A number of ioBridge users created some amazing ioBridge-based projects for this Halloween. We were impressed with the diversity and how they interacted with the IO-204. From using some new offline features of ioBridge to using social networks to poke fun at their Halloween prey.
We have a steam powered steampunk pumpkin that blows smoke out if it’s ears. We have a spider dropping on it’s victim and snapping a photo and posting to Twitter via TwitPic. We also have a motion sensing, talking skull that scares co-workers in the owner’s cubicle. Check them out!
Jason has released a new ioBridge project that monitors water usage for his whole house in real-time. The system uses a water meter, an IO-204, and ioBridge data logging services. His first system monitored power usage, sunlight, and temperature which included a live demo mash-up with Google Charts.
On one channel of the IO-204, the water meter is connected to the digital input. On a digital state change, the module sends that data to the ioBridge servers. Included with the free user account is the ability to log two data feeds from your module. In this case, the type of log is a Digital Input Counting Log. Evey count is the equivalent to one gallon of water used. The project is rather interesting and the next step in conservation. Knowing water usage and finding your high water use times will help curb use in the long run. Details on the water meter project can be found on Jason’s blog and Instructables.
Who knew when Steve aka “polymythic” posted his ioBridge project using iTurn to pour a real beer that it would get over 100k hits on YouTube and make it into print. Well, if you check out the April 2009 issue of Popular Science you will find Steve’s Serv O’Beer is the “Build of the Month” in the How 2.0 section of the magazine. There’s a photo of the latest version of the system with a sturdier frame made of Contrux and an ioBridge IO-204 to link the iPhone to a web application to drive a servo. You can read all about on Popular Science and learn how to build your own Servo O’Beer at Instructables.
Jason Winters, the famous Picodore and fishcam inventor himself, created a Do It Yourself (DIY) power monitoring system to chart and track power usage in your house using AC transducer clamps and an ioBridge module for web-casting the data. This project has found a lot of interest on the world wide web and the ioBridge community. Jason has used the system and discovered some amazing inefficiencies and some power suckers all around his house. I think we are interested in knowing where our money goes and how to become more efficient. I have also noticed lots of claims that this has been done before. If you dig deeper, you will find that no one has quite solved the problem quite like this and will be surprised with the ability to use it with Google Charts, Google Documents, and social networking widgets.
Jason has provided plenty of photos and details on how to recreate the power monitoring system for your own benefit. You can check out his Picobay Projects Blog or the very detailed Instructables.
