By using an Arduino, GPS, and an accelerometer, this group put together the “Urban Defender” – A hyper-local geolocation based game which allows users to “claim” various districts of a city by throwing the ball against a wall to claim the territory.  The ball tells you whether you’re in friendly or enemy territory through it’s built in speakers and LEDs. The concept video below does a great job of demonstrating the project.

The map above is how the users can track which geo-locations are owned by different groups.  It’s just a concept for now, but it would make for a great iPhone app to use to monitor which territories are owned by each team.

The Concept:

The Execution:

The Plan: The entire project is incredibly well documented, full of flow charts, diagrams, concept photos and videos so you can learn how to recreate the build.

The Code: Full details including flow charts, initial sketches, and source code can be obtained under their coding section.

The Build: Pictured above is their first prototype with all the electronics stuffed inside the ball, comfortably protected by foam.  You can view a walk through of the entire project build if you’d like to learn more.

Final Results:

The final result reminds us a lot of Foursquare, a popular location based game.  Full project details can be found at the links above at the project build site.  Be sure to subscribe to HacknMod for free to stay in the loop on future projects.

Here’s a fantastic project using an arduino, a motor, and a piezo sensor which allows you to both record and detect knocking patterns to unlock a door.  The video below does a fantastic job of demonstrating how it works: It’s completely mobile and can be suction cupped to any dead bolt. Press a button to record a new sequence.  Upon detecting the correct sequence of knocks, the motor turns the lock open.  Brilliant!

Don’t miss: Top 40 Arduino Projects of the Web

For more details on the project including detailed photos and code, check out the project build.  We have hundreds of the best Arduino projects for your inspiration:

• DIY Football Hero Using the Arduino
• Top 40 Arduino Projects of the Web
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1. Makeownringtone.com. With this site you have a variety of options when it comes to uploadable formats. You can choose from MP3, MP4, QCP, OGG, AAC, and MMF.
2. Audiko.net. This is one of the most popular services for creating your own ringtone. Upload your song, take the excerpt that you want to act as your ringtone, and start the download process.
3. Mobicious.com. By offering a free service, Mobicious.com has a leg up on the competition. All you have to do is upload your MP3, clip the portion that you want to use, and turn it into a ringtone that can be instantly sent to your cell phone.

Once you find a service you enjoy, you can create as many ringtones as you want while being assured that each one is 100 percent unique. If you want to learn to edit MP3, wav and other audio files, use audacity to create custom ringtones.

Basically, a VU Meter measures loudness (volume units) of an audio signal. But this blinking VU meter project catches the eye more than the ear. The construction of the VU meter using 12 flashing bulbs is relatively simple. At the heart is a 12 outlet controller box with each outlet connected to two layers of six solid state relays. An mp3 player is plugged into a VU meter controller which also outputs the audio to an attached speaker.

The VU Meter through the solid state devices relays the analog audio to the bulbs which flash to the song. Interesting variations can hacked out using LEDs instead of bulbs with the Lm3915 chip.

The costliest parts of the whole project are the solid state relays. They are quite expensive in the US ($50), so buy them on eBay for about $10.  The complete plans for the giant flashing bulb VU meter are available at Inventgeek. Play it and take a ‘look’ at sound volume. A lot of our projects have brought together sound and light for extraordinary effects:

• Extreme LED Synthesizer Piano Mod
• Huge Christmas Music & Light Display
• PSP Hacks: Sound Activated LED Light Mod

Laser harp inventor Steven Hobley is back with another exceptional project.  We covered his outstanding laser harp build last year and was also included in our Top 40 Arduino Projects.  So what’s so cool about a harp anyways?  It’s just the incredible cool factor of a classical instrument meeting the future with wicked bright lasers now combined with a “Harp-Hero” video game interface.

A single 450-milliwatt green laser beam reflected by fast moving motorized mirror ‘creates’ multiple beams very rapidly. The variation in hand movements through the laser beams creates the flux. This symphonic change in the beam is picked up by sensor arrays connected to a Nintendo Wiimote. An impOSCar VSTi software synthesizer on a computer interprets the signals via Bluetooth and that’s how hand motion becomes music.

The innovator has shared some of the details on his website and the above video.  If you are looking for more laser projects beam over to view all of our laser projects and buy lasers from our store for your next laser project supplies.

