As you can see, the clock has four wires. Only one of them stops the countdown when cut. The other two are decoys and do nothing while one wire will immediately “detonate” the alarm. Obviously the thrill will wear off if the wires had fixed purposes, which is why Krumpus made it so the the role of each wire is randomized each time the sequence is activated.

By the way the countdown sequence isn’t just for the alarm. It can also be activated at any time by pressing the big red button, perfect for Counter-Strike LARPing. Here’s the clock in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Yes, you’ll have to replace any wires you cut, but Krumpus says that replacing them will be easy because they’re attached with screw terminals. Krumpus also made a mock C4 version of the clock, just for kicks:

The “bomb” is powered by an ATMega328 microcontroller with an Arduino bootloader. If you didn’t understand a word from that previous sentence either, fret not! Krumpus will be selling a kit this fall so you can have your own Defusable Clock. The kit will only include the electronics, but I’m sure you can cobble together a bomb-looking device. The kit will also be “fully hackable” so Arduino nuts and tinkerers will get more than their money’s worth with this thing.

[Project Lab via Laughing Squid]

It’s made out of CNC-machined aluminum with an LED inside which pulsates for up to 72 hours at a time. Each of the necklaces contains a tiny circuit board to make it work. The pendant is silver. It’s the perfect geek gift for yourself or your significant other.

Since it’s open-source, you can make it yourself. Through Adafruit, you can access all of the files necessary to duplicate it. Or you could simply buy a completed iNecklace for $75(USD) from Gizmine.

[via DesignYouTrust]

Each panel measures about 31.5″ square, and has an 8×8 grid of “smart” RGB LEDs. PixelInvaders LED panels use software called PixelController to drive them. You can even control them using a MIDI device or using OSC compatible software. The hardware is open-sourced, and is targeted at geeks, artists, and DIY enthusiasts. The panels themselves are able to playback real-time generated video or simple color changes. The PixelController software was released as open-source software on GitHub.

To support the project and get your own PixelInvaders LED panels, you can visit the IndieGoGo PixelInvaders page. Minimum contribution is $25, but to get anything back, you’ll need to give at least $282, and that only includes the LED modules. You’ll need to spend as much as $626 for all the parts needed to assemble a full panel, or $1499 for a fully assembled and tested one.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The tech in the bag is based on a Lilypad Arduino system. By placing RFID tags on up to five items, the bag will be able to detect whether these items are put in or taken out of the bag. A simple LED notification system tells you which items are already inside the bag – provided you haven’t forgotten which LED stands for which item of course.

As you can see in the top picture, although the LEDs stand out overall the tech is still integrated tastefully into the bag. Here’s a demo of the Déjà Vu:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Very practical and easy to understand. If you want to have your own Déjà Vu bag, you can get the code and instructions from the MIT New Textiles page. I wonder if it’s possible to make a bag with a built-in bar code reader and a small LCD display. That way you won’t have to memorize which LED stands for which object, you won’t have to use RFID tags and you’ll be able to mark more items.

[via FashioningTech]

Designed by a couple of photography geeks, Haje Jan Kamps and Ziah Fogel, the Triggertrap will be able to trigger your camera with whatever you want. Out of the box, the little gadget will trigger pictures when someone breaks a laser beam pointed at it, or if you make a loud sound like a clap or fire a gun. But the way it’s designed, pretty much anything that closes a circuit can be used. It can also be used to trigger time-lapse photos without any extra hardware – not just any time-lapse either, but non-linear time-lapse which can slow down or speed up as it goes.

If you’re wondering if it’ll work with your particular camera, here’s a quick write-up on how to figure that out, but it’s their hope to support all the current dSLRs models on the market. By default, it should support most wired triggers, but they’re also building in an IR diode which could eventually work with cameras that offer an IR remote trigger.

The Triggertrap is being released as open-source hardware, but if you’d like to support the project, you’ll want to head over to Kickstarter and back it with some cold, hard cash. For as little as $70, you can get one in kit form, or for $75 or more, you’ll get one fully-assembled, which seems like a bargain to me.

Yes, the TROBOT 4.0 is actually the 4th-generation of miniature six-axis robots from Toby Baumgartner, designed to provide the smoothest movement yet, along with a more durable mechanism, improved precision and payload capacity than its predecessors.

