Ardweeny Non-Clock, New (Mainly Battery)...

Dave Hrynkiw
March 23, 2012

It's that time of the week where we point to a pile of new things and exclaim "LOOKIT THAT!", before bouncing away on pogo sticks. We're kidding, of course. If we actually did that it'd be plain ol' absurd. First things first - a neat-o community project needs to come before that sweet, sweet pogo stick action.

Over at Instructables, TheRafMan has put together a neat walk through on how to make a Roll-A-Way-Rover. It's based on one of those alarm clocks with wheels that tries to drive away before you greet it in the morning with the customary (and groggy) smash aimed right at the snooze button. Instead, though, this user has de-clocked the clock, taking out the clock components and swapping it out for an array of other bits. With an Ardweeny for a heart/brain (that he has also modified), it has been re-engineered to be controllable by either a computer (via serial port) or Wii Nunchuck (via Nunchucky). Check out some video:

Overall it's a pretty elegant little hack, managing to squeeze some impressive functionality into a pretty tight form factor.

...so this is would now be the point where we say "LOOKIT THAT!" So, uh, yeah. LOOKIT THAT!

Arduino Ethernet Shield Arduino Ethernet Shield
$45.95 USD / $48.25 CAD
Intertoobs. Intarwebs. Series of tubes. Whatever. Connect your Arduino / Freeduino SB to your LAN, WAN, or whole darn Internet!
Adafruit USB/DC Lithium Polymer Battery Charger 5-12V - 3.7/4.2v cell Adafruit USB/DC Lithium Polymer Batter Charger 5-12V - 3.7/4.2V Cell
$17.95
Need a USB/DC method to charge your Lithium Polymer battery? This Adafruit charger is a tidy solution!
Low Sensitivity Unipolar Magnetic Hall Effect Switch Low Sensitivity Unipolar Magnetic Hall Effect Switch
$2.00

Hall effect sensors are sensitive to magnetic fields. In this case, the Melexis US5881LUA (flat TO-92 package) features a low sensitivity, unipolar design, meaning that it won't be affected by earth's magnetic field, and only responds to a change in one polarity. This particular model responds only to a South-pole magnetic field.
Polymer Lithium Ion Battery - 1500mAh 11.1v Polymer Lithium Ion Battery - 1500mAh 11.1v
$12.95

This high discharge LiPo is a great way to power any R/C, robotic, or portable project. This is an excellent choice for anything that requires a small battery with a lot of punch.
Polymer Lithium Ion Battery - 2200mAh 7.4v Polymer Lithium Ion Battery - 2200mAh 7.4v
$15.95

This high discharge LiPo is a great way to power any R/C, robotic, or portable project. This is an excellent choice for anything that requires a small battery with a lot of punch.
SparkFun PWM Shield SparkFun PWM Shield
$19.95

This is the Arduino shield version of our TLC5940 Breakout. The PWM Shield will allow you to generate up to 16 PWM signals from your Arduino by utilizing the power of the TLC5940 IC.

Neato-o project from the community? Check. Cool new product stuff? Check. I believe there's only one thing left to do. COME FRIENDS, WE SHALL GO IN SEARCH OF THE WEEKEND. LET US MOUNT OUR POGO STICKS AND RIDE OFF INTO SUNSET!

/boing, boing, boing!

MORE POSTS

May 3, 2006
Microsoft ... BEAM Robots?!?

Solarbotics held a few workshops and lectures at the MAKEr faire April 22/23rd. After giving a workshop, a nice man from Microsoft invited me over to see their BEAM robots. Obviously intregued, I found their display at the Microsoft pavilion where Microsoft encouraged all their engineers with "MAKE"-style hobbies to exhibit, including this squad of […]

November 8, 2013
Friday New Product: Ribbon Cable, RGB LE...

We got some sticks for sale today. Some are bendable sticks. You can use them as a belt and if you are near the hydroelectrostation dam you can put the power wire into water and that will pick up some leftover electricity and you get a glowing belt. Now other things are measuring devices. You […]

October 10, 2014
Friday New Product: Toolbag, Digital San...

Today we have some fun stuff to play with, mainly Sandbox and Trinket, and their accessories: Sparkfun Tool Bag Kit $34.95 A portable tool bag that includes everything to get you started. Sparkfun Digital Sandbox $74.95 The Digital Sandbox makes learning how to program microcontrollers a snap! Walk through 13 unique and interesting experiments with […]

October 17, 2012
Wednesday Cool Links: Spiderbot, Solar S...

It's Wednesday! Hooray! Huzzah! We're celebrating because... Well, ok, we have nothing big to celebrate right now. So we're going to celebrate having nothing to celebrate with the traditional and only appropriate way possible... BROWSING THE INTERNET! Indeed, we've been celebrating this time-honoured tradition with steadfast dedication, and it's our pleasure to share it with […]

Solarbotics Ltd Logo
Solarbotics has been operating for more than 25 years, bringing electronics know-how and supplies to both the electronics professional and hobbyist. We'll be happy to help you too!

Solarbotics, Ltd. is not responsible for misprints or errors on product prices or information. For more information, please see our Terms and Conditions.

Warning: This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.
Please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov for more information. This item was manufactured prior to August 31, 2018.

cart