Serious audiophiles like to be close to their music. Our previous DIY Multi-Room Wireless Music Remote was just one way to take your music anywhere you want. With these two free programs and a bit of configuration, you can stream your own music from anywhere you’d like. With the two program setup, you can also stream songs over the internet for friends to enjoy.

The tutorial guides you through the 6 steps of launching your stream:

1. Install an Apache server

   

Setup your PC as a server platform with the installation of Apache. Use XAMPP, the open source and cross-platform web server package. XAMPP packages MySQL, PHP and Perl in a single zip or exe file. Download and run with minimal configuration of the various components that make up the web server.

2. Install netjukebox

   

netjukebox is an open source, flexible, web based Winamp/httpQ media jukebox. It can be configured as a client/server to stream music from any computer that’s a part of the network. The downloaded netjukebox needs to be extracted in XAMPP’s htdocs directory. Provided codecs along with netjukebox go into another subfolder. The login screen of the media jukebox is accessed by typing a URL in the browser.

3. Secure your server

   

Securing your server installation is a priority. The tutorial walks through the steps needed to setup a secure admin username and a root password for the XAMPP and MySQL host. Passwords also sets-up XAMPP directory protection for protected access through browsers.

4. Setup netjukebox

   

The media player is configured (just a few lines in Notepad) to locate the music library and read the codecs. This step also configures web access for the administrator with the correct server password.

5. Link your music library

   

Log on to the netjukebox administrator page with the browser and use the configuration panel to index all your songs in the music library. The user friendly program also updates your music collection with album covers automatically or manually using online databases.



6. Stream your music remotely

   

Log in to your music library from anywhere using a browser and typing in your IP with the /netjukebox/ extension. Dynamic DNS is another option to access your songs without the hassle of IP addresses. For those behind a home router, the port forwarding technique solves the issue.

The how-to goes into each step in detail. Using the flexible freeware and a comparatively hassles free setup, you can play your tunes anywhere.

We have a vast gallery of tutorials for audio enthusiasts to enjoy. Check them out!

• Build your own Wireless Audio Streamer
• Full DIY Home Theater Build: Start to Finish
• Home Made Noise Cancelling Headphones

This is a fantastic, unique project which uses RFID tagged pictures to select and play album. The system utilizes the easy to use arduino microcontroller platform along with an RFID reader and is also ethernet enabled. See more pics and details:

When a tag (album picture) is placed over the tag, a signal is processed by the arduino and sent over ethernet to a database. This database then looks up the tag and matches it with the corresponding album and begins to play the selected music.

The author has posted a nice write up for the Arduino mp3 build on his site where he goes into further detail about the project specs. Check out our entire database of audio and arduino projects for your next build and project inspiration.

Cornell has released their latest batch of microcontroller electronics projects ranging from a 3D scanner to infrared laser harps.  All of the projects use Atmel ATmega chips (the same chips Arduino uses) to accomplish their tasks.  All 42 projects can be seen on the course website.  For more project inspiration, see our most popular hacks and last year’s microcontroller projects.

• Learn how to program microcontrollers: Arduino Tutorial
• Join your fellow 3,800 loyal readers who have subscribed to HacknMod.

Using some piezo sensors, this DIYer created some DIY midi drums for the Arduino.  All it takes is a handful of the sensors and a few resistors to put together.  He’s already assembled the soruce code, parts kit and detailed instructions so you can easily make one yourself.   The piezo sensors can be used as buzzers but at the same time can also detect “knocks” or vibrations.  When you strike each drum pad, a voltage is generated based upon your impact force.

• You’ll also enjoy our Top 40 Arduino Projects of the Web

Here are the basic materials you need to make your own Midi drum:

1. Wire to connect piezos (speaker style wire is OK)
2. Foam/mousepad
3. Auto body thin metal sheet
4. Spray glue & epoxy (or hot glue)
5. Solder
6. Tape or heat shrink tubing

Check out the entire tutorial and subscribe for more Arduino and Audio projects.

This is a fantastic and quick weekend project for you.  Take an authentic U.S. Army Vietnam-era headset and turn it into a custom Xbox Live headset.  It’s incredibly simple to pull off – Basically just cut and connect a few wires and you’re good to go!  A few more pictures and directions can be found at the blog post above.

• You could even use it to play Xbox Live in your car if you’ve installed a gaming console.