Hasta La Gadget!

If you’re going to revisit a certain underwater dystopia, you might as well have a ball. At least that’s the approach being taken by Sweden-based DIYer rasmadrak, who has decided to build a Bioshock-themed custom pinball machine just for kicks. The project is filled with lots of neat little touches from Rapture, including Little Sister vents and a few Big Daddy homages. The builder also does a pretty good job of drilling into the details and providing insight on the creation process — like the challenge in using two different systems such as Arduino and chipKIT together, for example — via detailed posts in the Poor Man’s Pinball! blog. The project proved to be a pleasant shock to the system for fellow pinball aficionado Ben Heck, who gave the project a sprinkling of Heckendorn love via Twitter. Pinball geeks can also follow the saga, so to speak, by checking out the source link below.

Filed under: Gaming

Bioshock custom rig is Big Daddy of pinball machines, gives players a taste of Rapture originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 19 Aug 2012 23:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you prefer reading your RSS feeds without the backlight, there’s hardware for that, and if you’d prefer not reading your Twitter feeds at all, there’s now hardware for that as well. Mix an Arduino Ethernet board, an Emic 2 Text-To-Speech Module and the knowhow to put them together, and you’ve got SocialChatter — a neat little build that’ll read your feeds aloud. The coding’s already been done for you, and it’s based on Adafruit’s own Internet of Things printer sketch with a little bit of tinkering so nothing’s lost in translation. If your eyes need a Twitter break and you’ve got the skills and kit to make it happen, head over to the source link for a how-to guide. Don’t fill the requirements? Then jump past the break to hear SocialChatter’s soothing voice without all the effort.

Continue reading Arduino-based SocialChatter reads your Twitter feeds so you don’t have to (video)

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Internet

Arduino-based SocialChatter reads your Twitter feeds so you don’t have to (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Aug 2012 11:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Raspberry Pi faithful have been looking forward to the Gertboard almost as much as the main device itself: Gert van Loo’s I/O extender promises to flash lights, spin motors and otherwise take on the tasks that the Raspberry Pi doesn’t directly manage on its own. While we’ve seen work on the project since late 2011, the expansion now looks to be closer to reality following a fresh teaser. The refined design’s biggest tweak is replacing its original PIC controller with an Arduino-powered chip — an element no doubt familiar to the crowd that would already be looking at a very hackable, miniature Linux computer. Most everything else is a refinement, although Gert has brought in three physical buttons and two-channel analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog converters. We’ll learn the full story later this week, and until then we’ll be dreaming of all the off-kilter Arduino projects that might be made better with a little Raspberry Pi companionship.

Update: The wait turned out to be short, and interested parties ready to do some soldering of their own can pre-order the Gertboard for £30 at element14 now. Check the Raspberry Pi blog (2) for more info, or check out a video interview with Mr. van Loo himself embedded after the break.

Continue reading Raspberry Pi teases finished Gertboard I/O extender, revs creative engines (Update: pre-orders open now, video)

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets, Peripherals

Raspberry Pi teases finished Gertboard I/O extender, revs creative engines (Update: pre-orders open now, video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 08 Aug 2012 18:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There is one issue about going on holidays if you are one who has a love for plants around the home. After all, going off for a long holiday would mean only one thing – your plants are going to get a whole lot thirsty especially if it is summer, and you will need the help of family members or friends to be able to help water your plants. Good thing modern day technology has advanced to such a stage where plants are now able to water themselves – thanks to access to an Arduino board, a water pump and a reliable source of electricity.

Randy Sarafan has grown tired of seeing his plants wither and die time after time, and he decided to rig up a house plant that has the relevant “brains” to water itself whenever things start to get a little bit dry. The Arduino board will work in conjunction with a soil moisture sensor and a water pump. Whenever the pump detects the plant being thirsty, the Arduino will work the water pump up, offering the plant with a drink. As long as there is enough juice left in there, the water reservoir should work just fine.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Arduino motion-activated sprinkler makes one good heck of a yard defense system, Morphing gown Mechapolypse is mind-controlled,

We caught our first glimpse at the new, simplified Arduino Leonardo at Maker Faire back in September of last year. At the time, we were promised a late October shipping date, but it failed to materialize. Finally, Massimo Banzi has taken the wraps off the slimmed down microcontroller and its now in stock at retailers across the web. The Leonardo sports a new pin layout, dubbed R3 (which the Uno has also been updated with), that will become standard across all Arduino boards. That’s a big deal for shield makers who only have to design and manufacture an add-on once to ensure it’s compatible with the entire product line. The new layout also adds some extra pins and versatility, especially in the realm of shields, which can use to the new IOREF pin to determine the voltage of the processor and thus its model. That means a shield doesn’t have to be designed specifically with the new ARM-based Due in mind. The other big news is that the circuitry for converting USB to serial communication and the processor itself have been combined, which not only simplifies the design and drives down costs, but allows it to communicate directly with a computer and imitate all sorts of accessories (such as keyboards and mice). Best of all, is the price. The Leonardo, complete with headers, costs just $25 — a good $10 less than the Uno — while the headerless, solder-friendly version retails for $22.50. Check out the video after the break for a few more details from Massimo himself.

Continue reading Arduino Leonardo finally launches with new pin layout, lower price (video)

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Arduino Leonardo finally launches with new pin layout, lower price (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jul 2012 22:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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