The little electronics company that could.
Founded ten years ago to make it easier for DIY tinkerers to score parts and supplies, SparkFun has grown to become a hub for the worldwide maker community (and a major partner for many Kickstarter hardware projects). Now the crew is planning a 50-state tour next year with their custom-made education kits to spread the joy of electronics nationwide.
Get on the bus and start soldering — the SparkFun Tour is our Project of the Day.
Fun thing we want to play with today: the Scuffn. This tiny “instrument” is actually a wearable motion sensor that you can load audio samples onto, then program so that specific movements trigger certain sounds. Watch it in action in their project video.
Kinetic Creatures are a set of three walking cardboard animal sculptures: Elly the elephant, Rory the rhino, and Geno the giraffe. Each is made up of cardboard pieces that you assemble using tabs-and-slots, and that you can make come alive with a simple mechanical motion. Feeling especially makery? The platform specs will be open-sourced to a website, so that folks can build their own mechanisms for play. So cool.
In preparation for Maker Faire, a team of ambitious makers are building a motion controlled flight simulator inspired by the Viper spacecraft made famous on Battlestar Galactica. Yes, really. In case you don’t believe they can pull it off, check out their fire-breathing animatronic dragon from last year, or this fire-spouting candelabra that they synchronized to Rock Band. Say what?! And did we mention that they’re high school students? Yeah. That’s a Project of the Day alright.
TJ* is a miniature fiberboard skull and robotic puppet. But in reality, he could be your new best friend! His Arduino-based remote-control system allows for live control, or you can write your own software to make him do all sorts of cool things: mouth along to your favorite movie dialogue, keep an “eye” on that pie you just pulled out of the oven (no sneaky taste-testers!), or just keep you company on your desk. And, as it turns out, he also makes a pretty good Project of the Day. Be sure to check out the video to see him in action.
