the wand-ring project Open source NeoPixel Wands #3DPrinting #FeatherWing

Excellent project sent in from Jonathan. These DIY dueling wands are awesome! You can check out the blog for full build instructions.

SO WHAT’S THIS ALL ABOUT, EH?
Wand-Ring magic wands are open source, multimodal, gesture-controlled DIY toys that can engage in magical spell duels.

Let’s unpack that sentence:

• Open source: We’re freely posting the development environment configuration, hardware needed, build instructions, uncompiled software, upload instructions, 3D designs for wand shells to put the electronics in, tutorial videos and instructions… Everything you need to make and hack your own Wand-Ring wands!
• Multimodal: The “basic” code for Wand-Ring wands has six modes – Sleep mode (on, but dim), Dazzle mode (make pretty lights without user input), Flashlight mode (shine very brightly), Doodle modes 1 and 2 (make pretty colors in response to how you wave it), and Duel Practice mode (Cast specific “spells” in response to specific gesture sequences.). Gently thump the wand’s handle to cycle from mode to mode.
• Gesture-controlled: With the exception of gentle tapping to cycle modes (as noted above), all other commands to the wand are gesture-based. You wave it around and it reacts. Specific gestures evoke specific results. This concept is the driving design principle behind Doodle, Practice, and Duel modes: When you wave your wand a specific way, it reacts in a specific way. If you repeat the same gesture, the wand has the same reaction. For example: Pointing it up may make it glow yellow while pointing it down may make it glow green. When your wand is in Duel Practice mode or dueling, it “remembers” the last 20-or-so gestures. Specific sequences of gestures trigger extra-special responses from the wand – we’re calling these responses “spells.” For example: Pointing your wand straight ahead, then at the ground, then at the sky could evoke a Lightning Bolt with a white-yellow flashing, flickering LED display.

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Learn more!