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September 14, 2009

Print and fold iPhone dock

Rachel at CRAFT posted up this nifty print-and-fold iPhone dock, easy and functional!

LEGO rotating dock for iPhone/iPod touch

Stephen "Doc" Combs of Bricks in my Pocket fame pieced together this fully functional LEGO rotating dock for an iPod/iPod touch. Besides watching video in landscape mode it's perfect for use with an alarm clock app.

As I began to create this little contraption I said to myself, "How could this be a bit cooler and more functional?" The answer was to make it a rotating dock so I could watch movies and apps in landscape mode.

[via hackaday]

September 10, 2009

DIY windshield mounted dash cam

Poking a hole in his commercial iPhone window mount with a Dremel tool was all it took for Tim Cox to be the proud owner of a brand new dash cam. Goes to show that not all good hacks need to be complicated. Sometimes all it takes is finding the right spot and poking a hole to see what's on the other side.

September 9, 2009

iPhone robot mask

The folks over at recombu.com demonstrate a subtle finesse of low and high tech in this retro-futuristic iPhone robot mask tutorial.

If you're like the Recombu team then you'll often struggle to decide what to wear to a fancy dress party, but we think we've come up with a pretty nifty solution. Using an iPhone, the MouthOff app and some household goods we've created a robot mask.

[via Andrew Lim]

In the Maker Shed:

September 8, 2009

Arduino iPod Remote

Maker David Findlay gets his Arduino Nano talking AAP to his iPod using a SparkFun PodGizmo connector, BOB-08745 Logic Level Converter, and a ginormous red button.

Of course, hooking up wasn't going to do much without some code to talk Apple Accessory Protocol, so that was the next task. I wrote an Arduino library for the parts of the Apple Accessory Protocol that I was going to need, and a bit more besides. I posted it on github in case anyone else wanted to use it. It comes with a couple of example sketches: a play/pause one using Simple Remote mode (wonder where I got that idea from); and one for Advanced Remote mode that pulls back information for the track that the iPod is currently playing. The latter could form the basis of an Arduino-based dock that showed track information on an LCD display, for example.

September 1, 2009

The tech of Burning Man

@brady mentions some of the noteworthy tech coming to this year's Burning Man festival in this article over at O'Reilly Radar. Items of interest include local SMS and Burning Man Earth online directory, API, and beta iPhone app.

Burning Man Gets an API (and a Whole Lot More)

August 27, 2009

Cheap iPhone macro lens for barcode scanning

This is an follow-up to an earlier post about yanking the lens from an old DVD player and using it with a cameraphone to take close-up photos.

It just so happens I have a need for a macro lens for something other than snapping picts of coins and PCB's. I'm working on a project that involves QR codes and thought this might help me out when dealing with fixed focus cameraphones. Alas, the focal length of DVD optics are meant for things measured in millimeters, so it isn't going to work for barcode scanning. Fortunately, after doing a little digging around, I found this handy Instructables project that uses the lens from a viewfinder of a disposable camera, a cheap rubber case, and a paper fastener, that seems like a viable solution.

[via Instructables]

August 26, 2009

Nice iPhone tripod mount

There are numerous DIY iPhone tripod mount projects out there, but this modified design by Jason Quinn is quite slick. His introduction of a silicone case to replace rubber bands in an existing design and good attention to finish pay off in overall aesthetics. It's a good riff on a great hack. [via sampletheweb]

August 24, 2009

iPhone call recorder

Looking for something portable and not satisfied with jailbreaking, or paying a metered fee, maker Adam Byers decided to build this interface box to record calls made on his iPhone.

[via @adambyers]

August 21, 2009

Model for 3D printing on iPod

Originally designed to be a mobile media playback device, the iPod now resembles a workstation that fits in your pocket. It may seem passé now, but there was a time when real-time 3D meant desk-sized workstations that cost as much as a luxury car, now it fits in your pocket and costs as much as a decent night out. Of course you're not going to design an engine or skyscraper with an iPod, but with this proof-of-concept instructables you can start to see some of the creative potential of modern hand-held devices. Low-cost paint apps, music apps, video apps, 3D modelers; they may not replace the workstation anytime soon, but creative people are starting to notice the tools laying dormant in their pockets and are starting to use them.

[via James Hudak]

August 20, 2009

Dinosaur iPhone dock

There's something oddly appealing about charging a mobile phone on the back of a dinosaur. Heck, even mentioning that to someone sounds absurd. Yet here we are; iPhones and dinosaurs living together in harmony. What a fun dock mod. Though, if I were building a similar dock I'd go for the plastic pineapple.

