This week on Maker Update, a mask with an automatic grin, a one-legged robot, dual-screen cyberdeck, the Pi MixMakr, infill earrings, and giving your cutting mat a boost.

++Show Notes [Maker Update #181]++

-=Project of the Week=-

How to make a voice activated LED facemask by Tyler Glaiel
https://medium.com/@tglaiel/how-to-make-a-voice-activated-led-facemask-diy-guide-b300bc146f38

-=News=-

Salto Jumping Robot Masters Pinpoint Landings
https://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/robotics/robotics-hardware/salto-jumping-robot-masters-pinpoint-landings

-=More Projects=-

Cyberdeck ZBS by facelesstech
https://facelesstech.wordpress.com/2020/06/02/cyberdeck-zbs/

Dual Screen Cyberdeck by dapperrogue
https://hackaday.com/2020/06/03/a-dual-screen-luggable-with-integrated-rtl-sdr/
https://imgur.com/a/k2Re4Ok

Pi MixMakr by balmy-summer
https://www.reddit.com/r/raspberry_pi/comments/g7ybgp/pi_mixmakr_you_can_order_your_favourite_drinks/
https://github.com/thijsbouwes/mixmakr
https://mixmakr.nl/

3D Print Infill Jewelry By Penolopy Bulnick
https://www.instructables.com/id/3D-Print-Infill-Jewelry/

-=Tips & Tools=-

Redesigning My Biomimetic Mechatronic Hand
https://youtu.be/-zqZ-izx-7w

Cutting Mat Riser and Lighting Platform by Norman Chan
https://www.tested.com/art/makers/907806-making-cutting-mat-riser-and-lighting-platform/

Adam Savage’s Favorite Tools: Extended Grabber Micro Forceps!
https://www.tested.com/art/makers/907850-adam-savages-favorite-tools-extended-grabber-micro-forceps/

DeWALT Router DWP611 Review by Matt Stultz
https://youtu.be/fzeQxVgwnsY

Gareth’s Tips, Tools, and Shop Tales – Issue #49
https://www.getrevue.co/profile/garethbranwyn/issues/gareth-s-tips-tools-and-shop-tales-issue-49-252326

-=Digi-Key Spotlight=-

Motion Sensors – Tech Basics
https://youtu.be/kst8n1HoO-w

Transcript

This week on Maker Update, a mask that smiles, a one-legged robot, dual-screen cyberdeck, the Pi MixMakr, infill earrings, and giving your cutting mat a boost.

Hey, I’m Donald Bell, and it’s Maker Update time! I hope you’re all doing well, and finding ways to stay engaged with something that’s rewarding — even if it’s just daydreaming about cool projects. I have plenty of those for you in this show, so let’s get started with the project of the week.

Tyler Glaiel made this LED matrix face mask with an animated mouth that responds to your voice. 

Best of all, it’s pretty cheap and simple to make your own. The most expensive part is this 8×8 flexible LED matrix, that runs around $15. Add in a 9v battery, an Arduino Nano, a microphone breakout board, and a little DC to DC converter to bring the battery voltage down to the 5v needed for the board and the lights. All of those components get stuffed into the mask.

The Arduino is basically looking at the microphone volume to decide which frame of mouth animation to display, and switches quickly between them. 

For the cherry on top, Tyler added a smile animation that triggers when he makes a popping sound with his mouth. From what I can tell looking at the code, there’s bit in there called “pop detection” that triggers whenever the volume reaches the upper limit. So ironically, it’s possible that it will also activate when you’re yelling at someone.

It’s a cool project and Tyler does a great job showing each step of the process in his guide, and links out to his code on Github. I would be curious, though, to see if a less bulky version could be made with something like a Trinket and a Lipo battery pack. If you’re feeling inspired, maybe give it a shot.

Now it’s time for some news. The UC Berkeley Biomimetic Millisystems Lab released a video showing off their new and improved jumping robot named Salto. 

This is a one legged robot that can do these crazy high jumps and stick the landing in that satisfying and uncanny way that an olympic gymnast can. 

And it’s such a weird looking contraption, that it’s fun to try and unpack everything that’s going on. 

It has that big foot that compresses and extends, but to keep it from falling over to one side or the other, it also has this pair of drone propellers that are constantly correcting its balance.

Even crazier, to control its position front to back, it has this vertical spinner with weights at each end that create a kind of gyro stabilization, but also help it to deliberately tip forward and backward so that it can aim for its target. And for a one-legged, top-heavy robot, it’s insanely accurate. 

