Nintendo Wii and Rancilio Silvia: Two Top Technologies United
I was browsing the net today, looking for what’s hot and what’s not with espresso machines this month, and I found a You Tube video by Tim Hirzel who actually merged a semi-automatic Rancilio Silvia with a Wii Nunchuck.
His hybrid espresso machine incorporates an Arduino Microcontroller board which is used to modify different variables of the brewing process, such as the temperature of the water.
Inside the Silvia, Hirzel installed a capacity sensor for the water level, a temperature sensor, a real time clock and three buried solid state relays. On the outside, he has integrated an LCD display which lets him see the water temperature, the shot time and the low water alarm. It serves as an iterface for him to set those variables via the Wii Nunchuck.
My favorite part of the video is when Hirzel uses the Wii Nunchuck to start brewing his espresso and stop the water flow.
Wow! An espresso prepared by a Wii Nunchuck: I SO need to get my brother to set that up for me!
See the video by Tim Hirzel:
Arduino and Silvia: A Tangled Affair
