on Friday, May 10, 2013
Yesterday we spent 8 hours learning and experimenting with Arduino Lilypad and 20 cool participants during our workshop, organized in collaboration with Kobakant! Here you can take a look at some pictures and below a short video report made by Makerfaire Rome crew.
Are you working at a wearable project and you want to share it with us? Join us on Arduino Projects Flickr group, we are looking for nice projects to feature on this blog.
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Il prossimo 1 e 2 giugno i docenti delle Officine Arduino saranno ad Alessandria ospitati da Lab121, un’associazione culturale che promuove il coworking ed il business networking. Nel workshop di due giorni gli iscritti possono assistere ad una esaustiva panoramica degli impieghi di Arduino e realizzare un piccolo progetto concreto a partire dalle componenti contenute nei materiali dell’Arduino Starter Kit.
Chiunque é benvenuto a partecipare al workshop: nessuna precedente conoscenza di programmazione o di elettronica sono richieste! E per saperne di più potete assistere alla presentazione pubblica di Arduino venerdì 31 Maggio nella stessa sede di Via Verona 17 ad Alessandria.
Se abitate a da quelle parti e avete voglia di creare progetti interattivi e incontrare alcuni protagonisti che animano le Officine Arduino, prenotate uno dei posti a disposizione!
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As Fritzing guys pointed recently out on their blog
Codemotion is not just another tech conference where developers and engineers attend to compare tools and argue about what’s best and what’s cool. It is a meeting point for many disciplines, hardware meets software and design in a unique and powerful combination.
We’ll be participating to the event, not only with a workshop on wearables (sorry it’s sold out!), but also with
We invite you to join us with a special 50% discount code available only today! You just need to enter this promocode: love_arduino .
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High-precision air quality monitors are normally very expensive, but Tim Dye of Sonoma Technology is on a mission to change that. He’s been working with Michael Heimbinder and habitatmap.org to create a low-cost sensor system that when designed properly and integrated into a software platforms can provide valid data.
AirCasting is a platform for recording, mapping, and sharing health and environmental data using Arduino and Android. It combines an Arduino with a set of sensors for air quality measurement; temperature, humidity, and carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter. The system combines the sensors using an Arduino Uno and then sends the data to an Android app using Bluetooth. The plans are all open for modification, so you can add your own sensors as needed. A heart rate monitor and an LED vest can also be linked to the AirCasting app, providing a complete the system for realtime, wearable feedback of your body’s reaction to the environmental air quality.
There are many DIY air quality measurement projects online, but most of them are not calibrated against known standards or professional equipment. But Dye and his colleagues have tested the AirCasting particulate matter sensors against the same equipment Sonoma Technology uses for precise measurement, and they’ve gotten surprisingly good results. Correctly constructed and deployed, the AirCasting shows promise as a low-cost alternative to complement the expensive high-end air monitors.
AirCasting is a collaboration between many groups: Michael Heimbinder of habitatmap.org manages the project, and Tim Dye of Sonoma Technology consults on design, data evaluation, and field deployment; Dr. Iem Heng and Raymond Yap of the City Tech Mechatronics Technology Center designed and built the hardware; Dr. Andy Zhang designed and built the monitor casings; Valentine Leung designed and built the LED garments, and Brooke Singer has helped guided the project with a mind towards interactivity and public engagement.
The data from your AirCasting air monitor can be uploaded to the AirCasting database, which aggregates data from all AirCasting contributors, or can be sent to your own database and all the code for the project is open source and available through GitHub
The website AirCasting.org provides links to all the software and hardware plans.
on Tuesday, May 7, 2013
MakerFaire Rome, for the first time gathering makers from all over Europe, is coming up and the clock is ticking while the Call for Makers closes next 2nd of June.
That’s why we thought to launch a call for collaboration to local hubs, makerspaces and fablab into helping us spreading the word.
If you are one of them and you think that makers from your city in Europe would be interested in joining the event and submitting a project to the call, we can send you a package full of flyers, postcards, stickers and support you into organizing a local event about it.
To join the team of Proxies fill THIS short form with your name, city, country, name of your local hub and address and we’ll get back to you.
The form we’ll be open until monday 14th of May and then we’ll announce the list of those receiving the kit. We have only 50 kits available so be quick to feedback us
The MakerFaire Rome Ambassador Kit includes:
Posters
Flyers
Pins
Stickers
Tape
Postit
Small stickers
+ an exclusive limited edition Arduino Uno board
Thanks in advance for your help and support, and see you at Maker Faire Rome!
For any question join us in the forum.
hashtag: #c4mrome
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My friend Jonathan Ward and the rest of the team at Otherfab have posted their new CNC milling machine, the Othermill, to KickStarter. This is a robust, low-cost machine for milling circuit boards, wax molds, wood, aluminum and more. The machine is made from high density polyethylene with an ingenious snap-fit mechanism that’s strong, reversible, and easy-to-assemble (although the machines will come fully assembled). There are lots of other clever features to ensure good alignment, minimal / non-existent slop, and quiet / robust performance. The working area is 5.5 x 4.5 x 1.4″ and the machine itself is only 10 inches cubed.
This is a great tool for milling your own circuit boards, something that’s done a lot in How to Make (Almost) Anything and at the MIT Media Lab and Center for Bits and Atoms generally. It handles relatively fine-pitched components (down to 1/64″ or even 0.010″ between traces) and is great for doing arbitrary shapes and cut outs. Here are some examples from the Othermill KickStarter page.
Jonathan has a long history of making milling machines, and I’m excited to see them get out into the world.
Find out more or support the project on KickStarter.
on Saturday, May 4, 2013
Here’s a couple of videos from the Tour! Follow the camper on Twitter with the hashtag #makertour:
on Wednesday, May 1, 2013
The Arduino Esplora is a ready-to-use, easy-to-hold controller that lets you explore the infinitive possibilities you have in the world of sensor and actuators, without having to deal with breadboards, soldering or cable.
There is no limit to the applications-amusing, educational, useful – you can program. You can even add a couple of extra sensor and actuators if you need them. Add a colour LCD module and you’ll be able to create original game on your very own open-source console!
Buy it from the Arduino Store (you can also have it with the retail package below).