I don’t know why I love this thing so much, but I recommend checking out the video, and I’ll link to an interview with one of the lead researchers, Justin Yim.

Now for more projects. I caught a great pair of cyberdeck computer projects on Hackaday. The first is this little guy from Faceless Tech.

It uses a Raspberry Pi Zero, a little screen, and a Bluetooth keyboard. The enclosure is all 3D printed. For power, he’s using a pair of 18650 rechargeable batteries. 

Two things I love about this design. One is the GoPro style hinge used to fold the screen up and down. But what’s even cooler is the way they wired the connection to the screen with these paracord wrapped cables and GX-12 format aviation connections. Totally unnecessary, but such a great look.

The other cool cyberdeck build I saw is this dual screen design by Dapper Rogue. He’s calling this a luggable design, modeled after the classic Compaq Portable design of the ‘80s. 

This one has a more powerful Pi 4 inside, along with four fans for cooling, and a software defined radio receiver module. To take it even more over the top, the keyboard is all custom made, switch by switch. 

What really gets me about this one, though — aside from the two screens, which are awesome — is the mixture of that orange 3D printed voronoi patterned interior brackets, with the white, HDPE outside panels. It’s a great looking combo.

As some of you know, I’m currently obsessed with a cocktail robotics project. I’m always on the lookout for new solutions. This MixMakr cocktail machine by a team from the Netherlands (Rens, Rutger and Thijs) is one of the first designs to catch my attention in awhile. 

The project details are spread out across a Reddit post, a Google photo album, and a Github repo. It’s essentially a Pi based system where the Pi takes orders over a locally hosted interface you can access from your phone. A concealed stepper motor then pulls your drink along a track as each ingredient is poured in your glass. 

There’s one pump at the beginning of the whole thing for slowly pouring soda, which you don’t want dumping out too quickly. But the rest of the ingredients come out of these dispensers where the bottle mounts right on top, and then quickly pour a measured shot right into your cup.

To make this style of dispenser work, you usually have to shove a cup underneath to activate it manually. The smart thing this team did was mount a servo on the back of the cup holder, with a linear gear that shoves up into the dispenser to get it to pour. It’s a lot faster than using pumps, and looks cooler too, but unfortunately they seem hard to come by in the US.

On Instructables, Penolope Bulnick shows off a new 3D printed jewelry technique where she uses the infill patterns generated by her slicer software as part of the aesthetic. 

The trick for this one is to just use a basic solid shape with a hole placed for the jewelry hardware. Bring that into your slicer software and set your top and bottom shell layers to 0. This preserves the vertical outline of the shape, but leaves the rest as visible infill. 

The rest comes down to playing with your infill patterns and percentage to get a look you like.

Now for some tips and tools. On YouTube, Will Cogley has a video up that details his history with creating a biomimetic robot hand, what makes it so difficult, and how he’s approaching a new design that we’ll hopefully see unfold over the next few months on his channel. He already has a few critical pieces to show off, and you’ll get a new appreciation for how your hand works.

On Tested, Norman Chan has a entertaining video on how he created his own laser cut riser for his model-making cutting mat. It’s a surprising story that evolves into a jigsaw puzzle and an LED-lit platform for displaying your models. It’s a great design story.

In a separate video, Adam Savage talks about why these extended micro forceps are one of his favorite types of needle-nose pliers. If you remember the Jamie Hyneman toolbox teardown from episode 172, these were also a part of his must-have kit. 

On Cool Tools, I have an interview with Matt Stultz from Prusa Research. We talk about why the DeWalt DWP611 router is not only one of his favorites, but why it seems to pop up on most DIY CNC router machines. 

And on Gareth Branwyn’s Tips, Tools, and Shop tales newsletter, he’s got a great tip from Bob Knetzger on using Sugru putty for casting things with metal. Also a tip from Punished Props on sculpting with foam clay.

For this week’s Digi-Key Spotlight, check out their latest video on understanding motion sensors. Accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers — you’ll get a useful, technical description of each and how they differ. You also get a demo of how these can all be put to work for your next project. Check it out.

And that does it for this week’s show. Be sure to subscribe, leave a thumbs up, or leave a comment. Let me know what you’re doing to stay busy or even just entertained. You can also get on the Maker Update email list, so you never miss a show. A big thanks to my Patrons on Patreon and to Digi-Key electronics for making this show possible. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you next week.