Metafetish

The Wiibrator

The Wiibrator

The torch has been passed, and a new generation of consoles are perverted. The circle of wank begins again.

I'd been hearing talk that people had been doing bluetooth hacking with the wii controller, but I'd never gotten around to getting one myself, and it looks like what is usually my work is now already done. So I'll just post someone else's work. I like being lazy.

Wiibrator is a python application for Linux that puts control of a TranceVibrator (but requires a kernel patch for some reason?) in your hands through interaction with the Wiimote. I can only imagine the gestures it cues off of.

I guess all of my kvetching about the wiimote being odd for sexual usage was misguided.

Small page updates

So, a few things about the page since I haven't updated in a while:

  • Yes, the boards are broken, and will probably be replaced soon. Until then, unless you have an account, you probably won't be able to post.
  • For those of you sending me link trade requests: No, I won't link to your page. Bring money, affiliate programs, or free equipment into the equation, and maybe we'll talk, but outside of that, no.
  • Things in the works
  • SeXBox v5: Overengineering at its best
  • Focus on Audio: Toy Reviews and Audio Based Teledildonics (Thanks to OhMiBod and iBuzz for providing hardware to play with)
  • You, your body, Fuckt00bz and you: A review for the penis enabled.

All this rests on my motivation levels, but honestly, they're higher than they've been in a while.

SeXBox USB

See? Told you I was doing work.

So, the ingredients, consisting of (once again) what was sitting around my workbench at the time I decided to wire this up.

  • STK500 Dev Board
  • ATMega16 Processor (An ATTiny2313 would be enough for this, but I was all out of those) w/ 12mhz crystal
  • SN754410 Motor Driver (One of its last appearances, because this project really just needs a cheap ol' Power FET. It just happened to already be /on/ the breadboard when I started this)
  • Various resistors to set current for lines (Notice I've forgotten quite a few, 'cause they were on the other side of the room
  • USBTiny USB 1.1 Low Speed Firmware
  • USB Extension Cable (torn up to go to 4 pin female header)

Throw into AVR Studio, fix up settings, write a quick python script, and I've now got USB motor control, which means I've officially passed high joy in communications schemes. 'course, since this is Low Speed USB going to an 8bit processor clocked at 12mhz, I can't even get near the theoretical maximum for low speed. You can get 5k/s on a good day if you use the maximum 255 byte packet size, but I need a 1 byte packet. I can maybe get 100hz update rate, but that's still decent enough.

This will all turn into an article at some point, but I figured I'd at least share the fact that yes, development is happening.

SXSW 2007 - Here we go again

Apparently they didn't learn their lesson last year, so I'm gonna be back in Austin, Texas March 9-13th for SXSW Interactive 2007. I'll be on the "Sex and Computational Technology" panel with the lovely Amanda "Best Ethnography EVER (But you've gotta ask her about it yourself)" Williams and others who I will announce one I make sure of the complete lineup!

The Sound of Silence

Yup, it's been mighty quiet here, not due to lack of developments though. Just so you know, I am still alive, and actually starting to get things done again. Though really, when your workbench looks like...

...how can you not be motivated?

Anyways, in terms of building:

  • Pictures of me dismantling an OhMiBod unit - Hope to have a full article up on this (review as well as repackaging guide) soon.
  • In what was one of the few complete and total "me as fanboy" experiences I've had since I started this site, I finally got to go to a Battery Boys session with Uncle Abdul (the man that wrote the book on estim play) and built my very own TENS unit!
  • Work on the SexBox vWhateverTheHellTheLastVersionWasPlusOne is slowly coming back, I'm starting from scratch again because I'm getting to the point where I can learn from my old mistakes of having no clue what the fuck I was doing and hopefully not repeat them
  • Been in contact with the boys over at MaleBots, who've been crankin' out new material like a machine! cringe

And for those of you that were not aware from the multiple references to it on the page, I live in San Francisco now, and am always up for meeting other builders or whatever. Drop me an email at the tips address.

No word on when steady updates will return, just depends on how life goes. But believe me, I'm tryin'.