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The Ferret is a high-altitude balloon tracking hardware package. Created by [Adam Greig] and [Jon Sowman], it uses an Arduino to gather NMEA data from a GPS unit, format the data into a string, and transmit that string on narrow-band FM. The project, built in one afternoon, is a tribute to the prototyping simplicity the Arduino provides.

The unit was powered by four AA batteries, using the Arduino’s on board voltage regulator. This provided a bit of heat which helps in the frigid reaches of the upper atmosphere. The bundle above was put in a project box and attached to the outside of the balloon’s payload, then covered with foam for warmth and moisture resistance. This tracking is a lot less complicated than some of the photography setups we’ve seen for balloons. It’s also more versatile because it broadcasts the GPS data so that many people can track it, rather than just logging its location.

In the video above you’ll see two of our favorite things combined, a quad-copter that is voice controlled. The robot responds to natural language so you can tell it to “take off and fly forward six feet”, rather than rely on a cryptic command set. The demonstration shows both an iPhone and a headset used as the input microphone. Language is parsed by a computer and the resulting commands sent to the four-rotor UAV.

This makes us think of the Y.T.’s robot-aided assault in Snow Crash. Perhaps our inventions strive to achieve the fiction that came before it.

[Via Bot Junkie]

[Michael Ossmann] rolled out some firmware that makes his IM-ME into a Spectrum Analyzer. He met up with [Travis Goodspeed], who authored the IM-ME flashing guide, at SchmooCon and spent some time hacking wireless doo-dads in the hotel bar. Once he arrived home the new firmware was just a few coding sessions away from completion. It scans one frequency at a time, displaying the results in a 132 column graph on the screen. He also added a ribbon cable and header to the debug contacts so that future hacking would be as simple as plugging in the GoodFET.

[Thanks Jared and Travis]

Somehow, developer CyberConnect2 is making a game that is neither Naruto nor .hack. In fact, Solarobo for DS is a spiritual successor to CyberConnect2’s 1998 PlayStation game Tail Concerto. Like Tail Concerto, Solarobo is a platforming action RPG starring anthropomorphic animals in walking mechs.

As Red Savarin, you pilot the robot DAHAK-AZI03 on bounty hunting missions. Without weapons, your only method of combat is picking up and throwing objects using the robot’s arms. Solarobo is due in Japan this year from Namco Bandai. It features some kind of 1-4 player support, but the details of that have yet to be released — as does any information about a release outside of Japan.

CyberConnect2 working on ‘Solarobo’ for DS originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Wed, 17 Mar 2010 13:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The University of Wisconsin is hosting a tutorial on how to make your own Organic Light Emitting Diodes. This is so amazingly awesome. We want you guys to make some. Someone make your own matrix and display some patterns on it and submit it. Please. Though we’ve seen lots of uses for OLED screens, we never really delved into the process of creating them. It looks much less complicated than we would have imagined.

[via MakeZine]

No, your eyes do not deceive you, you are looking at a [Bill Paxton] pinball machine. [Ben Heck], commonly known for his portable gaming system modifications has finally finished his pinball machine build. We’ve had our eye on it ever since [Jeri Ellsworth] challenged him to see who got theirs done first. As you can see, he’s done a fantastic job on the machine itself. He has also documented it fantastically, there’s a build log, a gallery, demonstration videos etc.

[thanks Matt]

[Thomas] and a buddy were sucking down a few brews when they decided to hack their 2001 Chevy Cavalier for a bit better performance. If they could find a way to bring cooler air to the engine they speculated that they’d see an increase in efficiency. Instead of routing the air intake to a hood scoop, they took off the factory air filter and mounted a cold air filter in its place. PVC pipes were then used to create a delivery path from the front of the vehicle with the output in close proximity to the new filter. They tested their work and discovered a drop in intake temperature from 101 to 48 degrees Fahrenheit at 60 mph, and from 109 to 54 degrees Fahrenheit at 45 mph. Now the sedan runs better and generates more horsepower, all for around $35 in parts.

