sample applications which can help you get started.

References:
DIY Multitouch Dsiplay @ Instructables - Link
Touchlib - Link
Natural User Interface Group (multitouch developer community) - Link

Camp Metalhead 2007

Over at the Steel Yard blog, Jackson writes:

Camp Metalhead, the Steel Yard's two week summer youth program, is firing on all cylinders! By the first day, all ten of the students had learned to cut steel using the versatile oxy acetylene torch. A morning trip to our partners over at Mid City Steel and Scrap proved to be well worthwhile. Some of the students even got to operate the fierce TEREX magnetic scrap mover, while the Steel Yard chaperons looked on with jealousy. Stay tuned for more exciting field trips and projects.

Camp Metalhead [photos] - Link

Exploratorium: Maker Saturday Webcasts (Candy Fab is up!)

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The latest Exploratorium: Maker Saturday Webcast is up - CandyFab, the sugar printer created by Windell Oskay and Lenore Edman, creates 3D sculpture by stacking 2D images made of sugar. This sweet project ties together many disciplines--motion control, woodworking, microcontroller programming, sewing, reverse engineering, circuit hacking, high-power analog electronics, 3D modeling, and computer programming.

Windell has been employed as a quantum mechanic, photographer, and (atomic) clock maker and, among other pursuits, has built an interactive dining table and hard-drive wind chimes. Lenore, who describes herself as a Pastafarian, enjoys working on bicycles, fabric, and electronics--and making edible origami.Exploratorium: Maker Saturday Webcasts - [via] Link.

Coming up:
96 Musical
Making Your Own Kind of Music
8/4/2007 1:00 PM PDT

When Ezra Daly couldn't find a good slap bass guitar for less than $1,000, he looked around for the materials to build his own--and the Frankenbass was born. It was created from a Moto Guzzi motorcycle gas tank, a chrome tailpipe, and scrap mahogany. Ezra will demonstrate the process of making instruments from recycled components and will play the Frankenbass. Nerdcore, hip-hop musician Doc Popular is a circuit-bender who will be performing with toy instruments he has hacked. Doc describes his approach as "anti-theory," in which he connects wires and sees what happens.

Ezra is a motorcycle luthier who created the Frankenbass on his bedroom floor to debut with a psychobilly band called Buddy's Riot. Doc Popular (aka Brian Roberts) is a video editor, marketing guru, and third-place world yo-yo champion in 2000.

iPhone update!

Here's the first iPhone update - just plunk your iPhone in the dock, start iTunes and have it check for an update in the iPhone panel...

So far it says "bug fixes". No new apps, nothing. My guess is that it's the fix for the Safari security issue that was/is being revealed at BlackHat-Defcon.

Update: Safari stuff, that's it - Link.

Here are the screenshots...

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Giant Labyrinth game for sale

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Dave writes -

Last year, I and five friends created this scale version of the popular Brio Labyrinth game for Holocene's Annual Mini Golf Invitational, where artists are asked to create original mini-golf holes.

Labyrinth: The Mini-golf Version is just like Labyrinth: the Original Laptop Game, except played with a golf ball instead of a ball bearing. "Greens" surround the mini-golf version and allow you to putt the ball around the game. Of course, if you successfully navigate the maze, you get a hole in one. A LOT of fun.

Our hard work garnered us a prize at the event, "Hole I'd Most Like to Take Home." Now you can. Just make me an offer I can't refuse. I will deliver within 10 miles of downtown Portland for an extra $20.

Giant Labyrinth game - Link.

Bug labs

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Bug Labs is making the blog rounds (my RSS reader has lots of "open source hardware" mentions today)... We haven't met with them and I'm not sure what they're doing or shipping yet, but if/when we do we'll post up a full report, here's a snippet from their blog about what they're up to (open source hardware maybe)...

Bug Labs is developing BUG, an open, modular, consumer electronics web services + hardware platform. Designed for the general audience, not just the technically inclined, BUG is intended to bring to the world of hardware gadgets what the Internet, open source, XML and web services have brought to the world of software and media.

...We see ourselves, our company and our product as a "bug" in the system of traditional CE; an agent for change. We want to put more power in the hands of the individual to decide what gadgets they want and what features they should include. We envision a world where CE stands for community electronics, where the long-tail of devices profitably exists and hardware mashups are as prevalent as their software counterparts.

So what is BUG exactly? It's Legos meets Web services & APIs. Imagine being able to build any gadget you wanted by simply connecting simple, functional components together. Now imagine being able to easily program, share and connect these gadgets in interesting ways. In essence, we're building an open source-based platform for programmers to build not only the applications they want but the hardware to run it on. Over the coming weeks and months I will update this blog with our latest progress. And while I used wooden blocks at the dinner last night (easier to get thru airport security!) I will show pictures of the actual products soon.

Bug Blogger - Link & site.

Sounds interesting.

For now, if you're interested in what open source hardware is, examples and some thoughts on all this we have a start here... It's all very new, very open and it's so early it's actually a lot of fun :)

Open source hardware slides from OSCON - Link.
Open source hardware video from OSCON - Link.
Open source hardware ... article - Link.
Open source hardware archive @ MAKE - Link.
The MAKE store is one of the only places to actually buy open source hardware and support OSH - Link.

Excel Hacks, Second Edition is out!

