Here’s some cool quick notes on touch sensors QT113/118 for those of you trying to invent
touch enabled systems.

I need a touch sensor for a couple of projects, and the Qprox QT113 seems to be the way to go, particularly for interfacing with an Atmel processor. It’s easy to work with, and hooks-up with only a bare minimum of extra stuff. All you need is a resistor and capacitor and a bit of wire or trace to compose the sensor.

Tom Igoe documents most of the details here.

There’s one wrinkle in my project, and that’s figuring out what value I should use for the capacitor — which is basically what controls the sensor’s, you know..sensitivity. So, I tried to values, .01uF and .1uF, to find out what the thing means by “touch.” (I’m looking at something that is more ambient than a full-on, bone-jarring style touch — something closer to “nearby”.)

via techkwondo

Here’s a cool gadget for those who own spas, it’s a color changing LED bulb that will replace
your exisiting spa light.
via wagthis

This one has been around but it’s too cool.

Cool LED Shirt you can make yourself!

design
1. Pick a garment to sew on, a pattern that will let you sew your own garment, or design your own pattern.

2. Design your display. decide on the number of LEDs you want and their general placement. This will depend on the garment you chose and the microcontroller you intend to use as well as how you’d like the display to look. I decided to sew a simple tank top and I chose to place the LEDs evenly across my tank top every 2″. Since my tank top is approximately 28″ around and 12″ tall I needed 84 LEDs. (Note! The pictures here show a different shirt with 140 LEDs spaced 1″ apart.)

3. Decide on the microcontroller you want to use. Choose one with an internal oscillator, and make sure you have enough i/o pins to control your matrix. It’s a good idea to pick a microcontroller you are familiar with and read the data sheet carefully! It can take some reading to discover that what you thought was a general purpose I/O pin is input only or an open drain output.

4. Decide on the power-source you want to use.

via wagthis

Here’s some giant LEDs for your viewing pleasure! Also check out detailed project documentation!

BIX is a permanent light- and media installation for the Kunsthaus Graz in Austria by realities:united architects from Berlin.
A matrix of 930 fluorescent lamps is integrated into the eastern acrylic glass facade of the biomorphic building structure of the new Kunsthaus in Graz, Austria. Through the possibility to individually adjust the lamps’ brightness at an infinite variability with 20 frames/second images, films and animations can be displayed - the Kunsthaus’ skin is transformed into a giant low resolution computer display.

via wagthis

Check out this cool DIY on making your own LED Pimp Bedroom and RGB light HOWTO!

I got this idea last year from a couple different things, one was this rope lightdecoration at the Illini Union courtyard cafe that continuously changes colors. The other was from this huge bright LED sign at Irving Park and Sheridan in Chicago that is at some mechanic that uses the sign to advertise his parking spaces for Cubs games. I made this with Red, Green, and Blue LEDs, so I can make any color of the rainbow. This is done the same way your TV or computer monitor works, Red+Green=Yellow, Red+Blue=Purple. I threw in some ultraviolet LEDs in hopes they’d be nice like a black light but they’re more violet than a black light.Go to index 1 of 2 if you want to see more technical pictures. Also, check out The Vos Pad

Click below for more pics!

Continue reading ‘DIY HACK - Make your own LED Bedroom!’

Here’s a cool site with concept iphones they have been digging up before the real
iphone release.

Well my friends over in Korea are going crazy about making these cantennas, here’s the site
that has some pics of the parts you need. Pretty much, you can probably make this just by
the pictures. Oh yeah, you can use this software to check your db.

Here’s a nice sake serving robot if you are into drinking soju or sake like us…

If you’ve always wanted a slave, but are too darned ethical to buy a live one, how about a handmade sake serving automata made from cherrywood and porcelain? These lovely little robots are all based on clockwork, and use technology dating from the Edo period. 1,050,000 JPY (including tax) and they take 40 days to make. You can read more about the history of Karakuri automata at Metafilter.

1. Wind up the doll and set the tea cup on the saucer.
2. It will move its legs alternately, shaking its head back and forth.. It will stop in front of the guest.
4. It will stand still while the guest is drinking..
5. When the guest returns the tea cup on the saucer, it will swivel around and return to its original location.

This doll is an updated model of the “Tea Serving Doll”.
It is able to stop in front of the guest without picking up the tea cup.

via techdigest

Check out Zillow.com for some cool current real estate prices by satellite images. Thanks Brian
for the info!