Recently I was approached by an architecture/design firm to help with an electronic install at a client site. The client had requested a system that interacts with users in the bathroom- “interacts” meaning, hassles them when they come and go.
(…) The system has three events- enter, exit, and “loiter”, and sounds in different folders on the USB drive will be played for each event, allowing users to change the sounds later if they wish.
Two Kinects running at the same time. Each depthmap is compared and the closer value is kept. Allows for the creation of mutant hybrids, arms coming out of stomachs, etc.
I am pleased to announce that Cinder can now support all of your Kinect hacking needs. With the new Kinect CinderBlock, you can very easily obtain depth map and rgb image, and additionally control the Kinect motor. You can even change the LED color if you’d like. There is more information in the Cinder Forum including a link to download the CinderBlock from github.
I have been playing with the Kinect for a day now. It was incredibly easy to get started. You simply ask for a depthImage or colorImage from the Kinect object and it is returned as a texture. There are two samples with the Kinect CinderBlock. KinectBasic just retrieves these two images and draws them to the screen.
The Art of Electronics – Student manual with exercises, plastic comb binder by Thomas C. Hayes & Paul Horowitz. This manual is both a guide and aid to users of The Art of Electronics. It is carefully organized to follow the chapters of the main text, providing extra explanatory notes, worked examples, solutions to selected exercises and laboratory exercises. Learning aids such as glossaries, reading assignments, objectives, data sheets and summaries are also included. The manual is a product of many years’ teaching at Harvard University, which has given the authors direct knowledge of concepts that students find difficult. The extra explanatory detail makes this manual an essential purchase for students using The Art of Electronics.
The Art of Electronics 2nd Edition by Paul Horowitz & Winfield Hill. The one and only. The Art of Electronics 2nd Edition by Paul Horowitz & Winfield Hill. Considered the best resource, now available at Adafruit. This is the thoroughly revised and updated Second Edition of the hugely successful The Art of Electronics. Widely accepted as the single, authoritative text and reference on electronic circuit design, both analog and digital, this book has sold over 120,000 copies, and has been translated into eight languages. This book revolutionized the teaching of electronics by emphasizing the methods actually used by circuit designers–a combination of some basic laws, rules of thumb, and a large bag of tricks.
The result is a largely nonmathematical treatment that encourages circuit intuition, brain storming, and simplified calculations of circuit values and performance. This completely new edition responds to the breakneck pace of change in electronics with totally rewritten chapters on microcomputers and microprocessors, substantially revised chapters on digital electronics, on op-amps and precision design, and on construction techniques.
Every table has been revised, and many new ones have been added. The new Art of Electronics retains the feeling of informality and easy access that made the first edition so successful and popular.
The best self-teaching book and reference book in electronics
Simply indispensable, packed with essential information for all scientists and engineers who build electronic circuits
Totally rewritten chapters on microcomputers and microprocessors
The first edition of this book has sold over 100,000 copies in seven years, it has a market in virtually all research centres where electronics is important
If you’re looking for one of the best multimeters, we’re proud to now offer our personal favorite! The Extech EX330 “12 Function Mini MultiMeter + Non-Contact Voltage Detector. Autoranging DMM with NCV detector and Temperature function”. This product is the winner of EEVBlog Multimeter Shootout (Extech press release) & Dave’s site here – and on top of that, its been our daily-use multimeter for over 3 years. It’s compact, has auto-off, tons of features and a temperature probe for checking thermal properties, soldering iron calibration and perhaps even a DIY reflow control
Compact auto-ranging multimeter features extra large 4000 count display and built-in non-contact AC voltage detector. Advanced function include Frequency (nice for checking UART baud rates, crystal oscillators), Duty Cycle, Capacitance and Temperature (is your power supply overheating?), Diode test and continuity beeper. Rubber holster protects meter. UL listed Cat III – 600V. Includes test leads, Type K temperature probe, two AA batteries and tilt stand. UL listed. Large display and a host of features.
