Daniel de Waard

Posted on January 26, 2017January 29, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Real Time Planet Tracking System

Whether you are looking for a guide of where to point your telescope or just have a fascination for our solar system, this project is definitely for you. Shubham Paul has put together a great real time planet tracking system. Although the hardware on this project is fairly simple consisting of an Arduino, GPS module and servo, the algorithms that calculate the approximation of a planet’s position using Kepler’s laws are particularly impressive. To find out more about how you can build your own real time planet tracker checkout the following link.

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Inspired to start building a planetary tracking system? 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 January 23, 2017January 23, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Power Over Ethernet for Arduino

One of the challenges of working with an Ethernet connected Arduino device can be having to get both an Ethernet cable and a power cord to the device. Power over Ethernet or PoE solves this problem by running power through the Ethernet cable! To find out more about this useful solution checkout the tutorial we have written to explain the ins and outs of PoE in more detail.

If you are planning on using PoE in one of your own projects you may need the Freetronics 28V Power Regulator for PoE. This versatile device can be used as a general purpose regulator outputting 5V or 7V from an input voltage of up to 28V, however, the regulator is designed to mount onto the EtherTen or EtherMega Arduino compatible boards and pre-regulate the voltage inputted to your device from PoE down to the 7V the Arduino can handle. To find out more and to purchase 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 working with PoE? 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 January 22, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Vertical Pole Climbing Robot

With this project from Pramod you can build your own climbing robot which is designed to scale street lights or flag poles. The robot can be used either as a cleaning robot or as a surveillance tool once a camera has been attached. This project is a great way to learn about using motors with Arduino. To get started checkout the following link.

When you use motors in your Arduino project you will almost certainly need a H-Bridge motor driver. A H-Bridge allows you to easily control the direction of your motors from within your code. The freetronics Dual Channel H-Bridge Motor Driver Shield is a perfect solution to this problem, allowing you to drive two DC motors or a stepper motor. To find out more check out the Dual Channel H-Bridge Motor Driver Shield page.

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.

Posted on January 19, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Teach Your Arduino to Switch Itself Off!

Have you ever been frustrated that the only way you could turn off your Arduino was to physically unplug the device? With this instructable from PeterH310 you can learn how to “self power off” your Arduino. Although some projects require an Arduino to be always on, for projects that don’t require the Arduino to be consistently on, this trick can be a great for added convenience and power saving. To find out more check out the following link.

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Posted on January 18, 2017January 19, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Robotic Cat Laser

Does your pet cat love chasing around a laser light? For the cost of a couple of servo motors, an Arduino and a laser light you can provide your cat with endless entertainment. The automated cat laser uses servo motors to constantly move the laser and entertain the cat, with no effort on your behalf! To find out how you can build your own cat laser robot checkout the instructable from joe at the following link.

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

PCB Surface Finishes

When it comes to having your own PCBs (printed circuit boards) produced, there are a huge number of manufacturing options to consider. One of the most important options is which surface finish is best for your board. Fortunately, freetronics have put together a guide explaining the pros and cons of various surface finishes to help you make an informed decision next time you manufacture PCBs. You can find the full guide at the following link.

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Posted on January 13, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Arduino Eye Tracking

With this awesome project from thesystemis you can draw using only the movement of your eyes! Surprisingly this project can be made quite cheaply using the brainpower of an Arduino Uno which talks to the open source eye tracking software – “EyeWriter” running on a computer. If you want to find out more check out the following link.

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

Build an Underwater Drone

Although typically electronics and water do not mix, “sneel” the robotic fish is certainly an exception. The robotic fish is designed to emulate the motion of a real water snake and is perfect for underwater exploration. A number of Arduino Uno controlled servo motors undulate the robot to propel it through the water.

The applications of such a underwater drone are endless including collecting data about water quality or exploring confined underwater areas such as pipelines! If you want to learn how you can make your own “sneel” checkout the following link.

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Posted on January 9, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Arduino Bluetooth Pairing

If you have been working on an Arduino project which requires Bluetooth then this tutorial is perfect for you. One of the challenges of working with Bluetooth can be working through the intricacies of pairing your Arduino project with the computer of phone you are wanting to communicate with. Fortunately the team at Freetronics have put together a great guide of how you can pair the Freetronics Bluetooth Shield or Module to Mac, Windows or Linux devices. To get started checkout the following link.

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Posted on January 7, 2017 by Daniel de Waard — Leave a comment

Wireless Animatronics Hand

Who has not wanted build a robotic hand at some point in their life? Well this is exactly what instructables member njkl44 has done! Not only does this animatronics hand look totally awesome, it actually emulates the movements of the hand that is inside the “control glove”, making a spectacular effect.

The control glove uses a number of flex sensors to determine the position of each finger and sends this information to the animatronic hand. If this sounds like the kind of project you would love to make you can find out more at the following link or in the video below.

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