url stringlengths 37 208 | title stringlengths 4 148 | author stringclasses 173
values | publish_date stringclasses 1
value | categories listlengths 0 12 | tags listlengths 0 27 | featured_image stringlengths 0 272 | content stringlengths 0 56.1k | comments_count int64 0 900 | scraped_comments_count int64 0 50 | comments listlengths 0 50 | scraped_at float64 1.76B 1.76B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/23/micro-robots-are-scary-awesome/ | Micro-Robots Are Scary Awesome | James Hobson | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"darpa",
"micro-robots"
] | A team of scientists at SRI international are creating
real-life replicators from Star Gate SG1
— micro-robots capable of smart (and scary!) manufacturing. Thousands working in parallel will be able to achieve tasks previously unheard of, in a completely compact and integrated system.
These tiny ant-like robot systems are magnetically controlled and can use tools, move at incredible speeds, and
swarm
over surfaces. SRI’s vision was “to have an army of ants under your control”. It’s actually been an ongoing project since the 1990’s — but a recent undisclosed chunk of funding from DARPA has helped accelerate the project — giving it a new title of the
MicroFactory for Macro Products project.
You have to see the video to believe it. Potential applications for these tiny swarm-bots include precise pick & place manufacturing, micro bio-technology, electronics manufacturing, and even rapid prototyping of high quality parts.
We get shivers just watching them slide around effortlessly on almost any surface.
[Thanks Matthew!] | 48 | 24 | [
{
"comment_id": "1374165",
"author": "makapuf",
"timestamp": "2014-04-23T20:16:55",
"content": "This is old tech. Look at this :http://goo.gl/KmoQKvDoozer construction from 1985. And those constructions aren’t even edible. Meh.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
... | 1,760,376,225.127408 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/23/getting-your-feet-wet-with-programmable-system-on-chip/ | Video: Getting Your Feet Wet With Programmable System On Chip | Bil Herd | [
"ARM",
"Featured"
] | [
"arm",
"bil herd",
"Cypress PSOC",
"hackaday",
"ide",
"Programmable System on Chip",
"video"
] | Ever since I received my
PSOC 4 Pioneer kit from Cypress
I have wanted to play with this little mixed-signal Programmable System-on-Chip (PSOC) developer board. I love developer boards, providing that they are priced in a way to entice me to not only open my wallet but also make time in a busy schedule. I think my kit was free after winning a swag bag from
Adafruit
that they themselves obtained at the Open Hardware Summit and gave away on their weekly
streamcast
. Ultimately it was the invitation to beta test
datasheet.net
which also was included in that pile of swag that led to my getting involved with Hackaday.
What is Programmable System On Chip?
So what is a PSOC 4? A quick summary is that it’s based on an
ARM Cortex
reduced instruction set processor (
RISC)
and is somewhat capable of supporting shields based on the Arduino footprint, and it also uses a bright red PCB that I have come to associate with a
Sparkfun
PCB. What doesn’t show is the fact that this programmable system on chip has programmable analog function blocks in addition to programmable digital logic blocks. There is also some supporting input/output circuitry such as a multicolored LED and a capacitive touch sensor directly on the PCB.
PSCO4 Development Board on Hackaday
This is an intriguing amount of programmability, so much so that Newark/Element 14 highlighted a “
100 projects in 100 days
” event on it.
Enter the IDE
Over the years I have had to create or install many Integrated Development Environments (
IDE)
that linked hardware to software. Knowing that you had to, and how to, implement an IDE was part of being an engineer. Nowadays with the
Arduino
type environment the user has an IDE pretty much as soon as they click on the executable which I find to be one of the best aspects of the genre. It was so quick in fact that I was able to get my teenaged son into writing his first program even before he remembered to do massive eye-rolls and make sounds of utter disdain. He did give up however, just shy of learning how to have the Arduino make sounds of disdain on his behalf.
Closeup of a Programmable System on Chip Development System
Love Your Developer Board
PSOC Creator 3.0 Integrated Development Environment
So here is why I love cheap developer boards, you have standard hardware that in theory is already working, and demonstration projects are readily available to feed the IDE. Loading untested software code into a project that probably has hardware issues can present a bit of a challenge. Starting with either hardware or software that is already known to be working is a big plus as you don’t necessarily have to troubleshoot the difference between a jump out of bounds of the memory map or a blown address line, or both.
Setting up the IDE consists of downloading and installing
PSoC Creator 3.0
from the Cypress website and clicking execute; I usually click “run as administrator” just because I can and it makes me feel superlative as if I have a role to play.
As mentioned above, Newark hosted a 100 Projects event and I have decided to try circuit #2 as a way of exercising all of the steps from selection and compiling to download and use. Simply put this example changes the color of the multicolor LED based on where the user touches the capacitive sensor.
Build and Run
Compiling and running the example was accomplished by a rapid-fire succession of mouse clicks, with the only pause being for the “clean and build” step. A quick click on “Debug” and the “Program” completes the process and a quick test showed the color of the LED changing based on where the capsense (capacitive sense) slider gets touched. At this point both analog and digital components have been included and configured based on a one sheet schematic.
Post-build Pinout of PSCO4 on Hackaday
So why do this? What is the significance of having analog compiled along with digital when the user can just utilize an add-on solder-less breadboard? The answerer is that you absolutely could implement the same designs using external analog components, especially since not all circuits can be realized with the PSOC architecture. However if you are into having more than one screwdriver in the box you will appreciate this version of having multiple answers to a problem. You might like the fact that you can re-implement a design by just pulling it from disc and not have to rebuild the solder-less breadboard (or keep the circuit built for two months in case you might need it, which you do 3.45 months later)
You may also appreciate the cleanliness of a design where most of the support circuitry is tucked up in the chip itself, not to mention real life issues with noise and reliability.
Or you might like it because it is kind of cool to compile analog.
In my case I think it’s kind of cool. | 33 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "1373820",
"author": "arachnidster",
"timestamp": "2014-04-23T17:35:16",
"content": "Nice post! A couple of things worth noting:– The PSoC 4 MCUs are on special for the next few months for $1 each!– The PSoC 5 is substantially more powerful, particularly when it comes to analog, than... | 1,760,376,225.217237 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/23/thermoformer/ | TherMOFOrmer | Brian Benchoff | [
"Crowd Funding",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"thermoformer",
"vacuum thermoformer"
] | 3D printers are the tool of choice for all the hackerspaces we’ve been to, and laser cutters take a close second. There’s another class of plastic manipulating machines that doesn’t get enough credit with the hackerspace crowd – the vacuum thermoformer. Surprisingly, there haven’t been many – if any – vacuum formers on Kickstarter.
Until now, that is.
[Ben] and [Calvin] are the guys behind the MOFO, and built their machine around ease of use and reliability. After a few prototypes, they settled on their design of aluminum extrusion for the frame, a ceramic heating element for the heater, and an off-the-shelf PID controller for the electronics.
The MOFO has so far been tested with polycarbonate, acrylic, PETG and styrene with good results. The Kickstarter has reward levels of $500 for a 12″x12″ work area, and $1000 for a 24″x24″ work area. That’s not too bad, and building your own similar thermoformer would probably cost just as much. Just the thing if you need to print out a few dozen sets of storm trooper armor. | 24 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "1373215",
"author": "Waterjet",
"timestamp": "2014-04-23T14:05:20",
"content": "That’s not too bad, and building your own similar thermoformer would probably cost just as much.Uhh.Wat.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1373236",... | 1,760,376,225.558152 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/26/3d-printing-homes-in-less-than-24-hours-using-recycled-materials/ | 3D Printing Homes In Less Than 24 Hours Using Recycled Materials | James Hobson | [
"3d Printer hacks"
] | [
"3d printed buildings",
"3d printed house",
"WinSun"
] | While many 3D printer companies are racing towards smaller and smaller accurate printers, a company in China called the Shanghai WinSun Decoration Design Engineering Company is experimenting with
a monstrous 3D printer
the size of half of an Olympic sized swimming pool.
The mammoth of a printer measures 32m by 10m by 6.6m and can print 200sqf detached single story homes. The printer uses FDM technology and deposits a mixture of cement and construction waste to build the walls. According to the company, it can cost less than $5000 a house, and the printer can spit out
10
houses a day!
The printer was designed a few years ago, and WinSun purchased the parts for it from overseas, and then had it assembled in a factory in Suzhou. They plan to print an entire villa of these homes, and to start building recycling facilities in China to collect material for use in the printer. The first home for sale will be located in Qingdao.
Using FDM technology it is possible to lay down a truss support system within the cement beams, saving weight and increasing strength at the same time.
It’s definitely way faster than the
KamerMaker in the Netherlands!
We’re looking at another 2-3 years before the 3D printed canal house gets built…
[Via
BBC News
, thanks Ferdinand!] | 46 | 19 | [
{
"comment_id": "1384005",
"author": "cruster",
"timestamp": "2014-04-26T23:10:40",
"content": "Can’t help but think this particular application for 3D printing is an infant technology looking for a meaningful application. I’ll stick with plastic parts for the time being.",
"parent_id": null,
... | 1,760,376,225.308466 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/26/4-bit-adder-built-from-mechanical-relays/ | 4-bit Adder Built From Mechanical Relays | Mike Szczys | [
"computer hacks"
] | [
"adder",
"full adder",
"logic",
"mechanical",
"relay"
] | Would you consider this to be doing math the old-fashioned way? Instead of going with silicon-based switching (ie: transistors) this
4-bit adder uses mechanical relays
. We like it for its mess of wires (don’t miss the “assembly” page which is arguably the juiciest part of the project). We like it for the neat and tidy finished product. And we like it for the clicky-goodness which surely must bloom from its operation; but alas, we didn’t find a video to stand as testament to this hypothesis.
The larger of the two images seen above is from the register memory stage of the build. The black relay in the bottom right is joined by a ring of siblings that are added around the perimeter of the larger relays before the entire thing is planted in the project box.
Sure, simulators are a great way to understand building blocks of logic structures like an adder. But there’s no better way to fully grip the abstraction of silicon logic than to build one from scratch. Still hovering on our list of “someday” projects is
this wooden adder
.
[Thanks Alex] | 20 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "1383629",
"author": "Mike Lu",
"timestamp": "2014-04-26T20:16:36",
"content": "Goodwill has an 8 bit relay computer on display in their computer museum.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1384408",
"author": "chango",
... | 1,760,376,225.438638 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/26/sink-your-teeth-into-piphone/ | Sink Your Teeth Into PiPhone | Kristina Panos | [
"Cellphone Hacks",
"Raspberry Pi"
] | [
"GSM module",
"piphone",
"raspberry pi",
"tft"
] | Have you ever dreamed of independence from smartphone bloatware? If you have a Raspberry Pi and an Adafruit TFT, you’re halfway to making your own version of
[Dave]’s PiPhone
.
This tasty proof-of-concept cellular sandwich is made by adding a
Sim900 GSM/GPRS module
, which communicates via UART, to the Pi/TFT hardware while using a piece of foam core board in the middle to prevent shorts. You won’t get free service or anything, but you can pop a pre-paid SIM card into it. He’s powering it with a
LiPo battery
and using a DC-to-DC converter to set up the 3.7V to 5V. You could do a lot worse than the $158 BOM, and we’re betting you have a Pi lying around already. We wish more phones had baby rocker switches.
There’s a slight problem with the PiPhone: it gets pretty warm and there isn’t a lot of room for air circulation. For best results, let it cool on a well-attended windowsill or operate it near a fan like [Dave] did. He doesn’t have the code up on GitHub as of this writing, but he will capitulate to high demand. Make the jump to see [Dave]’s tour of the PiPhone and watch him make a call with it.
[Thanks Polossatik for submitting this via
The Inquirer
via
Raspberry Pi Foundation
] | 37 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "1383187",
"author": "onebiozz",
"timestamp": "2014-04-26T17:08:37",
"content": "Finally a more convenient way to communicate!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1383242",
"author": "jzatopa",
"timestamp": "2014-04-26T17:35:... | 1,760,376,225.634959 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/26/small-scale-projects-use-snail-mail-mail-scale/ | Small-Scale Projects Use Snail-Mail Mail-Scale | Rich Bremer | [
"hardware"
] | [
"arduino",
"digital scales",
"scale",
"weigh"
] | Stamps.com offers a free USB scale when you sign up for their service. The first versions of this scale did not have a display. In order to find the weight of an object the scale had to be connected to a computer running the stamps.com software. If you happen to have one of these old scales or are able to pick one up cheap, you may be interested in using it outside of the stamps.com service. There are several options on how to do that.
Stamps.com Scale Tool
Although ‘stamps.com’ is in the title, the two are not affiliated. This is a simple program that displays the scales output in both ounces and grams. There are 2 modes, Realtime that constantly updates the displayed output and Snapshot where the ‘Weigh’ button records and displays the weight at that moment.
Stamps.com USB Scale Reader
Here’s another similar Windows-based scale reader program. It claims to work with all stamps.com scale models. This has a unique feature where it hangs out in the system tray and pops up when it detects a change in weight. When an amount is displayed, the 3 lower buttons let you quickly copy the values to the clipboard.
Ultimate Scale
If you don’t own a Windows-based computer and/or you would like to weigh an apple, then Ultimate Scale is for you. This Android App automatically starts when the scale is connected and proceeds to display the weight on your phone. Tapping the main weight text zeros the scale. The amount is also spoken out loud for those too lazy to use their eyes. If you know the density of the object being weighed, this app will also calculate the volume!
Still not enough options for you? We’ve previously covered an Arduino project that
displays the scale’s measurement on an LCD screen
. | 12 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "1383045",
"author": "gannon",
"timestamp": "2014-04-26T16:16:13",
"content": "I’ve also used similar USB connected scales for parts counting. You are limited to the size of parts you can measure by the resolution of the scale of course, and errors add up.",
"parent_id": null,
... | 1,760,376,225.493276 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/26/the-arduino-operating-system/ | The Arduino Operating System | Brian Benchoff | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"bus pirate",
"command line",
"MiniPirate"
] | W
hile Arduino and its libraries are the quickest way to interface with a sensor and blink an LED, sometimes you shouldn’t have to write and compile code to do something exceptionally simple. [Oliver] realized most of the overly simple functions of a microcontroller could be done from a command line running on that microcontroller and
came up with the MiniPirate
, the Arduino command line tool.
The MiniPirate is just a sketch compiled on the Arduino that allows pins to be set high or low, set a PWM value, or reading and writing I2C bytes. It’s basically an extremely slimmed down version of the Bus Pirate meant for extremely simple modifications of circuits and peripherals.
[Oliver] demos his MiniPirate by taking a DS1307 real-time clock, wiring up the I2C bus, and writing values to set the time. It’s a very simple implementation meaning he needs to write everything in hex, but it’s still easy enough to find a use in many other projects. | 19 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "1382544",
"author": "EccentricElectron",
"timestamp": "2014-04-26T12:08:18",
"content": "Cool… nice project. It’s not really an operating system though is it? It’s a “monitor” in true 70’s hacker parlance.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"co... | 1,760,376,225.36616 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/26/sci-fi-contest-roundup-thinking-4th-dimensionally/ | Sci-Fi Contest Roundup: Thinking 4th Dimensionally | Brian Benchoff | [
"contests"
] | [
"back to the future",
"Flux Capacitor",
"mr. fusion",
"sci-fi",
"sci-fi contest",
"time circuits"
] | Notwithstanding [John Titor] and his time travelling ’67 Corvette convertible, the coolest time machine on wheels has to be the DeLorean from
Back to the Future
. BTTF is apparently a very popular theme
for our sci-fi contest
, with a lot of great entries.
You mean to tell me you made a time machine? Out of a Hyundai
Accent
?
After a careful bit of research, it appears the Hyundai Accent (GLS) has both a higher top speed and faster 0-60 time than a DeLorean, and that’s before the installation of time circuits, a flux capacitor, and plutonium reactor. [docbrownjr] and [Jennifer] decided their Accent was the perfect vehicle for a time machine conversion and
decided to add a Mr. Fusion to the mix
.
Like the on-screen version, this version of a Mr. Fusion is made from a kitchen appliance. With the original Krups coffee grinder out of production, the team settled on an iced tea machine. There will, however, be copious amounts of dry ice involved, as will half-empty beer cans and banana peels.
WiFi-enabled Flux Capacitor
After knocking his head on a toilet, [Beamsjr] came up with a great idea –
a networked flux capacitor
, able to display the Teamcity build progress.
This build is going all out with custom PCBs – one for the controller board, and three for the shift registered LEDs underneath the acrylic knobbies in the flux capacitor. WiFi is provided by the TI CC3000 module, with the main microcontroller being an ATmega 328p,
Time circuits on
Honestly, we’d be a bit disappointed if this contest didn’t have a BTTF time circuit build entry. Luckily for us, [atheros] and [bwa] are on top of things
with their time circuit clock
, complete with an alarm and FM radio receiver (FM isn’t going to work in 1955, guys).
