Web Design & Consulting – RecoveryOneOnOneInc.com
This project was a pressure doing and it turned out beautiful. This website I created with the client gives this business a home Online where existing and potential new client can easily find out what they offer, how they offer their services and give users easy access to contact information and forms along with signup information and forms.
The site is completely responsive to give users the same look and feel on any device and sized screen. Elegantly, the website elements and photos will slide and fade into view while scrolling scrolling through sections.
The underlying code running the content management system here is WordPress. WordPress is an Open-Source content management system using PHP and MySQL. It has a very large following and support in the Open-Source community and makes for a perfect fit in this situation.
If they required more of a databased system and customizations I may have considered rolling my own web application for them. This wasn’t necessary and time and budget were a major factor as they had a major class event starting at the beginning of the year. There were extensive customizations within the WordPress template and plugins to achieve the look and feel the client had envisioned.
Please take a look at RecoveryOneOnOneInc.com and consider Joe for your next tech project.
Contact Joe Today!
The BarBot – Touchscreen Automated Drink Maker
I’ve been working with 3D printers for a while now. Watching them move and print can be mesmerizing. I wanted to make a fun gadget that would demonstrate my skills and create an interactive conversation piece for a party. Hence The BarBot. It’s not a new idea but, I knew I could do it better than most that I’ve seen online and take it a step or two further.
My BarBot features two stepper motors to create linear actuation in two directions; Move the drink from bottle to bottle and dispense the ingredients. I wanted to keep it as simple as possible. Along with the motors there are two end switches to home the motors so they know their positions. I designed and printed all the plastic parts. The horizontal linear actuator is a single steal rail with two rail guides. eBay Link to Steal Rails
Also my dispensers measure one shot every time. Making it do half shots and quarter shots is much tricker. Here’s a link to those racks where I used two for 12 bottles. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Q42XL9Q
I have an Arduino Uno controlling the motors and acting as the I/O controller. From there I have the Uno connected via USB Serial to the Raspberry Pi. Connected to the Raspberry Pi is a 7″ touchscreen and a 1080p Camera with an extended ribbon cable for camera placement.
The main brains (RasPi) boots up directly to my custom application that holds the drink database, system state (making drink, current ingredient, motors homed, etc), and real-time communication to the motors. I developed the applications using Javascript with Node.JS, C programming language, Socket.IO and JSON.
This project is intended to demonstrate my Software, Electrical, Mechanical and Automation skills. I hope you like it. I am still adding more features and fine tuning the system. Stay tuned for more. Check out my YouTube Channel for updates. https://www.youtube.com/c/ConsultingjoeOnline
VR Supervisor Software Solution
Here was a solution I created for computer management problem. My client tasked me with creating a management tool to control his Virtual Reality systems. I was able to do just that; I created a server/client control software that allows the staff to control a single VR station or all eight stations at once. It allows the user to start or end a VR application. Other features include a timer with audible indications and WiFi LED integration.
Software Platform – Node.JS – JavaScript
I wrote the applications with NodeJS, a popular server-side JavaScript runtime built on Chrome’s V8 JavaScript engine. Companies like Netflix, LinkedIn, PayPal, eBay and even NASA use NodeJS to solve problems and make tasks more efficient. NASA even uses NodeJS to decrease the number of procedural steps from 28 to 7 in processing data to ensure astronauts stay safe and alive. Learn more about the EVA Space Suits at NASA’s website. (NASA Reference)
More Features
There is no limit to how many VR stations my software can support. They would just fill-in the content window of the admin console page and they would all subscribe to a real-time network connection. You can choose to adjust the volume of an individual station or all eight stations at once. You can select colors, modes and patterns for the projector screen’s WiFi backlit LEDs. The same LEDs integrate with the timer system to alert staff and players that time is running out. From then, time could be extended or the system can be configured to automatically terminate the active game or application. The VR Supervisor will also index configured folders for available executable applications to allow the staff to select and end only installed applications.
Consulting Joe for Your Next Idea
Moral here is reach out to bring your ideas to life. I can make both tangible and intangible products, or both that work seamlessly together. So Consult Joe Today.
Also check out: http://gammavr.com/
Siri Enabled Toilet Flusher
This was a fun project just because. My friend gave me a challenge a while back to see if I could flush my toilet with Siri. So I did. Here’s How.
Above is a video demonstration. Basically I used and Arduino Yún. Can check them out here: https://store.arduino.cc/usa/arduino-yun
They have since retired this product. It was a $75 microprocessor with a Linux SoC or System on a Chip. It included wifi and bridge software to link the Arduino Microprocessor with the Linux computer. Using that I wrote a virtual home automation device that was called, Toilet Flusher. Then you just ask Siri to, “Turn on the Toilet Flusher”, and voila.
Check out the ConsultingJoe YouTube Channel for More!
https://www.youtube.com/c/ConsultingjoeOnline
Home Automation Bridge for iOS & Indigo Home Automation
Here’s a cool example of some of my software engineering experience and problem solving. I wanted to control my Christmas Tree lights with my Apple Watch and Siri. The problem was my home automation software didn’t support HomeKit, yet. So I did some research and found a piece of software that allowed you to create virtual home automation devices.
My home automation platform and software is a Mac and Indigo Home Automation, the best home automation software on the Mac hands down. So at the time, Indigo didn’t support my Siri commands through HomeKit. I was able to create a fairly simple script that would create a dynamic passthrough of home automation commands on Siri with home automation devices on Indigo. It would map the device and action so when you say, “Turn on the Christmas Tree Lights”, my script would receive the commands then ask Indigo using AppleScript to turn on the Christmas Tree Lights’ device. AppleScript is Apple’s plain english like programming language.
Below is a video demonstration and the open-source code to try it for yourself.
Open Source: https://github.com/jsammarco/IndigoHomekitBridge
Check out The ConsultingJoe YouTube Channel for More.
http://www.youtube.com/c/ConsultingjoeOnline
Great Web Tool For Screen Calibration
Below is a great web tool to see just where on the screen you are tapping for touch screen devices like the Raspberry Pi single board PC. I needed to rotate my display 90* along with the touch interface so I had to find the right combination of x-y invertion settings to get it right. This is mostly for me in the future and anyone else who might find it useful.
~ConsultingJoe
3D Design and Printing – Child Invented Board Game
3D modeling and printing is just another way for me to be able to create. It’s a growing field for me. Below are photos from a fun project I did back in 2018 for a grade school student looking to make a permanent version of their prototyped board game for a school project and completion. The prize was the chance to get your game made for real! The winners game would be considered in the creation, marketing and retail with a board game company. How fun?!
I was excited to help with the project. The student and her father already had the game created. It was made from Styrofoam and it was not easily cleanable as it required goo that would go on the board game and needed to be cleaned off and all the goo to be reused. The Styrofoam did not make that easy. So they found Consulting Joe on Google and called. I was able to get a bit more creative and product a foldable plastic donut, which was the game board. I also created different colored game pieces and a more professional looking game top that was secured with packing tape. This was still a prototype of a product and a grade schoolers project along with a limited budget. We were happy all around with results of the project.
If you have ideas about a prototype product or something you would like 3D printed, please contact Consulting Joe.
Web Design – PremierDistributor.com
This site is designed to promote mobile accessories to gas stations, minimarts and tobacco shops to become a reseller and profit from a managed system of displays, inventory and product support.
The system includes a custom calculator to show potential profits from investing in a mobile accessory resale venture. Below is a snapshot of the custom financial calculator.
Web Design – WeFixPhones.co
WeFixPhones is a customer facing site marketing mobile device repair. The site is also a repair tracking system. It manages repair parts, inventory reorders and profit/loss calculations.
The system allows employees to securely transport mobile devices and customer accessories like attached memory cards and cases systematically with pickup and transfer tracking to know the status of the repair throughout the process.
