Digi XBee®

We’ve moved! We decided to move the XBee Project Gallery...

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 14:17:00 -0400

We’ve moved!

We decided to move the XBee Project Gallery so we can bring you more awesome projects on a site with more functionality.

Go to the New Gallery Here

www.digi.com/xbeeprojects

Gas Cap By QTechKnow (Quin, our favorite 11 year old...

Tue, 08 May 2012 09:15:00 -0400

Gas Cap

By QTechKnow (Quin, our favorite 11 year old maker)

QTechKnow solved the mystery he’s been thinking about since he got started in electronics. “Isn’t there a fart sensor out there?” Like a true maker, he made his own.

“He discovered that if you use a methane sensor, especially the MQ-4, even at very low concentrations, it reads farts. What if you combined that into a hat with an LED Bar Graph and a XBee? The Gas Cap was made with that in mind. For around $100, you can build your own Gas Cap, a human gas-operated LED Bar Graph on a hat. So, you fart into the methane sensor, wirelessly transmit that data to the hat, and watch the LEDs light up so that your friends can see how horrible it was.”

Want to make your own? Follow the steps on Instructables

The Gas Cap on Hackaday

Fiber Optic Chandelier Prototype By Apex Logic The Fiber Optic...

Wed, 02 May 2012 15:54:00 -0400

Fiber Optic Chandelier Prototype

By Apex Logic

The Fiber Optic Chandelier Prototype is made with with ATMega328 and XBee.

“The fiber optic chandelier was inspired by one that was for sale on Ebay.com. The asking price for this assembly was over $1000.00. On top of the extensive price the features were also very limited. After some time brainstorming a design was set in place to achieve the following goals: Wireless control, RGB color selection and a Custom Look.” Adafruit

Check out more photos in the Apex Logic photo gallery

Inside Fiber Optic Chandelier Prototype from Apex Logic on Vimeo.

Fiber Optic Chandelier Prototype from Apex Logic on Vimeo.

Party in the Mouth Direction, software programming and...

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 22:09:00 -0400

Party in the Mouth

Direction, software programming and lighting+sound design: Daito Manabe

Hardware programming and board design: Motoi Ishibashi

Hardware design: Tomoaki Yanagisawa

“Method Man might have helped make gold fronts famous, but in Japan, two designers are showing him up with fashionable accessories for your teeth, created for an advertising campaign. Instead of gold, however, these “fronts” contain bright multicolored glowing LED lights.”

Party in the Mouth in the New York Times More Party in the Mouth Press

The Dawn Chorus By Ted Hayes Electronic sculptures that blink...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:36:28 -0400

The Dawn Chorus

By Ted Hayes

Electronic sculptures that blink and sound off in their own “language.”

For his Master’s thesis at the Interactive Telecommunications Program at NYU, Ted Hayes created “language-inventing machines.” The Dawn Chorus, a group of electronic sculptures “speak to each other” autonomously. Using a suite of custom hardware and a simple neural network for each device, the individuals learn from each other and are able to converge on common, conventional “words” for their experiences, such as a flash of light or sudden noise.

WarmDirt By Dr Craig Hollabaugh WarmDirt is a system to warm the...

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:14:51 -0400

WarmDirt

By Dr Craig Hollabaugh

WarmDirt is a system to warm the soil for plants. The core of the WarmDirt system is a wooden box lined with the kind of electric heat cable that prevents pipes from freezing. The heat is then covered with sand and then potted plants are placed on top.

A controller takes into account the temperature inside the box, as well as ambient temperature in the greenhouse. When it’s too cold the controller will close the lid, which is covered with translucent plastic. This makes sure the temperature around the plants won’t fall below about 41.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

The system architecture for control and monitoring is a mix of Arduino, XBee, MQTT with Mosquitto, Python, replicated MySQL and jQuery. The (almost) real-time system information is accessed wirelessly via a browser.

Read about WarmDirt on Gizmag

WarmDirt Github Project Page

WarmDirt on Hack A Day

Particles Planning and software development: Daito Manabe System...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:10:00 -0400

Particles

Planning and software development: Daito Manabe

System design and hardware development: Motoi Ishibashi

Read the full PDF on Particles Here

Particles on Daito Manabe’s site

“Particles is an art installation which creates a vision of beautiful dots with blinking innumerable illuminations floating in all directions on the air.

