Category Archives: measurement

Atmega8 based thermometer build

Andrianakis Haris writes: This is a thermometer I designed for my room, built in a small pack and easy to control. Some basic components used: Atmega8, LM35 for inside temp sensing and DHT-11 for outside temp & humidity sensing. The hardware is designed on a way so that the PCB can be wall mounted. At […]

Using Fixed Voltage Reference (FVR) for ADC in the PIC16F1827

Raj writes to inform us of his Embedded Lab tutorial with tips on using the Fixed Voltage Reference (FVR) module in enhanced mid-range 8-bit PIC microcontrollers for a precise and accurate A/D conversion. Raj demos how to use the built-in module of the PIC16F1827 that generates a stable reference voltage internally known as the FVR. […]

Build a digital spirit level using SCA610 accelerometer

A spirit level is an “an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal (level) or vertical (plumb).” Here’s a demo by Shawon Shahryiar of an electronic spirit level made using a Microchip PIC16F684, a SCA610 accelerometer and a handful of other discrete components. Shawon writes, “This project used a one-axis accelerometer chip and […]

Arduino based talking breathalyzer

The Hoz sent in a link to this Instructables by alinke detailing the build of a talking breathalyzer. The main components are a Seeeduino and the Seeed Music Shield, Twig Alcohol Sensor, and Twig Serial LCD all available from Seeedstudio. The open source code and other details can be downloaded from The Talking Breathalyzer site. […]

Parallax introduces laser range finder

Parallax has introduced the Laser Range Finder. “Designed in conjunction with Grand Idea Studio, the Parallax Laser Range Finder (LRF) Module is a distance-measuring instrument that uses laser technology to calculate the distance to a targeted object. The design uses a Propeller processor, CMOS camera, and laser diode to create a low-cost laser range finder. […]

Arduino & iPhone = GSR lie detector

Anna Dumitriu, Tom Keene and Alex May recently gave a presentation at 17th International Symposium on Electronic Art in Istanbul demonstrating how to build an Arduino to iPhone/Android interface with GSR sensor. A GSR sensor connects to an Arduino board. The Arduino generates an audio tone mapped to value of electrical resistance in the skin. […]

CheapStat open source DIY potentiostat

A potentiostat is an electronic instrument that controls the voltage difference between a Working Electrode and a Reference Electrode contained in an electrochemical cell. Control is achieved by injecting current into the cell through an Auxiliary, or Counter, electrode. Commercial units sell for up to $10,000, but the researchers at University of California (Santa Barbara) […]

Accurate milliohm measurement

Kerry writes:  I have just completed a project for accurate milliohm range resistance measurements. The details are on my blog .  I’d love to share this with your readers. To effectively measure small resistance values in the milliohm range, we need to accurately measure the current flowing through and at the same time accurately capture […]

Arduino vitamin/pill reminder

Having to remember to take a vitamin or medication periodically can easily result in missed doses. If it’s a vitamin, probably no big deal. But if its a medical maintenance drug a missed dose can have serious consequences. Ryan Blace from ibuildthings informs us of his latest project, a vitamin/pill reminder. He designed this Arduino […]

Arduino and open source go to sniper school

Antipasto Hardware posts this cool project demonstrating how to use an Arduino and a TouchShield to keep track of shot patterns while at the range. This is a quick video showing off the Arduino Liquidware TouchShield Slide, and Bjorn Entperprises camo case, all Open Source Hardware based, at the firing range with a Remington 700 […]

Easily measure inductance using Arduino

Moser from ReiBot has developed a simple project for using an Arduino along with an LM399 and several discrete components to measure inductance. He says: So you need to make or measure an inductor, but you don’t have an oscilloscope or signal generator? Measuring inductance with a handful of cheap common parts is certainly possible. […]

Hijack development pack for iPhone

Seeed Studio launched an iPhone hardware development board call the  Hijack development pack: Do we have any iPhone users here? What were you thinking when Google released ADK for Android devices? You probably want to have an equal chance to play your mobile devices with open source hardware as we did. The idea of connecting […]

Build a physical CPU load meter

Keegan from KSplice built this project which measures CPU load using an ammeter, Arduino and a resistor and some code. Basically, he runs a Python script on the Linux box which communicates load info via USB to the Arduino, which in turn displays the relative load on the analog ammeter. You can get the Arduino […]

Joe Grand’s laser range finder

Joe Grand has finished work on his Laser Range Finder (LRF) project. This project, which has been in development in cooperation with Parallax Inc., is now in final beta testing. Check out Joe’s development diary for all the exhaustive details and links to development videos. Joe reports that after final tweaking is completed, he expects […]

Freescale publishes open sample data sets for inertial and magnetic sensors

On working with the MMA7260Q accelerometer Mike Stanley from Freescale semiconductors writes: There’s nothing like looking at the raw data, running it through an algorithm and viewing the results to cement an understanding of the technology. Later, I gathered an appreciation for the need to be able to reproduce my results from one run to […]

Openenergymonitor

emonTx stands for Energy Monitoring Transmitter. It’s a small, open source wireless energy monitoring node. It’s based on the Arduino (Atmega328) and is fully compatible with the Arduino IDE and programmed via an FTDI to USB cable. It’s designed to take inputs from multiple CT sensors, optically from a pulse-output utility meter and from multiple […]

Necomimi: brainwave controlled fuzzy cat ears

We couldn’t make something like this up… This headwear has EEG sensors built into the headband, and the device is programmed to move the ears in various ways corresponding to brainwave activity. For example, the ears stand up when you concentrate. They were developed by neurowear in Japan, which states: “Neurowear” is the name of […]

Brainwave music maker

Brainwave measurement tools are increasingly being included in hacker projects. In this video, Collin from Make Magazine reveals his progress in producing brainwave-based music. He uses the a NeuroSky MindSet device for measuring EEG activity, which transmits its data via Bluetooth to the Mac. The MindSet Beat Sequencer code for Processing runs on the Mac. […]