Unlike a few other time circuit builds we’ve seen over the years, the guys are doing this one up right, with 14-segment LEDs for the month display. They’re etching their own boards for this one, and it’s looking like it’ll be a very cool project when it’s complete. | 14 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "1382186",
"author": "BotherSaidPooh",
"timestamp": "2014-04-26T08:50:54",
"content": "Heh, nice!Re. flux capacitors, I have some schematics here for a modification to the infamous Russian IV series “linear neon” tubes that turns them into flux tubes.Hint:- Uses some clever winding t... | 1,760,376,225.714051 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/25/a-h-bridge-motor-controller-tutorial-makes-it-simple-to-understand/ | A H-Bridge Motor Controller Tutorial Makes It Simple To Understand | James Hobson | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"afrotechmods",
"h-bridge",
"h-bridge motor controller"
] | [Afroninja] is back with another great tutorial on basic electronics. This time around he’s explaining
H-Bridge motor controllers
and how they work!
Even if you don’t have much (or any) experience with basic electrical circuits, [Afroninja] explains the concept of an H-Bridge motor controller in a clear, concise and easy way to understand. So what’s an H-Bridge anyway? For any project using DC motors, if you want to be able to spin up the motor in either direction, you’re going to need a method to power the motor in two different configurations, i.e. you’re going to have to swap the polarity some how.
The easiest way of doing this is with an H-Bridge. It’s called an H-Bridge… because it’s shaped like an H, with the motor in the very middle. It allows both polarities to control the motor — however if you do it with just plain old switches or relays, you could short the circuit if you try going in both directions at once! To solve this, [Afroninja] explains how to poka-yoke (Japanese term for Idiot-Proof) the circuit, by using transistors which will sink the voltage if you try to abuse the circuit.
It’s a 5 minute video and well worth the watch — stick around after the break to learn more!
He’s also done a great series of
video tutorials on inductors! | 13 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1382079",
"author": "echodelta",
"timestamp": "2014-04-26T08:01:55",
"content": "Just looking at the pic, where is the “off” line?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1382215",
"author": "Brian from Denmark",
"time... | 1,760,376,225.769335 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/22/retrotectacular-the-science-of-derailing-trains/ | Retrotectacular: The Science Of Derailing Trains | Mike Szczys | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"Retrotechtacular"
] | [
"derail",
"explosives",
"train",
"world war II"
] | Look closely above and you’ll see there’s a section of track missing. There are actually two, a section from each side has been plucked out with a pair of eight-ounce plastic explosive charges — and yet the train keeps barreling onward. The World War II era reel is demonstrating some
military testing of the effect of damaged tracks on a train
. The amount of missing track the train can stand up to came as quite a surprise for us!
The test setup itself is neat. An old derelict locomotive is used. It, as well as a number of trailing cars, is pushed by a functioning engine from behind. Once up to about 26 MPH the pusher stops and the rest keep going. There are many tests, starting with just a few inches of track missing from one side. This gap is increased, then gaps are added both sides, then the two sides are offset. Even a 5-foot gap is crossed easily by the locomotive. The weak link turns out to be the empty cars. We suppose their mass is small enough that they can’t rely on inertia to keep them on the straight path.
If you don’t appreciate the destructive nature of this Retrotechtacular installment, you can still get your train fix. There is another offering which shows off
the modernization of a signaling system
.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-8gV4DJZUw
[Thanks LC]
Retrotechtacular is a weekly column featuring hacks, technology, and kitsch from ages of yore. Help keep it fresh by
sending in your ideas for future installments
. | 31 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "1370181",
"author": "ejonesss",
"timestamp": "2014-04-22T17:33:44",
"content": "here is the http versionhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-8gV4DJZUw",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1370348",
"author": "p00ky",
"timestamp":... | 1,760,376,225.835371 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/22/balints-gnu-radio-tutorials/ | [Balint]’s GNU Radio Tutorials | Brian Benchoff | [
"Radio Hacks"
] | [
"gnu radio",
"RTL-SDR",
"RTLSDR",
"sdr",
"software-defined radio"
] | [Balint] has a bit of history in dealing with software defined radios and cheap USB TV tuners turned into what would have been very expensive hardware a few years ago. Now [Balint] is finally posting a few really great
GNU Radio tutorials
, aimed at getting software defined radio beginners up and running with some of the coolest hardware around today.
[Balint] is well-known around these parts for being the first person to create a
GNU Radio source block
for the implausibly inexpensive USB TV tuners, allowing anyone with $20 and enough patience to wait for a package from China to listen in on
everything
from 22 to 2200 MHz. There’s a lot of interesting stuff happening in that band, including the ACARS messages between airliners and traffic control, something that allowed
[Balint] to play air traffic controller
with a minimal amount of hardware.
Right now the tutorials are geared towards the absolute beginner, starting at the beginning with getting GNU Radio up and running. From there the tutorials continue to receiving FM radio, and with
a small hardware investment
, even transmitting over multiple frequencies.
It’s not much of an understatement to say software defined radio is one of the most versatile and fun projects out there. [Balint] even
demonstrated triggering restaurant pagers
with a simple SDR project, a fun project that is sure to annoy his coworkers. | 15 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "1370002",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2014-04-22T16:15:33",
"content": "Now is there a way to trigger ALL the restaurant pagers at once? Because that would be incredibly fun.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1370004",
... | 1,760,376,227.032516 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/22/self-learning-helicopter-uses-neural-network/ | Self-Learning Helicopter Uses Neural Network | Will Sweatman | [
"Microcontrollers",
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"artificial intelligence",
"atmega644",
"Cornell University",
"evolutionary algorithm",
"helicopter",
"neural network"
] | Though this project uses an RC helicopter, it’s merely a vessel to demonstrate a fascinating
machine learning algorithm
developed by two Cornell students – [Akshay] and [Sergio]. The learning environment is set up with the helicopter at its center, attached to a boom. The boom restricts the helicopter’s movement down to one degree of motion, so that it can only move up from the ground (not side to side or front to back).
The goal is for the helicopter to teach itself how to get to a specific height in the quickest amount of time. A handful of IR sensors are used to tell the Atmega644 how high the helicopter is. The genius of this though, is in the firmware. [Akshay] and [Sergio] are using an evolutionary algorithm adopted from
Floreano et al
, a noted author on biological inspired artificial intelligences. The idea is for the helicopter to create random “runs” and then check the data. The runs that are closer to the goal get refined while the others are eliminated, thus mimicking evolutions’ natural selection.
We’ve seen
neural networks
before, but nothing like this. Stay with us after the break, as we take this awesome project and narrow it down so that you too can implement this type of algorithm in your next project.
Consider the image above. The goal is for the helicopter to start at Point A, go to Point C and hover. Allotted time is 10 seconds per run. It has to teach itself how to do this and do it as quickly as possible. Remember, it knows where these points are via IR sensors. [Akshay] and [Sergio] developed an equation using a
piecewise function
to determine which runs were closest to Point C for the longest amount of time.
Each of the points in the above equation is known via a voltage from the IR sensors, with Point A being 0.1 volts and Point D being 3.7 volts. The equation is designed to give the greatest value for the longest time spent at Point C. This value is known as a Fitness Value.
A neural network is used to determine at what level the throttle should be at to achieve the highest Fitness Value. This network is apart the
Evolutionary Algorithm
that runs in the firmware. Basically, it starts off with random values that generate random levels of throttle. The values that achieve the highest Fitness Value get ‘mutated’, while the others are discarded.
The mutations in the values are done at random, and the process repeats. In the end, the firmware learns the best throttle levels to achieve the goal of being at Point C for the longest time in the allotted 10 seconds.
Be sure to check out this linked project for full details on these mutations are carried out in the source. | 24 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "1369384",
"author": "BohemianHacks",
"timestamp": "2014-04-22T11:56:22",
"content": "Seems like a pretty standard evolutionary algorithm, very cool application but I’m not seeing anything too groundbreaking here.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
... | 1,760,376,226.533982 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/22/aluminum-led-matrix-looks-professionally-made/ | Aluminum LED Matrix Looks Professionally Made | James Hobson | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"32x32",
"beaglebone",
"full color led display",
"LED display",
"led matrix display"
] | [David Donley] has wanted to make a LED matrix for a while now, and has decided to finally
pull the trigger
— after all, that many LEDs certainly aren’t cheap!
He’s using a set of 16 Adafruit 8×8 NeoPixel LED Matrices (almost $600 worth of LEDs) and a BeagleBone Black to control them. To mount the LED matrices he bought a sheet of 6061-T6 aluminum for two purposes — one to act as a giant heatsink, and two, to look cool. All he had to do was drill some holes in the sheet for the connectors, and then use 3M 300LSE double-sided adhesive to stick the NeoPixels to the surface. The result is a border-less display that looks clean and professional.
To power the array he’s using a 5V 90A power supply — at full brightness these LEDs can consume around 325W, or 65A at 5V! Taking notes from the opensource
LEDscape code on GitHub
he’s made his own software to control the display — stick around after the break to see it in action.
A cheaper version (albeit, not full color) can be had using
Chinese LED arrays for a fraction of the price
— 96 x 48 resolution! | 13 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "1368890",
"author": "0xfred",
"timestamp": "2014-04-22T08:18:10",
"content": "Your definition of borderless seems to differ significantly from mine.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1368952",
"author": "daffer",
... | 1,760,376,226.290236 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/22/final-transmission/ | Final Transmission | Ground Control | [
"Major Tom"
] | [
"clue",
"space"
] | 70 | 34 | [
{
"comment_id": "1368803",
"author": "Huh",
"timestamp": "2014-04-22T07:24:51",
"content": "Huh?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1368816",
"author": "みぎねじ (@numpad0)",
"timestamp": "2014-04-22T07:31:20",
"content": "What’s this?",
... | 1,760,376,226.638785 | |||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/21/building-a-final-key/ | Building A Final Key | Eric Evenchick | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"arduino pro micro",
"final key",
"password management"
] | Remembering passwords is a pain, and there’s a number of devices out there to make it easier. If you’re looking to roll your own, this guide to
building a Final Key
will walk you through the process.
We talked about the
Final Key before
. It’s a one button password manager that encrypts and stores your password. It acts as a virtual serial port for configuration. When you hit the button, it becomes a keyboard and types in the correct password.
The creator has no intentions of making this a commercial project for a number of reasons. Instead, easy build instructions are provided based on the
Arduino Pro Micro
. The
24LC512
EEPROM can be soldered directly to the Arduino by bending out the DIP legs. A few resistors, a button, and an LED finish off the project. The last step is to fill it with hot glue to prevent tampering.
The
Final Key firmware
is available on Github, and the case can be ordered from
Shapeways
. If you’re interested in hardware password management, you can also check out the
Mooltipass
which is being developed on Hackaday.
[Thanks to Lars for the tip!] | 28 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "1368644",
"author": "oorspronklikhied",
"timestamp": "2014-04-22T05:53:58",
"content": "These little password keepers looks handy , but i have never gotton to build one. Instead i formed my own method of remembering passwordshttp://oorspronklikheid.wordpress.com/2014/04/03/how-to-ma... | 1,760,376,227.415463 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/21/sci-fi-contest-roundup-the-valve-universe/ | Sci-Fi Contest Roundup: The Valve Universe | Brian Benchoff | [
"contests"
] | [
"portal",
"sci-fi",
"sci-fi contest",
"source",
"source engine",
"team fortress 2",
"valve"
] | While most of the entries to
our Sci-Fi contest
come from movies and TV shows, a select few are based on the Valve universe, including a few builds based on
Portal
and
Team Fortress 2.
Deadly neurotoxin
Who
wouldn’t
want a gigantic articulated sociopathic robot hanging around? Two groups are building a clone of GLaDOs from the
Portal
series. and already the builds look really great.
[AmarOk], developed
an open-source personal assistant called RORI
that intends to be a more helpful version of GLaDOs, without all the testing and killing. He, along with [Peterb0y] and [n0m1s] are turning this personal assistant software into a GLaDOs replica.
Taking a slightly different tack, [Eric] and [jjyacovelli]
built a GLaDOs-like robot
with a camera in the ‘face’. This camera connects to a Google Glass and tracks the user’s head movements. There’s also a Nerf gun attached to the end of the robot body, triggered by double winking. Yep, it’s a heads-up display GLaDOs, perfect for punishing your test subjects.
Heavy load comin’ through!
Not to be out done by a malevolent, hyper-intelligent artificial intelligence, [Tyler] and [Ryan] are building the
cutest gat’ dern weapon in all of west Texas
. It’s the level one sentry from
Team Fortress 2
,
and the guys are turning one into a paintball sentry.
The TF2 sentry is a cute little bugger capable of motion tracking and perimeter defense, filling enemies with lead should they ever come too close.
While the end result probably won’t be as large or as heavy as the
“official” real-life turret
, a smaller table-top sized model is probably a little more practical. Even if it doesn’t live up to expectations, upgrading the sentry is simply a matter of whacking it with a wrench a few times.
There’s still time
for you to cobble together an awesome Sci-Fi project and have a chance to win some awesome prizes. | 6 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "1368447",
"author": "Dave Davidson",
"timestamp": "2014-04-22T04:05:23",
"content": "This seems like wasted space and the wrong place to put this?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1370000",
"author": "Eirinn",
"... | 1,760,376,226.231554 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/20/the-raspberry-eye-sees-all/ | The Raspberry Eye Sees All | James Hobson | [
"Raspberry Pi"
] | [
"diy google glass",
"google glass",
"homemade google glass",
"raspberry eye",
"raspberry pi google glass"
] | [Roman Rolinsky] wanted to try to do something interesting with his Raspberry Pi and a 2.4″ LCD he had laying about… So he made
a rather bulky version of Google Glass.
We’ve seen a few examples of
home brew Google Glass
before, or even
real-life subtitle glasses
used for translation on the fly, but what we really like about [Roman’s] project (besides the fact he hosted it on our very own awesome
project hosting site
) is that he’s put together the projection system himself out of basic components.
To create the HUD, he’s using a semi-transparent mirror which he took out of a game of
Khet 2.0
called the
Eye of Horus Beamsplitter — which is a really cool real-life puzzle board game like those games where you have to reflect the laser to solve a puzzle. He’s then using a 3x Fresnel magnification lens which is placed over top of his 2.4″ LCD in a 3D printed enclosure. This magnifies and reflects the image onto the mirror which is placed directly over his eye, allowing for a see through display.
Stick around after the break to see a video of the Raspberry Eye in action! | 28 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "1365899",
"author": "kendall15",
"timestamp": "2014-04-21T02:15:22",
"content": "I am of borg of Radioshack…..Cool never the less.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1365902",
"author": "vonskippy",
"timestamp": "2014-04-21... | 1,760,376,226.357384 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/20/hackaday-links-april-20-2014/ | Hackaday Links: April 20, 2014 | Mike Szczys | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"Hackaday links"
] | [
"cable modem",
"cnc",
"emulator",
"hammer",
"laser",
"processor",
"WheelChair"
] | [Josh] hit the same issue we’ve faced before: cable modems don’t match a form factor and usually don’t make themselves easy to mount on something. We could complain about routers as well, but at least most of those have keyhole slots so you can hang them on some screws. Inspiration struck and
he fabricated his own rack-mount adapter for it
. Velcro holds it in place, with a cutout bezel to see the status lights and an added fan to keep things cool.
Here’s a pair of strange but possibly interesting ones that were sent in separately. The first is an analysis of
how much energy short-run CNC prototyping consumes
versus traditional manufacturing. The other is an article that [Liz] wrote about
getting started with CNC mill bits
. She says she compiled all that she learned as she was getting started in the field and wants to save others the effort.
This one goes back several years, but who doesn’t love to hear about
a voice-controlled wheelchair
?
So you can solder QFN parts but you can’t hammer a nail straight into a piece of wood? The answer, friend, is
a laser guided hammer
. Someone hire this [Andybot] person, because the solution to the problem shows the ability to out-think an interesting dilemma: how do you put a laser in a hammer head and still use it to hit things?
We’ve seen a lot of these long-range WiFi hacks over the years. This one is worth looking at because of
the work done to create an outdoor mount
that will stand the test of time.
