Hasta La Gadget!

We’ve seen all kinds of game controller plushies, but I think this is the first time I’ve seen one that can actually be used to play video games. Adafruit’s Becky Stern built the soft controller using their Flora Arduino-compatible platform and some conductive thread and fabric.

Even though Becky’s design looks like a squishy, oversize NES controller, your computer will recognize the plushie as a USB keyboard, so you can use it with any keyboard-based game. If you’re handy with stitching, perhaps you can modify Becky’s guide and make a plushie of your favorite controller. It would probably take a long time to build a full keyboard plushie though.

Make a plush browser and head to Adafruit for the full guide and parts list.

Last year we saw a robot cane for visually impaired people that warns its user of obstacles with an audible alert. The Virtual Aid for the Visually Impaired or VAVI by grade 10 student Roman Kozak is an even more convenient prototype for a high tech cane. It lets the user search Google Maps and be guided towards his or her destination by voice prompts.

VAVI is not actually a cane but just a short cylinder; instead of direct contact it uses an ultrasonic sensor to detect objects in the user’s path. A vibration motor and a buzzer alerts the user if there’s an obstacle in his way. As for the location search, Roman wrote an Android app that taps into Google Maps. When the app is open, the user can order it to search for a location by saying “go to _____.” The app will look for the destination and will then provide voice prompts to guide the user as he walks.

The app also accepts voice commands for placing a phone call, sending the user’s current location to someone else and for finding VAVI. For that last feature, the app will reach out to VAVI through Bluetooth and activate its motor and buzzer to make it easier to find. Roman also made it so VAVI can be charged wirelessly via induction so the user won’t have to bother finding an adapter and an outlet.

For all its capabilities, Roman estimates that VAVI only costs about $70(USD) to produce. Check out Roman’s website for more on his invention.

[via Hack A Day]

Carolina Ferrari, Ilaria Vitali and Mengdi Xu designed Diffuse, a lamp designed to make laptop screens easy on the eyes in two ways.  Diffuse can provide complementary ambient light or it can compensate for a dark environment with a soft white light. It’s Ambilight and F.lux in one.

Diffuse consists of a felt diffuser and a wooden box containing its electronics, which are mainly an Arduino Uno, two RGB LED strips and a light sensor. The box also houses a 12v rechargeable battery and a switch between the “Eye Pleasure” and “Eye Relief” modes. The felt diffuser attaches to the box via two magnets.

To use Diffuse, you just connect it to your laptop via its USB cable, turn it on and select which mode you want to use. In Eye Relief mode, Diffuse’s light sensor will analyze the brightness of the area immediately behind your screen. The lamp’s LEDs will then emit a white light to balance the brightness of your screen and your surroundings. To use Eye Pleasure mode you also need to install an application on your laptop. The application will read the average color of your screen in real time and relay it to Diffuse, which will then match the given color.

Sit back, relax and check out the Diffuse Team’s website for more on the lamp.

I am quite sure that many of us did play with the Nintendo Game Boy at one time or another during our younger days, and boy, did that little handheld console that could end up leaving quite an impression on our minds. Well, fast forward to today, and here we are with the possibility of actually constructing a handheld game system that you can call your own – the Gamebuino. The Gamebuino is made possible thanks to the Arduino platform, where it has all the hardware that you need although you have the freedom to develop your very own games, now how about that for flexibility?

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Gamebuino, The Arduino Handheld Console original content from Ubergizmo.

Late last year I talked about the DIY Gamer Kit, which contained all the parts you need to assemble your own handheld game console. In other words, the kit introduces you to video game hardware. Aurélien Rodot’s Gamebuino on the other hand comes fully assembled and is intended to get you into video game software.

The Gamebuino has an ATmega 328 microcontroller, an 84 x 84 monochrome display with automatic backlight, six buttons, a 4-channel speaker and a 240mAh battery. It also has four ports: one microUSB, one microSD and two I2C ports. While the DIY Gamer Kit is also based on the Arduino language, Aurélien made a software library for Gamebuino, which includes a graphics engine, a game engine, sound effects, user interface and more. Coding a Gamebuino game will be easier and faster because you don’t have to start from scratch.

Aurélien says he’s already finalized the Gamebuino’s hardware, the software library and a few sample games. Right now he’s working on a browser that will let you load and switch between games from a microSD card. He’s also going to make tutorials and setup an online community to make it easier for newbies to get help. Pledge at least €35 (~$48 USD) on Indiegogo to get a Gamebuino – and priceless knowledge – as a reward.

[via Kotaku]