Computers & Mobile

The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for digital gadgetry, open code, smart hacks, and more. Processing power to the people!

Weekend Projects – Sun Logger

Weekend Projects – Sun Logger

Complete instructions for this episode of Weekend Projects can be found at
http://makeprojects.com/Project/Sun-Logger/2275/1

Our second Arduino project in this series of Weekend Projects, the Sun Logger is a device that gathers data about sunlight. Hack a light-sensitive photoresistor to a homemade “shield” to record data to an SD card, and then examine this data later on your computer to see how light changes in an area over time.

Weekend Projects – A Touchless 3D Tracking Interface

Weekend Projects – A Touchless 3D Tracking Interface

Complete instructions for this episode of Weekend Projects can be found at
http://makeprojects.com/Project/A-Touchless-3D-Tracking-Interface/2233/1

Using a combination of low- and high-tech components, we’ll show you how to build a completely touchless 3D tracking interface. This project will introduce you to the principle of capacitive sensing, and the Arduino microcontroller.

Melvin the Mobile Rube Goldberg Machine

Melvin the Mobile Rube Goldberg Machine

Managing to fit into two rather large suitcases, Melvin the Machine, from Eindhoven, NL design studio HEYHEYHEY is a portable 38-step Rube Goldberg machine traveling abroad and having a bit of fun along the way. At each stop, if the run is successful, Melvin will finish off with a personalized stamped postcard and affix proper postage before the operator tosses it in the mail.

DIY Mobile Phone

DIY Mobile Phone

Arduino team member and MIT PhD student David Mellis created this DIY Cell Phone that packs a fascinating premise: An exploration into the possibilities for individual construction and customization of the most ubiquitous of electronic devices, the cellphone. By creating and sharing open-source designs for the phone’s circuit board and case, we hope to encourage […]

KegDroid Smart Tap

KegDroid Smart Tap

In an attempt to make brewing his small batch beer even more fun than it already is, Android hacker and home brewer Paul Carff created KegDroid, an NFC/RFID enabled smart tap for his home bar. Presenting the device with a MiFare-based RFID/NFC compatible tag will cause it to authenticate the user and pull up their preferences on an Android tablet.