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DIY Virtual Reality for Skyrim using Kinect

aunindita — Thu, 17 May 2012 13:22:25 PDT

If you’re a fan of Skyrim and you want to immerse yourself deeper into the game, this is the project for you. Learn how to build your own virtual reality setup which captures head and body movement and map them to your character in the game.

Some of the equipment you will need is a Sony HMS-T1 head-mounted display, a Trackr5 for tracking head movement, a speech recognition set up, and a Kinect for tracking body movements. Overall, it’s a pretty complex system which integrates a multitude of hardware and software systems. See the full details of the project to build your own.

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Incredible Robot Locates Electronic Components on Demand

aunindita — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 22:32:54 PDT

This device is surely the answer to every DIYer’s prayers. As a do-it-yourselfer, you probably have piles of miscellaneous components and parts left over from various projects. Keeping them organized can be nearly impossible – Until now. StorageBot is a voice-activated system which finds components on demand and delivers them to you:

The StorageBot uses an X and Y storage matrix to easily find parts. When you request a part, the corresponding drawer is pushed open. Stepper motors and gears provide the mechanics while Arduino and Visual Basic power its brain. Check out the complete project instructions to build your own.

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How to: Render Eagle CAD Circuits in 3D using Google Sketchup

aunindita — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:41:17 PDT

We’ve seen a few methods of rendering Eagle CAD layouts in 3D, but the latest method is the best we’ve seen yet. The resulting renders are clear, easy to read, and they can be viewed from any perspective. This helps spot physical interferences with components before sending the board to manufacturing (plus, it feels awesome to see your design come to life). The software comes with thousands of pre-modeled components in a 3D parts library and the rendering process through Google Sketchup is pretty straightforward. Check out the full tutorial to start rendering your circuits!

DIY Automatic High Speed Camera Trigger

aunindita — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 08:30:52 PDT

We’ve covered some neat high speed photography projects in the past (some which use Arduino) and here’s another awesome project to add to our collection. The device above triggers a camera when a certain magnitude of sound is captured. It has adjustable sensitivity for precision captures.

The unit is designed around a PIC microcontroller and also features an adjustable delay to set the time (in milliseconds) to wait after the sound occurs to capture an image. One important note is that it’s decoupled from the camera so one device cannot harm the other. It’s compatible with any camera which has an input for remote control triggers. Build your own using the complete project details.

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The Perfect Mashup Of Super Mario and Portal: Mari0

Saikat — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:56:12 PDT

What happens when you have a deep, passionate love for two very different games such as Super Mario and Portal…and Nintendo and Valve just refuse to work together to make a game which merges the two worlds? You have no choice. You have to combine the two games yourself. The result is Mario0, the perfect mashup of the Super Mario and Portal worlds.

The classic Mario remains the hero, but now he is armed with an Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device. So now mario can use the portal gun’s gravity defying blasts to blast away enemies and launch Mario over large distances. And…that’s not all. You also get to play around with 4 player co-op, a level editor, and a Portal-themed map pack. The game is available as a free download for PC, Mac, and Linux. Take it for a spin.

Full LED Snowboarding Suit

aunindita — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:05:45 PDT

Nighttime in the French Alps means the mountains are pitch black and the temperature is a frosty -13°F. The perfect time of day to go snowboarding, right? One filmmaker thought so, and created the suit above featuring thousands of white LEDs. As long as the snowboarder doesn’t fall, I’m sure nothing could possibly go wrong snowboarding at night, right?

The idea was formed by a filmmaker who teamed up with an LED expert. As you can see, the result is pretty neato and he successfully achieved his vision of a lone, illuminated figure moving gracefully across the snow. Check out the full project details.

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DIY Circuit Board Table Decor

Saikat — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 09:33:59 PDT

Have a few dozen spare motherboards or PCB’s lying around? Make them into a table! Essentially, the makers took a standard table, attached the circuit boards to it, then topped it a clear transparent acrylic sheet.

Don’t miss: Other custom furniture and circuit art projects.

The acrylic sheet is mounted on a series of clear spacers, so it almost gives the effect of floating on top of the circuits. Look closely before you design one for your home/office décor as different sized motherboards are precisely fitted together in a neat pattern. In total, the circuit board table took about 6 hours to finish making it an awesome weekend project!

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The Most Challenging Ping Pong Table Ever

aunindita — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 09:12:28 PDT

Everyone has probably played a few games of Ping Pong in their day, but how many people have played on a table like this beast? It moves while you play! With a push of an arcade-type button, the table tilts left or right, changing the trajectory of the ball and making it harder to return the volley. The movement is provided by pneumatic actuators mounted under the table.

As though that didn’t make it hard enough, players can push one of the buttons and “flash-bang” their opponent. Super bright lights are mounted under the translucent table to temporarily blind your opponent. The table can also be set to rock back and forth continuously, making it equally difficult for both players. Polish up your skills and get your paddle out! Read up the complete details about the project.

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Epic Portal-Themed Man Cave

aunindita — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 09:41:17 PDT

With thousands of Portal gamers around, it’s no wonder that many want to immerse themselves in the world of Portal world beyond their computer screens. That is just what this couple did when they decided to renovate the loft in their apartment to have the feel of a test chamber. Of course, if you don’t want to go this extreme, you could always get a “the cake is a lie” poster.

The walls were finished with a faux concrete look to emulate the grey look and feel of the test chambers. The closet became one of the sliding level doors with all the cool graphics to match. Hanging out in Level 13 can be fun, as long you watch out for sentry turrets, that is. Read more about the project.

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Spectacular PC Gaming Chair

aunindita — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 09:10:25 PDT

If you’ve ever been hunched over in front of your TV, or straining your back sitting in front of a computer while gaming, this chair is for you. The talented fellow behind this project combined an old exercise machine and a comfy office chair to create cozy seating for the serious gamer.

When expanded, the table, keyboard, and monitor rise over the user’s head, the chair reclines, and the footrest comes up. The monitor is attached to a bracket for easy viewing and the keyboard is held in place by magnets glued underneath the table. He’s still refining the design and has plans to add a multi-purpose side table. Check out the author’s detailed forum post and complete build instructions.