The balls, filled with XBees and a built-in LED, pass through one after another on the ‘8-spiral shape’ rail. We see this phenomenon like ‘the light particle float around’ because the balls radiate in various timing.”

Particles was awarded at the ARS Electronica Festival, one of biggest media art festivals in the world.

Chance By Loretta Faveri After being knocked down by a bus in...

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 10:00:00 -0400

Chance

By Loretta Faveri

After being knocked down by a bus in October 2010, Loretta felt compelled to understand why the senseless occurrence happened. To explore the question of why, she created a dance performance called Chance, which uses movement to create music.

Handcrafted electronic sensors are integrated into the costumes of three dancers. As the dancers move, the sensors send data to a computer, which plays back a sampling of spoken words, environmental sounds, and the musical recordings of Dr. George Sawa.

What makes the project unique, is that the dancers are unable to synchronize their movements with the sounds they trigger. This results in an erratic and unpredictable performance.

Technology used: Lilypad Arduino, XBee Series 1 Radio, 3.7V Lithium Polymer Battery, insulated wire and handcrafted sensors.

LightScythe By Gavin Smith More information on...

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 13:17:00 -0400

LightScythe

By Gavin Smith

More information on LightScythe

LightScythe on Geek.com

“The LightScythe is a device for writing text and images frozen in midair.

The hardware is pretty simple. There’s a 2m programmable LED strip inside an acrylic tube, which is controlled from a small receiver and battery pack. A laptop PC with a wireless Xbee link sends the image data to the scythe at a specified time.

The nice thing about the XBee is that it’s like a serial cable to the PC, but with no wires. I can send all the image data from the laptop to the scythe, and since it’s bidirectional I can also send the ‘start’ buttons back to the laptop to kick everything off. ”

World’s First Flying File-Sharing Drones By Liam Young,...

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 12:58:00 -0400

World’s First Flying File-Sharing Drones

By Liam Young, co-founder of Tomorrow’s Thoughts Today

Flying File-Sharing Drones on Torrent Freak

“Part nomadic infrastructure and part robotic swarm, we have rebuilt and programmed the drones to broadcast their own local Wi-Fi network as a form of aerial Napster. They swarm into formation, broadcasting their pirate network, and then disperse, escaping detection, only to reform elsewhere.

In short the system allows the public to share data with the help of flying drones. The public can upload files, photos and share data with one another as the drones float above the significant public spaces of the city. The swarm becomes a pirate broadcast network, a mobile infrastructure that passers-by can interact with.

Each drone is powered by 2x 2200mAh LiPo batteries. The lift is provided by 4x Roxxy Brushless Motors that run off a GPS flight control board. Also on deck are altitude sensors and gyros that keep the flight stable. They all talk to a master control system through XBee wireless modules.”

The Pool by Jen Lewin The Pool is an interactive light...

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 11:49:00 -0400

The Pool by Jen Lewin

The Pool is an interactive light sculpture by Jen Lewin. It’s an environment of giant, concentric circles created from interactive circular pads. By entering the pool, you enter a world where play and collaborative movement create swirling effects of light and color. Imagine a giant canvas where you can paint and splash light collaboratively.

Lewin’s Full Description of The Pool

SparkFun’s Video Feature with Jen Lewin on The Pool

About Jen Lewin:

Jen Lewin Studio Website

Networked On-Air Light By Matt Richardson Project Write-Up on...

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 21:35:00 -0400

Networked On-Air Light

By Matt Richardson

Project Write-Up on Make:Projects

“In true spirit, Make: Live is very much a DIY production. Instead of tripods, we use zip ties to mount webcams to chairs and we jury rig an old monitor to act as our prompter. Along those lines, I decided to create an on air light to indicate when we’re broadcasting. While I could have just wired a switch to a light fixture, I wanted to take the idea a step further. Using Ustream’s API, I set up our on air light to turn on automatically when we start broadcasting. This project was just for fun, but learning how to use the XBee Internet Gateway to get the Arduino online wirelessly will come in very handy for future projects.”

Wind-Up Birds By HC Gilje Read more about Wind-Up Birds on...

