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March 21, 2010

Print-your-own 35mm pinhole camera

Francesco Capponi created this handy printable template (A4, unfortunately for U.S. makers!) for creating a pinhole camera using a roll of 35mm film. Both the template and instructions are found on Francesco's Flickr page.

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Paralyzed Graffiti Artist Draws With His Eyes @NPR

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Paralyzed Graffiti Artist Draws With His Eyes @NPR...

A group of artists and hackers have crafted a gadget that lets a paralyzed graffiti artist continue making art using only his eyes. And it costs about as much as an iPod shuffle.

Zach Lieberman of the Graffiti Research Lab started working on the EyeWriter with one man in mind: Los Angeles-based graffiti artist Tony Quan. In 2003, Quan was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, leaving virtually every muscle in his body paralyzed except for his eyes. Lieberman and developers from Free Art and Technology, OpenFrameworks and the Ebeling Group were inspired to create low-cost, open-source hardware and software for eye-tracking to help Quan draw again.

Eye-tracking technology, where computers and small cameras harness eye movements for writing, highlighting Web site text and other tasks, has lead to digital tools for disabled users. However, as Lieberman tells NPR’s Liane Hansen, those devices usually have hefty price tags.

March 20, 2010

In the Makers Market: Posc pocket audio oscillator kit

From the UK's Sonodrome, the Posc handheld electronic musical instrument:

The Posc is a battery powered, pocket sized oscillator. It has two square wave oscillators, one of which is controlled by changes in the user's skin resistance over two metal contacts. The pitch of the second square wave oscillator is controlled by manipulating the amount of light received by the light dependent resistor. The Posc can be set to work in either stereo or mono output through a standard 1/4" audio jack, so is compatible with a wide range of audio equipment. It is ideal for use with guitar amplifiers and effects pedals, PA systems, and can even be plugged directly into your computer or Hi-Fi audio inputs....A free effects rack for the Posc is also available from our software page.

Check out the Posc and other cool DIY music kits in the Sonodrome Makers Market store.

Flame: A cool Processing-based art program

Flame is an art program created by Peter Blaskovic using Processing, a noob-friendly flavor of Java favored by artists and hobbyists.

Flame shows how far the language has grown. It basically lets you draw using your mouse pointer, and the lines you draw look awesomely like fire. [via Kottke]

Arduino meet up (photos)

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Some photos from the pre-Arduino meet up @adafruit and from the Arduino meet up at ITP - incredible group, tons of fun - can't wait to see everyone again! (photos here)...

Electronic business card demonstrates transistor amplification

Aaron Alai designed this kicking electronic business card, which demonstrates how transistor amplifiers work. When you touch two electrodes on it, a small amount of current is conducted through your body, which is then amplified by a transistor to light an LED. I like the clean design, which is both functional and descriptive of how it works. [via Hacked Gadgets]

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Gentlemakers, start your robots!

I recently placed an order for some vibration motors from BGMicro -- a a neat little hobbyist-focused 'tronics seller out of Garland, Texas. They had vibration motors for 69¢ so I threw 10 in my shopping cart. When I told my cohorts at Twin Cities Maker about the deal, a bunch of the guys pitched in and I bought sixty!

My idea for the awesome Robot Build contest? A coaster bot with the CD positioned horizontally, that travels via bristle bot feet!

Leave a comment with how you're coming with your bots. Do you have a concept? Are you ordering parts? (The official -- but not required -- Jameco parts bundle is a great start) I definitely recommend ordering in bulk with hackerspace cohorts, you save a ton on shipping and might even be able to save on parts if you order enough.

New in the Maker Shed: Arduino 7-Segment Shield

Question: What's got four 7-segment displays (and driver), a temperature sensor, a PWM RGB LED, and plugs into an Arduino? Why it's the Arduino 7-Segment Shield! This is a 7-segment shield for Arduino NG/Dicimila/Duemilanove and many Freeduino boards. It has tons of cool features! Fully assembled and tested! NOTE: Does not include the Arduino board.

Features:
I2C 4 digits 7-segment driver

I2C temperature sensor

I2C EEPROM

PWM RGB LED

Blue PWR LED

Reset button

All pins breakout

With the ability to read temperature data and display it on its four digits, this could be just the shield you need to push your kegerator project over the top.

MakerBotted Gothic cathedral does not require legion of serfs

Thingaverse user Skimbal designed and printed this Gothic cathedral play set on his Makerbot. The design is actually modular, so you can build as little or as big of a set as you want. I love the description:

Have you ever wanted a Gothic Cathedral of your very own?
Are you intimidated by the centuries long construction schedule, and the punishing job requirements of being a European Bishop during the Dark Ages?

Then We Have a Thing For YOU!

The Gothic Cathedral Play Set!

