Update 2014-11-16: You should read my Twine Update if you are considering the purchase of a Twine.

Recently, my Twine came in the mail. After getting it set up, I went to work on my first project. This is a goofy little demonstration project, but it shows some of the powerful capabilities of internet connected devices–the internet of things (IoT), if you will.

The basic idea here is to make something happen when the orientation of the Twine is changed. I decided to raise and lower a flag. When the Twine is set up on end, the flag goes up, when it is placed flat, the flag goes down. This video shows the Twine and flag controller in action. Please excuse the poor overall quality of the video, and the build for that matter. Also, the very important message on the flag is just a bit out of date.

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Rotary Cordless PhoneAndrew upgraded a rotary phone with an Arduino and the guts of a cordless phone. It’s a nice build that solves a few of the problems one faces when trying to plug a rotary phone into today’s, modern, urban network.

Once he gets a battery installed, he’ll be able to walk around while talking on the phone–without that pesky, extra long cord that always seems to knock stuff off tables and get caught under other furniture.

Photo from Handya – Arduino, Processing, And Kinect Hacks

via Hack a Day