The second edition of Excel Hacks is out now, and it's our biggest hacks books yet, with over 130 hacks covering many versions of Excel: Excel 2004 for the Mac, as well as Excel XP, 2003, and 2007. David and Raina Hawley's new edition provides a resourceful, roll-up-your-sleeves guide that gives you nonobvious solutions to a whole pile of interesting Excel problems.

It's available now from bookstores, and you can also find it in the Make store.

Resources

O'Reilly FYI: Have fun with Excel - Link
Sample Chapter - Link

Accessible vehicles

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Patrick writes -

A few issues back Make did a feature on making changes to one's vehicle. I'd like to share something similar that's in the spirit of Make--making vehicles accessible for the disabled. A whole lotta creative engineering is involved, and every job is a custom one, fit specifically for that person's needs.

Recently, I got my truck finished up after a nine month process of bureaucracy, paperwork, fittings, brainstorming, training, debugging and more brainstorming. Since each job is custom, I had a door panel modified, the factory console ripped out and a fab'ed new one put in place, a longer sliding lock for where I need to lock down. That's the short of it, really.

Accessible vehicles - Link.

Mike's Ambient device

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Mike took an old desk lamp and recycled into an ambient device, fetching weather information from Internet via an ATmega168 micro controller and Ethernet chip - Link.

LM555 Night light

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Brandon adds a LM555 and some LEDs to his toddler's glow-in-the-dark headboard. Now his son has a beautiful night light that is on when he needs it and automatically turns off when he sleeps... Link.

From the pages of MAKE:
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The Biggest Little Chip. MAKE 10 - page 62. An introduction to the versatile 555 timer. Subscribers--read this article now in your digital edition.

Ceramic camera

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Steve writes -

About two months ago, Earl commissioned me to make him a ceramic camera. Here is the result. It is made of stoneware, fired to 1,300 degrees C. (2,350 F.) It has a matte black glaze on the inside. I did a post-firing application of 23 K gold leaf on it as well. Overall, it measures h 22.5 x w 20 x 20.5 cm. on the outside.

Ceramic camera, Thanks Paul! - Link.

Designing Automata Kit

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The Designing Automata Kit is great value and fantastic quality. No glue or tools are required, and you will learn about simple mechanics using cams and a crank slider mechanism. Many different designs can be made, and the kit used over and over again. Produced in Thailand using chemical-free rubber wood, from sustainable sources. Make is proud to be the only store this side of the pond to carry this kit - Link.

Lightwave Communications Watch the first lightwave communications system take shape at Bell Labs.
Charge Coupled Device
Learn about the development of the charge-coupled device (CCD) at Bell Labs.

UNIX
Watch Bell Labs' Ken Thompson and Dennis Ritchie talk about the birth of UNIX.

Solar Battery
Watch the development and demonstration of the Bell Solar Battery.

Negative Feedback Amplifier
Listen to Bell Labs' Howard Black talk about the birth of his invention, the negative feedback amplifier.

The Big Bang
Listen to Bell Labs' Arno Penzias and Bob Wilson describe their discovery of evidence of the Big Bang.

Telstar
Learn about Telstar I, a communications satellite built by Bell Labs and launched in 1962.

The Transistor
Learn about the invention of the transistor, Bell Labs' most famous innovation.

Radio astronomy
Learn how Karl Jansky launched the field of radio astronomy through his work at Bell Labs.

Science, tech, electronicsy videos @ Alcatel-Lucent - Link.

Mr. Baybus

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Mr. Baybus is a microcontroller-based fan control system. It is a completely stand-alone unit, with no computer-control whatsoever... Link.

Mbb2 Front Up
But wait, there's more - meet Mr. BayBus2 - Link.

HOW TO - Make your own LED bulbs

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Claude shows you how to make your own LED light bulbs, he writes -

After many attempts to make all sorts of LED-conversions I finally found one solution that is simple and efficient. Of course, you do need a great amount of patience in making this but when you consider the countless hours of pure light -low consumption you'll get, it's all worth it. This tutorial is about converting regular GU4(MR11) halogen bulbs to LED bulbs while maintaining full usability as 12V light bulbs that can be used in indoor task or accent lighting.

HOW TO - Make your own LED bulbs - Link.

Composite Labs

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A MAKE reader / Maker Faire attendee writes in -

I saw a booth they [Composite Labs] had with combots at the 2007 maker fair. They had a nice setup... I ordered a few of their kits, they are made flawlessly, and the best part is that I can compete with them at RoboGames and Maker fair! I would say this is the best way to get involved.

Composite Labs - Link.

Anyone use this kits? Post up in the comments.

Sandpoint well project

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Glen writes -

In our area, water is pretty expensive, and there is a 150% sewer charge on top as well. Also, the ground is pretty much sand except for about 6 inches of top soil that the developer puts down for the grass. The sand seems to leech the water out of the topsoil so the grass dies very quickly when it gets hot and dry in the summer. You need to water your lawn if you want it to survive - but it gets expensive quickly.

I did some quick calcs and figured that if I could get water from a well, paying just for the electricity to pump it, I could pay for a pump, and plumbing parts to put together a well in about 2 summers.

This concept is not new around here. Driven point wells are common in the area because of the sandy ground and a high water table. When I researched exactly how to put it all together, there didn't seem to be a lot in the way of resources online so here is a personal account of my well project.

Sandpoint well project - Link.