Windows Phone-powered t-shirt cannon at MIX10

At the MIX10 conference this past week, MAKE had a booth embedded inside the Coding4Fun exhibit. We showed off MAKE magazine, some of our Make: Books, and a few kits. Our Coding4Fun neighbors had a lot of great projects on display, including their Coding4Fun Cannon, which was a robotic t-shirt launching platform with two barrels. What's more, it was controlled by a Windows Phone 7 app, and they completed it in two weeks. Here's how Clint Rutkas of Coding4Fun described it:

Mid-February, we were asked to build a t-shirt shooting robot for the Mix conference on March 15th, 2010. This required us to pitch our vision and then research, build, test, and ship our project--all in about 3 weeks. After Scott Guthrie gave us approval based on our SketchFlow demo, we had to divide and conquer the application with only 2 weeks left to build the physical robot, the server software, and the phone software. And on top of all that, since we were consuming an unfinished product, everything had to have backup plans.

Read all about it at Coding4Fun: Coding4Fun Cannon - Project Overview
Read a sample chapter from the upcoming Learning Windows Phone Programming at O'Reilly Answers

March 19, 2010

NYC health officials decide to allow beekeeping

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NYC health officials decide to allow beekeeping...

Beekeepers in New York City no longer have to keep the honey of their labors a secret. The city's Board of Health decided Tuesday to allow beekeeping in the city after a long ban. Some New Yorkers have secretly tended beehives on rooftops and in backyard gardens for years in defiance of city regulations. The health code had placed honeybees in the same category as other creatures that are deemed too dangerous or venomous for city life, including hyenas and venomous snakes.

And more @ the NY Times...

New York City is among the few jurisdictions in the country that deem beekeeping illegal, lumping the honeybee together with hyenas, tarantulas, cobras, dingoes and other animals considered too dangerous or venomous for city life. But the honeybee's bad rap -- and the days of urban beekeepers being outlaws -- may soon be over.

Look, it's Jersey from space!

Notice tarp taped to the ground, stocking feet, and cotton gloves, all used to keep the fragile balloon intact. Bright tape on the camera-carrying cooler helped them recover the balloon rig.

To the left can (barely) be seen cellphone and handwarmers, to the right (under the bungies) the camera and handwarmers. The warmers are used to keep the equipment from freezing.

That's Long Island to the middle-left, the Hudson River, bottom-middle, and Jersey, middle-right.

And it's just that easy -- or at least the folks at Island Labs make it seem so. John Abella sent us these pics of their recent camera balloon launch. Great job, guys!

Update: John emailed to clarify that Island Labs is, in fact, on Long Island, and the launch, and recovery, were both in NY (launched in Roscoe, recovered in Patterson, New York). My headline was just to make a joke about seeing New Jersey from space, not to imply that the launch was by Jerseynauts. (Er... not that there's anything wrong with that. Go Jersey!)

Balloon Launch Flickr set

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Record player built into a record jacket

Ad agency GGRP recently built this cardboard record player. The record player is built into the dust jacket for the record, and you play it by turning record with a pencil. It's a neat idea, but it turns out that there is some prior art here. There is an earlier version of the same thing called CardTalk, which was produced by Global Recordings Network to spread their missionary messages in the 20th century:

If you want to try making your own, teacher Dan Keith has instructions for a make-it-yourself version [via inhabitat]

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Cubely: a new 3D printer?

Cube.ly appears to be a 3D printer that uses 80/20 girders for the 2'x2'x2' chassis, with all electronic components identical to those used in the Makerbot and Mendel. The project's charter describes the project's goals:

Provide a fully capable 3D printer which can be used to directly manufacture or can be used to easily create the precursors to large volume traditional manufacturing including vacuum forming, injection molding, casting and others.

The core device must be buildable using standardized, commodity components that are widely available and under $1,000 USD. The core device must not require any other device as a prerequisite to build it (other than identified tools).

The core device must be able to be completed by typical implementers in 30 hours or less including time to purchase components and assemble The core device must be able to be finished and assembled with only a modest set of tools including screw drivers, a drill press, a collection of drill bits and a circular or table saw.

The primary goal of Cubely is to get 10,000 Open Hardware 3D printing devices in the hands of 10,000 people worldwide by Jan 1, 2013.

It looks awwwwwfully preliminary but fascinating and ambitious nonetheless.

[Image credit: JohnKit]

SXSW 2010 Web Awards are Thingamagoopy

It's about time somebody made a media award that actually does something other than serve as a impromptu murder weapon. At this years SXSW festival, the Web Awards were built around Bleep Labs' Thingamagoop 2, the analog synth toy (which now has digital/Arduino-control capability).

Bleep Labs

In the Maker Shed:

Thingamagoop 2
Our Price: $100.00
Make, mod, hack, and bend your own analog noise monster! Great for beginners with its detailed instructions and photos of each step. Advanced users can taking advantage of Arduino integration, control voltage in and out, or just bend it like crazy! Choose from 3 colors!

