Micromania
The Secret’s Out
with Secret Labs
The “secret” part of Secret Labs can now be told:
it’s an open source electronics platform based on
Microsoft’s .NET Framework called the Netduino
($35,
netduino.com).
Everything Arduino:
Resources, kits and
parts, cool projects
and people.
The Netduino+ features onboard Ethernet, allowing
it to connect online with ease, and the Mini is so
small (only about ½"× 1"), it seems impossible to
pack all that power into such a small footprint.
Secret Labs is a company you should keep an
eye on. Walker has a lot more projects and products
under development, and they’re all just as interesting as the Netduino. I’d love to tell you all about
them, but they’re secret.
—Marc de Vinck
Swinging in the Rain
Maker Faire 2010 attendees got a chance to swing
through an artificial rain shower and emerge perfectly
dry. The swing, called Deus Ex Machina, was created
by Andrew Ratcliff, Andrew Witte, Ian Charmas, and
Michael O’Toole of Dash 7 Design.
The swing consists of an 18' frame with seats
suspended from aircraft cables and has 30 gallons of
water sprinkling down from the crossbar every minute,
controlled by 273 independently actuated solenoids.
When the installation’s Kübler incremental encoders
detect the seats passing under the rain shower, it shuts
down the relevant solenoids, and the swingers pass
through unscathed. —John Baichtal
Deus Ex Machina photograph by Paul Sobota
makerfaire.com/pub/e/3425
makezine.com/go/swing
74 Make: Volume 25
