Over the last week I have been assembling a compass belt. It is a belt lined with ten motors controlled by an arduino. The motor closest to north vibrates so that the person wearing the belt always knows which direction is north. I am not the first person to build a compass belt: Here is a list of all the parts I used:
- 10 motors $49.50
- Compass $34.95
- Arduino Uno $29.95
- Soldering iron $9.95
- Belt $8.99
- Soldering iron stand $5.95
- Wire $5
- Multiplexer $4.95
- Wire strippers $4.95
- USB cable $3.95
- Breadboard $3.95
- Battery holder $2.95
- Flush cutter $2.95
- Proto boards $2.50
- Solder wick $2.49
- Solder $1.95
- Headers $1.50
- transistor $0.75
- capacitor $0.25
- 1k resistor $0.25
- 33 ohm resistor $0.25
- diode $0.15
Here is a picture of the inside:
The belt seems to work well - it is quiet, accurate, and updates instantly when I turn around. I haven't actually found it useful yet - it seems pointless to wear it in places that I am already familiar with (and it looks silly). Even if I don't end up using it, it was fun to build and I learned a lot about electronics.