Planet Arduino

Much to the consternation of those of us who write for a living, AI writers are gaining traction as their capabilities increase. The hot name in the AI content creation industry at the moment is ChatGPT, which is powered by OpenAI’s GPT-3 engine. With the right input and direction, GPT-3 can output some impressive writing. To harness that power in a co-writing assistant, Arvind Sanjeev built the Ghostwriter.

Ghostwriter is a vintage Brother electric typewriter retrofitted with modern hardware that lets it access and utilize the GPT-3 API (application programming interface). The user can type a query onto paper, such as a writing prompt or question, and GPT-3 will return a result that also prints out on the paper. By guiding GPT-3 with suitable prompts, the user can receive as much AI-generated text as they like. They might then edit that text for publication, use it as-is, or showcase the manuscript as an art piece.

In addition to the writing capability, Ghostwriter is gorgeous. Arvind cleaned up the vintage machine with a fresh coat of paint and added orange accents that enhance the design. A tiny OLED screen shows an animated logo and status information. Inside the machine are two modern components important to the new functionality: an Arduino Uno board and a Raspberry Pi single-board computer. The Arduino both monitors the typewriter’s keyboard matrix to detect key presses and triggers key presses to print out the GPT-3 results. It sends key presses to the Raspberry Pi and receives text strings in return, and the Raspberry Pi connects to OpenAI’s API.

The result is beauty and functionality in the same package. It is an interactive art piece that demonstrates the power of cutting-edge AI services.

The post Ghostwriter is a gorgeous typewriter with an onboard AI co-writer appeared first on Arduino Blog.

Although mechanical keyboards are more popular than ever in gaming communities, getting that perfect “click” when you press down on the key is still being chased. That’s why maker Jason Ron wanted to convert an old typewriter into the perfect gaming controller. It works by using some tape wrapped around several of the typebars that either reflects more light when held up or none when it’s lowered. A pair of IR emitters and receivers were used to detect these changes in light levels, where their values were then read by an Arduino Leonardo. 

The code Ron wrote takes advantage of the Leonardo’s native USB peripheral, letting it act as a keyboard for a host device. When the light level falls between certain predetermined values a key is pressed virtually and then sent to the computer, although this functionality can be toggled on or off to prevent unwanted keypresses. 

If you want to see more about how this project was built along with some footage of Ron playing Red Dead Redemption 2, be sure to check out the video below and associated write-up on his blog.

The post Typewriter turned into mechanical keyboard for gaming appeared first on Arduino Blog.

Vintage typewriters are truly amazing pieces of technology, but unlike modern keyboards, they are decidedly one-purpose machines. William Sun Petrus, however, had other ideas for his 1920s-era Remington Portable typewriter, augmenting hammers with wires as inputs to an Arduino Mega.

Input signals are produced when each key strikes a metallic “live plate” in the center, completing a circuit. This info is passed along as MIDI signals to a computer running Ableton digital audio software, allowing him to create the excellent beat seen in the video below. 

Typewriter code is available on GitHub, where you’ll certainly notice the lines from Green Eggs and Ham that are output on an LCD screen at the base of the almost 100-year-old device.

Are you an angry programmer? Do you get the frequent urge to smash the return key or space bar after finishing every single line of code? Well then [Konstantin Schauwecker]’s typewriter keyboard is just the thing for you. In his project, [Konstantin] hacked a German Olympia Monica typewriter into a USB keyboard.

The project uses no less than 50 photo interrupters mounted on a custom PCB that mounts directly under the typewriter itself. The circuit board is so designed that the hammer arms take a position in obstructing the opto-interrupters. Every time a key is pressed, the corresponding device sends a signal to an Arduino.

In order to enable the wiring of 50 signals to an Arduino Leonardo, multiplexers and decoders are employed. CD4515, 4×16 line decoders work to activate the optical signals and the CD4067, 16×4 multiplexers are used to return the scans. This forms the traditional scanning keyboard matrix and the whole thing is managed in the Arduino code (available as a zip file).

This project can be a great starting point for anyone who wants to hack their grandpa’s old typewriter or make one in order to annoy the guy sitting next to them. Check out the video below for a demo and teardown and if you prefer Raspberry Pis then check out this mechanical typewriter hack.

Several years ago, Chris Gregg, a Tufts University lecturer and computer engineer, received a letter from his friend Erica. This wouldn’t be so unusual, except that it was typed on an actual typewriter, not a printer. Gregg is a fan of vintage typewriters, but, as with myself, makes many mistakes, […]

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The post 48 Solenoids Transform This 1960s Typewriter into a Computer Printer appeared first on Make: DIY Projects, How-Tos, Electronics, Crafts and Ideas for Makers.

[vtol] is quickly becoming our favorite technological artist. Just a few weeks ago he graced us with a Game Boy Camera gun, complete with the classic Game Boy printer. Now, he’s somehow managed to create even lower resolution images with a modified typewriter that produces ASCII art images.

As with everything dealing with typewriters, machine selection is key. [vtol] is using a Brother SX-4000 typewriter for this build, a neat little daisy wheel machine that’s somehow still being made today. The typewriter is controlled by an Arduino Mega that captures an image from a camera, converts it to ASCII art with Pure Data and MAX/MSP, then slowly (and loudly) prints it on a piece of paper one character at a time.

The ASCII art typewriter was recently shown at the 101 Festival where a number of people stood in front of a camera and slowly watched a portrait assemble itself out of individual characters. Check out the video of the exhibit below.