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With the Lego NXT being such a versatile platform for building and maintaining projects, I figured I needed to mention this crazy design. Chris Anderson over at diydrones.com built a small RC plane that he transformed into a UAV with a Lego NXT controller and some Robot C code. Any follower of the Lego Mindstorm Series or anyone currently competing in or interested in FIRST robotics will really want to read this! "By creating a UAV with Lego parts and built in part by kids, we haven’t just created a "minimum UAV", we’ve created a reductio ad absurdum one. If children can make UAVs out of toys, the genie is out of the bottle. Clear use guidelines (such as staying below 400 feet and away from tall buildings) would be welcome, but blanket bans or requirements for explicit FAA approval for each launch will be too hard to enforce. The day when there was a limited "UAV industry" that could be regulated are gone.)" Be sure to check all his other interesting projects.
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New gadgets are starting to come off the assembly line faster than they can be acknowledged. This gadget however is a breakthrough. The people from WildCharge came up with a very interesting and useful device. They call it the Wild Charger. It is a pad that you can place various gadgets on to charge.This device works on the basic principal that if two conductive objects meet, current can pass through them. No wires, no untangling, no mess. In order to do this your gadget has to be outfitted with the WildCharger hardware.The hardware basically consists of a backing you put on the device that has contact pads on it. After that you just set it on the conductive pad and let it charge. With adapters for many devices this is a good buy for any techie. Check it out here: www.wildcharge.com/index.cfm |
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Office pranks, ah these can be quite fun. They can actually become quite competitive also, employees always trying to outdo the other. I have come across some very unique and fun pranks, but this one has to be one of my favorites. Scott from OdeToCode.com decided to "hack" an office HP Laser Jet Printer. His prank of choice, was to change the LCD default system messages to something completely different and fun. "I wasn’t sure if I should put this article under “Code” or “Humor”, since it contains both. Ultimately it is much funnier than technical, but full source is included for you to use in your own environment." Link: OdeToCode |
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With millions of people’s wallets being drained by household appliances and heating/cooling, energy saving mods are very popular these days. Mother Earth News .com and Miles Free elaborated with each other to develop a cheap but very awesome household mod.
"So the boys pulled the liner out of the Hotpoint’s door and replaced it with the heat exchanger. Then a couple of holes were drilled through one end of the door and a couple of pieces of scrap copper tubing (also scavenged from the refrigerator) were used to extend the exchanger’s coils through the insulated wall. (It was exceptionally easy to slip the recycled 3/8-inch tubing right over the ends of the 1/4-inch plumbing and solder the "splice" into a watertight junction.) Next, six holes were drilled through both the exchanger plate and the "back" of the collector box (actually, through the main body of the old refrigerator door) and the two were fastened together with stove bolts. Some odd pieces of cardboard were then used to cover the insulation that was still exposed around the "rim" of the exchanger (this was done purely for appearances), and the heat exchanger and its surrounding paperboard trim were all painted flat black. Finally, two pieces of glass were cut to fit as a "top" for the collector box. The panes were mounted just under the old door’s rubber gasket (how’s that for having just what you want just where you want it?) and seated in place on a bead of silicone caulking."
Link: Mother Eath News
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This is my own personal mod, it’s simple to make, and it looks great. Great addition to my other individualistic geeky items :] ** Before you take part in this modification, please be aware that you are using an AC house current to power the light bulb, AC can kill. So please, for all of us at Hacked Gadgets, be careful** Materials: 1) 60 Watt light bulb (other wattages can be used) 2) Power cord (can be scavenged from anything) 3) Encasing (in this case, a “Jolt Energy Drink”) 4) Wire Strippers 5)Electric Tape (if you want to go the fast and easy route, I found a socket from a lamp and got it to fit with some slight grinding) 6) Soldering Iron if you use my method 7) Solder (duh) —— Alright, the hardest part is probably acquiring all the supplies. First you need to strip part of your power cord. After you strip it you should have two wires showing, strip the individual wires. After this, depending on the method you used, you can either use the electrical tape and tape the wires to the electrical contacts on the light bulb (usually the the threaded part is one contact, and the dot at the bottom is the second) Or you can find an old socket like I did and hook it up that way. That is pretty much the basic design, now of course I do have an even cooler design in the works. I plan on getting one of the larger project boxes from Radio Shack, similar to this one maybe slightly larger, and getting a lighted toggle switch to turn the light off and on, and a photodiode so the lamp can go on automatically. I hope you liked this simple hack, hopefully when ACT’s are over I can work on some even cool projects. Other pictures:
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All of you music lovers, from the extremely musically inclined, to the beginners loath having to tune your guitar over and over again, it gets rather repetitive. Gibson, one of the leading guitar manufacturers who has been raising the bar since they first arrived into the scene, has just launched the bar into the upper troposphere. They have done this with their newest guitar, aptly named The Gibson Robot Guitar. If I had the money right now, I would definitely purchase this beauty. 
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Robotics is an ever expanding career field and also now and ever expanding hobby. Numerous organizations have been put into place for the facilitation of robotic education and study. One such program called “Botball” is popular among students that range from junior high to high school. Their programs help develop and make the fascination that people seem to have naturally with robots, grow. It is something to look into if you are an eligible student, a teacher, parent, or an interested community leader, the benefits reach out to all these positions. “Because of the program’s versatility, Botball appeals to students, teachers, and the community on diverse levels of backgrounds, talents, and motivations. Botball has been successful in many educational environments and has encouraged students to explore science, technology, engineering, and math inside and outside of the traditional classroom setting.” I myself am part of the Botball organization, I develop the software for my high school team. Check out the website here: Botball.org |