And finally, we’re still really fond of
this 2-bit paper processor
that helps you wrap your brain around what’s going on with those silicon wafers that rule our everyday lives. [glomCo] liked it as well, and actually
coded an emulator
so that you can play with it without printing anything out on paper. We think it takes away some of the fun, but what an excellent programming exercise! | 23 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "1365676",
"author": "echodelta",
"timestamp": "2014-04-20T23:40:35",
"content": "Laser in “hammer” rubber mallet, swing and a miss. You’re out.Despite the duh factor of hitting nails with a rubber mallet, there is one serious flaw. This would only work in a pile driver “swing” as an... | 1,760,376,226.70461 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/20/sci-fi-contest-roundup-stargate/ | Sci-Fi Contest Roundup: Stargate | Brian Benchoff | [
"contests"
] | [
"sci-fi",
"sci-fi contest",
"stargate"
] | The 90s were a remarkable time for Sci-Fi movies, in that there actually
were
sci-fi movies, and not sequels to a reboot of yet another comic book movie. One of the breakout hits from this era was
Stargate
, the film and three syndicated television series. With a corpus this large, a few
Stargate
builds
made it into our Sci Fi contest
, and from the looks of things, they’re pretty cool.
The Ma’Tok Staff
The Ma’Tok staff is an energy weapon used by Jaffa warriors that fires a concentrated plasma bust over 70 yards. While we question the utility of a weapon that’s only accurate to 70 yards on the battlefield (like, arrows are better, man)
[frankstripod] is making his own version
. Instead of plasma bolts, it’ll be a hairspray-powered PVC potato cannon.
It’s totally not a tricorder
™
The Ancients in
Stargate Atlantis
had a multifunction handheld device capable of detecting life signs, observing multiple frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum, and finding power sources. Basically, it’s a smartphone that’s not from Star Trek. This scanner became an important piece of commandeered technology,
and these guys are building their own
. Qi wireless charging, touch screen, IR transceiver, and everything a real tricorder should be.
Wait. Where did he get Naquadah?
What good would a post on
Stargate
builds be without an actual Stargate? [shlonkin] and [dkopta]
are doing just that
, complete with a rotating right and light-up chevrons. Here’s a video. Video below, of course.
The Sci-Fi contest runs until the end of the month, so there’s still time for you to get in on the action and get your hands on some really great prizes. We’re giving away O’scopes, soldering stations, dev boards, some sweet Sci-Fi prizes, and awesome Hackaday T-shirts. | 25 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "1365404",
"author": "Genki",
"timestamp": "2014-04-20T20:05:30",
"content": "There are 4 series: the original SG-1, Atlantis, animated Infinity, and the stinker Universe.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1365422",
"author": "... | 1,760,376,227.336596 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/20/blinky-led-necklace-that-actually-looks-chic/ | Blinky LED Necklace That Actually Looks Chic | Jasmine Brackett | [
"Wearable Hacks"
] | [
"bejeweled",
"conductive thread",
"jewelry",
"led",
"lilypad arduino",
"upcycle",
"wearable"
] | [Agy] a fabric hacker in Singapore has made a chic
light sensitive LED necklace,
and written up the tutorial on her blog
Green Issues by Agy
.
The lovely thing about this hack is that it doesn’t look like a breadboard round her neck, and most of the non-electronic components have been upcycled. [Agy] even used Swarovski crystals as LED diffusers for extra bling.
Using a
LilyPad Arduino
with a light sensor and a few LEDs, [Agy’s] circuit is not complicated. She seems to be just branching out in to wearable tech, so it is nice that she learnt to program different modes for bright and low light (see video below). Her background in sewing, refashioning and upcycling does show through in her crafty use of an old pair of jeans and lace scraps for this project.
We love tech focused jewelry like
[TigerUp’s] LED matrix pendants
or
[Armilar’s] Nixie-ify Me Necklace
, but they do scream Geek. DIY electronically enhanced accessories are becoming more commonplace with the variety of
micro-controller platforms
expanding rapidly. Low energy wearable boards like
MetaWear
are making it easy for the tech to be discreet and easily connected to your smartphone. 3D printing is enabling us to create durable enclosures, settings and diffusers like the ones used for
LED Stegosaurus Spikes
. With all these things, hobby wearable projects can not only be functional and durable, but can also look great too.
Do you think this necklace would look out of place in a non-geeky gathering? Have you got any helpful tips for [Agy’s] code? Have you tried using gems or crystals as diffusers and what were the results? Let us know in the comments below. | 32 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "1365204",
"author": "ijogsh",
"timestamp": "2014-04-20T17:27:10",
"content": "It looks like she hanged some fancy pants on her neck, seriously.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1365206",
"author": "JimBob",
"timestamp": "... | 1,760,376,226.778528 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/20/the-computer-without-a-cpu/ | The Computer Without A CPU | Brian Benchoff | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"1 bit computer",
"One instruction computer",
"Turing machine"
] | [Jeff Laughton] was contacted by a customer that was interested in adding some automated functions to a printing press. Before eventually settling on a microcontroller for the job, [Jeff] went old school and started looking at logic gates, counters, and flip-flops. This lead him to the Motorola 14500 industrial control unit, a minimal processor with only 16 instructions. After a few ‘back of the napkin’ sketches, he came up with
an extremely minimal computer that doesn’t use a microprocessor
. It’s an interesting design notable not only for its electronic brevity, but also because it only uses one instruction.
The only instruction this computer will ever execute is an input test, the result of which controls a two-way branch. Instructions consist of an input address, output address, and a single bit of data. If the data bit is true, the computer jumps to one location in ROM, and if the data bit is false, a jump to another location is executed.
A computer really isn’t a computer without some form of memory, and this design is no exception. [Jeff] managed to add two bits of data between the 8-bit latch and 8-bit multiplexer in the design. This is enough to call a few subroutines which test the I/O-mapped memory to decide what the next instruction should be.
It’s a truly bizarre design, but actually much closer to a true Turing machine than the computers in your pocket, on your wrist, on your desk, and in your car.
Thanks [James] for the tip! | 31 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "1364935",
"author": "arachnidster",
"timestamp": "2014-04-20T14:22:36",
"content": "A lovely PLC style architecture. I’ve been pondering something similar in an effort to figure out what the fewest discrete logic ICs you can use to make a turing complete machine is; this might just ... | 1,760,376,226.977198 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/20/make-a-3d-scanner-for-60e-using-old-hardware/ | Make A 3D Scanner For 60€ Using Old Hardware | James Hobson | [
"Laser Hacks"
] | [
"3d laser scanner",
"3d scanner"
] | [Till Handel] just put the finishing touches on a paper he wrote about how to build
a cheap 3D scanner
— mostly out of spare parts.
Using parts from old printers and notebooks, he’s cobbled together this rather rough-looking laser scanner. But don’t be fooled by its looks! It’s capable of scanning 360° around itself at distances from 0.3 – 5m, making it an excellent candidate for scanning rooms.
It uses a line laser and a webcam mounted on an arm driven by a stepper motor, which looks like it’s out of an old optical drive. An Arduino Uno and an A4988POW stepper driver control the system. The
paper
(Caution: PDF) is very detailed and published under
GPLv3
(a general public license).
It works the same as many 3D scanners — a line laser provides a 2D profile/outline of the object being scanned that the camera picks up. As the system (or object) rotates, new profiles are recorded and sewn together to form a complete 3D image.
To increase the resolution and accuracy of the scanner, you can always
put a better camera on the end! | 7 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "1364748",
"author": "abba jesus",
"timestamp": "2014-04-20T11:53:39",
"content": "60 EUR buys me food for the whole month (I live in Poland). I think i’ll pass on that 3D scanner.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1365129",
"a... | 1,760,376,227.085888 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/20/filament-extruder-pumps-out-1kghour/ | Filament Extruder Pumps Out 1kg/hour! | James Hobson | [
"3d Printer hacks"
] | [
"3d printer filament",
"filament extruder"
] | 3D printers are awesome, and while the plastic filament may not be as much as a rip off as printer ink (yet), it’s still marked up at least 500%! If you really want to break free, you’re going to need
your own filament extruder.
ABS, a typical printing material, will run you about $30 USD per kilogram. Don’t get us wrong, that will go a long way — but did you know ABS pellets (technically processed MORE than filament) can be as cheap as $3-4/kg?
What if you could buy the pellets, and make your own filament with them? If you do
a lot
of printing, this could save you a lot of money. We’ve seen lots of
different filament extruders
here on
Hackaday
, and here’s yet another iteration — capable of extruding at an extremely fast rate of 1kg per hour! [Ian McMill] was inspired by
[Xabbax’s] Low Cost Filament Extruder
, and has put together an excellent Instructable guide on how to make your own — with his own flair of course.
Take a look! | 24 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1364909",
"author": "steve",
"timestamp": "2014-04-20T14:03:49",
"content": "would it be insane to make a 3d printer that used pellets? some kind of melting pot extruder…skipping the step of making perfect filament?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
... | 1,760,376,227.265038 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/21/rebuilding-a-custom-ic-saves-hp-pulse-generator/ | Rebuilding A Custom IC Saves HP Pulse Generator | Adam Fabio | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"30inch",
"hewlett packard",
"HP",
"Old Iron",
"reverse engineer silicon",
"test equipment"
] | [Matthew] got himself into a real pickle. It all started when he was troubleshooting a broken Hewlett Packard 8007A pulse generator. While trying to desolder one of the integrated circuits, [Matthew] accidentally cracked it. Unfortunately, the chip was a custom HP Pulse shaper IC – not an easy part to source by any means. That broken chip began a 5 year mission: to explore strange new repair methods. To seek out new life for that HP 8007A.
To boldy fix what no one had fixed before
.
[Matthew’s] first repair attempt was to build a drop in replacement for the HP chip. He took a look at the block diagram, and realized the chip was just some simple logic gates. He built his version with a small PCB and Fairchild TinyLogic gates. Unfortunately, the TinyLogic series is fast CMOS, while HP’s original chip used
Emitter-coupled Logic
(ECL). Thanks to the wildly different voltage levels of the two logic families, this design had no chance of working.
Five years later, [Matthew] was going to school at MIT, and had access to a wire bonding machine. He rebuilt the package using some epoxy, and managed to re-run the various bond wires. While everything looked promising, this attempt was also a failure. After all that work, the chip was blown.
If you haven’t figured it out yet, [Matthew] is a persistent fellow. While setting up for wire bonding, he’d gotten a good look at that HP die. The HP chip was a relatively simple design, so simple that he was able to reverse engineer the entire schematic from the die images. Similar to his TinyLogic design, he built a drop in replacement on a two layer PCB. This time he used discrete transistors and resistors to replicate the ECL logic. By using both sides of the PCB, he was able to fit everything into a 16 pin DIP footprint. The result almost worked. The two layer board had some long traces. With low frequency transistors, the circuit would work – but not up to 105MHz. Switching to high frequency transistors caused the entire circuit to oscillate.
[Matthew] laid the board out one more time using power and ground planes. The simplified layout, coupled with BFS17 transistors worked. It wasn’t quite as good as the original HP design, but for the purposes of the pulse generator, it worked perfectly. He didn’t even have to recalibrate.
We love seeing old test equipment brought back to life. If you know any stories like this,
drop us a tip! | 38 | 24 | [
{
"comment_id": "1367936",
"author": "Farkanoid",
"timestamp": "2014-04-21T23:06:30",
"content": "Now /this/ is what I come here hoping for! Excellent work",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1367947",
"author": "flaminggoat",
"timestamp": "... | 1,760,376,227.492295 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/21/sniping-2-4ghz/ | Sniping 2.4GHz | Brian Benchoff | [
"Security Hacks",
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"airsoft",
"pentesting",
"raspberry pi",
"sniper"
] | A long time ago when WiFi and Bluetooth were new and ‘wardriving’ was still a word, a few guys put a big antenna on a rifle and brought it to DefCon. Times have changed, technology has improved, and now
[Hunter] has built his own improved version
.
The original sniper Yagi
was a simple device with a 2.4 GHz directional antenna taped onto the barrel, but without any real computational power. Now that displays, ARM boards, and the software to put this project all together are cheap and readily available, [Hunter] looked towards ubiquitous computing platforms to make his Sniper Yagi a little more useful.
This version uses a high gain (25dBi) antenna, a slick fold-out screen, and a Raspberry Pi loaded up with Raspberry Pwn, the pentesting Raspi distro, to run the gun. There’s a button connected to the trigger that will automatically search the WiFi spectrum for the best candidate for cracking and… get cracking.
[Hunter] says he hasn’t taken this highly modified airsoft rifle outside, nor has he pointed out a window. This leaves us with the question of how he’s actually testing it, but at least it looks really, really cool. | 42 | 23 | [
{
"comment_id": "1367627",
"author": "Paranoid OPSEC ☠ (@DoktorJeep)",
"timestamp": "2014-04-21T20:08:13",
"content": "I’m a big fan of guns and all that but the appearance of that platform might get you in trouble. :-D",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comme... | 1,760,376,227.571611 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/21/developed-on-hackaday-vote-for-your-favorite-card-art/ | Developed On Hackaday: Vote For Your Favorite Card Art | Mathieu Stephan | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"hardware"
] | [
"design",
"developed on hackaday",
"mooltipass",
"smart card"
] | A few weeks ago
we asked our dear readers if they were interested in coming up with some card art for the
Mooltipass project
. We received
more than a dozen
of them and a few days ago the
HaD project Mooltipass
followers/
Mooltipas Google group
recipients voted for their favorite ones.
Today we’ll present you the three popular ones and ask you to
pick your favorite
, so please follow us after the break…
[Bjorn] is a very active and pragmatic Google group participant, so this is the design he sent us. Given that exactly 1.2cm of the card is sticking out of the Mooltipass case, you’d only be seeing the “Mooltipass key card” text once the smart card is inserted.
[Luke] is someone
that does things
. The design shown above was quite popular in our previous poll.
Our German contributor [Robert] sent us a more sober black and white design which does look quite nice in our opinion.
So what do you guys think? You may vote for your favorite design and/or submit your comments below.
[Article picture attribute:
angelitomercenario
] | 33 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "1367298",
"author": "Justin",
"timestamp": "2014-04-21T17:06:48",
"content": "I vote for roberts design, based on my experience with card printers, i think it’ll turn out the nicest when printed in small quantities, since it can be done completely with black resin.",
"parent_id"... | 1,760,376,227.643801 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/21/using-public-data-to-make-laser-cut-maps/ | Using Public Data To Make Laser Cut Maps | James Hobson | [
"Laser Hacks"
] | [
"laser cut maps",
"mapbox",
"maps",
"tilemill"
] | If you have access to a laser cutter you’re going to want to take a look at this brilliant tutorial. [Steven Smethurst] has figured out how to extract public map data and turn it into a file
ready to be laser cut onto your choice of material.
In his example he’s using
Vancouver’s Open Data Catalog
to build his map using the coastal and public street data. To do this he’s using a program called
TileMill
which you can get for free from MapBox — it’s a great piece of software for designing your own interactive maps — and the best part is, you can import data from a wide variety of sources, such as Vancouver’s Open Data!
You can import the shape (.SHP) files from the Open Data Catalog and add them as layers into TileMill. From there you can manipulate your map, adjust the detail, and then import as a .SVG or .DXF file ready for laser cutting.
In addition to the Instructable on how to do this, he’s also recorded an in-depth video tutorial which you can check out after the break. | 12 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "1367150",
"author": "Marc",
"timestamp": "2014-04-21T15:25:12",
"content": "Which Vancouver? that does not at all resemble the Vancouver where I live in Washington State.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1367187",
"auth... | 1,760,376,227.832295 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/21/whats-inside-a-usb-isolator/ | What’s Inside A USB Isolator? | Eric Evenchick | [
"Teardown"
] | [
"acid",
"ADUM4160",
"decapping",
"Isolation",
"teardown",
"usb"
] | In this acid powered teardown, [Lindsay]
decapped a USB isolator
to take a look at how the isolation worked. The decapped part is an
Analog Devices ADUM4160
. Analog Devices explains that the device uses their iCoupler technology, which consists of on chip transformers.
[Lindsay] followed [Ben Krasnow]’s
video tutorial
on how to decap chips, but replaced the nitric acid with concentrated sulphuric acid, which is a bit easier to obtain. The process involves heating the chip while applying an acid. Over time, the packaging material is dissolved leaving just the silicon. Sure enough, one of the three dies consisted of five coils that make up the isolation transformers. Each transformer has 15 windings, and the traces are only 4μm thick.
After the break, you can watch a time lapse video of the chip being eaten by hot acid. For further reading, Analog Devices has a
paper on how iCoupler works
[PDF warning].
