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The community public account records weekly shareable maker-related content, released every Friday～

The content is open source, and submissions or recommendations of related content are welcome.

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Images & Videos

Color E-Paper Weather Station

This project is a weather station made with Arduino ESP32 and a color e-paper display, which can display temperature, humidity, pressure, and weather forecasts, as well as show the temperature and pressure changes over the past 24 hours in a chart. The weather station features low power consumption, using e-paper display technology that only consumes power when updating content, allowing for battery life of several months. Additionally, it can connect to the internet for real-time weather updates, making it perfect for your desk to check weather changes anytime.

Hardware and software used in the project:

• Hardware:

• 6-inch color e-paper display board (Inkplate6)
• ESP32 microprocessor
• DHT22 temperature and humidity sensor
• BMP180 pressure sensor
• Optional: BME280 sensor
• Lithium battery and charger
• SD card slot (for storing images and data)
• Real-time clock module (RTC)
• 3D printed case (optional)

• Software:

• Arduino IDE
• Inkplate library
• DHT sensor library
• BMP180 sensor library
• Arduino JSON library (for parsing internet data)

The code for this project is open source, and you can find it on GitHub or directly download the required libraries through the Arduino IDE. The project provides detailed guidance to help you easily build your own color e-paper weather station.

Source: https://www.instructables.com/Arduino-ESP32-Color-E-Paper-Weather-Station/

Ring LED Watch

This ring LED watch uses 240 concentric arranged SMD LED beads to create an analog watch-like display effect.

The watch has a built-in light-dependent resistor (LDR) that adjusts the brightness of the LEDs according to the ambient light, ensuring that the time can be read clearly even in sunlight. A special tilt switch design allows the watch to automatically reduce voltage and turn off the LT3459 boost converter after being placed horizontally for 12 minutes to save power.

The watch is powered by a 3.7V/74mAh lithium-ion button battery, which lasts about 20 days with normal wear of 10 hours a day.

The core controller of the watch is the Attiny1614 microcontroller, which usually remains in deep sleep mode, waking up for 1.4 milliseconds every second via an interrupt from the real-time clock DS3231 to control the LED lights. To control the second hand LED, the microcontroller briefly wakes up again after 20 milliseconds. The watch’s time setting uses capacitive touch instead of mechanical buttons, enhancing the watch’s waterproof performance.

The watch’s boost converter LT3459 has been modified to act as a current regulator, ensuring stable current for the LEDs. The watch’s PCB is produced using laser technology, ensuring high-precision manufacturing quality.

Hardware and software used in the project:

• Microcontroller: Attiny1614
• Real-time clock: DS3231
• Boost converter: LTC3459
• Shift register: HEF 4094 x 10
• Protection IC: S-8261
• LED beads: 240 SMD LEDs (Model: Stanley VCDG1104P-5C63C)
• Light-dependent resistor (LDR)
• Lithium-ion button battery: 3.7V / 74mAh
• Tilt switch
• Touch sensor (for time setting)
• PCB (produced using laser technology)

More information and details about this project can be found at: www.dropletwatch.com

Source: https://hackaday.io/project/194344-led-watch

Single Arduino Powered Kinetic Sand Table

Immerse yourself in the charm of flowing sand with this Arduino-powered kinetic sand table that will captivate your attention!

The project started with an ordinary coffee table from a furniture store passionate about hacker culture. The author, NewsonsElectronics, modified it by adding a 3mm thick board to hold the sand, while another board was used to secure the rails and magnets. By designing parts to connect the rails and pulleys and using a laser cutter to cut 3mm thick materials, this exquisite device was completed. Two stepper motors are connected to the CNC shield, driving a bunch of magnets to create beautiful trails in the sand with ball bearings.

The first video is a demonstration of the kinetic sand table:

The second video shows the actual building process:

The third video explains how the author wrote the world’s smallest GRBL code to achieve all this with a single Arduino—hint: this involves removing unnecessary data from the g-code generated by Sandify:

Source: https://hackaday.com/2024/01/07/remote-control-kinetic-sand-table-uses-a-single-arduino/

Pixo – Rainbow Desktop Display

Pixo is an RGB LED desktop matrix display that brings rainbow patterns into your workspace. This project uses a custom PCB, combined with 3D printed parts, driven by an ESP32, featuring 163 WS2812B Mini LEDs, creating a vivid and captivating display effect. Pixo not only adds color to your desktop but also provides a dynamic lighting experience.

Hardware and software used:

• 1 Pixo PCB
• 170 WS2812B Mini V3 LEDs
• 1 Firebeetle ESP32 microcontroller
• 1 solder paste template (optional)
• 1 solder paste
• 2 parts 3D printed components
• 12 2mm screws
• 3D printer
• Hot air gun (for soldering)
• Screwdriver set

This project covers CAD design (using Fusion 360 software), PCB design (using EasyEDA software), reflow soldering techniques (the author used a regular iron instead of a reflow solder workstation), 3D printing (using Anycubic Neo 3D printer), and microcontroller programming (using Arduino IDE and FastLED library). The whole process involves not only hardware assembly but also software programming, allowing Pixo to display preset rainbow patterns. The author also plans to explore the wireless capabilities of the ESP32 in the future, allowing Pixo to be controlled wirelessly, increasing the project’s playability and practicality.

Source: https://www.instructables.com/Pixo-Dazzling-Desk-Display/

Mini Camera Remote Control Car

Want a car that you can remotely control with your phone and watch a live camera feed? This DIY project will help you achieve that idea! The author uses the Xiao ESP32S3 board to build the brain of the car and controls the wheels via a motor driver.

The entire car body is made using 3D printing technology. With simple programming and assembly, you can create a cute remote-controlled car and connect it to the car’s FPVCAR WiFi network via your phone. After entering a specific URL, you can view the live camera feed from the car. If you enjoy hands-on making or are interested in remote-controlled toys, this project is definitely worth a try!

Required hardware and software:

• Xiao ESP32S3 development board
• Motor driver
• LiPo battery
• 6mm gear motor
• 3D printer (Bambu Lab Carbon X1)
• Tinkercad (for designing the car body)
• Corresponding programming code (for controlling the car)

Source: https://www.instructables.com/DIY-Smartphone-Controlled-Tiny-Car-With-Live-Camer/

News

Arduino Partners with Silicon Labs to Launch Official Matter Support and New Arduino Nano Preview

The Arduino team has partnered with Silicon Labs to bring official Matter support to makers and developers, meaning that in the future, the Arduino platform will be able to interact and connect more easily with other Matter-compatible devices in smart home and IoT projects.

Matter is an open standard driven by a consortium aimed at achieving seamless interoperability between smart home devices. Additionally, Arduino previewed a new Arduino Nano series product that will further expand its hardware ecosystem, providing makers with more choices and flexibility. This new Nano device will be equipped with Silicon Labs’ wireless chip, expected to support Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and other low-power wireless communication protocols, making it a versatile microcontroller board suitable for various projects.

Source: https://www.hackster.io/news/arduino-teams-up-with-silicon-labs-to-offer-official-matter-support-teases-a-new-arduino-nano-ee1348f836de