Development of the pint-size, open-source TROBOT 4.0 is being funded by a Kickstarter project, and your contributions will help to bring the latest ‘bot to life. If fully funded, all pledges $300 and higher will receive the TROBOT 4.0 mechanical kit (minus servos), along with source code for controlling it. Toby expects the servos will cost somewhere around $300 to $500, so a complete system will run under $600 to $800 (plus the time to assemble the kit).

da Silva promises that Minibloq will be easy to use but still sophisticated, fast, portable, modular and free. Here’s Minibloq being used to work on a DuinoBot.kids on an Intel ClassMate convertible:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

I think the best thing about Minibloq is that it can show the equivalent code of the blocks used in real time, which is a pretty effective way of weaning beginners from the interface. *UPDATE: da Silva has already set up a Kickstarter fund for the project, so check it out and donate if you want to help him complete it. As with all Kickstarter projects, those who give significant donations will be entitled to certain privileges, such as access to pre-alpha versions of Minibloq and even the full source code. You can also check out the Minibloq blog for more info.

[via Hack a Day]

The man of the moment is Shantanu Goel, who used four open source programs and drivers in his hack. Actually we can think of this as three current video game technologies working hand in hand, because Goel’s hack also requires a PC, which by the way is the real owner of the tag “it only does everything”. But I digress. Here’s the hack in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Granted, Goel could have done a lot better than Killzone 3 to demo his hack; a casual Move-based game would have been much better, but probably more complex to hack too. Also, the lack of footage from other angles gives skeptics lots of room to doubt that the PS3 is actually responding to Goel’s gestures. Goel admits the latter and says he’ll make a second video with a better view. Check out Goel’s website for more info as well as the links and instructions for the hack. Now what I’d really like to see is a Kinect hack for the Wii – at least that one has a bit of practical application.

[via Switched]

Developed by CreateDigitalMusic and Reflex, the open-source MeeBlip comes in kit form, but since all the parts are pre-soldered onto the board, it only takes a few minutes to assemble. Once put together, you can connect it to a MIDI keyboard or other controller, and crank out bleeps, beeps and beats.

The synthesizer is digital and supports virtual analog modeling too. But it is monophonic, meaning you can only play one note at a time. While that might be a limitation for using it as a stand-alone instrument, you certainly can create some interesting sounds for use in backing tracks and basslines if you’re creative. And the guys have open sourced the entire thing, so you’re encouraged to rip it apart, make modifications, and even release your own version if you want (assuming you give credit to the original project, of course).

Here are a couple of demo clips produced with the MeeBlip:

From those sounds, if DEVO is working on a new album, they might want to pick up a few of these for the studio. If you’re interested in grabbing a MeeBlip for yourself, head on over to their website where you can order one for $129 (USD). Full specs can be found here.

Dotklok is Arduino-powered, and has a bright 24×16 pixel LED screen that allows you to see the time clearly behind its laser-cut acrylic face. In its random mode, the clock switches to different animations each day at midnight.

Out-of-the-box animations include percentage of the day that has passed, random dots, and a PONG clock among others. A fill list of animations can be found here.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

DOTKLOK can be purchased as a kit or fully assembled. You can find it over at Andrew O’Malley’s Etsy shop in the following configurations:

• Dotklok Red / Kit ($150)
• Dotklok Red / Assembled ($200)
• Dotklok Green / Kit ($150)
• Dotklok Green / Assembled ($200)

[via Geek Alerts]

The robot kit is developed by RoMeLa at Virginia Tech with help by Purdue University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Robotis Co. The line of bots have been in development since 2004. The open source design is intended to encourage geeks to toy with the hardware and software to create their own mods. There are numerous software implementations for the kit with C++, Python, LabVIEW, MATLAB, and more.

CAD files are available publically for the design and construction of the bot. The thing is rumored to cost about $8,000 (USD) to build which is about half the price of competitive products on the market. The bot is 17.9″ tall, weighs 2.8kg, and has 20 degrees of freedom. Its controller is an Atom Z530 processor with 1GB of RAM, 4GB of storage, and it can run Linux, XP, or Windows 7.

