Electronic Hacks

Sunspot Google Earth Flight Simulator Bike Ride

  Using Sunspot, Mike has made a bike that can fly in Google Earth. "Sun has been very successful in spreading Java to over 6 billion devices throughout the world. Well over a billion cell phones run Java. We in Sun Labs are interested in what comes next. In order to help make sure that the next generation of gadgets is based Sun technology, we developed Sun Small Programable Object

Speech Controlled Wheel Chair

  This Speech Controlled Wheel Chair is something that won’t catch on or ever be mass produced but that doesn’t make it any less cool! "A speech recognition system (HM2007) was connected to an Innovation FIRST controller board, and they both where mounted on an old electric wheel chair. Some 12 Sensors were also mounted on the chair for detecting Stairs, obstacles and slops. The man on the chair speaks

Hard Disk Drive Drum

  Fibra from Belgrade has created an interesting drum system. It uses old hard drive read/write arms as drum hammers. The original hard drive voice coils are used to move the arms. The picture above is the new system which doesn’t seem to be documented yet, have a look at the video for a demonstration of the first version. If you need a larger hard drive project fix have a

Maker Faire 2008 - Big Success

  By the sounds of it the Maker Faire is getting bigger and bigger each year. I think I need to make some time and go next year… DL.TV went down and covered the event along with many others. "Wow! Another great Maker Faire. Thanks to everyone who came out and supported the 3rd annual Maker Faire, and a special thanks to our Makers, Crafters, Sponsors, Exhibitors and the amazing

Automatic Closing Gates using a Picaxe Microcontroller

Here is an interesting build of some Automatic Closing Gates that was made for this wooden gate. It was built out of necessity, the builder had a child that he did not want running onto the road. The motor and gearbox is controlled using a Picaxe Microcontroller. Activation of the gate is done remotely using a wireless keyfob.

Electric Skateboard and Unicycle

  Rodger Cleye is into building electric vehicles. So far he has built an Electric Skateboard and a Electric Unicycle. I like the fact that there are safety features built into both of them, safety seems to be the first thing that is lacking in DIY projects. Not sure I could ever get the unicycle under control but I think the skateboard would be possible…  "The UNIQUECYCLE is an upgraded

Propeller QuadRover Robot

  Robot builders no longer have to settle for low power and hard to maneuver robotic platforms. Parallax has come out with this QuadRover Robot which is based on the powerful Propeller microcontroller. Not cheap, but have a look at what comes in the small package. "This gas-powered robot is built using a Honda 2.5 HP 4-stroke engine and hydraulic power system. It is controlled by a Propeller chip for