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:59:00 -0400

Wind-Up Birds

By HC Gilje

Read more about Wind-Up Birds on Gilje’s blog, Conversations with Spaces

“The wind-up birds are a flock of mechanical woodpeckers, having found their first home in a forest in Lillehammer, Norway as part of the UT-21 project.

Gilje created the birds with a set of questions in mind: How will nature treat them, with hostillity or acceptance? How will the wind-up birds adapt to heat/cold wet/dry conditions? Will small insects creep inside the circuitry creating possible short circuits, beetles eat the wood, squirrels use the wood slit as nut storage (or the roof as a slide?), birds use it as a shelter, etc.? Will they be treated as foreign objects or accepted into the local eco-system?, How do real woodpeckers react? Are they threatened, attracted, or not bothered? Will they use the roof as a pecking drum?,

Initial tests indicate an attraction: it took 15 minutes for a real woodpecker to join a wind-up bird on the same tree. Since the wind-up birds are communicating, they needed to be in a wireless network. Gilje decided used xbee radios since they are programmable, low-energy, high speed radio modems which can work in a mesh network.”

Ego Ticker By Matt Richardson Matt Richardson of Make is using...

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:57:00 -0400

Ego Ticker

By Matt Richardson

Matt Richardson of Make is using the XBee Internet Gateway to track and display all his online scores (Google results, YouTube followers and the like) on a big LED display he calls the Ego Ticker.

Zygote Balls: Blue Man Group & Arcade Fire Creator: Alex...

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:53:00 -0400

Zygote Balls: Blue Man Group & Arcade Fire

Creator: Alex Beim, Tangible Interaction

Zygote Interactive Balls on Flickr

Zygote Interactive Blass on Tangible Interaction’s Website

“Zygote is a large, lightweight, helium filled, inflatable ball that responds to motion through human touch. Tap it, bounce or punch it and the Zygote Ball reacts by changing colour as it floats through the air.

Zygotes are perfect for concerts, promotions or any event with a large energetic crowd. They transform the space into a multi-dimensional, interactive playground, and create a shared experience.”

Ninja Wireless Gloves By Rob Faludi, Kate Hartman and...

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:41:00 -0400

Ninja Wireless Gloves

By Rob Faludi, Kate Hartman and students

XBee Ninja Wireless Gloves on NYC Resistor

Adidas Megalizer By Didier Brun (Follow Brun on Twitter) and...

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:40:00 -0400

Adidas Megalizer

By Didier Brun (Follow Brun on Twitter) and Sid Lee

The Megalizer is a system that allows dancers to create their own beat or music with their shoes. The wireless system is placed on each shoe (no cable running on the dancer’s leg, or belt case), efficient at a 6-7 meter range from the speakers. It includes very low latency (max 30ms), handling up to 6 shoes simultaneously. There are two force sensors for each shoe (one for the heel and one for the toe), and a wireless transmitter per shoe to capture the pressure applied on each of the sensors. For ample efficiency, XBee technology was used: with a low power consumption reaching minimum latency at a decent distance.

Here’s Kicks On Fire’s breakdown on the Megalizer

Solsie.com’s post

Creative Applications Network

Wireless EKG By Conor Dunleavy, Stanley Sloan, Aaron...

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 17:08:00 -0400

Wireless EKG

By Conor Dunleavy, Stanley Sloan, Aaron Fletchersmith and Jamal Mahboob. Facuity Advisors: Jens-Peter Kaps and Natalia Peixoto of George Mason University

“A wireless EKG powered by an Arduino Pro Mini and an AD624 Instrumentation Amplifier. The signal is transmitted wirelessly through a mesh network of Xbee modules.”

Monitization Wario Robot An Wario robot blinks his eyes and...

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 16:57:00 -0400

Monitization Wario Robot

An Wario robot blinks his eyes and rings a bell each time money is made in the office.

“I wanted something nice to have at the office that tell us every time someone make a purchase on our game. Every time we make a buck Wario rings the bell and flash his greedy green eyes. If we made a lot then Wario shoot smoke from his ears!”

Touched by Strangers by Alex Reeder & Yutaka Kitamura By...

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 16:45:00 -0400

Touched by Strangers by Alex Reeder & Yutaka Kitamura

By Alex Reeder