Spooky BlinkM projects by John Park

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For Halloween, John Park made some wonderful flickery props using a BlinkM, a BlinkM MaxM, 3d printed parts, and LEGO. Check them out on Twitter and below. Thanks JP!

BlinkM as neat last-minute parade wearable

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Adrian on Twitter writes "Hoped to have some kind of wearable thing for , but I wasn't sure I'd have time to make something. Then I remembered I have a BlinkM." And then later: "It's a BlinkM using strips of grocery bags under 1/3 of a ping-pong ball, sandwiched between sanded plexiglass using 1/8th bolts." Here's his wearable heart that beats the flag colors.  So neat!

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ThingM at MakerFaire 2015 Bay Area, come join us!

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ThingM will once again be at Maker Faire Bay Area.  It's the 10-year anniversary and we've been going since the very beginning (and have had a booth there for 8 years). This year it's on May 16 & 17 2015.  Come join us!  We'll be showing off projects made with our blink(1) USB RGB LED and our BlinkM Smart LED family of products.  If you've done something neat with ThingM products, come tell us about it.  See you there! tm_makerfaire_2015_blog500px

Fun RoboStache using BlinkMs at SXSW2015

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robostache_full Anthony made a hilarious glowing "robostache" for SXSW2015 using four BlinkMs, an Arduino, and 3d printed enclosure.  As the RoboStache.com page describes:

#RoboStache is a 3D Printed faux mustache optimized for maximum visibility, interactivity and fun. The Arduino controlled, sensor fed, high bright programmable LED lit device facilitates common shared experiences amongst strangers, experiences that build trust and foster an environment for sharing ideas.

More pics on his Google+ page and the RoboStache.com homepage.  Video below.

Using BlinkM with LabVIEW

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labview-blinkm-500 Recently we discovered some interesting uses of BlinkM, our I2C-controllable Smart LED,  with LabVIEW.  LabVIEW is a data acquisition system used by many school, labs, and research institutions. If you took upper-level science and engineering courses in college, you probably ran into it. If you're already using an I2C-capable microcontroller to take data, BlinkMs are a pretty natural addition to your test setup, as they work great to indicate test states.

Some of the ways we found BlinkMs being used with LabVIEW:

 

Tod interviewed on Embedded.fm

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embedded-pumpkinTod was recently interviewed for the Embedded.fm podcast, episode #90 "Stick it in a Pumpkin".  It was a lot of fun.  We talked about blink(1), BlinkM, electronics production, Kickstarter, and a bunch of other things.   You can listen to on iTunes or on the Embedded.fm website.  And if you listen to the end, you'll hear a special 25% coupon code for blink(1)s. :-)

If you've not heard of Embedded.fm, and you're interested in electronics, you might like it. It's all about electronics. The host Elecia is awesome and wrote a pretty great book a few years ago called Making Embedded Systems.

ThingM Project Feature: BlinkM in Firefly Cloud

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http://vimeo.com/17617397 http://vimeo.com/17459405

http://vimeo.com/17909924

University of Michigan - Fall 2010 - SmartSurfaces offered a collaborative, project-based learning experience in which undergraduate artists, designers, architects and engineers came together to build structural surfaces that have the capability to adapt to information and environmental conditions.

Each team was required to design, build, program and test a ‘Biomimetic SmartSurface’. They had to consider and negotiate what makes a surface smart, and why we would be interested in copying nature to try to solve human problems.

Creators:    Steven Madsen, Material Science and Engineering Kevin Yien, Material Science and Engineering Chris Niswander, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning

Jordan Stoewsand-Kryscio, Taubman College of Architecture  and Urban Planning Mallory Baran, School of Art and Design Michael Theodore, School of Art and Design

Various types of LEDs diffusely illuminate a wall comprised of straws. Mimicking a swarm of fireflies, the lights flee and evade according to motion detection. The soft texture generated by the straws, in concert with ‘moving’ LEDs, offers a unique visual experience and gives users the childhood feeling of playing with fireflies.

Maker Faire 2014: We're going. Come visit. Get a blink(1)!

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Once again ThingM will be at Maker Faire.  We'll be in the Maker Shed, demoing our BlinkM family, as well as showing off what the new blink(1) mk2 can do.  So. many. LEDs. And we'll be just one of many showing off LED projects. And for the first time outside of our Kickstarter, you'll be able to get your own blink(1) mk2!  We have a limited quantity on hand for the Shed and they'll be stocking them for us. (Any backers reading this, yours are shipping now, but come visit us at the Faire if you want more)

Maker Faire Bay Area 2014 is May 17 & 18 at the San Mateo Event Center. It's mind-blowing and fun.

 

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BlinkM MinMs in SF 49ers Craft Bracelet

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sf-header The Gray Area Foundation For The Arts (http://www.gaffta.org/) had a workshop for teachers of middle school students. They created a nice gender-neutral bracelet for sports fans using BlinkM MinMs (http://minm.thingm.com/)

As Grace says: "The workshop went well. I had two teachers as my students, one who teaches middle school and one who writes curriculum for a children's camp. They were both very interested in the MinMs and their potential to be used in teaching. One issue that came up was that one of the teachers was trying to come up with a gender neutral design and decided to make a 49ers wristband and wanted the LED to flash red, then yellow. However, we realized that there was no way to create a true yellow. We were able to get around it by covering the LED with yellow felt, as you can see from the video."

prepping the minms

making the bracelet

the finished bracelet