This bicycle add-on uses an electric motor to help you out. This way the motor takes advantage of the gearing normally available to the cyclist. What interests us most about the system is the DIY battery work they’re doing. The cells are using Lithium Iron Phosphate technology. The li-ion cells you’re used to seeing in consumer electronics are actually Lithium Cobalt Oxide. The Iron Phosphate flavor offers longer overall lifespan, better operation between charges over that life, and improved cold-weather performance.  The drawbacks include a 20-cycle break-in period and an affinity for trickle-charging versus faster charging methods.

The 48V cell seen above will provide 30-40 miles of travel between charges. We feel that getting the power plant out of our vehicles is an important step toward energy overhaul but it can only happen if the battery technology makes it possible. Then again, perhaps we’re barking up the wrong tree and should have placed our bets on compressed air.

[Thanks Tom]

We’ll just say, [Kenneth] really likes clocks. His most recent is a pure 7400 series TTL based one, ie no microcontroller as seen in the past, here, here, and here. The signal starts out as a typical 32,768 crystal divided down to the necessary 1Hz, which is then divided again appropriately to provide hours and minutes.

As far as TTL clocks go, this is nothing too original; until it comes to his creative button interface. By using a not as sexy as it sounds multivibrator, he can produce a clean square wave instead of the figity signals produced from buttons to advance and set the time. Like always, he also provides us with a thorough breakdown of his clock, after the jump.

Marvelous’s World Game Parade brings a “world game” that actually has yet to release anywhere but Japan: Akaoni Studio’s Zombie Panic in Wonderland, a sort of spiritual successor to the DS’s Little Red Riding Hood’s Zombie BBQ. Also on Wii is one of the original fighting games, Karate Champ, in its original arcade form — though we doubt it supports the dual-joystick interface of the original.

• Karate Champ (Arcade, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
• Zombie in Wonderland (WiiWare, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
• Pokosuka Racing (WiiWare, 1-4 players, 500 Wii Points)
• Write to Memorize: English Notebook (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
• Write to Memorize: Picture Notebook (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
• G.G. Series Exciting River (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
• Ah! Nikaku Tori (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
• Shooting Down King (DSiWare, 1-4 players, 500 DSi Points)
• Hachi-One Diver Story (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)

Japanese Nintendo downloads: Zombie in Wonderland, Karate Champ originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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[TheTwoJ] and his friend built a laptop-form-factor Xbox 360. Their extensively documented process was inspired by [Ben Heckendorn's] work. The result is a brick when folded up but a good-looking (albeit loud with 8 fans) gaming rig. There’s everything you would expect; LCD screen, integrated WiFi, camera, optical drive, and a full keyboard. These poor saps seem to have spent a portion of their student loan on the build but we understand how easy it is to let your budget get out of hand. They’re trying to recoup through eBay auction.

Take a look at the walk through after the break.  If you’ve got the spare dough, you can try your hand at this with our three part series on building an Xbox 360 laptop.

[Thanks Palmer]

Non-profit hackerspace The Geek Group has been hit with a hefty tax bill despite their tax-exempt status. We featured a boom camera built by the organization back in November. It is the goal of The Geek Group to fulfill the thirst to explore and create by providing facilities, peer group, and camaraderie that make knowledge and learning not only acceptable, but desirable. In the video after the break you can hear a bit about the organization’s role in servicing donated computers and putting them out into the community, as well as its role in education through groups like the Boy Scouts of America.

This is all done without the goal for profit and accordingly they have attained 501(c)(3) status with the federal government (we’ve seen their 990 forms stating this). To the best of our knowledge this doesn’t mean that they don’t need to pay property taxes, but it does make property taxes ridiculously low (we’ve heard of one cent per acre for non-profit land holdings before). That’s why it comes as quite a surprise when the township slaps a sticker on the doors giving notice of seizure and demanding payment for $47,652.78 in back taxes or the assets will be auctioned off. The entire story, from The Geek Group’s point of view, unfolds in a video of the quarterly Board of Directors meeting from last Saturday.