[via I, Bioloid via Plastic Pals]

The Humane Reader is designed to provide computer technology to homes or schools without internet access or the budget for traditional PCs or Macs. The 8-bit computer can turn any television into an e-Book/Wikipedia reader. As a matter of fact, its makers say you could store 5,000 books or more on a single 2GB SD card (included in the $20 cost). The creators of the Humane Reader state their value proposition simply: “The Humane Reader can provide a virtual library to any developing world school or individual with electrical power for less than the cost of a single textbook.”

Based on the Atmega328p microcontroller (there are actually three of them in there), the open source Humane Reader can be loaded up with educational content via USB, and it can display output on any video display with composite input. Basic control can be achieved through buttons on the face of the device, but a keyboard can be connected with an optional USB or PS/2 port. As an added bonus, its creators are hoping the computing platform will become an easily extensible and hackable general platform for developing low-cost applications and systems.

Sure, the television and keyboard will add a little bit to the cost of this system, but it’s still a pretty amazing feat to pull this off for just $20 bucks. In fact, they estimate that in quantities of 10,000 or more, they could get the cost down to under $15 per system.

You can find out more about the Humane Reader here.

[via Make:]

Headed by Dr Paul Gardner-Stephen, Dany Rakotopara and Romana Challans, the Serval Project – named after an African wildcat – is meant to be integrated into existing mobile phone systems, and will kick in when the major network is down, ensuring that people will still be able to communicate. But I’m very interested in the second system, the project’s Wi-Fi-enabled “Batphones”: “Dr Gardner-Stephen said the device essentially “incorporates a compact version of a mobile phone tower into the phone itself.” It uses the Wi-Fi interface in modern Wi-Fi-enabled phones, carrying voice over it in such a way that it does not need to go back to a tower anywhere.” Sounds a bit like how BitTorrent works.

To be honest, I didn’t get a lot from the video. Nevertheless, the Batphone seems like a pretty neat idea. The Serval team is now working on improving the range and sound quality of the system, and they say that it could be operational within 18 months if they receive enough funds. I wonder if the Wi-Fi-based system can be used as the main means of communication between mobile phones. Maybe this would solve AT&T’s problems.

Check out the Serval Project’s website and the link below for more info.

[via PhysOrg]

Looks like that poor dog is confused by the feeds. I can’t test the program myself since I’m on a Mac (without Parallels), but I think that you’ll need to sweep your icons off of your desktop and use an application launcher instead if you want to use Feedling, otherwise you might have a hard time selecting both feeds and icons.

Feedling has been tested on Windows XP, Vista and 7, and is available at SourceForge. Check out MakeUseOf for detailed instructions on setting up Feedling.

[via Channel 10]

The Lilypad Arduino on the shirt is paired with a Bluetooth dongle (the red “stalk” in the middle of the Lilypad). When Chris gets new email, his Android phone sends a signal to the Lilypad, which then activates the light or lights that will add up to his total number of new emails.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

This would be way cooler if Chris could make it work over long distances. Or if the shirt electrically shocked him everytime a new message comes in, for as many times as the number of new messages. What do you think, Mrs. Ball?

[via Forever Geek]

So how does the Arduino Mini Pro fare in Rock Paper Scissors? “It wins. A lot. And it adapts.” The glove remembers a user’s playing habits, so if you have a pattern of moves (whether you’re aware that you have a pattern of moves or not), the glove will adjust accordingly.

For example, if most of the time your opening move is Rock, then the glove will start using Paper as its initial move more often. Or if you usually play Paper twice in a row, then the glove will learn to play Scissors after your first Paper. It’s Rock Paper Scissors Championship Edition, and it seems that ironically, you’ll have a higher chance of winning if you don’t have a strategy and are totally random.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Tinkerers and hackers should check out Hoefer’s website for more details, as well as instructions, tips and the source code for the Arduino. Maybe you can build a glove that incorporates Lizard and Spock as well.

[via Neatorama]

The Bulbdial comes in one of four available case designs. The cases are laser-cut acrylic, and come in Tortoiseshell, Abalone Pearl, Black Granite, or Granite back/Clear front. Fancy names, but if you ask me I like the clock better when it’s naked:

The Bulbdial is Arduino-based, and both it’s hardware and software are open-source, which means that the clock is hacker-friendly. Makes you wonder why these nerds insist on calling themselves Evil Mad Scientists, what with their harmless products and open source philosophy. You can get the Bulbdial Clock Kit at Evil Mad Science for $65 (USD). Yes, I said “kit”; basic soldering skills are required to assemble the whole thing together. Still doesn’t make you evil mad scientists, Evil Mad Scientists. Visit the Evil Mad Scientists’ website for more information on how to make your own Bulbdial clock.

