Homemade Kickstarter spectrometers for $ 35

The Public Labs organization, which promotes science and Open Source tools, launched another project: this time, they began selling home-made spectrometers for $ 35 from a piece of DVD-R, black paper, a VHS box and an HD USB webcam.

With the help of such a device, anyone can analyze materials at home with a resolution of 3-10 nm in the range of 400-900 nm at home - and replenish the global Open Source database of materials , which also creates Public Labs.

For domestic purposes, the spectrometer is useful for checking the true composition of products, searching for impurities: for example, dyes in washing powder or studying the original spectrum of fine wines .

DIY Spectrometer Design
Step-by-step assembly instructions (video below)



In addition to DIY kits, on Kickstarter you can order a stand-alone spectrometer for $ 300, already calibrated, complete with a powerful broad-spectrum lamp and Petri dishes. The nice design of the appliance will look good in a wine bar or restaurant where visitors can check the composition of the served dishes. Spectral Workbench has



also been developed for Android mobile phones, but it only works in the Opera browser, the only mobile browser that has implemented MediaStream API support. Public Labs has already carried out one successful Kickstarter campaign by selling a batch of DIY balloon kits to mount the camera

. There is a section on the Public Labs website where all users can upload terrain maps they shot, automatically gluing fragments and linking them to the coordinate grid. By the way, Google uses this open data, introducing the most successful photo shoots of users on Google Earth .