[Thanks to Chris for the tip!] | 14 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "1366778",
"author": "cpldcpu",
"timestamp": "2014-04-21T11:05:47",
"content": "You guys are making things way too complicated. There is no acid required to decapsulate chips.1) Use a hot air gun (paint remover) to heat the chip and evaporate the binder until the package gets really ... | 1,760,376,227.890974 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/21/volumen-the-most-advanced-persistence-of-vision-display-yet/ | VoLumen — The Most Advanced Persistence Of Vision Display Yet | James Hobson | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"POV display",
"viSio",
"volumen"
] | Whoa. We’re just blown away by this new project by [Maximilian Mali] and [Sebastian Haushofer]. It’s a stacked Persistance of Vision display, with 9 layers — effectively creating a
Volumetric 3D POV Display.
We recently shared one of [Maximilian’s] other projects,
The Ripper CNC Machine
. As it turns out, the reason he built The Ripper was to aid in the manufacture of his VoLumen project. He’s been designing these Volumetric 3D displays for about 3 years now, with the first iteration called the
viSio
, capable of 40 fps 3D video without the need for any 3D glasses.
The new and improved VoLumen features 34 micro-controllers, each with 512MB flash memory for storing animation data. In total there are 1024 high power RGB LEDs, which draw a whopping 200W at full load, making it bright, crisp and visible even in direct sunlight. It’s an incredible project that [Maximilian] started when he was only 16 years old.
You have to see the video of this thing in action.
Today, [Maximillian] and [Sebastian] are finishing up a mechatronic engineering degree in Vienna, and are hoping to receive a grant to continue their studies abroad. So if there are any university coordinators in our midst — let’s get these guys some support! | 47 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "1366471",
"author": "André",
"timestamp": "2014-04-21T08:11:15",
"content": "shut up and take my money! :o",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1366475",
"author": "Pixel Pirate",
"timestamp": "2014-04-21T08:13:21",
"cont... | 1,760,376,227.971626 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/20/sublime-text-as-an-arduino-ide/ | Sublime Text As An Arduino IDE | Eric Evenchick | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"ide",
"stino",
"sublime text"
] | If you’ve played with an Arduino, you’ve probably been frustrated by the IDE. It works, but it’s not the best editor. It’s especially painful for bigger files and larger projects. The
Stino plugin for Sublime Text
aims to solve this issue by bringing the full functionality of the Arduino IDE to the Sublime Text editor.
Sublime Text
is a powerful text editor with support for most programming languages. What it’s missing is support for compiling and uploading code to an Arduino. Stino bridges that gap. Sublime is a commercial product, and retails for $70 USD. However Sublime does have an indefinite trial period, so Stino can be evaluated for free. Stino itself is an open source plugin written in Python, and you can contribute to the project on Github.
After installing Sublime and Stino, you point the plugin at an Arduino install folder. It then allows you to build and flash directly from the editor. For anyone who’s been frustrated with the Arduino IDE, this looks like a slick solution.
[Thanks to Matt for the tip!] | 40 | 21 | [
{
"comment_id": "1366189",
"author": "Jonathan",
"timestamp": "2014-04-21T05:10:44",
"content": "Is it possible to use stino standalone in a similar manner to inotool?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1366224",
"author": "adcurtin",
... | 1,760,376,228.472043 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/19/flexible-arduino-sure-to-be-a-hit/ | Flexible Arduino Sure To Be A Hit | Will Sweatman | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Wearable Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"lilypad",
"printable circuit"
] | Wearable, lightweight hacks have long been dominated by the Lilypad. This will probably change with the introduction of the
Printoo
. Using printable circuit technology, the Printoo takes a modular approach to enable hackers, makers, and engineers alike to construct flexible circuits that can be put on almost anything, including paper!
Powered by the all too familiar ATmega328, the Printoo core module is fully compatible with the Ardunio IDE. The modular design enables functionality with
several other printed devices
including displays, batteries, sensors and even LED strips to make many different projects possible. One of the most interesting modules is the 1.5 volt, 500 micron thick
electrochromic display
.
Be sure to check out their
Kickstarter
, which has a nice video that demonstrates the project. If funded, they will be available in October in case you want to get your hands on one. Or feel free to
make your own
. Just be sure to let us know if you do! | 11 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "1364352",
"author": "akaki",
"timestamp": "2014-04-20T06:36:28",
"content": "After the Inkjet printed circuit news came out, I talked to the professor behind it (happens to be one of my teachers) and he was kind enough to give me a marker pen full of it, and a few sheets of paper as... | 1,760,376,228.095483 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/19/prototyping-brief-case-would-be-fun-to-take-through-customs/ | Prototyping Brief Case Would Be Fun To Take Through Customs | James Hobson | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"portable work station",
"prototyping",
"prototyping suitcase"
] | [Baldor] prototypes electronic circuits all the time, but unfortunately he doesn’t really have a dedicated work space to do this! Annoyed at having to get all his tools ready and then put them away again after every project, he’s come up with his very own
electronics prototyping briefcase.
[Edit:
here’s the link in the Wayback Machine
if you’re visiting from the future. Unfortunately, the images didn’t seem to make it.]
He started with a very old hand-made wooden tool briefcase and added some fun stuff. His case features four breadboards, all with individual positives, and each pair with common grounds. Banana clips allow for various setups with different wiring. He has 5 integrated volt meters, along with 5 buck-boost DC-DC voltage regulators, each set for 3V, 5V, 9V, 12V, and 18V. It’s an ingenuous setup and would make prototyping a breeze compared to most work benches!
In addition to the basic prototyping tools, he’s also got a development board and a place for his Pickit2. Underneath the main prototyping area he stores the power supply, and a veritable army of jumpers. We’re impressed.
Now all he needs is a
portable electronics lab in a box
once his prototypes are proven!
[Thanks Xavier!] | 32 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "1364085",
"author": "azurusnova",
"timestamp": "2014-04-20T02:27:13",
"content": "Might want to check your first link. It’s telling me that its a phishing site and blocking it for me.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1364222",
... | 1,760,376,228.84131 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/19/a-light-painting-infrared-ray-gun/ | A Light Painting Infrared Ray Gun | Brian Benchoff | [
"digital cameras hacks",
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"infrared",
"infrared camera",
"ray gun",
"thermopile"
] | [Noe] over at Adafruit
has a really great build
that combines the Internet’s love of blinkey LEDs and rayguns with the awesome technology behind extraordinarily expensive thermal imaging cameras. It’s a light painting infrared heat gun, used for taking long exposure photographs and ‘painting’ a scene red or blue, depending on the temperature of an object.
While this isn’t a proper FLIR camera, with a DSLR and a wide open shutter, it is possible to take pseudo-thermal images by simply ‘painting’ a scene with the light gun. This is an absurdly clever technique
we’ve seen before
and has the potential to be a useful tool if you’re looking for leaks around your windows, or just want to have a useful cosplay prop.
The circuit inside this raygun is based on a contactless infrared sensor connected to an Adafruit Gemma, with the LEDs provided by a NeoPixel ring. There are two 3D printable cases – your traditional raygun/blaster, and a more pragmatic wand enclosure. With either enclosure, it’s possible to take some pretty heat map pictures, as seen in the video below. | 5 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "1363962",
"author": "notabena4us",
"timestamp": "2014-04-20T01:02:37",
"content": "+1Way Cooooooooool…… ;^)Bring on the heat!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1364080",
"author": "FooDooBaggins",
"timestamp": "2014-04-20T... | 1,760,376,228.142778 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/19/genetic-engineering-produces-deskcomputer-hybrid/ | Genetic Engineering Produces Desk/Computer Hybrid | Rich Bremer | [
"computer hacks"
] | [
"computer case",
"computer desk",
"custom computer case",
"desk"
] | Computers and Desks go together like peanut butter and jelly. After many years of modding computer cases with windows, lights and the like, [Cameron] decided it was time to try something new and
combine his next custom case with a desk
.
The main desk is from Ikea. The computer case portion is made from wood. No one wants to lose leg room, this case was made to be shallow and wide so it would be out of the way when bolted underneath the desk’s work surface. If any serious maintenance has to be done the case can be easily unbolted and lowered for easy access. Speaker grill cloth is used on the front of the case for 2 reasons; hide the case and keep out the dust.
This project wasn’t just slapped together, many hours went into the concept and design. There are 3 specially designed compartments to keep components separate and optimize the airflow. [Cameron] measured the pre- and post-build processor temperatures and found that the design of the new case resulted in a 15°C reduction from his previous tower case. Not too shabby!
If you like custom computer desks, check out the
Heavy Metal
, the
3 Monitor Corner
or this
Sit/Stand Conversion
desk. | 26 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "1363540",
"author": "Wheeler Manis",
"timestamp": "2014-04-19T20:06:37",
"content": "This looks great! I have a question, though. How exactly did genetic engineering affect the design itself?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "13... | 1,760,376,228.539142 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/19/sci-fi-contest-roundup-the-voight-kampff-machine/ | Sci-Fi Contest Roundup: The Voight-Kampff Machine | Brian Benchoff | [
"contests"
] | [
"blade runner",
"sci-fi",
"sci-fi contest",
"Voight Kampff"
] | You’re watching a stage play – a banquet is in progress. The guests are enjoying an appetizer of raw oysters. The entrée consists of boiled dog stuffed with rice. The raw oysters are less acceptable to you than a dish of boiled dog.
The Voight-Kampff Machine, or VK, from
Blade Runner
is an extremely advanced form of lie detector that functions on blush response, pupil dilation, respiration, heart rate, and other physiological factors in response to emotionally charged questions to determine if the interrogation subject does or does not dream of electric sheep. It’s also an awesome prop, making it a great subject for
our Sci-Fi contest
.
You’ve got a little boy. He shows you his butterfly collection plus the killing jar. What do you do?
[Aven]
is building a Voight-Kampff Machine
built around a Raspberry Pi with a few small LCDs to display simulated vital signs. There will, of course, be a small webcam showing the subjects face or eye, and a few LEDs that will flash with the same pattern the original had.
You’re reading a magazine. You come across a full-page nude photo of a girl.
[Aven] still has a little bit of work to complete the VK, but there’s still a week and a half left in the contest. More than enough time for you to come up with your own Sci-Fi project and get your grubby mitts on some really awesome prizes. | 5 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "1363506",
"author": "Rich",
"timestamp": "2014-04-19T19:46:48",
"content": "I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"rep... | 1,760,376,228.292588 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/19/a-lin-bus-signal-injector/ | A LIN Bus Signal Injector | Mathieu Stephan | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"hardware"
] | [
"arduino",
"LIN bus",
"signal injection"
] | [Zapta] tipped us about his latest project: a
LIN bus signal injector
. For our unfamiliar readers, the
LIN bus
is a popular automotive bus that is used to interface with buttons, lights, etc. As [Zapta] was tired of having to press the Sport Mode button of his car each time he turned the ignition on, he thought it’d build the platform shown above to automatically simulate the button press.
The project is based around an ATMega328 and is therefore Arduino IDE compatible (recognized as an Arduino Mini Pro), making firmware customization easy. In the car, it is physically setup as a proxy between the LIN master and the slave (which explains the two 3-wires groups shown in the picture). It is interesting to note that the injection feature can be toggled by using a particular car buttons press sequence. The project is fully open source and a video of the system in action is embedded after the break. | 13 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "1362996",
"author": "Torque",
"timestamp": "2014-04-19T14:57:19",
"content": "The whole reason behind that the car doesn’t remember the last state set for the “sports” mode is because of environmental concerns.Automaker can simply sell a sporty car that defaults to economy mode, and... | 1,760,376,228.892746 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/19/the-pyro-board-a-two-dimensional-rubens-tube/ | The Pyro Board: A Two Dimensional Ruben’s Tube | James Hobson | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"pyro",
"pyro board",
"rubens tube"
] | Like visualizing music? Love fire? If so, you’re going to want to take a look at this
Pyro Board.
What happens when you take a tube, put some holes along it, add a speaker on one end, pump some propane in, and then light it on fire? You get an awesome fire visual — also known as a
Ruben’s Tube.
It works because the sound pressure from the speakers causes the flow rate of gas leaving the holes to vary, which results in a visible “standing frequency” of flames, i.e. a flaming VU meter.
The folks over at
[Fysikshow]
decided to step it up a notch by building a 2-dimensional Ruben’s tube with 2500 holes. They have a steel box with the evenly spaced holes on the top, and two speakers attached to the sides. And it works amazingly well — see for yourself after the break.
Based in Denmark, [Fysikshow] travels to schools teaching kids about physics using the Pyro Board and many other fun experiments.
[Thanks Eren via
This Is Colossal
] | 36 | 22 | [
{
"comment_id": "1362708",
"author": "zibri",
"timestamp": "2014-04-19T11:59:01",
"content": "very nice idea, but too much interference.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1362760",
"author": "tim",
"timestamp": "2014-04-19T12:32:... | 1,760,376,229.335112 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/19/beaglebone-black-ramps/ | BeagleBone Black + RAMPS | Brian Benchoff | [
"3d Printer hacks",
"cnc hacks"
] | [
"3D Printer Controller",
"beaglebone",
"beaglebone black",
"cnc",
"CNC controller",
"RAMPS"
] | The BeagleBone Black, with an impressive amount of computing power and a whole bunch of I/O, would make an impressive CNC controller, save for two shortcomings: The BBB isn’t in stock anywhere, and CNC capes are a little on the pricey side. [Marc Peltier] can’t do anything about finding a distributor that doesn’t have the BeagleBone on backorder for you, but he did come up with an adapter
for the very popular RAMPS-FD 3D printer controller board
(Forum, French,
Here’s the Google translation matrix
).
The RAMPS-FD is an extension of the RAMPS board and a shield for the Arduino Due. Both the Due and BBB work on 3.3 V, meaning controlling the RAMPS-FD is simply a matter of finding the correct wiring diagram and pin assignments on the BeagleBone. [Marc] solved this problem by using the settings from the
BeBoPr cape
and using the existing BeBoPr LinuxCNC configuration.
The end result of [Marc]’s tinkering is something a lot like [Charles Steinkueler]’s CNC capes for the BeagleBone Black
we saw at the Midwest RepRap Fest
. [Charles] isn’t selling his capes, but no one else seems to be selling BeagleBone Blacks, either.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQGVZTl_gy8 | 15 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "1362258",
"author": "Bogdan",
"timestamp": "2014-04-19T08:15:45",
"content": "Wanting to get a BBB i find it rather sad that the adds for the article lead to companies that don’t have it on stock….. all of them.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
... | 1,760,376,228.725028 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/18/auto-roll-up-tool-storage/ | Auto Roll-up Tool Storage | Marsh | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"roll-up",
"rollup",
"storage",
"toolbox"
] | [Anred’s] got the right idea. Everybody and their mother has a toolbox: rectangular, wooden, crowded. You’re not impressing anyone with that old thing. Instead, why not
spice it up by rolling it up, with a tool case that spins to store in style?
This storage hack seems to draw its inspiration from
field medic roll-up bags
, where everything’s laid out for easy access with a quick toss. [Anred] started by taking inventory of all the items he wanted to use on a regular basis, organizing them across a sturdy fabric. Next, he marked all the mounting spots and affixed some elastic material with needle and thread to hold each tool in place. The tools then roll up around a center rod, like an upside-down pull curtain.
To be honest, we’re not entirely sure how [Anred] rigged the center bar to roll, but it seems to be spring-driven. Perhaps one of our discerning readers can work it out and clue us in with a reply in the comments. Our favorite feature, however, is the clever use of the pull-out rod. To unroll the tools, you grab the top rod and pull it tight, securing it to something above. When you lower it back down to close up the roll, however, the top rod fits under two brackets, providing a convenient handle to carry the whole assembly. Check out the videos below. | 8 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "1361874",
"author": "hemalchevli",
"timestamp": "2014-04-19T05:54:08",
"content": "Nice, I’m gonna make me one.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1361876",
"author": "dave",
"timestamp": "2014-04-19T05:55:17",
"content... | 1,760,376,228.775131 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/18/leak-proof-water-blob-provides-hours-of-fun/ | Leak-Proof Water Blob Provides Hours Of Fun | James Hobson | [
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"water bed",
"water blob"
] | With the warm weather slowly creeping back it’s time to think of warm summer days, and with that comes this rather interesting
leak-proof water… blob?
[Leisha] over at
Homemade Toast
has come up with a super inexpensive way to make a water blob — or a giant outdoor waterbed? It certainly looks cool, and apparently keeps children entertained for hours playing on it. We wonder how bouncy you could make one for bigger kids (i.e. us).
It’s made out of a roll of painter’s plastic drop sheet, and instead of trying to tape, glue or otherwise seal the edges, [Leisha’s] figured out an easy way to melt the seams together using a clothes iron. By sandwiching parchment paper over the two pieces of plastic, you can gently run the iron along the edge, creating a very strong bond, without melting a hole in the plastic.
Seriously — we want to see someone make a giant version of this for some extreme waterbed bouncing!