We’re hoping this is just a mistake and can be remedied. That being said, it’s not easy to run this type of operation. It’s unfortunate that the Board of Directors needs to deal with a tax battle in addition to fulfilling the mission of the organization. Good luck to them in navigating the road ahead.

[Thanks Jeremy]

Reader [regulatre] has provided us with his furthering of hacking the OnStar system in GM cars. Previously, we wrote about some initial attempts to gain access to the system that OnStar uses to monitor and control cars called GMLAN. [regulatre] has managed to create an adapter between the GMLAN connector and a standard OBD2 plug, which should allow a number of standard readers to be able to retrieve data.

This method details using a bluetooth OBD2 reader, and passing the data onto a linux machine. It looks as though the writer of this method is looking to integrate OnStar reading and writing into an Android App which currently is an OBD monitor.

We love seeing follow-ups like this, because it puts everyone one step closer to full control of closed devices. As always, let us know if you take any of this in a new direction.

[Steve] let us know about his MultiDisplay car monitoring system. Unlike traditional systems that rely on interfacing with the OBD-II protocol and existing car computer, the MultiDisplay uses an Arduino and custom shield with a combination of sensors; including temperatures, pressures, throttle, Boost, and etc. The data collected can then be displayed on a 20×4 LCD or streamed to a PC with visualization and event recording.

It’s nice to see half a years worth of work finally be complete and presented in such a clean and professional manner, keep up the good work [Steve]

Bumps in the night. Unexplained sounds. A chill up your spine. Extreme terror. These things aren’t associated with the Nintendo DSi, unless you unexpectedly leave yours behind in a taxi. But A Different Game CEO Tom Soderlund wants to bring all of that augmented paranormal activity to your DSi with Ghostwire and turn you into a ghostbuster (minus the proton packs). Now you’re armed with a stylus and the power of Nintendo.

Originally conceived four years ago for Symbian-powered smartphones, the idea is to turn your handheld into a tool for communicating with the paranormal world. The built-in camera, sound meters, light meters are all a part of the experience, providing a combination of real-world and computer-generated data. Soderlund’s team built an adventure game around it — you talk to ghosts, find out what’s troubling them, and either capture them or attempt to ease their pain.

Continue reading Developer Tom Soderlund explains the frights of Ghostwire

Developer Tom Soderlund explains the frights of Ghostwire originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Bumps in the night. Unexplained sounds. A chill up your spine. Extreme terror. These things aren’t associated with the Nintendo DSi, unless you unexpectedly leave yours behind in a taxi. But A Different Game CEO Tom Soderlund wants to bring all of that augmented paranormal activity to your DSi with Ghostwire and turn you into a ghostbuster (minus the proton packs). Now you’re armed with a stylus and the power of Nintendo.

Originally conceived four years ago for Symbian-powered smartphones, the idea is to turn your handheld into a tool for communicating with the paranormal world. The built-in camera, sound meters, light meters are all a part of the experience, providing a combination of real-world and computer-generated data. Soderlund’s team built an adventure game around it — you talk to ghosts, find out what’s troubling them, and either capture them or attempt to ease their pain.

Continue reading Developer Tom Soderlund explains the frights of Ghostwire

Developer Tom Soderlund explains the frights of Ghostwire originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ghostwire lead developer Tom Soderlund told us at GDC that his upcoming DSi-exclusive Nintendo DS game will be coming to Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android. The DSi version, published by Majesco, is set to come out near Halloween this year, and it’s possible the other flavors will be ready by then as well.

One advantage these systems have over the DS is the bonus of GPS, which could lead to some interesting location-specific ghosts. We hope Elvis’ grave is first on the list.

