WiFi-Enabled Arduino Fio using the WiFly RN-XV (RN171XV)

The Arduino Fio is a nice little Arduino board designed specifically to interface with XBee devices. I think it’s a great little board and have used it quite a bit in the past. BUT, I haven’t talked too much about the XBee interface, so for this post, I wanted to demonstrate an example utilizing the XBee socket to get an Arduino Fio onto the web. This is a simple example, just demonstrating communication with the Microchip RN171XV (previously Roving Networks RN-XV) wifi module.

WiFlyTimeWithConsole Example

Click through the break for information on the setup and source code to get the Arduino Fio onto the web.
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Magic Lantern HDR video to tonemapped video with MATLAB scripts

I have a Canon T3i with a Canon EF 50mm f1.4 lens that I use for the gross majority of my day-to-day photography these days. I’ve been using a custom firmware for the Canon called Magic Lantern that provides a some interesting (and useful!) functions. One of them is HDR video. Here’s a beautiful example of what can be done:

I tried my hand at processing the HDR video output and was able to get a reasonably nice tone-mapped video:

After the break, you’ll find how I processed the initial Magic Lantern video using MATLAB and exiftool and tone-mapped the output using Luminance HDR.

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Preparing a “Blobby” Object for Printing with Shapeways

I have been working with a 3D blobby object for some of my pilot studies on shape from shading and texture that I would like to 3D print. Back at Rutgers University, we had a MakerBot Cupcake, but now that I am in Germany, I need to find alternatives. I have been looking into getting the 3D object printed using Shapeways.com but there have been a few hiccups along the way, so I wanted to describe my experiences in the hopes that it might help someone else avoid these issues in the future. The object was generated in MATLAB using a simple script (see 3D “Potato” Generation using Sinusoidal Pertubations) and rendered in our 3D environment:

3D-Blobby-Object---Solid-(Seed--0431630057)

So the question is: What do I need to do to get this 3D object printed at Shapeways? Click through to see the steps that I took to get this 3D model printed economically.
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University of Giessen (Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen) Timelapse

I seem to be on a video-posting roll with some of these videos from day-to-day life here in Germany (see previously: Johannisbeeren (red currant) Pastries and Puff Pastries with Blueberry Compote). The latest video is a time-lapse from my office at the University of Giessen (officially Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen) that I took with my HTC Rezound using Lapse It.


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Arduino FIO Graphical LCD Console

I have previously shown how to use the Arduino Fio and the mini12864 graphical LCD to create a simple oscilloscope. For this post, I wanted to demonstrate the u8glib console demo because I plan on using the GLCD to debug some of my projects and to provide a visual interface for experiments with the Microchip RN-171-XV.

IMG_6922_cropped

More information on the project, a video of it in operation, and its code after the break.
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Johannisbeeren (red currant) Pastries

Another baking-related post, because I had the time on the weekend to do some more cooking while my wife was out of town.

In my last post, blueberries were on sale. This time, Johannisbeeren were on sale, so I wanted to take advantage of the fresh fruit. Johannisbeeren are unfamiliar to me, being an Eastern US native, but I find them incredibly delicious. They are tart like a cranberry, but have a great “berry flavor” when sweetened that I find hard to resist. There are lots of Johannisbeeren pastries and tarts available here in Hesse, Germany, but this was my first opportunity to work with the fresh fruit. And without further ado, here’s a video demonstrating how I made puff pastries with fresh Johannisbeeren, with CC-licensed music by Jill Zimmerman.


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