New in the Maker Shed: Arduino ADK TinkerKit
The ADK TinkerKit from the Maker Shed is a pack of 25 TinkerKit Modules, an Arduino Mega ADK, a Mega Sensor Shield, and necessary wires to kickstart your Android development experience without soldering.
Technology
EMSL Introduces Large-Capacity “Ostrich Eggbot”
And just when I was getting over my yen for the normal-sized (“chicken?”) eggbot. Like the original, the new Ostrich Eggbot is a spherical-surface plotter, but its capacity has been increased from the original’s 1.25-4.25″ diameter range to 2.25-6.25″. The kits are on-sale now for $250. The original eggbot is still available at $200.
Chumby NeTV Networked In-line HDTV Interface
Even if you own one of the newer smart TVs, you’ll want the new NeTV from Chumby. Out of the box it can use an Android handset as a controller (iOS soon). Enter a website in an app on the phone and have it show up on your TV in a WebKit browser.
MAKE Volume 27: Robots
https://makezine.com/27/
The Robots have returned! MAKE Volume 27 features a special package with robotics projects for every age and skill level. They play music; they outwit your pets; they learn from their mistakes! In addition, we’ll show you how to build a special aquarium to keep jellyfish, create pre-Edison incandescent lighting, spy via the internet, and make a go-anywhere digital message board! All this and much, much more, in MAKE Volume 27.
DJ Sures’ Hacked Toy Robots
Watching an animated robot is certainly amusing, but interacting with a robot is an experience! you can make interactive robots with unique personalities out of many common toys using the EZ-B Robot Controller (http://ez-robot.com). Check out the complete tutorial in MAKE v27 (https://makezine.com/27).
Introducing: The Hans Solderer
About 1983, when I was fifteen, I dropped my dad’s red Bakelite soldering gun and broke the casing. Of course he was upset, so I did my best to “fix it.” So I took my original Star Wars Han Solo pistol and gutted it to hold the soldering gun components.
How-To: Large Homemade Vacuum Forming Machine
From James Bruton of XRobots.co.uk. James’s take on the familiar vacuum forming machine uses a three-layer MDF sandwich for the vacuum box and forming table, with a vacuum cleaner hose connected at the bottom. His heating system is novel, in my experience, using an off-the-shelf quartz room heater at the bottom of an MDF “chimney” lined with aluminum foil reflectors.