If you have a data source (like a weather report, bus schedule, or other changing data set) you can pull it and display it with an ambient data monitor; this fun build combines a hacked Linksys router and a modified toy bus to display transit arrival times.

John Graham-Cumming wanted to keep an eye on the current bus arrival time tables without constantly visiting the web site to check them. His workaround turns a hacked Linksys router, a display, a modified London city bus (you could hack apart a more project-specific enclosure, of course), and a simple bit code that polls the bus schedule’s API, into a cool ambient data monitor that displays the arrival time, in minutes, of the next two buses that will pass by his stop.

The whole thing could easily be adapted to another API to display anything from stock prices to weather temps. Hit up the link below for more information on the project.

Ambient Bus Arrival Monitor Hacked from Linksys Router [via Make]

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