Features:
Autoranging DMM with 12 functions and 0.5% basic accuracy
AC/DC Voltage measurement – 0.1mV to 600V
AC/DC Current – 0.1uF to 10A
Resistance – 0.1Ω to 40MΩ
Capacitance – 0.001nF to 200μF
Frequency & Duty Cycle – 0.001Hz to 40MHz / 0.1% to 99.9% duty
Type K thermocouple temperature – -20 to 750°C
Diode/Continuity
Built-in non-contact AC voltage detector (NCV) with red LED indicator and audible beeper
Large-digit 4,000 count LCD display
Max Hold, Data Hold, Relative and Auto power off
Complete with test leads, tilt stand, protective holster, Type K bead wire probe and 2 AAA batteries
Today’s Adafruit Gift Guide is all about taking photos. Some great gear to help you take photos of your projects so you can share what you do best with the world.
SLRs are great things, but they are expensive, particularly when you add in the cost of lenses. And the higher end ones are somewhat bulky, heavy, and awkward to carry. If you want something smaller, lighter, and more portable that still takes great photos, look in to one of these:
Canon PowerShot G12 — The latest in the venerable “G”-series from Canon. Like the G11 before it, the G12 is 10 megapixels, down from the G10′s 14-megapixels. This is not a bad thing. It’s a lower pixel count, but the same sized sensor, so each sensing element is bigger, resulting in much lower noise. 10-megapixels is more than enough resolution to make an 8×10 print, and it’s massive overkill for pictures on the web. Coupled to this 10mpix sensor is the DIGIC-4 processor, which further reduces noise.
One of the hallmarks of the G-series has always been the excellent glass, and the G12 has a superb f/2.8 lens equipped with image-stabilization, including a neat hybrid mode which further reduces blur when taking closeups.
Finally, the G12 adds the ability to shoot 720p HD video with sound, which makes it even handier for documenting your projects.
Shooting Table – Smith Victor Shooting Table with Photoflood Lights ( $548 – B&H Photo and Video)
This is a neat little setup for taking photos of small objects. It comes with a tripod too, which is probably a good source of cheap aluminum (I wouldn’t put a camera on it though). If you already have lights, you can purchase the table seperately ($310). If you already have a table, you might want to check out this nice SV photoflood light kit ($399).
Speedlight ($200 – $500, depending on model)
Canon 430EX-II shown
Every major camera manufacture makes dedicated speedlights. Speedlights, also known as “shoe flashes”, are portable flash units that mount on top of the camera. In modern cameras, these speedlights work with metering systems that are integrated into the camera, to ensure good exposures every time. Many of them can also be used wirelessly, communicating with the camera via an optical signaling system. While ostensibly designed for DSLR’s, they will work with any camera that has a hot shoe, like the G12 shown above. Bear in mind that to utilize the advanced metering system, you should get the flash from the same manufacturer as your camera.
I love these little guys — they’re the only lights I use now. LadyAda uses them too! They’re well made, reliable, not too expensive. Granted, there are less expensive generic monolights out there, but I’ve never found any of them to be as durable as the Bees. And the customer service from Paul C. Buff, the manufacturer, is excellent. I also like that they offer a full line of accessories which are equally well made.
Another point to consider is that it’s very easy to make your own modifiers. Unlike many light systems, which use a flange/bayonet system for mounting things to the light, the Bees use a a simple spring clamp, which fits inside a 3.5″ circle. If you want to attach your own modifiers, just cut the appropriately-sized hole in them with a hole saw and clamp them on.
There are three models of lights that share this form factor: the B400 above, the B800, and the B1600. The only difference between them is light output. The 400 puts out plenty of light for shooting things like products on a table or headshots, but consider upgrading to a B800 or B1600 if you plan to do large group portraits or use a large softbox (softboxes absorb a LOT of light).
Great for shooting small stuff on a tabletop, and particularly useful for shooting video. The reflectors can be used to bounce light back into a scene and to provide fill light. You can use the disc without a reflective covering as a diffuser, or use it with a cover to cast a shadow. You can also mount a speedlight on the boom arm to put a light source in an otherwise difficult spot.
