Randy Sarafan started Simple Bots on a bet. A coworker wanted a simple introduction to robotics, so Randy set out to prove that he could build a functioning robot in ten minutes. This was the impetus for a family of bots shown at Maker Faire Bay Area 2011 that can be easily made from a variety of parts that are on hand for the average DIY enthusiast.
David Simpson was contacted by MAKE to create a spying device for MAKE Volume 16, so he came up with the Bug-In-A-Book project, a hacked together wireless listening device embedded in a hollowed out book. As Simpson explains at Maker Faire Bay Area 2011, a project using scavenged technology has flowered into a product with a kit that DIY folks can build and experience for themselves.
Readers of the Weekend Projects Newsletter (sign up below!) have already been aware of this new giveaway challenge for a couple days, but now we’re opening the challenge to the wider public and upping the ante in the hopes of seeing some really sweet mods. The rules are simple but the challenge is great.
The littleBits Starter Kit is a set of unique, space sensitive modules provide a simple, intuitive avenue into electronics. Each bit has a function (light, sound, sensors, buttons, thresholds, pulse, motors, etc), and modules snap together to make larger circuits. The kit includes 10 color coded modules (power, input, output, and wire) that snap together magnetically.
Today I’m thinking about my older sister, an electrical engineer and all-around brilliant person who influenced me hugely growing up. I owe a lot of my geeky interests to her. So, sis, happy Ada Lovelace Day! Who is your heroine? Do you remember which women have influenced you over the years? Perhaps your maths teacher, […]
Long-time MAKE reader Adam Ben-Dror carefully reskinned a 2.4 Ghz cordless phone handset with a 90-year-old candlestick telephone. A DTMF converter in the base preserves the function of the original rotary dial. Calls are begun by lifting the earpiece and ended by hanging it up. As Adam writes, “the only sign that anything has been altered is the missing cord.”
Bristol maker Arthur Amarra’s voice-controlled robot arm seems like the perfect rainy day afternoon project. Using an off-the-shelf USB robotic arm and a laptop running various OSS tools, Arthur is able to dictate commands to the arm with a high degree of success.
