Laseroscope: A Challenging DIY

Mashable defines Kano as a DIY computer kit designed to help people of all ages assemble a computer from scratch, and learn basic coding skills. This DIY takes a Kano and shows how to drive a littleBits motor with an optocoupler. An octocoupler, yes. (Too many fancy words already? Stay with me.) An optocoupler, says Wikipedia, is simply a component that transfers electrical signals between two isolated circuits by using light. Got it?

Basically, there are two isolated circuits: 1) The Kano Computer 2) The littleBits Light Sensor or Motor. The Kano will be used to light up an LED – a transmitter – and its signal will be sensed by the littleBits Light Sensor (the receiver) to switch on or off the littleBits motor. The principle is: when the LED of the Kano is on, the littleBits light sensor should switch the motor on and when the LED is switched off the light sensor should turn the motor off. The faster the LED is switched on and off, the faster the motor will spin – the two factors are directly proportional.

Once you do that build a laser mirror spinner using Lego. The maker has beautifully shown the various steps of construction through neat images. Then, test the laser spinner using Keno. See a demonstration of this test in the first video below. After the test is successful, construct a laser mount, a speaker mount, and a graph paper display screen. Once you assemble all the parts and put them into operation, together they form what you can call a Laseroscope. The second video demonstrates how it works.

IMG 1328 from KRA5H on Vimeo.

laseroscope from KRA5H on Vimeo.