[via iPhoneSavior]

August 18, 2009

RjDuino

RjDuino allows you to control an Arduino with your iPhone running RjDj. I definitely want to try out this project, especially the pitch controlled LEDs.

Using a custom RjDj patch to control an Arduino. Made possible via the "netsend" and "netreceive" objects in PD, which are also usable in RjDj. The interface with the Arduino is made through the Firmata firmware in combination with the PDuino library.

In the Maker Shed:

Arduino Family
Make: Arduino

August 13, 2009

Getting Started with Arduino in the iPhone app store

Getting Started with Arduino

A while back, we posted some details about how you could read Massimo Banzi's Getting Started with Arduino on an iPhone using the Stanza reader. It's gotten even easier (and slightly cheaper): currently priced at $4.99, the standalone iPhone app version of Getting Started with Arduino is available for purchase via iTunes or directly on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Getting Started with Arduino (iTunes link)

In the Maker Shed:

Arduino Family

Make: Arduino

Cree emitter LED flash/video light for iPhone 3GS

This quick and dirty improvised iPhone flash/video light from Andreas Ødegård consists of a 3V battery and a high intensity Cree emitter. Sure, it's just an LED flashlight with a doc connector mount, but then again it was built in under 10 minutes with electrical tape, spare parts, and a hot glue gun. The result seems to knock the socks off your run-of-the-mill super bright LED mini-array.

A similar hack that pulls power from the iPhone dock connector can be found in the book iPhone Hacks.

In the Maker Shed:

iPhone Hacks

August 11, 2009

iPhone trick camera lenses

It's often said that the best camera is the one on you. These readymade snap-on lenses for the iPhone are a fun addition to a spur of the moment snapshot.

[via TalkiPhone]

August 10, 2009

Personalized MakerBot-printed iPhone/iPod dock

Here's something for someone that has everything: a personalized MakerBot-printed iPhone/iPod dock. Made to order, the doc features a sturdy lower housing made from 5MM plywood and a custom top housing personalized with your initials or, if you choose, the standard "BotMade" logo.

[via Etsy]

August 5, 2009

iPhone + Wiimote … together at last

Ubiq_01 points out this vid demonstrating the use of a wiimote over iPhone's bluetooth connections -

The video first shows the iPhone's AirPlane mode activated before starting an OpenGL-ES Demo. In the demo, the orientation of the virtual WiiMote is controlled by a physical WiiMote over a Bluetooth connection. For this demo, the portable Bluetooth Stack from the BTstack project was used.

The OpenGL-ES code was based on the excellent tutorial by Simon Maurice. Thanks, this is my first OpenGL program.

Prototype iPhone mini jack magstripe reader

The prototype iPhone payment system Square, currently in testing at a trendy clothing store in NYC, has been generating a lot of buzz for the past couple of days. What caught my attention was its use of the mini jack as a communication port. Often overlooked as a means of transferring data, the microphone/audio port on the iPhone is accessible from the standard iPhone SDK. If you're curious about using the mini jack port, the hardware chapter of the book iPhone Hacks has a number of hacks that utilize the the mini jack for uni- and bi-directional communication.

In addition to magstripe readers, IR remotes, modems, and keyboards, the mini jack is suitable for building almost any low-speed peripheral requiring bidirectional communication using inexpensive components. Since the release of the v3.0 SDK the iPhone development community has been excited about the possibilities of the iPhone doc connector. However, using the mini jack over the doc connector not only shaves off some manufacturing costs, but by using a standardized connector the peripheral can be used by other devices like, for instance, the OLPC XO.

[via mobilewhack]

In the Maker Shed:

iPhone Hacks

August 4, 2009

Flat pack iPhone copy stand

DAAP industrial design student Kyle A Koch designed and fabricated this useful flat pack copy stand for the iPhone. It will copy a standard letter-sized sheet with reasonable fidelity.

[via crave]

July 29, 2009

Crabfu paints on his iPhone

We've missed our buddy I-Wei Huang, aka Crabfu, who's been busy getting the hang of raising ShrimpFu (aka his adorable baby son). While he hasn't been building any bots (at least that he's showing us), he's been keeping busy between diaper changes with painting on his iPhone. I love that you can see the painting process in these videos. I learned something about layering, shading, and detailing watching these. He's got plenty more on his blog.

Speed Painting videos (iPhone Brushes app)

More:
The New Yorker cover art produced on iPhone