Makers

Haptic GPS Points Cyclists in the Right Direction: Mapbag

Haptic GPS Points Cyclists in the Right Direction: Mapbag

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Josh Billions demonstrates the Mapbag at Maker Faire Bay Area 2011. It is a bicycle messenger bag with a ring of vibrating motors sewn into its strap, whose positions correspond to compass points. This soft circuit project uses a Lilypad in conjunction with the gps feature in an Iphone, allowing the user to set a destination and be given constant haptic feedback through the fabric in order to stay on course and in the right direction. This acts as an exploratory wayfinding tool – a fun and useful alternative to a standard turn-by-turn map. http://www.joshbillions.org/ http://makerfaire.com/pub/e/6141

Continue Reading Makemagazineuser

Water Cooler Bottle Blaster

British company BCB has developed what is essentially a potato cannon on steroids. Called the Wall Breaker, this pneumatically charged cannon launches water cooler bottles at 984 feet per second.

Need to break through concrete in a hostage situation? No problem. Want to rip a giant hole through a cargo van. They have you covered.

This was developed for the British military, so I’m not sure we’ll be seeing a consumer version available anytime soon. Impressive all the same.

Continue Reading Michael Colombo24
If You Can Make It in NYC, You Can Make It Anywhere

If You Can Make It in NYC, You Can Make It Anywhere

Over the years a common question I get asked is “Why New York City”? And “Why run a business there it’s so hard/expensive/crazy/weird/intense” – “just move to Vegas, no taxes!” – and that’s what this week’s SOAPBOX column is all about – “If You Can Make It In NYC… You Can Make It Anywhere”. I’m going to talk about why I think this is the best city, for me, for now, to run a business – my goal is article is for the maker businesses out there from one person to many, to post up in the comments on why THEIR city is the best city to run a maker business. Let’s get started.

Continue Reading Phillip Torrone18
MAKE Flickr Pool Weekly Roundup

MAKE Flickr Pool Weekly Roundup

I had a sense, as early as Tuesday, that it was going to be a yellow kind of week, and sure enough, the MAKE Flickr pool has proved it out. And though yellow has lots of negative connotations, it happens to be my favorite color, probably because it reminds of me construction equipment and power tools. Oh, and flowers. I have credible reports from people who have actually seen nature that flowers are sometimes yellow, too.

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan