The highly recommended text is Massimo’s book, Getting Started with the Arduino (link goes to Amazon).  I will be displaying excerpts of the book during the class.

If you don’t have an Arduino, they will be available for sale for $25 at the class.  You should bring a laptop.

Topics may include:

Introduction

• Introduction
• Plugging it in
• Installing the software
• Programming Wiring
• Making the LED blink

Programming!

• Organization of the Arduino’s memory
• Types and Variables
• Structured Programming
• Functions
• Libraries

Sensors!

• Measuring light
• Measuring temperature
• Using an op-amp to extend the range
• Capacitive (proxmity) sensors

Motors and Lights!

• Transistor and Solid State Relay basics
• Lights
• DC Motors
• Servos
• Stepper Motors

At our first global synchronous hackathon, we met artist and electronics aficionado, Alpay Kasal, who with Alpha One Labs founding member psytek, conceived of the idea of an interactive Christmas tree with ornaments that react to mentions of specific keywords on Twitter. The idea spawned from Alpay’s previous installation for GE Healthcare. After many hours of hard work and material shopping, Alpay found some golf display cases at The Container Store to house the 12 mil LED lights which blink when a designated word is tweeted. You can view the tree in person by visiting Alpha One Labs in Brooklyn or online, broadcasting live through ustream.

A netbook running Processing with the Twitter4J lib is used for performing searches of predetermined holiday words (listed below) while generating and smartly managing a queue of ornament blinks. Our in house microcontroller master, Robert, RDM654 contributed his uln2803a chips which helped with the refactoring of brigher incandesant bulbs. We’ll also be using 75HCT595sr shift registers for further refinement and efficiency.

Twitter search terms include: Christmas, Xmas, Santa, mistletoe, hackerspace, alphaonelabs, hack, opensource, snow, season, merry, peace, cheer, consumerism, joy, presents, greetings, arduino, jingle bells, happy new year, 2010, 2009, reprap, Brooklyn

Check out Alpay’s video displaying the tree in all of its glory:

If you’re around for our New Years Eve party you’ll be able to interact with the tree in person!

RepRap from Adrian Bowyer on Vimeo.

A person with this machine can print out one for his friend and then this friend can print out more for his friends. We are the bees spreading the pollen to the flowers.

Our Queen bee, you might say, is a young man living in the heart of the Czech Republic. We have comissioned Jo Průša who has been melting some hot black ABS for our evil twins using a heated print bed.

We’ve enjoyed seeing the brown box in the corner of his room fill up with RepRap parts. Slowly, some parts taking nearly 48 hours to print, the machine reproduces itself and soon will be given a heart and brain in Brooklyn. Thanks Jo!.