While taking photos today is normally a digital affair, there is a wealth of visual information stored on film negatives. Digitization is possible, but it tends to be rather time-intensive, so photographer/hacker @duckafterduck decided to automate the process. His setup uses a film carrier augmented with a stepper motor and belt drive to advance the 35mm film under a tripod-mounted digital camera. This is controlled by an Arduino Nano, with the camera’s view shown via a video capture device on a nearby computer. In one mode, the user can adjust the film position semi-manually using pushbuttons, then scan the negative. The whole process can also be automated, with a Python computer vision routine. 📷 duckafterduck.com

Learning a new language is always a challenge, but can also be extremely rewarding. To help with this task — specifically learning Greek — Angeliki Beyko created an arcade-style review machine. Her device cleverly uses a sheet of pegboard to hold the electronics, including seven LCD screens to indicate category, level, and the actual Greek word being reviewed. Possible answers are shown as pictures on four TFT displays, driven by four separate Arduino Uno boards that pull up pictures stored on SD cards. An Arduino Mega provides overall control for the interactive panel. While ambitious, and a definite learning process, there’s currently some memory limitations and an issue with the screens not working when actually mounted. So as of now, it’s something of a work-in-progress, but Beyko is planning to complete the build with version two. 📷 hackaday.io/abeyko

Train and deploy an @edgeimpulse tinyML model on an Arduino Nano 33 BLE Sense to detect when a robot falls using the onboard IMU. The robot is able to navigate autonomously via an HC-SR04 mounted on a servo motor that can pan it to the left and right. The two pairs of motors are driven by a single L298N, and power is provided with two 3.7V LiPo batteries. 🤖 hackster.io/gatoninja236

📈 Reason with data, think like a real scientist! 🔬 The Arduino Science Journal transforms Android and iOS devices into a pocket-sized lab. 🤳 Connect it with the Arduino Science Kit to enhance your learning! 📲 Now available for download from Google Play and the App Store! sj.arduino.cc

As a fun way to introduce himself to control theory, Miguel Ayuso Parrilla designed a DIY robodog on the cheap that "almost looks like Boston Dynamics' spot but moves like a newborn." The quadruped runs on a Raspberry Pi 4 along with an Arduino Mega to read and write the signals of 12 hobby servos and an IMU, all controlled by a PS3 Dualshock. 🤖 Follow along with the progress of the 2020 Hackaday Prize finalist! hackaday.io/miguelasd 📷 @asd.lab

While this project took him over 100 hours to complete, creator Whity claims that his glowing geodesic domes were worth the effort. Each dome is able to light up its triangular faces, using WS2812B programmable LEDs embedded inside. The effect is mesmerizing on video, and has to be even more so in person. The devices are controlled by an Arduino Nano, along with a MPU-6050 inertial measurement unit. A series of 18650 rechargeable batteries provide power for the numerous lights involved. Magnets hold the two halves of the spheres together for easy access, and the triangles were 3D-printed with hinges to make assembly easier. Whity’s design comes in two sizes — a smaller 2V version with 80 faces and a diameter of 125mm, and a larger 3V model with 180 faces and a diameter of 180mm. 🌐 create.arduino.cc/projecthub/whity

Clean water is one of our most precious resources, but identifying sources of pollution often means expensive equipment. This can also mean taking multiple water quality readings and somehow aggregating them together to be easily usable. As a solution to both problems, Andrei Florian has developed WaterAid — which was recently named a finalist in this year’s Hackaday Prize. WaterAid consists of a measurement unit that senses water pH, turbidity, and temperature, as well as atmospheric temperature and humidity. Data is relayed to the system’s backend via a cellular connection, using an onboard MKR GSM 1400. Collected information from one or more devices is then displayed on a Soracom Lagoon dashboard for water monitoring from anywhere in the world! Not only can a fleet of WaterAids be used to continuously track a river, lake, or any other body of water, but individuals looking to get immediate feedback on quality can utilize the portable tool’s NeoPixel ring for color-coded judgement. 💧create.arduino.cc/projecthub/andreiflorian

While some keyboards provide media keys or even knobs to adjust your overall computer sound up and down, often what you really want is the ability to tune program volumes separately. To make this extremely easy, SNR Tech Bytes has come up with a beautifully-designed controller, which runs on the MKR ZERO. The device features five encoders to individually tune the master volume, Discord, Chrome, gaming, and Spotify, with the help of software on the PC itself. An encoder button mutes each channel as needed, using NeoPixels below to indicate each status. 🎛 reddit.com/user/rickyh7

Nick Bild’s Memory Pill system passively records the last time a pill bottle was opened to prevent over- and underdosing of medications when you cannot remember if you have already taken a scheduled dose. To build this, a small hole is drilled into the threaded portion of a medicine bottle. A pushbutton is attached inside the bottle so that the button lines up with the hole. A 3D-printed button extender is glued to the button such that the bottle top depresses the button. Removing the bottle top will then release the button. The button is connected to an Arduino Nano 33 IoT. When the button is released, the Arduino connects to a remote web API over WiFi, which records the time the request was received. A Memory Pill app was created on a LILYGO TTGO T-Watch-2020 that will connect to the web API and display the stored time. 📷 github.com/nickbild

Portable humidifiers are very popular for use in a variety of environments and the manufacturers of these devices promise not only humidification but also purification of the air when using their products. Diana Khalipina decided to test the efficiency of a small humidifier by analyzing how it can change the parameters of a room and influence health state. To accomplish this, she used an Arduino, a DHT11 sensor to obtain room temperature and humidity readings, an SGP30 gas sensor to check the CO2 concentration of the room, and a DS18B20 sensor to measure body temperature. 🌫 create.arduino.cc/projecthub/dianakhalipina

We're inspEYEred! Varun Chandrashekhar is designing a device that can effectively integrate a voltage-controlled variable focus lens and microcontroller to automatically change lens curvature. The device performs complex calculations to determine a wearer's prescription and adjusts itself for clarity of vision when looking at different ranges, therefore replacing progressive and multifocal visual aids. 👁 create.arduino.cc/projecthub/Varun_Chandrashekhar

Optical media normally contains information in the form of 1s and 0s that are much too small to be seen by the human eye. This can make understanding their operation less than straightforward. To solve this problem, Jon Bumstead constructed a Nano-controlled player that uses wooden discs, with holes and solid sections large enough to clearly show what’s going on. The discs spin under power from a DC motor, while a stationary laser/sensor pair keeps track of its rotation via repeating holes. A second laser assembly moves in and out on the discc using a stepper motor to read data, returning short messages like “don’t panic” on the LED matrix screen below. 💿 instructables.com/member/jbumstead