[via Boing Boing]

For those who aren’t familiar with the CrunchPad, it was (it was! oh the tragedy) basically a touchscreen computer that runs only Firefox and Skype, with data entry facilitated by an “iPhone-like touchscreen keyboard”. It all began last year, July 21, 2008, when Arrington outlined his (quite specific) ideas for a web tablet that would sell for about $200 (USD). There. Now you’re as pissed off as us about this whole thing.

Shown above is the concept drawing for the CrunchPad, made even before the name was coined. It’s quite close to the prototype “demo-ware” we’ve seen floating on the Internet, shown below. Arrington blames Chandra Rathakrishnan, CEO of Fusion Garage, which was supposed to be the manufacturing arm of the CrunchPad project. Says Arrington,“Bizarrely, we were being notified that we were no longer involved with the project. Our project. Chandra said that based on pressure from his shareholders he had decided to move forward and sell the device directly through Fusion Garage, without our involvement. Err, what? This is the equivalent of Foxconn, who build the iPhone, notifying Apple a couple of days before launch that they’d be moving ahead and selling the iPhone directly without any involvement from Apple.” Err, what indeed.

You can read the Arrington’s full eulogy/rant at TechCrunch. But before you do, check out Phillip Torrone’s article at MAKE, because he posted a question for Arrington that’s yet to be answered: the CrunchPad’s software and hardware were supposed to be open source; where are the specs for both?

It’s a valid question, because even if Arrington’s deal fell apart the CrunchPad doesn’t have to die… IF the hardware specs and software are released to the public. And that’s the something awesome I was talking about.

Stanford University News runs down the hardware of the open source camera: “…the motherboard, per se, is a Texas Instruments ‘system on a chip’ running Linux with image and general processors and a small LCD screen. The imaging chip is taken from a Nokia N95 cell phone, and the lenses are off-the-shelf Canon lenses, but they are combined with actuators to give the camera its fine-tuned software control. The body is custom made at Stanford.”

Computer science graduate student Andrew Adams – pictured above with Levoy – wants digital camera users to be able to download applications for their cameras, in the same way that we download programs that extend or improve our PCs. Levoy’s team hopes to have the Frankencamera’s operating system released publicly by next year for some crowd-sourcing action.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

[via PhysOrg]

The compact box can play full high-def (1920 x 1080) files in popular formats such as MP4, H.264, DivX HD, MOV, VC-1, FLV, VOB, WMV and AVI as well as less common formats like MKV, AVC-HD, RMVB and Minus VR. Of course, it can also play a variety of audio formats like AAC, WMA, OGG, MP3, and M4A with aplomb.There’s even support for subtitle formats including Advance Substation Alpha – which has the best file extension ever – .ASS . (There’s a full list of supported formats and codecs here).

In addition, the Ultio can connect to the Internet via a built-in Ethernet port or through a Wi-Fi network (if you plug in an optional USB networking dongle). Once connected, you can download media files using the system’s built-in BitTorrent client. Since it has an integrated Samba server and UPnP, you can use services like PlayOn or Tversity to stream video from Netflix, Hulu, YouTube and other web-based video services.

The Ultio has a nice array of video outputs, including HDMI 1.3, component video, optical audio, analog audio (yuck) and composite video (double yuck).

Keep in mind that the Ultio doesn’t come with any built-in storage. For best performance, you’ll need to drop in a 3.5-inch SATA hard drive (up to 1.5 TB). Otherwise, you can play files from a USB 2.0 hard drive or a flash drive. You can also stream media stored on your PC if you’d rather store files there. And the guys over at Mvix are even encouraging users to download all of the system’s open source and GPL sourcecode to see what else they can do with this little box.

You can find the Mvix Ultio over at ThinkGeek for just $169.99 (USD). The 802.11N Wi-fi dongle will set you back another $39.99. BYO hard drive.