Posts by Erica:
LED stair lights installed and working!
Just a quick post here, I want to let everyone know that the automated LED stair lights are in the stair wall and running successfully. Video to follow. As promised, I will be publishing the full schematic, code, and list of materials. Everything I used was off the shelf parts and chips, no PCB required. However, getting everything in the wall with the wires terminating somewhere sensible was a bit tricky. It’s complete now, though, and that’s a great feeling.
How to hack the bodybugg to work without a subscription fee
In my previous post I talked about the bodybugg and how I used it for body recomposition. Many people that look at the bodybugg hesitate due to the cost: first for the hardware itself, and second for the website subscription fee. The website displays those pretty graphs and totals that I showed earlier. More importantly, […]
Living with a Bodybugg: Lessons in calories, metabolism, and weight loss
In August of 2010 I purchased a Bodybugg in order to help my weight loss efforts. The Bodybugg measures calorie burn. By pairing it with a food log, I was able to figure out how to make calories out greater than calories in. I have been wearing it ever since for maintenance, and it’s done […]
A princess canopy for Laurel
On Thursday, Laurel had a day off of school. It is rare for her to get a holiday while her sister has to go to school, so I offered to spend the day with her. I gave her a lot of options, and her favorite was to simply stay home and do crafts with me. […]
How to add a power strip to perfboard
Things are moving along well with the automated LED stair light project. All the software is completed and sensors tested. I’ve begun moving the components from breadboard to perfboard, the permanent construction. Along the way I ran into a puzzle that I haven’t seen posted anywhere so I thought I would write about it here. […]
LED stair sensors and other progress
I’ve received a few comments and e-mails about the LED stairs lately, and I want to thank everyone who took the time to contact me. Although I haven’t posted in a while, I have been moving forward with the project. When it is complete I plan to publish a full list of materials and schematics […]
LED stairs: the chips are talking
In my last post on the LED stairs, I discussed using the Arduino and an M5451 driver chip to control the lighting sequence. Today, I completed my first breadboard version: The Arduino Mini Pro is on the left and the M5451 is on the right, positions I will reverse in the final design. I used […]
Robotics Open House at the University of Maryland
Last Friday the University of Maryland had an open house for their robotics department. This was a free event, including lunch, and very well organized. I had not been able to go to any previous robot competitions at the university so I was eager to see what they had. The university has 18 robotics labs, […]
Expanding the Arduino: cheap ways to add output pins and power
For the LED stairs, I need to control 14 LED lamps and 2 sensors. From the beginning, I had in mind an Arduino as the microcontroller for this project. Although it is possible to do a primitive version of these stairs without a microcontroller, having a brain at the center gives many more options. And […]
Automated LED stair lights
I’ve been hunting for a new project to do ever since completing my contest entry for Robie. I’ve done a number of interesting small things, mainly with the kids, but nothing too big. Then recently Make: Online featured this: When someone walks on the first step, the LEDs light up in sequence. Aside from looking […]