Projects
From SB Hackerspace
Current Projects
Project 1: Underwater ROV
Swiss (aka Mike) has begun constructing an underwater ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) capable of surviving depths of 150 feet. It will house a camera, plankton catching net, and connector for future scientific payloads. Its primary purpose is to collect plankton samples for later analysis of species, population, and other factors.
For more details, see the ROV page dedicated to this project.
Project 2: IRC Bot
fraktil (aka elimisteve) and Karuption have created two IRC bots in order to get better at Python (and Go), and to make something useful for the group. paul_be forked the original and turned it into an ASCII art bot, which is also actively maintained.
Upcoming/Desired Features
- Append URL to "Links" page of wiki
- Example: !wiki Links http://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software
- Grep IRC logs from #sbhackerspace
- Example !grep http sparkfun paul_be
More info here: IRC Bot
Project 9: tDCS Brain Stimulator
Trans-cranial Direct Current Stimulation of the brain. DrJohn has ordered parts for a simple, cheap constant current circuit running from a 9V and we will be working on getting devices up and running during March.
Upcoming Projects
Project 3: Official SBHX Android App
- Real-time Data
- See who is currently in the space, what they're working on, and when they plan to leave
- See who is planning to show up, and when
- How much power, bandwidth, etc are we currently using?
- Project/Class Info
- Calendar
We will be making this open source, in our sbhx-androidapp GitHub repo, to help out our fellow hackerspaces! We will be coding in JavaScript using Titanium Mobile, which uses JavaScript + the Titanium API to produce a native Android app and a native iPhone app(!!). Why not just use Eclipse + the Android SDK? Because, according to elimisteve, life's too short to code in Java.
Project 5: Glove Box
Swiss (aka Mike) and Wade have begun construction on a Glove Box, which is sort of like a table top sized clean room.
Project 7: Solder Reflow Oven
- Using an old toaster oven, a PID controller, SSR, and PWM make a solder reflow station for surface mount soldering.
Project 8: Battle Bot
- Stole parts from an old RC car and making a sweet battle bot.
Old/Misc Project Ideas
Testing Parking System
- Local parking lot recently switched to an entirely automated system using magnetic stripe cards. We would like to test it and see how it works.
Smartphone-controlled ROV
The ROV has a camera. I'm picturing that camera's output on the smartphone's screen. Want to turn left? Turn the phone left (i.e., rotating counter-clockwise about the vertical-/z-axis)! Want to descend deeper? Tilt the phone downward. ROV features a MAX7456 to display along the side of the screen things like depth, pressure, direction of travel (e.g., West), etc.
Sticking with the original plan of using a joystick should be easier to do first, but I think this would make a great add-on!
3D mouse
There are already specs and tutorials for a Arduino-based 3D mouse, but the arm-strain looks horrible -- you have to hold your arm up the whole time! I'm picturing a little ball held to a surface with 4 rubber bands, one coming from each of the cardinal directions (e.g., N, S, E, and W) that you hold in your hand, palm-side up. (Picture a '+' sign where everything is made of rubber bands except the center, which is a spherical ball.) You'd be resting the back of your hand on the table/surface; much more usable, no? All we would need to detect is how much tension is being put on the rubber bands relative to one another.
If tension is decreasing on the W rubberband, increasing on E, and increasing by the same amount on N and S, we know the user is moving the "mouse" West. If tension is equally increasing on bands N and W, and equally decreasing an bands S and E, the ball/center/sphere/"mouse" is being moved South-East, etc. (I'll think about it a bit more but we should be able to use trig functions for this.) If tension is increasing on all bands equally, the mouse is moving upward -- 3D!
RFID Reader
Other RFID-based Projects
Laser Projector
A projector using lasers that can draw an image. (update is necessary) http://elm-chan.org/works/vlp/report_e.html
Arduino-connected LEDs Programmable Via Browser
Anyone who visits the website would be able to control the lights.
Arduino Beatbox
http://corticalcafe.com/arduino_beatbox.htm
DIY UAV
Constructing and programming an unmanned aerial vehicle.
Resources:
