Sounds like you're looking for an electromyography (EMG) sensor. It measures the electrical activity of a muscle. You can use one to turn on a LED when the muscle flexes and turn it off when it's relaxed.

Sparkfun just added one as a new product: https://www.sparkfun.com/products/11776

Hey all,

We just posted a new tutorial on Instructables.com that uses our 3rd generation muscle sensors, Adafruit's Wave Shield and an Arduino to build an Iron Man repulsor that's controlled with your muscle electricity. Simply flex your forearm to charge up the repulsor (with sound effects from the movie) then relax to fire and flash the LEDs in the glove. When you turn the system on, you'll hear JARVIS talking you through the boot up sequence.

You can find the complete instructions on how to build your own here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Bionic-Iron-Man-Armor-w-Sound-Effects/

Now for the eye candy...

Let me know if you have any questions.

Cheers,
Brian

Hi, how did you get the HID module into mouse mode? I'm struggling to figure out how to connect it to my PC and get it into command mode. Can you post simple instructions?

Thanks!

Unfortunately, no but we do ship internationally.

Advancer Technologies is proud to announce our next generation Muscle (EMG) Sensor. Our second generation sensor has shrunk to a remarkable 1in x 1in in size, now in the realm for wearable and mobile electronics. Not only has this new line of sensor dropped down in size but, thanks to our new fabrication partner, the price has dropped by 20% as well.

Find out more information about this new cutting-edge sensor over in our shop!
http://www.advancertechnologies.com/p/muscle-emg-sensor-v2.html

Does anyone know of any online projects where someone has managed to control their Wii with an Arduino + Bluetooth combo? Everything I've found has to do with getting the Wii remote to interact with your computer/Arduino which is the opposite of what I'm looking for.

Thanks,
Brian

Advancer Technologies’ “USB Biofeedback Game Controller” http://www.instructables.com/id/USB-Biofeedback-Game-Controller/ harnesses the power of electromyography to allow players to directly control video games with their muscles. At the core of this plug-in-play controller is the powerful yet low-cost Arduino UNO microcontroller, a favorite among hobbyist and students, acting as a HID keyboard interface. Integrated with the Arduino UNO are four of Advancer Technologies’ new Platinum Series Muscle Sensors, allowing four muscles to act independently or in combination with each other to control over four buttons. In their setup, Advancer Technologies elected to use a six button setup with the left forearm controlling the B button (RUN/ATTACK), the right forearm controlling the A button (JUMP), the left bicep controlling the LEFT button, the right bicep controlling the RIGHT button, and combinations for UP and DOWN.

During gameplay, the Arduino UNO program constantly senses the muscle activity of each muscle via the muscle sensors. When the player flexes a muscle, the Arduino registers a spike in muscle activity, triggering a button press, and sends this information to the computer via USB connection, all in real-time.

You can learn how to build your own controller by reading Advancer Technologies’ easy to follow tutorial posted on Instructables.com http://www.instructables.com/id/USB-Biofeedback-Game-Controller/ and their website http://www.advancertechnologies.com/p/tutorials.html. These illustrated instructions go through each step in detail to reproduce and program this remarkable controller.

@AdvancerTechnologies:

Please don't cross-post.

Sorry about that. I figured a product announcement post and a DIY instructions post wouldn't be considered cross-posting.

That's cool!

It would be nice to see a picture of a raw waveform. It's unclear to me if it's outputting an envelope of the rectified EMG waveform, or if it's the actual EMG waveform.

If it's the raw waveform, I'm definitely getting one.

Thanks! The Vout pin on the circuit board outputs the envelope of the EMG signal. However, the circuit itself can easily be modified to output the amplified EMG waveform... simply take out the rectifier and low pass filter portions of the circuit.

Hey All,

We've just posted step-by-step instructions and a demo video on how to build your own muscle (EMG) sensors compatible with Arduino microcontrollers. Use it to control video games, robot arms, etc.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Muscle-EMG-Sensor-for-a-Microcontroller/

Snippet of the intro...
"Measuring muscle activation via electric potential, referred to as electromyography (EMG) , has traditionally been used for medical research and diagnosis of neuromuscular disorders. However, with the advent of ever shrinking yet more powerful microcontrollers and integrated circuits, EMG sensors have found their way into prosthetics, robotics and other control systems. Yet, EMG systems remain expensive and mostly outside the grasp of modern hobbyist."

Hope you find the instructions useful. Don't hesitate to let us know if you have any questions of need any help building a sensor for  your next project!

Brian Kaminski
Advancer Technologies
AdvancerTechnologies@gmail.com
www.AdvancerTechnologies.com

Hey All,

Advancer Technologies is now selling  low-cost muscle (EMG) sensors to be used with Arduino microcontrollers. These sensors are designed to be used by hobbyist, backyard tinkerers and students alike.

Purchase yours today and have your next project be controlled by your muscles!

http://www.advancertechnologies.com/p/muscle-sensors.html

Also, we like to promote all forms of interest and learning into biomedical technologies. To help culture and educate future great minds and concepts in the field, we've just posted step-by-step instructions and a demo video on how to build your own muscle (EMG) sensors compatible with Arduino microcontrollers.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Muscle-EMG-Sensor-for-a-Microcontroller/

Snippet of the intro...
"Measuring muscle activation via electric potential, referred to as electromyography (EMG) , has traditionally been used for medical research and diagnosis of neuromuscular disorders. However, with the advent of ever shrinking yet more powerful microcontrollers and integrated circuits, EMG sensors have found their way into prosthetics, robotics and other control systems. Yet, EMG systems remain expensive and mostly outside the grasp of modern hobbyist. Until now..."

Hope you find the instructions useful. Don't hesitate to let us know if you have any questions of need any help building a sensor for  your next project!

Brian Kaminski
Advancer Technologies
AdvancerTechnologies@gmail.com
www.AdvancerTechnologies.com

Hey All,

We like to promote all forms of interest and learning into biomedical technologies. To help culture and educate future great minds and concepts in the field, we've just posted step-by-step instructions and a demo video on how to build your own muscle (EMG) sensors compatible with Arduino microcontrollers. Use it to control video games, robot arms, etc.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Muscle-EMG-Sensor-for-a-Microcontroller/

Snippet of the intro...
"Measuring muscle activation via electric potential, referred to as electromyography (EMG) , has traditionally been used for medical research and diagnosis of neuromuscular disorders. However, with the advent of ever shrinking yet more powerful microcontrollers and integrated circuits, EMG sensors have found their way into prosthetics, robotics and other control systems. Yet, EMG systems remain expensive and mostly outside the grasp of modern hobbyist."

Hope you find the instructions useful. Don't hesitate to let us know if you have any questions of need any help building a sensor for  your next project!

Brian Kaminski
Advancer Technologies
AdvancerTechnologies@gmail.com
www.AdvancerTechnologies.com