Free mail-in scanning electron microscopy promo

Chalk Crayon Under an SEM Scanning Electron Microscope

ASPEX, a company that makes desktop scanning electron microscopes (SEMs), is running a promotional campaign under which anyone can mail them a sample, which they will then image under one of their SEMs. The results will be posted on their webpage, and all for free! Challenge: Take advantage of their offer to produce publishable data! [via Boing Boing]

Hacker Helpline, like free office hours for physical computing questions

Musician, artist, engineer and programmer Eric Singer is starting an interesting project, called the hacker helpline. For a few hours a week, he'll be taking calls on Skype to help answer your questions about building physical things:

Hacker Helpline is a new service from Eric Singer of the League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots. For a few hours a week, Eric will be on Skype, ready to answer your questions about projects, electronics, software, robotics, physical computing, etc.
To contact the Hacker Helpline, open Skype and add contact "hackerhelpline". Then look in the Mood section to see dates and hours. During those times, you can chat in and get help (or get queued up for help if a previous chat is active). A/V chats are supported (even preferred...it's nice to see who you're talking to).

Hacker Helpline launches on March 23rd at 10 am EST.

MAKE interviews Peter Atwood

Peter Atwood of Turners Falls, Mass. makes his living as a knife- and toolmaker. He produces limited runs of unique items every few days, which he then posts on his blog, Planet Pocket Tool. The name of his blog indicates his focus: small wrench-like tools. However, Atwood creates a wide variety of metal items like rulers, steel shot glasses, whistles, prybars, ring tools, and so on.

in 2000 I discovered the world of custom knives and I was instantly hooked. When I realized that I could actually make my own knives and gadgets, it got even better. And so it continues to this day. This is what I truly love to do and I hope I can do it for the rest of my time on this earth.

I specialize in small pocket tools and key ring knives although I have made many folding knives and even a few larger fixed blades over the years. But my main love is for the small stuff. I'm constantly working on new designs for gadgets, prybars, small edged tools and unique hand tools. My philosophy is if you aren't carrying it then it isn't going to be there when you need it. Hence the obsession with small tools that pack a big punch. Let's face it, they are the ones that are more likely to be in your pocket or on your keys rather than languishing behind the seat in the truck or stuck in your toolbox in the garage.

Opening Hardware at Eyebeam

A couple of us from MAKE attended an inspirational meeting on Wednesday at Eyebeam in NYC with the most influential people in open source hardware including Limor Fried, Bunnie Huang (Chumby), and the Arduino team. Legal counsel from Creative Commons brought answers to many of our questions, and we discussed the future for open source hardware:

We all agree open sourcing hardware is important, and as practitioners, many of us have been involved in work, research and talks about it. To date, no universal "right solution" exists. While Creative Commons licenses are widely used for software, there is a growing number of groups using the licenses for hardware, without necessarily accounting for the difficulties and restrictions hardware imposes. In short, open source for hardware is not like open source for software, and thus cannot use the same legal tools.

The purpose of this workshop is to create a direct dialogue between Creative Commons and some of the most significant players in the Open Source Hardware Community . CC representatives will be sharing their perspectives while listening to the needs and perspectives of this community, in order to help form more appropriate licensing options for open hardware.

Thanks to Ayah Bdeir and Eyebeam for organizing/hosting. Pictured above is the group, and the FIRST ARDUINO EVER MADE, toted around in a box of prototypes by Massimo Banzi himself. Check out PT's Flickr photos.

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UK's first Fab Lab opens in Manchester

Wish you had access to tools like milling machines, 3d scanners, and laser cutters, but don't have the budget or space to keep them at your home? Well, if you are a resident of Manchester, you might be in luck. The Manchester FABLAB, an open workshop with all of the aforementioned tools and more, will be opening up next week. They aim to provide a free place for people to build noncommercial projects:

The Manchester fablab is a creative workspace in Manchester where you can pretty well make whatever you can think of. When we say anything we do mean pretty much anything. There's about 35 fablabs (fabrication laboratories) around the world so far and people have made all sorts of things from T-shirts to robots. The fablab is open for use by individuals, community groups, schools and companies.
The Manchester fab lab will be equipped with many different machines including laser cutters, milling machines, 3D scanners, embroidery and sewing machines which are mostly controlled by simple computer programmes, so you don't have to be an machining or computer expert to use them.

We are going to be open for use at the beginning of 2010. As always there are a hundred things to think of and a few more we haven't thought of.
Fablabs Basics:
The fablab is free to use for non-commercial use. (A small charge applies if you are a commercial company)
We aim to provide free basic materials like wood, plastics and electronic components for non-commercial use (Not gold or diamonds!)
We have lots of different machines to use and don't worry we'll help you learn how to use them