Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Man Creates Open Source Flashlight

Posted by samzenpus on from the things-we-don't-need dept.

DeviceGuru writes "Not content with revealing the source code to his mom's banana bread, two-time BattleBots champion Christian Carlberg has developed an open source flashlight. Carlberg first achieved notoriety shredding competitors' robots with Minion's 14-inch saw blade on BattleBots. Now he's all fired up to begin shipping what they say could be the 'world's first open source flashlight.' But why in the world would you want a reprogrammable flashlight?"

22 of 172 comments (clear)

  1. Why would I what a reprogrammable flashlight? by Missing.Matter · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well one that looks like this, I can think of a couple uses for it...

    1. Re:Why would I what a reprogrammable flashlight? by Rob+the+Bold · · Score: 2

      Well one that looks like this, I can think of a couple uses for it...

      No! No! No! TMI!

      --
      I am not a crackpot.
    2. Re:Why would I what a reprogrammable flashlight? by Missing.Matter · · Score: 2

      I meant using it as the hilt for a sword. What were you thinking?

    3. Re:Why would I what a reprogrammable flashlight? by Hatta · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'd want one with a wireless beacon so I can find it if I lose it. I've lost half a dozen maglites throughout the years.

      --
      Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
    4. Re:Why would I what a reprogrammable flashlight? by QuasiSteve · · Score: 4, Informative

      Huh, when I read the headline I assumed the CAD files for the housing, electronics, etc would all be available.

      From one of Christian's comments:

      We are thinking about releasing the drawing for the body ("open source") so folks like you can design whatever accessories you want for it.

      Also, in response to the following question:

      Is it just the source code that is open source, or is the PCB/Schematic also open source?

      He answered:

      We think we are going to lead a paradigm shift in the flashlight world and open it all up.

      So, yes, it does appear that he's planning on making it 100% open source.

    5. Re:Why would I what a reprogrammable flashlight? by vlm · · Score: 3, Funny

      I meant using it as the hilt for a sword.

      Great, just what we needed, a new euphemism for that activity.

      --
      "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
    6. Re:Why would I what a reprogrammable flashlight? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      My initial reaction was... "Who the hell wants a programmable flashlight?" I already have several maglites around the house now - durable, fairly rugged, and bright. But then... the batteries often die, and the bulbs often get weaker. This looks like a pretty good improvement.

      So I pledged $220 to the project. Four programmable lights, 500 lumens, rechargeable, heavy duty bar stock casing? Yes please - 2 for camping, 1 for the house, 1 for the car. A persuasive pitch, and it looks like a heck of a product.

    7. Re:Why would I what a reprogrammable flashlight? by Stormwatch · · Score: 4, Informative

      Not a new euphemism at all. Mind you, "vagina" is the Latin word for "scabbard".

      --
      Circumcision is child abuse.
    8. Re:Why would I what a reprogrammable flashlight? by thcooke77 · · Score: 5, Informative

      We have decided to make the light 100% open source. Mechanical, Electrical, and Software will all be released. Terry Cooke @Hexbright

    9. Re:Why would I what a reprogrammable flashlight? by QuasiSteve · · Score: 2

      That's interesting, I guess, but that sort of thing is trivial to reverse engineer if you wanted to change the design.

      Absolutely. But it's far more trivial to load a CAD file than to re-trace one. Be that the 3D CAD for the housing or the PCB cad for the board.

      If I'm going to make a or alter flashlight, the only reason I would do so is if there isn't one close to what I needed, and I'd make my own design because it's not complicated to start from scratch here.

      But it would take you much more effort and probably cost you more (see the economies of scale argument).

      Then again.. you sell (among other) small bars of metal with standard shoe mounts and tightening knobs for a pretty $60.
      http://shop.dm-accessories.com/products/uni-sab
      So I'm guessing that both reverse engineering and pricing wouldn't be an issue for you :)

    10. Re:Why would I what a reprogrammable flashlight? by torgis · · Score: 2

      Reprogrammable flashlight? Useless. Reprogrammable fleshlight? Priceless.

  2. Good Idea by DaMattster · · Score: 2

    The idea is really a good one because, as the embedded videos in the article point out, not everyone has the same needs for a flashlight. The product allows customization through your computer. I really like the idea that you can charge the light over USB and program it too. This product really defines the saying, "Build a better mousetrap and world will beat a path to your door."

    1. Re:Good Idea by QuasiSteve · · Score: 2

      I'm not really sure I like that idea. My uses for flashlights tend to be a) camping, and b) when the power goes out. Unfortunately with USB charging I would get one charge's worth of use in those situations.

      http://www.google.com/search?q=mobile+phone+charger+aa

      With regular old batteries I can replace them to infinity, and if I forgot some I can pick them up at a gas station on my way to the woods.