Tripod – Manfrotto 055XB Tripod Legs w/498RC2 Ball Head ($267 – B&H Photo and Video)
You can buy one good tripod for $270 and keep it for life, or you can buy a crappy $99 tripod every few years when your old one breaks.
Memory cards – (Prices vary by size – Various vendors, including Adafruit)
Never can have enough memory cards. Larger ones (8GB+) are handy if you use your camera to shoot video. For shooting stills, I usually stick to 4GB cards — spreading the data out over multiple cards is good insurance in case one goes bad.
Keep an eye out for deals on these around the holidays — sometimes you can get them with free shipping or at a discount.
Companies respond to this kind of experimentation with their products in different ways — and Microsoft has had two very different responses since the Kinect was released on Nov. 4. It initially made vague threats about working with law enforcement to stop “product tampering.” But by last week, it was embracing the benevolent hackers.
Word of the technical sophistication and low price of the device spread quickly in tech circles.
Building a device with the Kinect’s capabilities would require “thousands of dollars, multiple Ph.D.’s and dozens of months,” said Limor Fried, an engineer and founder of Adafruit Industries, a store in New York that sells supplies for experimental hardware projects. “You can just buy this at any game store for $150.” … On the day the Kinect went on sale, Ms. Fried and Phillip Torrone, a designer and senior editor of Make magazine, which features do-it-yourself technology projects, announced a $3,000 cash bounty for anyone who created and released free software allowing the Kinect to be used with a computer instead of an Xbox.
More goodies from NPR: the Hackerspace movement was profiled on the network’s Weekend Edition program.
Most people think of a hacker as someone who breaks into computer networks, but many in the do-it-yourself movement have adopted the term for themselves. DIY hackers take everyday items and hack, or modify, them to serve new purposes. In the last few years, work spaces dedicated to their craft have been sprouting up all over North America.
…
In more than 70 hacker spaces in the U.S. and Canada, do-it-yourselfers are drilling, gluing, soldering and welding just about anything you can imagine. Some spaces consist of little more than a large room where they share tools and expertise, while others are equipped with expensive, computer-controlled power tools. While the focus at some hacker spaces is primarily on electronics, at others, sawdust flies and sewing machines whir as members build hybrid objects of a less technological variety. The spaces also offer learning opportunities through classes on anything from brewing beer to picking locks, and demonstrations of new contraptions.
Guests included Mitch Altman of Noisebridge in San Fransisco, Bre Pettis of NYC Resistor, and Jack Zylkin from Hive76 in Philly. You can listen to the stream from the main article page, or read the transcript here.
…Just two weeks, ago, a Microsoft spokesman told CNET that “Microsoft does not condone the modification of its products” and that the company would “work closely with law enforcement and product safety groups to keep Kinect tamper-resistant.” This prompted electronics hobby-supply company Adafruit to increase its bounty for open-source drivers from $1,000 to $3,000 and add a $2,000 donation to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, just in case Microsoft decided to start suing the pants off of everybody after all…
If Kinect is seen as a fun, versatile device for both casual gamers and serious hobbyists, that’s great for Microsoft. If Kinect’s whole-room camera, robust facial-recognition software, and portal for video and audio chat are seen as in any way insecure, it’s a nightmare.
That’s why Microsoft came out with a hard-line initial response. Once the company saw how the open-source drivers were being used, and what they could and couldn’t do, it was easier to officially soften its stance.
His landmark invention came after WWII ended. While on vacation, Land’s three year old daughter asked him why she couldn’t see a photo he had taken of her right away. He tried to explain to her they still needed to be developed, but that didn’t comfort her.
So Land went into the lab and created a system of one-step photography using the principle of diffusion transfer to reproduce the image recorded by the camera’s lens directly onto a photosensitive surface — which now functioned as both film and photo.
Printable catalog (PDF)
FEED
