Daniel de Waard

Posted on February 16, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Arduino Pulse Width Modulation

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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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.

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Tree Climbing Robot

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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Posted on February 11, 2017February 11, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Impressive N-MOSFET Powered Artwork

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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Posted on February 10, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Back to the Future Inspired Auto Lacing Shoes!

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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Posted on February 7, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — 1 Comment

Power Monitoring with Arduino

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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Posted on February 6, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

DIY Bubble Machine

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.

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Posted on February 2, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Guitar Hero: Flamethrower Edition!

Although the popular Guitar Hero console game is already pretty cool, instructables member oswaldonfire has stayed true to his name by modifying his Guitar Hero game so that a set of flamethrowers is triggered with each in game button press. The result is nothing short of spectacular!

The project is entirely controlled by an Arduino Uno and a number of relays which trigger the flamethrowers. If you want to find out more about how you can build this awesome project yourself checkout the following link or the video of the setup in action!

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Posted on January 31, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Using an Arduino as a Programmer

One of the relatively unknown capabilities of Arduino-compatible boards is that they can be used as an external programmer. This means that you can use your Freetronics Eleven, EtherTen or other Arduino-compatible board to upload a sketch, or reflash the boot loader on another Arduino board. Freetronics has put together a comprehensive tutorial describing how this can be done, check it out at the following link.

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Posted on January 29, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

3D Printed Arduino Powered Robot

YouTuber Jaidyn Edwards has created a 3D printed two legged robot. If this wasn’t cool enough, the brain of this robot is the Freetronics LeoStick. Jaidyn’s robot is based of “BOB” an easy to make robot designed by Thingsverse user k120189.

You can find full instructions on how to make the robot at the following link, and a video of Jaidyn’s robot in action below!

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Posted on January 28, 2017January 28, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Twitter Mood Light

This cool project displays the collective “feeling” of the entire twitter world in a multicoloured mood light. The mood light constantly monitors twitter and aggregates the tweets based on emotional content to determine a world wide mood. Once the mood has been determined it is displayed in the mood light with different colours indicating different moods. This is a great way to quickly find out if a significant event has happened. To get started with this unique project checkout the following link.

If you are looking for an RGB LED to use in this project why not checkout the Freetronics FreePixel, a colour LED with a brain! The FreePizel includes a bright WS2812B addressable RGB LED and can be daisy-chained, so you can connect a number of these together in a string and drive each of the module colours individually from your microcontroller. Best of all these diverse modules are great value at only $3! To order or find out more checkout the following link.

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 building your own mood lamp? 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.