[via
Viral Nova
] | 43 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "1361454",
"author": "Waterjet",
"timestamp": "2014-04-19T02:05:26",
"content": "“Leak-Proof”You must not have kids.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1361489",
"author": "anon",
"timestamp": "2014-04-19T02:21:19"... | 1,760,376,228.974046 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/18/penguinbot-follows-light-goes-screech-in-the-night/ | PenguinBot Follows Light, Goes Screech In The Night | Adam Fabio | [
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"autonomous",
"light sensor",
"Photovore",
"robot",
"Robot Penguin"
] | Ever have one of those weekend projects that takes on a life of its own? [Michael] did, and the result is this
PenguinBot
. While [Michael’s] wife was away for the weekend he happened upon a broken toy penguin. The batteries had leaked inside, destroying the contacts. Rather than bin the toy, [Michael] made it awesome by turning it into an autonomous robot. [Michael’s] goal was to create a robot that could roam around the house avoiding obstacles, or follow a light source like a flashlight.
He started by pulling out most of the original electronics. Two dollar store toy trains gave their lives and their motors to replace the penguin’s original drive system. An Arduino Pro Mini became PenguinBot’s brain. Sensors consisted of two light sensing CdS cells, an AdaFruit sound sensor, and a MaxBotix ultrasonic sensor. With the ultrasonic sensor mounted on a servo, it can detect obstacles in any direction. The CdS cells and some software will allow PenguinBot to follow lights, like any good photovore robot should.
Click past the break to see PenguinBot in action
[Michael] did preserve one part of the original toy. PenguinBot still has its sound module. This thing is so obnoxiously noisy it’s awesome. Between the screeching and the random songs, [Michael’s] kids don’t have to worry about their new robot penguin sneaking up on them at night.
PenguinBot’s code is still under development, but the latest version can be downloaded at
Github
. | 12 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "1361321",
"author": "Rich Grise",
"timestamp": "2014-04-19T01:03:11",
"content": "One thing I wonder about any “Autonomous robot” is, how does it decide what it wants to do?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1361365",
"a... | 1,760,376,229.090428 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/18/low-power-orientation-tracker-and-an-optimized-math-library-for-the-msp430/ | Low-Power Orientation Tracker And An Optimized Math Library For The MSP430 | Nick Conn | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"accelerometer",
"iqmathlib",
"low power",
"math library",
"motion",
"msp430",
"msp430 launchpad",
"navigation",
"orientation tracker",
"texas instruments",
"tracking"
] | Orientation trackers can be used for a ton of different applications: tracking mishandled packages, theft notification of valuables, and navigation are just a few examples! A recent blog post from Texas Instruments discusses how to build a
low-cost and low-power orientation tracker
with the MSP430.
Based on the
MSP430 LaunchPad
and
CircuitCo’s Educational BoosterPack
, the orientation tracker is very simple to put together. It can also be made wireless using any of the
wireless BoosterPacks
with a
Fuel Tank BoosterPack
, or by using the
BLE Booster Pack
with a built in Lithium Battery circuitry. TI provides all the
necessary code and design files
in their reference application for getting your orientation tracker up and running. Be sure to see the device in action after the break! This project not only involves building a low-power orientation tracker, but also showcases
IQmathLib
, a library of optimized fixed point math functions on the MSP430. One of the more challenging aspects of using small MCUs such as the MSP430 or Arduino is how inefficient built in math libraries are. Check out the IQmathLib, it greatly improves upon the built in math functions for the MSP430.
It would be interesting to see this project modified to be a DIY pedometer or be used on a self-balancing robot. It would also be interesting to see the IQmathLib ported to other micros, such as the Arduino. Take a look and see how you can use this reference design in your own projects! | 7 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "1360719",
"author": "polossatik",
"timestamp": "2014-04-18T20:16:23",
"content": "“It would also be interesting to see the IQmathLib ported to other micros, such as the Arduino”Can’t open the windows exe, but there is nowhere any license mentioned, so i highly doubt this is NOT (c) ... | 1,760,376,229.026455 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/18/diy-gas-can-speakers/ | DIY Gas Can Speakers Blast Your Tunes | Nick Conn | [
"digital audio hacks"
] | [
"audiophile",
"Gas Can Speakers",
"Speaker Enclosures",
"speakers"
] | Have you ever wanted to build your own speakers, but were a bit overwhelmed with all the information out there on cases and packaging? A recent Instructable by [Txje] goes over how to build a set of
simple gas can speakers
.
While using gas cans as speaker housings will not result in the best
audiophile quality sound
or be the
cheapest option
out there, it sure looks awesome, and is a great way to get started with building your own speakers. After testing out the speakers and electronics, holes in the gas cans are cut and the terminals and speakers are installed. “As an added bonus, the pour spout serves to release pressure in the speaker can. You can get everything you need for ~$69 from Amazon and/or Home Depot.” Not a bad price point for two very cool looking speakers. Once you have built the speakers, now you can experiment with different fill material to see what results in better sound quality.
This is a simple, yet fun looking build. Something like this can make a nice gift for someone who spends a lot of time in their garage. What other crazy objects have you used for speaker enclosures? | 24 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "1360329",
"author": "tReg",
"timestamp": "2014-04-18T17:20:42",
"content": ">Not a bad price point for two very cool looking speakers.hum… you can do a pair of decent looking *and* looking speakers from scrap wood with cheap hand tools. Why the hell would you spoil speaker in some r... | 1,760,376,229.401829 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/18/were-not-joking-around-something-big-is-coming/ | We’re Not Joking Around; Something BIG Is Coming | Mike Szczys | [
"Featured"
] | [
"clue",
"mystery",
"puzzle"
] | Countdown timer, a
special presentation
on the first of this month, and now there’s
been some
weekly
mystery posts
. What are we playing at? We’re not playing. This is real.
That timer is now below the 10-day mark and with every passing minute we become more giddy about the unrelenting awesome that is to come. Want to know what we’re talking about without waiting until the end? Are you
a clever person
? Then you might just be able to figure it all out. Try to unlock the clues from past weeks, and hit the Freenode ##hackaday channel
on IRC
if you need some hints (we’re certainly not going to post spoilers here).
We wouldn’t mind some help with a whisper campaign as well. Spout your conspiracy theories, and your delight at solving our puzzles to whoever will listen. Get it right and you can do the “I told you so” thing for the rest of the…. oops, that would be telling. | 95 | 44 | [
{
"comment_id": "1359985",
"author": "phreaknik",
"timestamp": "2014-04-18T14:18:49",
"content": "The suspension is kiiiillllliiiinnnggg me!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1359986",
"author": "phreaknik",
"timestamp": "2014-... | 1,760,376,229.617676 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/17/measuring-frequency-response-with-an-rtl-sdr-dongle-and-a-diode/ | Measuring Frequency Response With An RTL-SDR Dongle And A Diode | Mathieu Stephan | [
"hardware",
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"frequency response",
"noise generator",
"RTL-SDR",
"zener diode"
] | [Hans] wanted to see the frequency response of a bandpass filter but didn’t have a lot of test equipment. Using an RTL-SDR dongle, some software and a quickly made noise generator, he still managed to get a
rough idea of the filter’s characteristics
.
How did he do it? He ‘simply’ measured his noise generator frequency characteristics with and without the bandpass filter connected to its output and then subtracted one curve with the other. As you can see in the diagram above, the noise generator is based around a zener diode operating at the reverse breakdown voltage. DC blocking is then done with a simple capacitor.
Given that a standard RTL-SDR dongle can only sample a 2-3MHz wide spectrum gap at a time, [Hans] used
rtlsdr-scanner
to sweep his region of interest. In his write-up, he also did a great job at describing the limitations of such an approach: for example, the dynamic range of the ADC is only 48dB. | 17 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "1357215",
"author": "jp3141",
"timestamp": "2014-04-17T14:36:52",
"content": "That circuit isn’t complete — you need another R from the base of the PNP to ground. 10k-100k would do.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1357228",
... | 1,760,376,230.192996 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/17/lego-robot-plays-games-for-you-as-you-sleep/ | Lego Robot Plays Games For You As You Sleep | James Hobson | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"jurassic park builder",
"lego robot"
] | [Uli Kilian] — best known for solving 100 Rubik’s cubes during the 2011 London Marathon — got addicted to a free iPad game called Jurassic Park builder. Being the efficient man he is, he soon realized
the game could be automated
— after all, you just have to tap on dinosaurs every few minutes to earn in-game currency…
He’s using a Lego Technic set with an old iPad, and an Arduino connected to a Windows laptop. Wheels roll the iPad back and forth as the robot plays the game. The “finger” of the robot is wrapped in tin-foil and connected to a ground pin to simulate a human finger for the iPad. The article doesn’t explain how it works, but by looking at the robot it appears to just randomly tap away back and forth across the screen — which we guess works for this game?
He hasn’t played with Lego since he was 8, and only just learned about the Arduino a few weeks prior to building this. As a 3D artist he was intrigued to do something in the real-world — nice!
[Thanks Aurelio and William!] | 19 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "1356852",
"author": "Per Jensen",
"timestamp": "2014-04-17T11:18:22",
"content": "I see no connection to a Windows-Laptop…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1356966",
"author": "Marek",
"timestamp": "2014-04-17T1... | 1,760,376,229.471596 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/17/awww-shoot-my-spool-doesnt-fit-my-holder/ | Awww Shoot! My Spool Doesn’t Fit My Holder | Rich Bremer | [
"3d Printer hacks"
] | [
"3d printer",
"filament",
"spool holder"
] | The great thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from. Filament spools certainly do not deviate far from this sarcastic saying. So what are we 3D Printer folks to do? Here are a couple completely different DIY options:
[Mark] made a spool holder that can accept
2 different width spools
. This design uses skate bearings to support the spool on two points at each end. There are 3 sets of bearing blocks to accommodate the 2 different width spools. When either size spool is installed, one of the bearing block sets goes unused.
[Ben] took a different approach to the same problem. His design holds the
spool on its side
making the spool width have no affect on the holders’ functionality. The parts for this spool holder are recycled from an old computer CD drive. If we’d have to suggest anything, it would be to add a little resistance to the spinning turntable to prevent uncontrolled filament unraveling (we’ve all been there). | 38 | 20 | [
{
"comment_id": "1356373",
"author": "arachnidster",
"timestamp": "2014-04-17T08:20:20",
"content": "The first one can in fact support three different sizes. Add one more set of rollers and it could support as many as 6!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comm... | 1,760,376,229.933568 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/16/hackaday-retro-edition-parallel-port-ethernet/ | Hackaday Retro Edition: Parallel Port Ethernet | Brian Benchoff | [
"classic hacks"
] | [
"retro edition"
] | It’s time once again for a roundup of ancient hardware that has successfully loaded
our retro edition
. Up this time is a completely random and totally not planned roundup of parallel port to Ethernet adapters.
First up is [Tom Moss]
with his IBM 5150
– the first ‘IBM Compatible’ home computer, progenitor of the i7 boxxen warming your ankles as you read this. This machine comes standard with a 4.77 MHz 8088 CPU, 8087 FPU, 512k RAM, two 360k 5.25″ floppy drives, and a few very cool additions: an ISA to CompactFlash card adapter, giving [Tom]’s box 4GB of storage.
How is [Tom] connecting to the Internet? A Xircom PE3-10BT Network Adapter. This neat device turns any parallel port into an Ethernet. With a Telnet program, [Tom] was able to connect to a Unix system and use Lynx to browse over to the retro site. He’s yet to get a DOS browser working, but FTP is go, allowing him to download ancient software directly onto his huge CF card.
The next one isn’t exactly vintage, but it does carry the spirit of antiquated hardware onto the web. [Valentin] is using a
FleaFPGA
and a
186 over at OpenCores
. The FPGA board gives him VGA output, an SD card, A PS/2 keyboard, but no options for networking. That’s no problem for [Valentin], as
he wired up a Xircom PE3 parallel port to Ethernet adapter
. Yes, the same adapter as the 5150 above. [Valentin] says his parallel port hack is a bit of a mess with non-bidirectional and no dedicated IRQ hardware support. It works, though, so we can’t fault him for that.
We’re always looking for people who have loaded
our retro edition
on old hardware. If you have some outdated hardware sitting in the attic, get it out, load up Hackaday Retro, and send it in.
Pics from [Tom] and [Valentin] below. | 25 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "1356054",
"author": "DainBramage1991",
"timestamp": "2014-04-17T05:40:43",
"content": "Wow, memories. That IBM looks almost exactly like my first x86 machine, circa 1991. The only visible difference is that mine had a full-height 10 megabyte MFM hard drive instead of the second flop... | 1,760,376,229.853211 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/16/kyub-midi-keyboard-puts-a-piano-in-your-pocket/ | Kyub MIDI Keyboard Puts A Piano In Your Pocket | Kristina Panos | [
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"capacitive touch",
"MIDI keyboard",
"teensy 2.0"
] | [Keith Baxter] loves making electronic instruments. His latest vision has come to life as
Kyub, an open-source MIDI keyboard
. [Keith] has previously graced our site and cracked
Popular Science
with his
servoelectric guitar
.
[Keith] wanted to make a completely open source instrument that’s elegant, useful, and a bit more accessible than the servoelectric guitar, so he teamed up with a hacker/electronic music expert and an industrial designer. He built the early prototypes around an Arduino Uno. The current iteration uses a Teensy 2.0 and is available in various forms through
Kickstarter
. [Keith] opened the Kyub up to crowd funding in an effort to obtain volume pricing on some of the parts as well as an Eagle license to make the PCB files available commercially.
The Kyub has eleven pressure-sensitive capacitive keypads on five sides of the cube. The accelerometer can be used to vary note volume, bend the pitch, or whatever else you program it to do. Of course, you’ll need a computer with a synthesizer program, but [Keith] says it is compatible with most software synth programs, some of which are free.
There’s a demo video of an early prototype after the break. Videos of the Kyub in its current form are available on the Kickstarter page. | 13 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "1355719",
"author": "Aztraph",
"timestamp": "2014-04-17T02:31:51",
"content": "That’s pretty awesome!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1357497",
"author": "Keith Baxter",
"timestamp": "2014-04-17T17:28:17",
... | 1,760,376,229.674292 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/16/wearable-flames-with-fur-and-led-strips/ | Wearable Flames With Fur And LED Strips | Jasmine Brackett | [
"Wearable Hacks"
] | [
"burning man",
"fur",
"hackaday-projects",
"hackaday.io",
"led art",
"neopixel",
"Teensy 3.0",
"vest",
"wearable",
"ws2811"
] | [Finchronicity] over on Hackaday Projects has made a pretty awesome furry
LED Vest
to keep him warm and well lit at this year’s Burning Man. He is using a
Teensy 3.0
that drives strips of 470 WS2811 LEDs.
The vertically aligned strips run on a continuous sequence which reaches up to 31 frames per second using precompiled animations. The effects rendered in Processing or video mapped, are captured frame by frame and stored as raw color data to an SD card. Playback uses the
NeoPixel library
to control the strips. The high resolution LEDs, with the video mapped fire and the long pile fur, create one of the nicest flame effects we have seen on clothing.
We’ve also seen the Teensy 3.0 and WS2811 LEDs used as a popular combination for
building huge displays
, a
23ft tall pyramid
, and more recently in the
RFID jacket at Make Fashion 2014
. Have you made or seen a great Teensy/WS2811 project you would like to share with us? If so, let us know the details in the comments below. | 17 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1355364",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2014-04-16T23:04:38",
"content": "Cool! I VOLUNTEER AS TRIBUTE!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1355564",
"author": "Zane",
"timestamp": "2014-04-17T01:04:39",
"content"... | 1,760,376,232.534297 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/16/reload-pro-an-open-source-active-load/ | Re:load Pro, An Open Source Active Load | Adam Fabio | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"Active Load",
"Arachnid Labs",
"Cypress PSOC",
"Re:Load"
] | Open source test equipment has to be one of the best gifts open source hardware has given back to the community. Nowhere is this more true than in the case of [Nick’s]
Re:Load Pro
over on Kickstarter. Unlike resistors or similar
dummy loads
, an
active load
will always draw the set amount of current regardless of voltage. Active loads are often used to test power supplies and batteries. Is that 2500 mAh LiPo battery overstating it’s capacity? Can the power supply you just designed handle 2.5A at 12V? Both of these are jobs where active loads would come in handy.
The Re:Load Pro is actually the third version of the Re:Load. [Nick] designed
the original Re:Load
after becoming frustrated at the lack of a cheap active load for testing a power supply. Plenty of people showed interest in the Re:Load, but they wanted more features. That’s where the Re:Load Pro comes in. More than a straight analog design, the Pro has a Cypress PSOC 4 Arm Cortex M0 processor running the system.
