The main sales pitch for robot lawnmowers like the Husqvarna Automower is that you don’t have to mow your grass, ever again. It always looks neat. But there’s a second claim: that trimming the grass just a tiny amount each day also results in healthier grass. Time for a direct comparison of the main lawn area maintained by the Automower, versus a patch of grass that I have been mowing manually.
One of the great thing about electronics is that they can be used for millions and millions of different applications. Recently we came across James, a pinball machine repair enthusiast! James has used an Arduino and two freetronics N-Drive Shields to control all of the lights and action on one of his pinball machines. You can checkout some pictures of James’s projects below.
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Using the digitalWrite() function in Arduino it is very simple to turn an output pin on or off. However, what if we want to alter the speed of a motor or dim an LED? This is where Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) can be really useful. By rapidly switching a signal high and low, and varying the proportion of time that the signal is high we can digitally emulate analog results! To find out more about this very useful function checkout the full tutorial or the helpful diagram and video example below.
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For someone interested in mechatronics, this tree climbing robot would be a great project to attempt. The tree climbing robot uses two segments, one which attaches to the tree and another which continues to climb upwards after which they swap roles, slowly edging the robot up the tree. The result is surprisingly effective and very satisfying to watch! To find out more check out the following link or the video below.
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At SuperHouse we always love to see amazing electronics projects that are created around the world. We recently read about a number of Freetronics Addressable Triple N-MOSFET modules being used to easily switch on and off lots of large, high powered LEDs for an art installation named “GRID I” and thought that this was too cool not to share! The art work was created by LOVOT LAB who have provided some impressive pictures and a video of the installation.
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The magic of the Automower is that you hardly ever need to care about it. You can leave it for weeks or months, and it’ll take care of itself. However, there is one piece of maintenance that you need to perform: blade replacement. It’s quite easy and only takes a few minutes, and all you need is a screwdriver.
Instructables member blakebevin has create her own Power Laces! The concept is quite simple, a force sensor detects when your foot is firmly in the shoe and two servo motors apply tension to the laces, tightening the laces. To find out more about this awesome project check out the following link or the video of the shoe in action below.
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Using a Clipsal Cent-A-Meter you can effectively monitor the power usage of different appliances. This is great, however the built in functionality can be rather limiting. You can not, for example track the power consumption of a device over time. Thankfully, combining this meter with Arduino can allow you to reach the power meter’s full potential! Specifically, a 433MHz receiver can provide a communication bridge between the power monitoring system and an Ethernet connected Arduino allowing the power meter’s data to be sent into a SQL database for analysis and tracking. To find out more about this hack checkout the following link.
If you’re looking to work with your own RF wireless hardware, but don’t want to make your own receiver circuit – check out the Freetronics range of 315/433 MHz receiver shields:
Apart from being idea for working with the various low-cost data links on the market, the shield can also be used to capture wireless weather station data, as described in the book “Practical Arduino“. For more information and ideas, check out the product page.
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I have a lot of fun making SuperHouse videos, but recently I’ve been thinking about ways that I can make them better. I have many ideas for different types of videos and a list of about 50 episodes I want to make in the future. Please have your say in the future of SuperHouse!
The Patreon page is at www.patreon.com/superhouse
Below is the original episode plan from the early concept for SuperHouse as a high-tech home renovation TV show. There were still some holes in it, but it gave us a rough outline for what we thought could be structured as a show something like a high-tech version of “This Old House”.
#4: Control from anywhere
There is something highly satisfying about watching the awesome bubble machine belliedroot has created in action. The machine utilizes a number of servos to give the bubble “wand” panning and tilting capabilities so it can be dipped in bubble mixture and then moved in front of a fan which blows the bubbles out!
This project is a great way to learn about how servo motors work with Arduino, and make something cool in the process. To find out more about how you can build your own bubble machine checkout the following link or the video below.
Want to keep in the loop about the latest in home automation? Subscribing to SuperHouse Automation on YouTube is the best place to start!
Inspired to start work on this project? Are you working on a project you would like us to feature in this blog? The team at SuperHouse Automation would love to know! Tell us about it in the comments section below or on Facebook and Twitter.
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