Hasta La Gadget!

Yet another Kickstarter success story is here on the Hardware Alley Floor at TechCrunch Disrupt. Ninja Blocks look a fair bit different than they used to, however — the 3D-printed case has been traded up for something that looks a lot more like a final, saleable product. In fact, it looks a little like a router or an external hard drive, albeit one with color-changing ninja eyes. The company was also talking up the home automation possibilities of its platform a bit more than the straightforward sensor pitch. In a buzz phrase, the company is calling this “home automation for hackers.”

Using the Ninja Rules app, you can turn lights and appliances on and off, get alerts for things like your wash and monitor your home, without writing code — of course, knowing how helps. The whole platform is extremely open to users, and inside the case, you’ll find a Beagle Bone and Arduino board, both accessible by pulling at the handy “Hack Me” tag that hangs on its side. The base system will run you $199. More information can be found in a video after the break.

Filed under: Household

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It may be 2013, but 2001 will forever hold a special place in our hearts, in no small part due to the that lovable, red-eyed supercomputer known as HAL 9000. ThinkGeek has given us a couple ways to purchase HAL for our homes, but for folks who’d rather build their own, Adafruit’s got you covered. User Phillip Burgess has posted the full instructions on how to craft one, provided you’ve got access to a laser cutter and the requisite soldering, spray painting and sanding chops to complete the task. Adafruit’s version will have you making HAL out of an oversized arcade button and a sheet of acrylic — and if you want your HAL to talk (and really, why wouldn’t you), you’ll need to build a voice box from an Arduino Uno board and an Adafruit Wave Shield. Total cost: just shy of $100. Check out the video of it in action after the break, and head on down to the source link for the full how-to. Oh, and feel free to whistle Sprach Zarathustra while you work.

Filed under: Misc, Alt

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Source: Adafruit

Ever wished you had more control over how your flashlight worked? Or did you run out of gadgets to tinker and mess with? Then the HexBright Flex is for you. The flashlight has three modes of light by default, but you can also re-program it using Arduino code.

Aside from having open source software, the Hexbright Flex also has great hardware. It has a Cree XM-L LED with a maximum brightness of 500 lumens, an aluminum body and a rechargeable and replaceable battery.

You can order the HexBright Flex from its official website for $119 (USD). I bet some of you can program it to emit darkness.

[via GearHungry]

It’s far from the first Arduino-based mod we’ve seen for a guitar, but this one from David Neevel of the Wieden + Kennedy ad agency may well be the most unique. Apparently tired of having to drop his guitar and pick up a keyboard every time he wanted to send an email, he decided to make the guitar the keyboard, and replace the dull drone of keystrokes with an extended solo. As you might expect, the project comes with a fairly high degree of difficulty, but those interested in trying their hand can find the basics to get started at the source link below, and get a look at what’s possible in the video after the break. You’re on your own with the moustache.

Filed under: Misc

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Source: W + K Blog

LEGO bricks still evoke a sense of awe and wonder for some folks out there, and so the same can be said of Italian music producer Giuseppe Acito. It seems that Acito has managed to use his love for LEGO bricks as well as acumen in music to come up with what he calls the “Toa Mata Band”, which is actually made up of a few small robotic LEGO figures that have been specially programmed in order to play a range of instruments.

You can more or less say that individual “members” of the band have been constructed from LEGO Bionicle pieces that have been endowed with rubber bands and pulleys in the right places. Their arms will receive instruction from an Arduino Uno that is hooked up to an iPad that has Nord Beat, a MIDI sequencer app, running on it. These small robotic figures can roll out a MIDI sequence when prompted, which means it does pre-programmed tunes as well as impromptu ones if a human is around to add commands to the MIDI sequence in real-time. This is a one-of-a-kind LEGO product out there, so don’t bother looking for another.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Sonos Black Matte Sub Now Available For $599, Myth Labs Unveils Personalized Headphones,