[Nick] and his company, Arachnid Labs, are no strangers to us here at Hackaday. When we last covered [Nick], he was
asking the USB Implementers Forum about a low cost Vendor ID option for open source hardware projects
. Fittingly, the Re:Load Pro is an open source project. The schematics and source code are
available on Github
.
https://d2pq0u4uni88oo.cloudfront.net/projects/872800/video-365767-h264_high.mp4 | 37 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1355153",
"author": "Harvie.CZ",
"timestamp": "2014-04-16T20:23:20",
"content": "I’ve been thinking about USB isolation and it’s not easy… There is just one USB isolation chip available, it’s quite expensive and far from being ideal (speeds only ut to usb 1.1, have to manually set s... | 1,760,376,232.303249 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/16/building-the-internet-of-thing-at-ftf2014/ | Building The Internet Of “Thing” At FTF2014 | Aleksandar Bradic | [
"contests",
"Featured"
] | [
"FTF2014",
"Internet of \"Thing\""
] | [youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGslqSaq5w4 w=580]
It’s official: all the hype around IoT is starting to get a bit annoying. Not because there’s anything wrong with building Internet-connected devices, but because so many people are trying to jump on the bandwagon with the same old “Future: brought to you by Megacorp #07”-mindset. Recycled visions of estranged professionals, with their homes, offices, business meetings and hotel rooms, all powered by the latest “one IoT platform to rule them all” – are back on. Even though the mythical “Smart” refrigerator didn’t changed the world back in 2001, I guess that there’s no harm in trying it again. After all, we have seen this working out great in software, with redos of dot-com era ideas turning into massive successes a decade later.
That’s all fine, and we wish everyone the best of luck, but the future we’re the biggest fans of is a hackable, community-built, open-hardware one. So when the guys from
FTF2014
called us to host a two-day “lab” in which engineers would play around and try to come up with an interesting IoT product, we were more than happy to jump in and try to do it our way. We got roughly two dozen engineers to drop lectures and training classes and hang out with us in the lab. We got Freescale to hand out a whole bunch of FRDM-K64F boards and a couple of
mbed.org
guys to join us on-site and help out with the dev tools. Two days later, we had our winner – “Don’t Not Enter” by
David Isbister
and
Ernie Aguilar
. They did an amazing job, both in hacking up a great product (elaborate internet-connected cat flap door), but more importantly, in fixing a whole bunch of issues in the hardware/firmware/tools stack that we had on our hands.
However, a true disruptive technology that came out of the whole event was our second-prize winner –
Eli Hughes
, and his project called: The Internet of “Thing”. You’ve guessed it – it’s the (Internet-connected)
Thing
from
The Adams Family
! In this ultimate display of subversive playful cleverness, Eli did more than just creating an interesting project. He called out a large audience of otherwise buttoned-up “professional” engineers to start thinking beyond RFID and obvious Smart devices and try to bring back a little bit of that wacky hacker spirit back into their work.
Eli’s project is pretty interesting on the implementation side too. He did some clever surgery on
Fantasma Toys Hand Runner
to boost the power and created a circuit that interfaces Thing’s built-in IR remote to the WiFi. He also built a cool command line interface and a touchscreen app, which communicate with the Thing via TCP server running on K64 board with RX-XV module. This setup allows for endless hours of fun, either by controlling the Thing via touch interface, or more importantly – by scripting its movement using the DSL shell. For more details, check out his
project entry at hackaday.io
.
Hopefully, this project will serve as a great reminder for all of us that the future is not going to be just a
“photorealistic version of Second Life”
and if we’re to build projects that define it, we will have to try harder and come up with some truly creative and original ideas. And make sure we’re having fun along the way.
Coding signal filtering for motion detection algos
The “Thing”
Don’t not enter
Hacking in the shadow of the skull
Problems with freshly baked boards
Wood glue in action
Thing : Full stack
Fixing mbed/ethernet stack
Fixing mbed/ethernet stack – some more
Quadcopter repair take #1
Quadcopter repair take #2
Node.js/ttyS workarounds
More things & pieces
The “Thing” Consortium
hacking away… | 25 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1354858",
"author": "Polaczek",
"timestamp": "2014-04-16T17:21:22",
"content": "The “interlude” low frequency sound / hackaday logo is extremely annoying.Otherwise, interesting to see what people are doing",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"co... | 1,760,376,232.610202 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/16/building-a-mesh-networked-conference-badge/ | Building A Mesh Networked Conference Badge | Mathieu Stephan | [
"hardware",
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"434MHz",
"badge",
"conference badge",
"mesh network"
] | [Andrew] just finished his write-up describing electronic conference badges that he built for a free South African security conference (
part1
,
part2
). The end platform shown above is based on an ATMega328, a Nokia 5110 LCD, a 433MHz AM/OOK TX/RX module, a few LEDs and buttons.
The badges form a mesh network to send messages. This allows conversations between different attendees to be tracked. Final cost was the main constraint during this adventure, which is why these particular components were chosen and bought from eBay & Alibaba.
The first PCB prototypes were CNC milled. Once the PCB milling was complete there was a whole lot of soldering to be done. Luckily enough [Andrew]’s friends joined in to solder the 77 final boards. He also did a great job at documenting the protocol he setup, which was verified using the
open source
tool
Maltego
. Click past the break to see two videos of the system in action. | 11 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "1354590",
"author": "dstster",
"timestamp": "2014-04-16T14:32:34",
"content": "Maltego is not opensource or am i missing something ?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1354644",
"author": "Mathieu Stephan",
"times... | 1,760,376,232.142544 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/16/homemade-gravity-light-doesnt-last-long-but-proves-the-concept/ | Homemade Gravity Light Doesn’t Last Long But Proves The Concept! | James Hobson | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"Deciwatt Gavity Light",
"energy",
"led",
"low power"
] | After being inspired by the Deciwatt Gravity light, [Steve Dufresne] decided he wanted to try
making his own as a proof of concept.
The Gravity Light by Deciwatt
is an innovative device designed for third world countries to help eliminate expensive lighting like kerosene lamps. It has a small weight on a pulley which can be lifted up in under 3 seconds. During its slow descent down the weight provides light for 25 minutes! It’s affordable, sustainable, and reliable. It’s also mechanically impressive, which is exactly why [Steve] decided to try making his own.
He’s using a single LED, a small DC motor, a few pieces of wood, an old bicycle wheel, some bicycle chain, and a few jugs of water. The water is connected to the chain which is looped over the smallest gear on the bike. The generator is then powered by a belt wrapping around the outside of the rim. This gives the motor enough speed to generate electricity for the LED. His current design only lasts for about 3 minutes, but he’s already working on the second iteration. Testing systems like this really give you an appreciation for the effort that must have gone into the real Gravity Light.
Stick around after the break to see it in action. | 77 | 23 | [
{
"comment_id": "1354231",
"author": "Tom Hargrave",
"timestamp": "2014-04-16T11:42:26",
"content": "The same mechanical concept has been powering clocks since the early 1700’s.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1354295",
"author": "scor... | 1,760,376,232.478078 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/16/inkjet-transfers-to-wood/ | Inkjet Transfers To Wood | Adam Fabio | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"crafts",
"inkjet",
"transfer",
"wood"
] | You can’t feed a piece of wood through a stock inkjet printer, and if you could it’s likely the nature of the material would result in less than optimal prints. But [Steve Ramsey] has a tutorial on
inkjet transfers to wood
over on his YouTube Channel which is a simple two-step method that produces great results. We really love quick tips like this. Steve explains the entire technique while creating an example project – all in under 2 minutes of video. We don’t want to get your hopes up though – this method will only work on porous absorbent surfaces like bare wood, not on PC boards. We’ve featured some great
Inject PCB
resist
methods here in the past though.
The transfer technique is dead simple. [Steve] uses the backing from a used sheet of inkjet labels (the shiny part that normally gets thrown away). He runs the backing sheet through his inkjet printer. Since plastic coated backing sheet isn’t porous, the ink doesn’t soak in and dry. He then presses the still wet page onto a piece of wood. The wet ink is instantly absorbed into the wood. A lacquer clear coat seals the image in and really make the colors pop. We’d like to see how this method would work with other porous materials, like fabrics (though the ink probably wouldn’t survive the washing machine).
Click past the break for another example of [Steve’s] work, and two videos featuring the technique. | 26 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "1353888",
"author": "Danny",
"timestamp": "2014-04-16T08:22:43",
"content": "In a previous job we printing watch faces straight from an inkjet and found a thin coat of cheap white car primer accepts ink very well",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
... | 1,760,376,232.084312 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/15/the-hellzxchreiber/ | The HellZXchreiber | Brian Benchoff | [
"classic hacks"
] | [
"Hellschreiber",
"spectrum",
"Spectrum ZX"
] | Hellschreiber – German for ‘light pen’ – was developed in the 20s as a way to transmit text in a way that was much more robust than the teletypes of the time. These devices were used to great effect by the Germans in WWII, and later became popular with wire services and was used until the 80s. The fax machine then happened, and no one really cared about Hellschreiber, save for a few plucky amateur radio enthusiasts.
In the early 90s, a few of these amateur radio enthusiasts realized they could use their personal computers to communicate with this extremely simple protocol that’s also very resilient against interference and weak radio links. [Danjovic] is following in their footsteps by
decoding Hellschreiber on an old ZX Spectrum clone
.
[Danjovic] tested his code with the sound sample found in the
Hallschreiber wiki article
and some text generated by
Fldigi
. Everything works beautifully, an [Dan] can even change the intensity of the text with the volume control – a very useful feature should the HellZXchreiber ever make it out into the field.
Source and image files available for all you strange Speccy fans. Everyone else can check out the videos below. | 23 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1353712",
"author": "Ian",
"timestamp": "2014-04-16T06:46:54",
"content": "It might mean ‘light writer’, but the system is actually named after its inventor, Rudolf Hell. (Details on Wikipedia.)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1... | 1,760,376,232.734293 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/15/sweden-music-festival-plays-frozen-instruments/ | Frozen Instruments Played At Swedish Music Festival | James Hobson | [
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"ice music",
"tim linhart"
] | [Tim Linhart] wanted to do something different for this Swedish music festival — so he decided to carve all the instruments by hand,
out of ice.
The festival consists of seven bands playing very different musical styles, with over 40 concerts occurring during the festival. [Tim Linhart] has painstakingly carved each instrument from violins to cellos out of individual sheets of ice. He adds strings and fret-boards to complete each piece, and if the temperature goes above zero it’s game over. The concerts are held in a building made of ice to make sure this doesn’t happen.
And since they are built out of layers — he’s also thrown in some RGB LEDs to give the instruments a bit more pizzazz. They actually sound pretty good too!
[Tim] is kinder to his instruments than
[Matz Robert Eriksson] was to his ice drums
. For some other unconventional instruments, do you remember our controversial piece on Disarm? Turning guns into a
mechanized orchestra!
Typewriters make
interesting instruments as well.
[Thanks Joshua!] | 12 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "1353091",
"author": "Waterjet",
"timestamp": "2014-04-16T02:04:58",
"content": "That crowd was wild.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1353149",
"author": "vonskippy",
"timestamp": "2014-04-16T02:25:22",
... | 1,760,376,232.347815 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/15/the-hacklet-1/ | The Hacklet #1 | Eric Evenchick | [
"Hackaday Columns"
] | [
"hacklet",
"mooltipass",
"NFC",
"soldering"
] | With the launch of hackaday.io, our project hosting site, we’ve seen quite a bit of interesting hacks flowing in. While we feature some of our favorite projects on the blog, we’ve decided it’s time to start a regular recap of what’s going on in the Hackaday Projects community. We call it
The Hacklet
, and
the first issue
is now available.
This installment starts off with information on our Sci-fi Contest and improvements to the Hackaday Projects site. We talk a bit about the various projects relating to the Mooltipass password manager being developed on Hackaday. The Mooltipass has its own project page, but there’s also separate projects for the low level firmware being developed. Next we look at a pair of NFC rings for unlocking Android devices, and finish off with advice on soldering tiny packages.
Check it out and let us know what you think. Our goal is to summarize some of the neat things going on in the community, and we’re always happy to get constructive feedback from the community itself. Or you can flame us… whichever you prefer. | 11 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "1353053",
"author": "JP",
"timestamp": "2014-04-16T01:48:36",
"content": "Good steam bruteforcerhttp://pastebin.com/VeqqBg1i",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1385227",
"author": "Spanker",
"timestamp": "2014-04-... | 1,760,376,232.007451 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/18/sci-fi-contest-roundup-no-tea/ | Sci-Fi Contest Roundup: No Tea | Brian Benchoff | [
"News"
] | [
"hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy",
"sci-fi",
"sci-fi contest"
] | In case you haven’t heard,
we’re running a contest on Hackaday Projects
for the best Sci-Fi build. We’re a little under two weeks until the deadline for the contest and so far there are a lot of great entries (and lots of great prizes still up for grabs).
If there’s one thing this contest has taught us, it’s that Hackaday readers have
impeccable
taste in their choices of books, movies, TV shows, and video games. We were surprised at how many entries there are for
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy,
a series not generally known for having cool gadgets such as giant mechs, lightsabers, and other impressively awesome stuff. Here’s a roundup of the current HHGTTG submissions for the Sci-Fi contest:
Doors That Sass
The doors in Hitchhiker’s Guide are insufferable self-contented sentient portals programmed by the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation to love their simple lives. Upon everyone opening or closing one of these doors, they thank the person for validating their existence.
The door in [Jarrett]’s hackerspace wouldn’t stay closed, so what better way to fix the door
than with a robotic door greeter
? Actually, it’s just a weight tied to a pulley that keeps the door closed with a little bit of circuitry that plays an .mp3 file when the door moves. Still, self-contented doors. [Goug] is
also making one of these self-satisfied doors
, but there’s not much in the way of progress.
Going Up?
The Happy Vertical People Transporter is HHGTTG’s answer to the common elevator. Like doors, they’re also sentient, but also have ‘defocused temporal perception’ to arrive at a floor before a passenger even realizes they need a lift.
[DigiGram] and [Lolla] are working on one of these sentient elevators
using a webcam, OpenCV, and some AVR-based electronics.
Look Out!
The Joo Janta 200 Super-Chromatic Peril Sensitive Sunglasses allow the user to adapt to danger by blacking out a the first signs of peril. [colabot] and [minimum effective dose] realized you can just
buy
glasses that can be blacked out electronically in the form of active shutter glasses for a 3D TV. With a few peril sensors, they’re working on
finishing up their peril sensitive sunglasses
.
Remember, the Hackaday Projects Sci-Fi contest doesn’t end until April 29th. That leaves you plenty of time to enter your own build. May we suggest a Brownian motion simulation beverage? | 7 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "1360105",
"author": "Dorl",
"timestamp": "2014-04-18T15:25:56",
"content": "Even if those glasses don’t win, they’ve already won to me.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1360589",
"author": "chango",
"timestamp":... | 1,760,376,231.938167 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/18/sniffing-vending-machine-buses/ | Sniffing Vending Machine Buses | Eric Evenchick | [
"Hackerspaces",
"Network Hacks"
] | [
"arduino",
"bitcoin",
"mdb",
"multidrop bus",
"vancouver hack space",
"vending machine"
] | We’ve talked about a variety of protocols and how to deal with them in the past. Today, [Dan] is working on
sniffing vending machine Multidrop Bus
. The
Multidrop Bus
(MDB) protocol is a standard used in vending machines to connect devices such as currency collectors to the host controller.
To connect to the bus, interface hardware is required. [Dan] worked out compliant hardware and connected it to an Arduino. With the device on the bus, [Dan] got to work on an Arduino sketch to parse the MDB data into a human-readable format. With that working, the bus can easily be sniffed over the Arduino’s serial console.
This is just the start of a more involved project. Since this protocol is used to communicate with a vending machine’s currency collector or card reader, being able to communicate it would allow him to implement his own payment methods. The plan is to augment the
vending machine he operates at Vancouver Hack Space
to accept Bitcoin. We’re looking forward to seeing that project unfold. | 13 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "1359672",
"author": "fartface",
"timestamp": "2014-04-18T11:30:30",
"content": "http://www.vending.org/technical/MDB_3.0.pdfDo you guys even look for the documentation first?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1360038",
"... | 1,760,376,232.664262 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/17/raspberry-pi-remote-audio-link/ | Raspberry Pi Remote Audio Link | Eric Evenchick | [
"digital audio hacks"
] | [
"broadcast",
"LiquidSoap",
"lm3915",
"PiFace",
"raspberry pi",
"SSM2142"
] | In broadcast, lots of people are still using dedicated analog lines to connect remote sites. These operate like old telephone systems: you call up the operator and request to be patched through to a specific site. They’re also rather expensive.
