Technology

Getting into DIY Synthesizers

Getting into DIY Synthesizers

MAKE author Tom Whitwell wrote this great piece on how to jump into the synth-building scene. The hardest part of DIY electronics is starting out. My first step was building a few guitar pedal kits and learning by reading the Beavis Audio site. Other people start with noisemaker kits like the Atari Punk Console or […]

Balloon Gripper with Positive Pressure Mode Can “Shoot” as Well as Grab

Balloon Gripper with Positive Pressure Mode Can “Shoot” as Well as Grab

Last March, roboticist Eric Brown and co-workers at the University of Chicago made headlines with their new, unconventional robot gripper design: a balloon filled with coffee grounds or other grainy material and fitted with a vacuum line. At atmospheric pressure, the balloon is squishy and can be “mushed” around an object—even traditionally hard-to-grip stuff like […]

Flying Bots Spot Paradrop Targets With Hacked AR Code

Flying Bots Spot Paradrop Targets With Hacked AR Code

The clever designers at Chicago’s Tanagram adapted code developed to recognize those little black-and-white augmented-reality markers (“fiduciary markers”) for target acquisition on a DARPA-funded robot that can autonomously deliver humanitarian aid and other supplies to 20′ square markers unrolled on the ground. What’s great about fiducial marker tracking technology is that it is pre-built to […]

LED Night Snow Rider

Night (Snow) Rider

What better way to light up a snowy night than to slash deep powder turns with a custom LED suit? Fashion photographer and filmmaker Jacob Sutton shot this awesome video of pro snowboarder William Hughes riding the slopes of Tignes in the Rhône-Alpes region of south-eastern France wearing a suit made by John Spatcher. Goodbye […]

Piccolo, a Mini CNC Artbot

Piccolo, a Mini CNC Artbot

Piccolo is a pocket-sized stand-alone CNC platform. For less than $70, you can assemble your personal Arduino-compatible kit for tinkering, developing and deploying basic 3D output. Be it plotting quick graffiti, printing a one-off business card on the fly, or multiple Piccolos working together to create a large mural, this kit provides a platform for […]

Pulse Sensor Kit

Ask MAKE: Turning Heartbeats into Drum Beats

Using a pulse sensor (now available in the Maker Shed) to translate into a drum beat is certainly possible. The pulse sensor can be plugged into the Arduino and then translated as MIDI data through the Arduino’s serial port. Check out this Arduino Playground page to learn more details. You can also take a look at this tutorial to familiarize yourself with the process. Once you’ve done this, the serial data can be used as an input for lots of different audio programs that accept MIDI.