For this year’s guide to the best in Arduino boards and accessories, we asked Tod Kurt to share some of his suggestions. Tod is the author of Hacking Roomba, co-founder of the Los Angeles hackerspace Crash Space, and creator of BlinkM, the Smart LED. He used to do web stuff and build Mars probe cameras.
Looking for a last minute stocking stuffer? The Supercap Racer, designed by George Albercook, is the latest addition to the Maker Shed’s popular Mintronics line of DIY kits. Simply solder the kit together, add 4 AAA batteries, and you’re ready to race!
Believe it or not, there is still plenty of time to make a batch of homemade gifts for your friends. These candy cane mints from Cheeky Kitchen are a perfect case-in-point. Get the quick and easy recipe over on her blog.
This Arduino Leonardo clone by Inigo Zuluaga is the latest example of PaperDuino, where an Arduino is created using a paper printout as a wiring diagram, bill of materials, and construction pattern. [Via Dangerous Prototypes]
Michael over at MAKE posted this fantastic video about Adrianne Wortzel’s synchronized army of Tickle-Me-Elmos. As if anyone needed to make them more terrifying than they already were, I’ve met those little dudes, and they were intimidating before; now they’re organized.
Larry Ogrodnek created this fun LED Nametag Kit, an electronics hobbyist’s version of those ubiquitous “HELLO! My Name Is” stickers that are typically worn at awkward gatherings. An onboard Attiny13 microcontroller allows you to switch between four built-in programs: all letters on, letter chase, fade, and blink. To help you make your own custom nametag, Larry even set up an online name layout tool to help you figure out where the LEDs should be placed before you solder them in.
Weird? Certainly. Slightly disturbing? Arguably. Wonderful? I think so, yes. I featured a picture of creator Noda Akira showing his device off at Make Tokyo Meeting 07 in last week’s MAKE Flickr pool roundup, and Akira himself turned up in the comments to identify himself, claim credit for the device, and link to the embedded video showing off how it works.
