Multi proyectos 0040

When users lift the handset and dial their digits, an Arduino (you just knew there’d be one involved didn’t you?) takes in the information and then initiates the camera.

Four photos are taken — just like a photo booth — and they are sent to a Mac Mini. The photos are resized, watermarked and uploaded to Flickr. The photo links are then texted to your phone using Twilio.

If you decide not to enter your number just dial “0″ and one photo is taken and is uploaded to Rotobooth.com

” I hope to show that a normal programmer with no special academic training can grapple with these areas of research and find a way in to understanding them. And as I go I aim to create material that will help others do the same. If I can do it, there’s no reason you can’t.”

But there are times when we need to output lines in space rather than volumes. Most 3D printing technologies are not well suited for printing thin lines because the materials are weak, the machine uses a lot of 3D-print support material, and the process is slow. The closest thing to a machine that can output lines is a CNC wire bender, but these machines are used almost exclusively for mass production in factories. They are not used for rapid prototyping because the equipment is large, expensive and takes trained personnel to run. So, we decided to make the DIWire Bender.

The build is part of a high school class and they packed in some really nice features. The first is the parabolic mirror which focuses the sun’s rays on the chamber of the engine. The heat is what makes it go, and the video after the breaks shows it doing just that.

But the concept behind the mirror makes for an interesting challenge. The light energy is focused at a narrow point. When the sun moves in the sky that point will no longer be at an efficient position to power the engine. This issue is solved by a pair of stepper motors which can reposition the dish. It’s done automatically by an Arduino Uno which makes readings from four LDR (photoresistors) in that cardboard tube mounted at the top of the dish. If the light intensity is the same for all four, then the tube is pointed at the sun. If not, the motors are tweaked to get the best angle possible.

While learning Clojure some years ago I stumbled upon a project that used Clojure and Arduino. Immediately, I wanted to try it out, I searched for where to get a board within my city(Port-Harcourt) or my country. I was disappointed , there was not a single distributor within the whole West Africa. It occurred to me that I may not be the only one facing this challenge and for my subcontinent to reduce poverty, we need to be part of Arduino world. How would they hack if there is no prototype board to play with? Who would supply boards when there is no distributor? These were the questions that came to my mind. Thereafter, I seized this wonderful opportunity and approached Arduino manufacturing team for distributorship. I was surprised that my application was approved. They even encouraged me to have online presence which they would link to.

One may ask what about Electrical/Electronics engineers? Well, we have them, and they have started showcasing their “unique capabilities”. Most University kids in Nigeria do not spend enough time with Micro-controllers and Microprocessors or should I say that they are intimidated. But they still yearn for a simple platform to help them get started.

Are you a maker in a developing nation? Would you like to spread the Arduino message? Or has Arduino touched your life in a special way? Do write to us.