Ghostwire to haunt iPhone, Android originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This week’s most noteworthy Nintendo Channel item is by far the Developer’s Voice video on Cave Story above. Next week, we’ll finally get to play it. How pumped are you? Like, beyond pumped? We sure hope so!

Head past the break for the rest of this week’s content.

Continue reading This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Cave Story

This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Cave Story originally appeared on Joystiq Nintendo on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This vehicle is aptly named the Mondo Spider. It’s not from some apocalyptic movie, but seen here at Burning Man. Like a lot of Burning Man exhibitions, it was built for the joy of the build and with a rather extreme budget: $15,000. We’ve embedded one of the many videos after the break, as well as a few of the hardware details.

Weighing in at about 1600 pounds this eight-legged horror is much more massive than the rideable hexapod we saw a while ago. A Honda 24 horse power V-Twin engine provides the power needed to run the hydraulic legs. It’s designed to turn on a dime, but as you can see in the video, traction can be a bit of a problem. For night-time operation the legs have been outlined in glowing read, as if this wasn’t already frightening enough to terrify the weak-at-heart.

Editorial Note: There was so much work and time put into this project by a lot of different people. We searched around for a picture of the entire team with this bad boy but couldn’t find one. If you’re working on an insane team build, don’t forget to take a group picture that will let you relive the fun times. That’s what the Copenhagen Suborbitals did.

[Thanks László Monda]

[Thanks also to Danny Mal who shared the link back in 2008]

We’re always a little surprised by how well a vacuum thermos works, but eventually the contents will cool down (or warm up depending on what’s in there). [Gamesh_] added a temperature meter to his thermos using an Arduino and a temperature sensor. The original post is in Portuguese but [Bruno] republished it in English.

The temperature sensor has been repurposed from a digital thermometer meant for taking your temperature. Holes for the LEDs making up the indicator bar were melted in the side of the plastic housing. When the hot liquid is poured out at about 0:45 into the video you can glimpse the Arduino hanging our on the other side of the pot and a power cord running off behind the laptop. It would be nice to see this migrated over to a less powerful chip and run from a small coin cell, but we like the concept.

The end goal of this giant rapid prototyping machine is to print buildings. We’re not holding our breath for a brand new Flintstones-esque abode, but their whimsical suggesting of printed buildings on the moon seems like science fiction with potential. The machine operates similar to a RepRap but instead of plastic parts, it prints stone by binding sand with epoxy. This method is not revolutionary, but hasn’t really been seen in applications larger than a square meter or so. It’s fun to see the things we dabble in heading for industrial production applications.

[Thanks Juan]

We hear he’s a lot bigger up close.

Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:

Last updated: Monday, 3:00 PM

Continue reading Now Playing: March 15-21, 2010

Now Playing: March 15-21, 2010 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We hear he’s a lot bigger up close.

Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:

Last updated: Monday, 3:00 PM

Continue reading Now Playing: March 15-21, 2010

Now Playing: March 15-21, 2010 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We hear he’s a lot bigger up close.

Choose your platform to jump to a specific release list:

Last updated: Monday, 3:00 PM

Continue reading Now Playing: March 15-21, 2010

Now Playing: March 15-21, 2010 originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We don’t remember where we read it, but our favorite criticism of the iPad is that is does the same things a lot of other Apple devices do. So why wait until April to get your hands on that functionality? [Alexbates] built his own iPad clone using existing hardware and software. This started with an MSI wind that he used as a hackintosh. A touchscreen was added to the display, the keyboard removed, and the LCD flipped around. Boom, a tablet running OS X was born. This is different from others because [Alexbates] took the time to alter the UI to look like the iPad. Sure, it doesn’t automatically flip the display when rotated and there’s no pinch-zooming. But it does have more processing power and storage space.

We’re more likely to hack our own like this rather than purchase a device we’re not all that enthusiastic about.

[Thanks Jadon via Engadget]