Technology

Ping Pong vs. an Invisible Opponent

This gadget, shaped exactly like a ping pong paddle, allows the user to play a rousing game against an invisible opponent.

The Self Table Tennis senses how hard you are swinging and plays an appropriate volume sound to match. There are three game styles- easy and hard rally and rhythm mode. I’m still a little unclear (even after watching the video) how you win or lose points but it looks like fun to just swing the racket around and hit invisible balls around.

It looks pretty neat, but seems more like a technical challenge to me. A microcontroller and an accelerometer could have any seasoned maker heading in the right direction toward a DIY version of this. [via Craziest Gadgets]

Continue Reading Michael Colombo4
DIY Door Lock Reminder

DIY Door Lock Reminder

Dangerous Prototypes forum participant pppd described his door lock reminder that buzzes to remind him to lock his apartment door. It consists of an ATtiny13 with two reed switches and a buzzer. I don’t know about you guys but I constantly catch myself wondering whether I have locked my apartment door or not. I never […]

Continue Reading John Baichtal6
“Orchestra” of Floating Ping Pong Balls

“Orchestra” of Floating Ping Pong Balls

Though described as an “electronic instrument” and an “orchestra…composed of levitating balls whose physical height determines their volume,” London design group Poietic Studio’s “Floating Orchestra,” cool as it is, cannot possibly be producing the big, bold, brassy sounds of The Benny Goodman Orchestra that accompany their embedded video, above. Which naturally leads me to wonder what it really sounds like.

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan8
How-To: Shrinkify Your Arduino Projects

How-To: Shrinkify Your Arduino Projects

If you have a simple Arduino project that uses only a few pins, you might be able to shrink it down to a single 8-pin ATtiny chip. In this video, Matt Richardson shows you how, based on a tutorial from MIT Media Lab’s High-Low Tech Group. The best part is you can use the same Arduino code and development environment that you’re already used to.

More information about this how-to is available at: http://blog.stage.makezine.com/archive/2011/10/how-to-shrinkify-your-arduino-projects.html

Continue Reading Matt Richardson19
MAKE Flickr Pool Weekly Roundup

MAKE Flickr Pool Weekly Roundup

It was as if there were some October-inspired conspiracy, this week, to turn the MAKE Flickr pool pumpkin orange! Fortunately I found some nice greens to round it out. Our first image this week is the mostly-completed “Most Spectacular Failure Award” trophy from last weekend’s handcar regatta. Other highlights include a beautifully printed and photographed mechanical differential, some 2-liter bottlecaps modified for a home carbonation system, and a brain in a jar. Mmmmmm. Brains in jars.

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan