Lifehacker recognition for Pomfret School senior Bill Wong

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Pomfret School senior Bill Wong, whose design for a windshield-mounted speedometer has been published on the Lifehacker website

POMFRET, CT (11/22/2013)(readMedia)-- Not having the kind of built-in light display in his 2004 Toyota that would report how fast he was going without having to take his eyes off the road (to look down at his speedometer), last year Pomfret School senior Bill Wong, a day student from North Grosvenordale, decided to make one. He submitted the idea as a spring term Independent Study project, and within a month he had one mounted on the windshield of his car. Over the summer he submitted his successful project to Lifehacker.com, and to his great credit, recently got word that it had been published on the Lifehacker website.

No small feat: self-described as a "daily weblog on software and personal productivity," Lifehacker is an interactive website for tinkerers and techno-wizards always trying to build the better mousetrap. Among its popular features is its selective sharing of members' projects.

"I researched, constructed, and installed mine in approximately one month on a 2004 Toyota," he explained in his blog. With materials ranging from cardboard and duct tape to an Arduino microcontroller, in five simple steps and offering helpful instructions ("It's a relatively cheap and easy project, but you'll need some soldering experience"), he walked fellow DIYers through the process. When done, he recorded his test drive-where one can see that he stayed well within the speed limit.

Fellow hackers were impressed. "Totally awesome," said one." Another: "This is pretty neat. Nice Tip."

If your car doesn't already have a head up speedometer display, you can build one by following Bill's project at http://lifehacker.com/how-to-build-a-heads-up-display-for-your-car-1129913775.