For a hospital radio station, [Marc] wanted to replace the old system with something less costly. The result is his
Raspberry Pi STL in a Box
. Inside the box is a Raspberry Pi,
PiFace
display, a pair of meters, and some analog hardware for the audio.
On the software side, the system uses
LiquidSoap
to manage the stream. LiquidSoap uses a language to configure streams, and [Marc] has a write-up on
how to configure LiquidSoap
for this application. On the hardware side, SSM2142 ICs convert the signal from single-ended to balanced. The meters use the LM3915 bar drivers to control the meters.
The Python script that controls the box is provided, and could be helpful for anyone needing to build their own low-cost audio link. | 7 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "1359323",
"author": "AussieTech",
"timestamp": "2014-04-18T08:55:40",
"content": "Nice job!HaD “you call up the operator and request to be patched through to a specific site”Well no. The key word is “dedicated”, a direct wired connection. It’s normally a 600-ohm balanced pair (or ... | 1,760,376,232.835462 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/17/interactive-gloves-turn-gestures-into-music/ | Interactive Gloves Turn Gestures Into Music | James Hobson | [
"Musical Hacks"
] | [
"dj",
"imogen heap",
"Interactive Gloves",
"music"
] | [Imogen Heap] is a UK-based musician who is trying to change the way we think about making music. She’s been working on
a pair of gloves called the Mi.Mu
, and they’re getting close to production.
In the included interview she explains that while computers and technology have brought many new advances to music, twiddling dials and pushing random buttons “is not very exciting for me, or the audience”. With these gloves, the artist becomes one with the music and interaction.
The current iteration of gloves use flex sensors along each finger to determine the movement (along with motion sensors for other gestures). She’s been through many designs and hopes to integrate e-materials into the next — using the actual glove as the sensor (not physical flex sensors).
She’s been working with both developers and musicians mapping the various motions of the gloves to music which makes sense in an intuitive way, and it’s very unique to see in action.
[Imogen Heap]
was also on Letterman
a few years ago! For more information about the Mi.Mu gloves, she has a website under construction,
but offers an email signup mailing list.
[Thanks Aaron!] | 11 | 9 | [
{
"comment_id": "1358434",
"author": "Riley Porter",
"timestamp": "2014-04-18T02:07:31",
"content": "Wow! That is pretty awesome. I love it! Go imogen heap!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1358439",
"author": "echodelta",
"timestamp":... | 1,760,376,232.789125 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/17/the-persistence-of-jumping-rope/ | The Persistence Of Jumping Rope | James Hobson | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"LED jump rope",
"persistence of vision",
"POV",
"pov jump rope"
] | [Antonio Ospite] recently took up jump rope to increase his cardio, and also being a hacker decided to have some
extra
fun with it. He’s created the JMP-Rope — the
Programmable Jump Rope.
He’s using the same principle as a normal
POV (Persistence of Vision) display
, but with a cool twist. He’s managed to put the microcontroller (a Trinket) and battery into the handle of the jump rope. Using a slip ring system, the RGB signal gets passed to the rope, which contains the LEDs. It’s a pretty slick setup, and he’s written another
post all about how he did the hardware
.
To create the images for his JMP-Rope, he’s
outlined the steps to a successful POV image
on his blog. These include re-sizing the image to a circle (duh), reducing the color palette, and then performing pixel mapping using a discrete conversion (from polar to Cartesian coordinates). After that it’s just a matter of representing your new-found pixel map in a 1D animation, played column by column. [Antonio] stores these frames on the micro-controller as an RLE (run length encoded) indexed bitmap.
Stick around to see how he made it, and some other cool examples of what it can do!
Diagram of Handle
The resulting images from his JMP-Rope are pretty impressive — it almost looks like Firefox was made for a POV display!
Firefox!
[Thanks Alan!] | 4 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "1358100",
"author": "overflo",
"timestamp": "2014-04-17T23:15:20",
"content": "well done! :)it looks great.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1358170",
"author": "denis",
"timestamp": "2014-04-17T23:57:42",
... | 1,760,376,233.111007 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/17/interactive-3d-projection-is-foggy-at-best/ | Interactive 3D Projection Is Foggy At Best | James Hobson | [
"Tech Hacks",
"Video Hacks",
"Virtual Reality"
] | [
"3d projection",
"fog projection"
] | Have a projector and a smoke machine handy? You might want to give this fog projection thing a shot! It’s called the
MisTable and it’s a three-dimensional playground for interactive manipulation of images.
It’s a project by Bristol Interaction and Graphics group of the University of Bristol, and it’s an interesting twist on 3D projection. They’ve created what they call the MisTable which features a smoke machine, “smoke screens”, and three projectors. What it results in is an interactive table for two people. The tabletop surface is a display, as is the see through fog in front of each person (the “fog screens”).
While it is fairly easy to understand and explain, there’s a handy diagram after the following break showing how the system works. Our question is, when are one of you guys or gals going to try making one?
For a much clearer hologram-esq projection, there’s always glass like in the
Pepper’s Ghost Illusion!
But we have to admit being able to reach through the screen with the MisTable is pretty neat too.
[Thanks Douglas!] | 14 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "1357771",
"author": "Hirudinea",
"timestamp": "2014-04-17T20:13:20",
"content": "Does this projector remind anyone of this?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKtciRCVpFE",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1357789",
"author": "bsno... | 1,760,376,233.164432 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/17/using-non-crappy-software-with-the-da-vinci-printer/ | Using Non-Crappy Software With The Da Vinci Printer | Brian Benchoff | [
"3d Printer hacks"
] | [
"da vinci",
"host software"
] | The Da Vinci printer from XYZprinting is turning out to be one of the best buys in the world of cheap, consumer printers. Sure, it uses chipped filament, but that’s an easy fix for anyone who knows what a .hex file is. And yes, the Da Vinci host software is a mess of proprietary garbage with limited functionality, but [Mark] has
figured out a way around that
.
When [Mark] received his Da Vinci, he immediately started snooping around inside the printer’s guts, like any good tinkerer should. He found an SD card holding all the sample prints that ship with the printer, all in a convenient Gcode format. Inside these sample .STL files were all the calls you would expect – setting the temperature, changing the layer height, and all the other good stuff you’d find in any other RepRap.
With a little bit of modification to .STL files generated by any slicing program, [Mark] isn’t limited any more by the terrible host software that ships with the Da Vinci. Combine this with
the ability to reset the chip inside the filament cartridge
, and [Mark] has a printer at least as functional as any open hardware model. | 107 | 34 | [
{
"comment_id": "1357452",
"author": "charliex",
"timestamp": "2014-04-17T17:02:12",
"content": "nicely done Mark",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1357481",
"author": "tmk",
"timestamp": "2014-04-17T17:23:59",
"content": "I think you ... | 1,760,376,233.309557 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/15/119822/ | Transmission #03 | Ground Control | [
"Major Tom"
] | [] | 17 | 11 | [
{
"comment_id": "1351080",
"author": "Nippey",
"timestamp": "2014-04-15T07:16:42",
"content": "These are the targets of Transmission #01.Then let’s have a look..!.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1351109",
"author": "WALK3R",
"timestamp"... | 1,760,376,233.844385 | |||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/14/fixing-apple-tvs-terrible-ui/ | Fixing Apple TV’s Terrible UI | Brian Benchoff | [
"Arduino Hacks",
"Mac Hacks"
] | [
"apple tv",
"Apple TV remote",
"arduino",
"mac remote"
] | Despite Apple’s unfailing dedication to UI, they still sometimes manage to put out some stinkers. The latest of these is the ‘keyboard’ for the search interface in the Apple TV. It’s an alphabetical keyboard, laid out in a square with the obvious frustration that goes along with that terrible idea. [Lasse] was frustrated with this design and realized searching anything with the Apple TV IR remote is a pain. His solution
was to build his own version of the Apple TV remote
with a web interface, powered by an Arduino.
Inspired by the
Apple Remote Arduino Shield
we featured a few years ago, [Lasse] stuck an IR LED int the pins of Arduino with an Ethernet shield, current limiting resistors be damned. The web UI is the innovative part of this build. He’s hosting a simple website on the Arduino that allows him to type – with a real keyboard – a search query into the website, and have the Arduino take care of moving the Apple TV cursor around to select each letter.
The web UI has all the features found on the Apple TV remote, including the swipe gestures, and has
a really slick brushed metal texture
to boot. You can check out the video of [Lasse]’s project typing text into an Apple TV hilariously fast below. | 32 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "1350763",
"author": "Dg",
"timestamp": "2014-04-15T05:09:46",
"content": "I just use the remote app on the iPhone, which brings up a keyboard for typing out search queries.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1352262",
"au... | 1,760,376,234.129999 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/14/a-7-touchscreen-tv-remote-control-from-scratch/ | A 7″ Touchscreen TV Remote Control From Scratch | Adam Fabio | [
"home entertainment hacks"
] | [
"7\" LCD",
"IR remote",
"universal remote"
] | [Jason] always wanted a touchscreen TV remote control. He could have pressed an older Android tablet into service, but he wanted to roll his own system. [Jason] gathered the parts, and is in the process of
building his own 7″ touchscreen setup
. He started with a 7″ LCD capacitive touchscreen. He ordered his display from
buy-display.com
, a Far East vendor.
[Jason’s] particular display model comes mounted on a PCB which includes controllers for the display and touchscreen, as well as some memory and glue logic. The LCD controller board has quite a few jumpers to support multiple interfaces and options. While the documentation for the display was decent, [Jason] did find a few errors. After getting in touch with tech support at buy-display, he
wrote a simple application
which determines which jumpers to set depending on which hardware interfaces are selected from drop down lists.
With the LCD sorted, [Jason] still needed a processor. He selected the venerable
Microchip PIC32MX
series. This decision allowed him to use a
Fubarino
for the early prototypes, before switching to his own board as the system matured. [Jason] was able to get a simple GUI up and running, with standard remote buttons to control his TV and cable box. Code is on his
Github repository
.
[Jason’s] most recent work has centered on cutting the cord. He’s switched over from DC power to a 2600 mAh LiPo battery. Click past the break to see [Jason] test out his fully wireless work in progress. | 26 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "1350321",
"author": "ohy88",
"timestamp": "2014-04-15T02:44:31",
"content": "needs more Harmony",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1350376",
"author": "atomsoft",
"timestamp": "2014-04-15T03:01:58",
"content": ":) nice ... | 1,760,376,234.058285 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/14/smart-microwave-shows-you-how-its-done/ | Smart Microwave Shows You How It’s Done | James Hobson | [
"cooking hacks"
] | [
"microwave",
"nextwave",
"smart microwave"
] | Do you still have technical difficulties with your microwave? Never know how long to put that half eaten hot-pocket in for? With the
nextWAVE
(trademark pending) you don’t need to know! Simply scan the bar code and
let the nextWave do its thing
— wirelessly!
[Kashev Dalmia], [Dario Aranguiz], [Brady Salz] and [Ahmed Suhyl] just competed in the
HackIllinois Hackathon 2014
, and their project was this
awesome smart microwave.
It uses a
Spark Core
Microcontroller to control the microwave and communicate wirelessly over Wi-Fi. They’ve developed an Android app to allow you to scan bar codes, which are then looked up in a
Firebase
Database to determine the optimum (crowd sourced) cook time. To make it easy for anyone to use, an app link NFC tag is placed on the microwave for easy installation.
It even automatically opens the door when it’s done — and
plays Funky Town
! Oh and it also has a Pebble app to show you the time remaining on your food. We think this
Raspberry Pi microwave
might give it a run for its money though… | 26 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "1349711",
"author": "Per Jensen",
"timestamp": "2014-04-14T23:16:18",
"content": "Good job starting an empty microwave…",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1349773",
"author": "Adam",
"timestamp": "2014-04-14T23:44... | 1,760,376,233.784944 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/14/electric-imp-locks-and-unlocks-your-door-automatically/ | Electric Imp Locks And Unlocks Your Door Automatically | James Hobson | [
"home hacks",
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"automatic door lock",
"door lock",
"Electric Imp"
] | When the folks over at PinMeTo moved into a new office, they were dismayed to find out an extra key would run them a whopping 500 sek (~$75 USD). Instead, they decided to build their own
automatic door lock using the Electric Imp system.
If you’re not familiar, the Electric Imp is a small SD card designed to provide internet (Wi-Fi) functionality to consumer devices. While it looks like an SD card, you cannot just plug it into any SD card slot and expect it to work — it still needs a
prototyping board.
We’ve seen it used to make a
wireless thermal printer
, or even make a
tweeting cat door
to let you know of any feline intruders!
Anyway — back to the hack. To move the lock cylinder they’re using a basic RC servo connected directly to the Imp. A flex sensor is installed on the side of the door over-top the lock — this provides feedback to the Imp whether or not the door is in fact locked. The Imp then communicates to
Everymote
to allow for keypad access from your mobile phone.
It probably ended up costing more in time and money than a new key, but hey, it looks like it was a fun project to do! | 16 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "1349384",
"author": "Joee",
"timestamp": "2014-04-14T20:22:31",
"content": "What happens when one of those jumper wires pop out when the door closes too hard?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1349401",
"author": "Marcus... | 1,760,376,233.463739 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/14/mountainbeest-a-theo-jansen-creature-comes-alive-in-my-garage/ | MountainBeest – A Theo Jansen Creature Comes Alive In My Garage | Jeremy Cook | [
"Featured",
"Misc Hacks",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"mountainbeest",
"strandbeest",
"theo jansen",
"walking robot"
] | About a year ago, a member of my family sent me a video featuring [Theo Jansen’s] StrandBeest, knowing that I was interested in
all kinds of wacky and hackish inventions
. My initial reaction was something to the effect of “wow that’s a neat device, but that guy is a little crazy.” For better or worse, the idea that this was an incredible invention turned over in my head for some time. Eventually, I decided that I needed to build one myself. Apparently I’m a little crazy as well.
Theo’s original beest runs on a complicated linkage system powered by wind. He was nice enough to publish the linkage lengths or “
eleven holy numbers
,” as he calls him at
the bottom of this page
. He doesn’t, however, really explain how the connections on his PVC power transmission system work, so I was left to try to figure it out from his videos. As you’ll see from build details and video to follow, this isn’t trivial. Keep reading past the jump to learn the adversity that I encountered, and how it was overcome in the end.
[vimeo 71927604 w=580]
The Build Begins
For reasons that I’m not entirely sure of, I started building the leg linkages out of wood instead of PVC pipe. Perhaps it was this
four-legged miniature Jansen-style walker
that inspired it. Some of the linkages were scaled directly from this design. That’s also likely how I decided that it might be possible to walk my StrandBeest version around with four legs. That or possibly
this awesome simulation
. Given how much effort it took to make each leg, the fewer the better from the perspective of getting it finished.
To begin with, I was never sure I’d finish more than one leg, but after trying out the process on the first linkage set, as
seen on [HAD]
, soon I was
testing two legs
. Finally it was on to four legs linked together with a central PVC shaft — also seen
on [HAD]
and in the video below.
[youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwnvAjFfxOs
w=580]
I thought that was pretty cool, so the build seemed to be done for the time being. I literally hung it up in my garage to see if I could think of anything better to do with it.
Inspiration to Finish the Project
Months later, I was contacted by [Jay], who recruits for the
Columbia, SC Maker Faire
, about doing something for the show. My dormant ‘Beest, now dubbed the [MountainBeest], seemed like a great candidate. [Jay] volunteered that they had a winch available (why not?) to hoist the [MountainBeest] up and down spider. This was great, as I had serious doubts about its ability to walk on its own.
Although I could have probably hooked up a series of cables to actuate the legs remotely, this didn’t seem quite good enough. Electronic remote control seemed like a better idea, and fortunately I had a windshield wiper motor and controls left over from a failed “giant hexapod” project that
[HAD] featured in 2012
.
Some Issues with the Build
The mechanical build was simple enough, but power transmission with PVC pipe is getting into somewhat uncharted waters for me. My first idea was to use sprocket gears off of a bike that I converted to single speed, and windshield wiper motors to power the legs. This idea had some potential, but I was supporting the driving gear quite poorly. Additionally, the wiper motors tended to go faster and start more violently than the [MountainBeest] liked.
As seen here
, even after upgrading to a larger single speed chain, things didn’t stay together.
[youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mf25dZ4U-Ws
w=580]
My “custom” single speed bike, however, looks awesome
with its new chain
. It’s good to have a backup plan.
The [MountainBeest] backup plan was to use one slower motor on each set of two legs. This would get rid of any pesky chain issues, and theoretically allow the ‘beest to turn when walking. It took some work, including modifying the frame and coming up with
an interesting motor mounting solution
seen in the picture below. It did work, however, and that counts a success in HaD land.