      See again above. Alternatively, note that there are two different HexBrights. The HexBright Prime uses CR123a batteries which convenience stores in the U.S. stock as far as I was able to tell (not so common in Europe).
      The 18650 used in the HexBright Flex is less common, but I would be surprised if there wouldn't be some manner of solution for that.

      Keep in mind also that the design of the HexBright, as far as I know, is not set in stone just yet. So if you're saying "what if I want to power it directly from AA batteries?", get Christian's thoughts on that. He's been very responsive through the kickstarter project page.

    2. Re:Good Idea by nschubach · · Score: 2

      Sure, but there are already portable USB chargers for use with cell phones so you could plug your light into one of those in a pinch. You could also charge the flashlight from a cigarette lighter. Sure, it's carrying more batteries but there are tradeoffs to everything.

      --
      Every time I start to have faith in humanity, I ruin it by driving to work between 7 and 8 am.
    3. Re:Good Idea by Abstrackt · · Score: 2

      If you're worried about batteries just get a flashlight with a crank or one of those ones you shake to charge. You can also apply some glow in the dark paint so the flashlight glows if and when the power goes out.

      --
      They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it's not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Terry Pratchett
    4. Re:Good Idea by vlm · · Score: 2

      With regular old batteries I can replace them to infinity, and if I forgot some I can pick them up at a gas station on my way to the woods.

      I think you still don't get it... When my flashlight does dark, I can have light again in about 30 to 60 seconds because I have a pack of AA batteries waiting for it, or whatever other AA powered device runs out of juice. If it takes overnight to charge off my car, that kinda defeats the purpose of using a flashlight at night while backpack camping... Also a lovely circular fail mode when using the flashlight to see what I'm doing while jumpstarting my car in the dark, if I had the juice to charge the light so I could see what I was jumpstarting, I wouldn't need the jumpstart, or if it takes overnight to charge so I can see what I'm doing, I could wait overnight for it to charge, except that the sun usually rises in the morning, so why not skip charging and use solar light to see what I'm doing...

      Its the electric car needs charging argument all over again. But instead of being a huge energy hog worthy of a microscopic level of effort to work around, its ... just a flashlight.

      --
      "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
  3. Re:Well by QuasiSteve · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Program it to do whatever you want?

    give it a strobe function, a slow fade in function, an SOS function, set the levels of lighting the way you want them and not the manufacturer default of "off / barely bright enough to find my way around the house at night / ARGH MY EYES", etc.

    Add further capabilities with RGB version down the line.

    Also, I wouldn't be surprised if some of the data pins on the microcontroller go unused and if he's smart-ish, he'll break those out for you so you can hook up sensors.

    Alternatively, perhaps you can work through the existing USB interface, though that requires more work on your part.

  4. Did anyone else... by Mongoose+Disciple · · Score: 2

    Did anyone else read this headline as "Man Creates Open Source Fleshlight"?

    Because man, what a different article that would be.

  5. Re:BSD? GPL? Apache?? Hardware too or just SW? by QuasiSteve · · Score: 2

    From one of Christian's comments:

    We are thinking about releasing the drawing for the body ("open source") so folks like you can design whatever accessories you want for it.

    Note that he will be using stock components for some bits of the hardware. It's not up to him to 'open source' the microcontoller or Cree's LED solutions, for example. So in that manner of speaking, no, it's not 100% open source. Nor is a typical computer running Linux. But anybody can build a Linux-capable machine without knowing how to build a CPU and if you'd want, you can build your own HexBright without knowing how to build an LED.

  6. Re:Need More Information by NixieBunny · · Score: 2

    As someone who "does acquirement for aviation" (most of us call that purchasing), you should know that he'd need a Lockheed Martin behind him to create all the paperwork you just listed. And the price would go to $300 apiece.

    --
    The determined Real Programmer can write Fortran programs in any language.
  7. All unused pins will be accessible by thcooke77 · · Score: 3, Informative

    All of the unused pins will be accessible in some manner! The design of the Hexbright Flex will be 100% hackable! Terry Cooke Electrical and Mechanical Engineer @Hexbright

  8. Re:Light Plus Communication? by thcooke77 · · Score: 2

    Funny you should say arduino, I specifically choose the Atmega88/168 so that it would be easy in the near future to make it "Arduino Compatible". The initial release will use a boot-loader that could eventually be used with the Arduino IDE. Terry @ Hexbright