One continuing issue I’ve had with the extremely low geared motors I was using, is that at certain points in the mechanism’s travel, it tends to put a huge amount of torque on the shaft. In order to fight this, I came up with a PVC coupler that absorbs some shock and allows it to flex as seen
on [HAD] here
. These are known in their more traditional settings as a “beam” or “helical” coupling. My PVC version is seen in the video below.
[youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZzkBMySk94
w=580]
Final Design
After solving (or at least mitigating) most of the mechanical issues with my “walker,” the electronics were fairly simple. I used a four-channel radio transmitter with a
PWM relay switch from Servocity
. This was able to handle the DC motors nicely, despite possibly being overkill. After wondering what I could do with the other two channels, I remembered that I had a Pan/Tilt mechanism already built.
After attaching the camera mount to the polycarbonate shell, it was simply a matter of plugging the servos in. In a few easy steps I had a ready-made GoPro mount to add sight to my creation!
Below is a video of it completed in the garage, and there’s
more information on the final build here
. Unfortunately, the torque required to actually make the legs walk was too much for the little motors I was using. It’ll make a great display though, and actually walking will be a good goal if I ever decide to make revision 1!
[youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yS6Ixjgb_A
w=470]
So sometimes one just needs a little push to actually finish a project! Hopefully my [MountainBeest] can make a good showing at the
Columbia, South Carolina Maker Faire
this year. I’m certainly looking forward to it. If you happen to be in the area on June 14th this year, or want to make the trip, be sure to stop by and say hello!
Full disclosure: I’ve received promotional consideration on some parts used in this project not in connection with this article.
Jeremy Cook is a manufacturing engineer with 10 years experience as his full-time profession, and has a BSME from Clemson University. Outside of work he’s an avid maker and experimenter, working on everything from hobby CNC machinery, to light graffiti, and even the occasional DIY musical instrument. When he’s not busy creating (or destroying) something, he writes for his blogs
JcoPro.net
and
DIYTripods.com
. | 17 | 8 | [
{
"comment_id": "1349126",
"author": "Indyaner",
"timestamp": "2014-04-14T17:42:01",
"content": "I dont get it. Theo Jansen’s Models work great. He had a bright idea to achive his idea of self moving creatures. So what is Jeremys approach? His Model looks extremely fiddled, patched up and with lots ... | 1,760,376,233.713379 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/14/steering-sound-with-phased-array/ | Steering Sound With Phased Array | Will Sweatman | [
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"atmega",
"phased array",
"speaker"
] | [Edward] and [Tom] managed to build an actual
phased array speaker system
capable of steering sound around a room. Powered by an Atmega 644, this impressive final project uses 12 independently controllable speakers that each have a variable delay. By adjusting the delay at precise intervals, the angle of maximum intensity of the output wave can be shifted, there by “steering” the sound.
Phased arrays
are usually associated with EM applications,
such as radar
. But the same principles can be applied to sound waveforms. The math is a little scary, but we’ll walk you through only what you need to know in case you’re ever in need to steer sound with a
speaker and a servo
phased array sound system.
The physics of a phased array system can be demonstrated with a diffraction grating.
The above animation shows what happens to a waveform as it passes through openings in a barrier. By counting the number of openings, obtaining the distance between the openings and combining this knowledge with the properties of the incoming waveform, one can find the area of most intensity.
This is the phased array setup. If you consider each speaker as openings, you can apply the same technique. [Edward] and [Tom] hammered it out, and found that the output intensity can be calculated by the following equation:
Where vs = speed of sound, d = distance between speakers, and td = a time delay. By varying the time delay, you vary the angle of maximum intensity. [Edward] and [Tom] tested their theory in MATLAB, and it worked!
Below is the theorized output of several frequencies with no delay.
This is the output with a .3ms delay.
Be sure to check out [Edward] and [Tom’s] project for complete details, source code, schematics, ext. Below is a video showing the project working in real-time. | 34 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "1348803",
"author": "Lwatcdr",
"timestamp": "2014-04-14T14:46:23",
"content": "Sonar anyone? Yes I know subs has used devices like this for many decades but maybe for a robot?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1348804",
"autho... | 1,760,376,234.274556 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/14/bare-metal-programming-on-the-teensy-3/ | Bare-metal Programming On The Teensy 3 | Brian Benchoff | [
"ARM",
"Microcontrollers"
] | [
"bare metal",
"development",
"Teensy",
"teensy 3",
"Teensy 3.0",
"Teensy 3.1"
] | The Teensy 3.x series of boards are amazing pieces of work, with a tiny, breadboard-friendly footprint, an improbable number of IO pins, and a powerful processor, all for under $20. [Karl Lunt] loves nearly all the features of the Teensy 3, except for one: the Arduino IDE. Yes, the most terrible, most popular IDE in existence. To fix this problem, [Karl]
set up a bare-metal development environment
, and lucky us, he’s chosen to share it with us.
[Karl] is using
CodeBench Lite
for the compiler, linker, assembler, and all that other GCC fun, but the CodeSourcery suite doesn’t have an IDE. Visual Studio 2008 Express is [Karl]’s environment of choice, but just about every other IDE out there will do the same job. Of course a make utility will be needed, and grabbing
the docs for the Freescale K20 microcontroller
wouldn’t be a bad idea, either.
The end result is [Karl] being able to develop for the Teensy 3.X with the IDE of his choice. He was able to quickly set up a ‘blink a LED’ program with the new toolchain, although uploading the files to the Teensy does require
the Teensy Loader app
. | 40 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "1348496",
"author": "nah!",
"timestamp": "2014-04-14T11:20:33",
"content": "doesnt the teensy side already have tutorals and recomendations for c/c++ compilers ?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1348504",
"author": "Spock",
... | 1,760,376,233.9929 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/14/neo-geo-arcade-gets-second-life-with-a-raspberry-pi/ | Neo Geo Arcade Gets Second Life With A Raspberry Pi | Adam Fabio | [
"Video Hacks"
] | [
"arcade",
"arcade cabinet",
"neo geo",
"raspberry pi"
] | An old Neo Geo Arcade, a Raspberry Pi, and some time were all [Matthew] needed to build this
Pi Powered Arcade Emulator Cabinet
.
Neo Geo
was originally marketed by SNK as a very expensive home video console system. Much like the
Nintendo Play Choice 10
, SNK also marketed an arcade system, the MVS. The Neo Geo MVS allowed arcade operators to run up to six titles in a single cabinet. The MVS also allowed players to save games on memory cards.
[Matthew’s] cabinet had seen better days. Most of the electronics were gone, the CRT monitor was dead, and the power supply was blown. Aside from a bit of wear, the cabinet frame was solid and the controls were in good shape. He decided it would be a good candidate for an emulator conversion.
We’ve seen some pretty awesome arcade conversions in the past, such as this Halloween rendition of
Splatterhouse
. For his conversion, [Matthew] stuck to the electronics, leaving most of the old arcade patina intact. The CRT did fire up after some components were replaced. [Matthew] ran into some refresh rate issues with the Raspberry Pi, so he opted to swap it out with a modern LCD monitor. Controls were wired up with the help of an
I-PAC board
.
[Matthew] had to write a driver to handle the I-PAC, but he says it was a good learning experience. Aside from the LCD screen, the result looks like it could be found in the back of an old bowling alley, or a smokey bar next to Golden Tee. Nice work, [Matthew]! | 9 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "1348322",
"author": "Pedro",
"timestamp": "2014-04-14T09:29:35",
"content": "METAL SLUG <3",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1348710",
"author": "gregkennedy",
"timestamp": "2014-04-14T13:47:18",
"content": "I love me ... | 1,760,376,233.899289 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/13/air-tensioned-bandsaw-simplifies-woodworking-life/ | Air-Tensioned Bandsaw Simplifies Woodworking Life | James Hobson | [
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"band saw",
"bandsaw",
"bandsaw tensioning"
] | If you’ve ever had the pleasure of owning a band-saw you’ll know exactly how much fun it is to try to replace the blade, or properly tension it even. [Richard T] got tired of it and decided to upgrade his band saw with
a bit of pneumatic power.
To remove the band saw blade or tension it you have to turn an adjustment knob on the top of the band saw — it’s kind of awkward and really annoying. [Richard] has taken the lead screw out and replaced it with a pneumatic cylinder. He’s added a little control panel with a main valve, and pressure regulator. To remove the band saw blade, he bleeds the system with the valve, and to tension it, he turns up the regulator! It’s simple and super effective.
This is especially convenient for tensioning because you can watch the blade during the
“Flutter Test”
while gently turning up the regulator.
If you look in the right places you could probably build a system like this for less than $50. For a complete explanation stick around to hear it from [Richard] himself! | 24 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "1347970",
"author": "magnets",
"timestamp": "2014-04-14T06:06:13",
"content": "Where are these places of pneumatics for $50 you speak of?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1348765",
"author": "Maxzillian",
"times... | 1,760,376,234.195415 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/13/electron-beam-control-in-a-scanning-electron-microscope/ | Electron Beam Control In A Scanning Electron Microscope | Brian Benchoff | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"electron",
"electron gun",
"electron microscope",
"scanning electron microscope",
"sem"
] | A few years ago [Ben Krasnow] built a scanning electron microscope from a few parts he had sitting around. He’s done a few overviews of how he built his SEM, but now
he’s put up a great video
on how to control electrons, focus them into a point, and scan a sample.
The basic idea behind a scanning electron microscope is to shoot electrons down a tube, focus them into a point, and scan a conductive sample and detect the secondary electrons shot off the sample and display them on an oscilloscope. [Ben] is generating electrons with a small tungsten filament at the top of his electron ‘stack’. Being like charged, these electrons naturally fan out, so a good bit of electron optics are required to get a small point.
Focusing is done through a series of pinholes and electrostatic deflectors, much like you’d see in an old oscilloscope CRT. In the video, you can see [Ben]
shooting electrons and displaying a Christmas tree graphic onto a piece of phosphor-coated glass
. He has a pretty big scanning area in his SEM, more than enough to look at a few chips, wafers, and whatever other crazy stuff is coming out of [Ben]’s lab.
Video below, along with the three-year-old overview of the entire microscope. | 6 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "1347975",
"author": "Sam",
"timestamp": "2014-04-14T06:08:56",
"content": "http://benkrasnow.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/electron-beam-control-in-scanning.htmlAt least jump to his blog for this, he deserves the traffic!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
... | 1,760,376,234.857188 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/13/hackaday-links-april-13-2014/ | Hackaday Links: April 13, 2014 | Mike Szczys | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"Hackaday links"
] | [
"bbs",
"cyclone separator",
"daft punk table",
"documentary",
"module",
"office space",
"pokemon",
"raspberry pi",
"static shock"
] | Check out
this Pokemon Yellow cartridge for Super Nintendo
. Wait, what? That is a Game Boy game! Well there is a Super Gameboy cartridge that lets you play them on SNES. This
mashes the guts of the two
into a custom-decorated SNES cart. Now if you’re more interested in the guts of that Super Game Boy cartridge you’ll want to check out
this classic hack which dumped the ROM from it
. [Thanks Nick]
Here are a couple of interesting things from our friends over at Adafruit. First off, they have a high-res
gallery of the Raspberry Pi compute module and carrier boards
which we
heard about earlier in the week
. Also, the latest Collin’s Lab has
a great video on soldering
. We especially appreciated the discussion of soldering iron tips and their effect on heat transfer.
[Marius] got tired of the static shock from the office coat rack. You know, like the scene straight out of
Office Space
? But he didn’t disassemble the infrastructure to solve the issue. Instead he
connected it directly to ground
. Just make sure you stick the wire in the correct hole!
It’s as if Hackaday is on a quest for the most perfect DIY cyclonic separator. Here’s
the latest offering which you can cut out from sheet stock
by hand. It’s the alternative
for those of us without access to a 3D printer
.
If you think it’s too difficult to build what we refer to as a Daft Punk table you need to check out what [Dan] pulled off. He proves that
your LED matrix coffee table project
doesn’t have to take up a ton of time or cost an exorbitant amount of cash.
We should have mentioned this to you
before
the weekend so you’d have something to watch: you can now
download
BBS: The Documentary
from the Internet Archive
. We’ve watched the entire thing and it’s fantastic. If you know what
a dial-up modem handshake
sounds like, you’re going to be awash in nostalgia. If you don’t know the delight of those sounds you need to watch this and see how things used to be back in the day when connecting your computer to a network definitely wasn’t what the cool kids were doing. [Thanks Larry] | 13 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "1347334",
"author": "Galane",
"timestamp": "2014-04-14T00:17:09",
"content": "Would be nice if he had the DXF of the cone to download.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1347412",
"author": "butterfly",
"timestamp": "2014-0... | 1,760,376,234.531231 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/13/super-affordable-led-lighting-ready-to-go-off-mains-voltage/ | Super Affordable LED Lighting Ready To Go Off Mains Voltage | James Hobson | [
"LED Hacks"
] | [
"accent LED lighting",
"corncob LED",
"LED lighting"
] | If you’re looking for a super cheap way to add LED lighting accents to your house, then this hack is for you! Corn-cob style LED light bulbs can be had for a few dollars. The bulbs include driver circuitry, and 8 LED arrays! All you have to do is
take it apart.
[Martin Raynsford] stumbled upon this idea when trying to think of a way to light his laser engraving enclosure. It originally came with a regular light bulb, but it didn’t distribute light nicely and was in the way for some of his
other planned upgrades.
Not wanting to add another DC power supply to the mix he remembered an old corn-cob LED light bulb he had — as it turns out, they’re pretty easy to take apart! Solder some longer leads on (take note of how they are wired, some are in series, some in parallel) and you’ve just made yourself some easy to use LED accent lighting!
Of course you could just buy those cheap LED rolls from China nowadays for next to nothing
for your accent lighting.
[via
Hacked Gadgets
] | 19 | 14 | [
{
"comment_id": "1347091",
"author": "Sven",
"timestamp": "2014-04-13T20:40:25",
"content": "I have bought several of these cheap chinese LED lamps, and the drivers are frankly lethal, they either have severe lack of isolation or they are simply not isolated at all. From what i can see of this drive... | 1,760,376,234.810549 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/13/hackerspace-tour-ixr-in-wall-nj/ | Hackerspace Tour: IXR In Wall, NJ | Brian Benchoff | [
"Hackerspaces"
] | [
"hackerspace",
"hackerspace tours",
"hackerspaces"
] | Update:
As of 2023, IXR has been superseded by the
Computer Deconstruction Laboratory (CDL)
. The tools and equipment have obviously seen upgrades in the intervening years since this article was originally published — CDL member Neil Cherry tells us the synths are no longer available, but there is an impressively equipped podcast studio available for rent.
Hackaday took a little trip out to Wall, NJ last weekend for the
Vintage Computer Festival 9.1 East
. The event was held at Camp Evans, a former US military installation that can only be described as, “The DARPA of a century ago”. This is the site of a Marconi transmitter and the place where [Edwin Armstrong] developed the regenerative receiver a little more than 100 years ago.
There’s a lot more to Camp Evans than the yearly Vintage Computer Festival. It’s also home to the
InfoAge Science & History Museums
, a collection of fascinating mini-museums covering topics ranging from local shipwrecks to the history of broadcast radio. It’s also the home of IXR, the Institute for eXploratory Research, a hackerspace located in the old telecom building at Camp Evans.
In our video tour, [Joe Wilkes] takes us around the shop, showing off their equipment and tools. Unlike most of our hackerspace tours, we couldn’t find a Makerbot sitting disused on a bookshelf anywhere, but the space did have a Solidoodle 3D printer, a Shapeoko 2 CNC machine under construction, and enough hand tools to bring any project to fruition.
There were a few oddities in IXR compared to the other hackerspaces we’ve been to. First is an inordinate amount of synths, keyboards, and other MIDI gear. [Joe] didn’t know what these were for, so we’ll leave that explanation for an IXR member in the comments of this post. There was also a small supply of random components for sale (and on display). Most of the merch was from Adafruit, and it seems like a great way to have
that one part
I need to finish this build
for members while providing a little bit of beer money for the space.
This strange device was found in one of the boxes at IXR, and neither [Joe] nor myself knew what it was. The best guess was a key cutter, but if anyone has a better idea, leave a note in the comments. | 20 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "1346851",
"author": "Slack",
"timestamp": "2014-04-13T17:10:44",
"content": "WTF – Is a Foley Belsaw Model 200 key machine. Used for duplicating keys. Every hackerspace should have one. GeeksOK in Davenport, OK.https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=548004308577066",
"parent... | 1,760,376,234.752175 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/15/a-3d-printed-cryptex/ | A 3D Printed Cryptex | Marsh | [
"3d Printer hacks"
] | [
"3d print",
"3d printed",
"3d printer",
"cryptex",
"diy cryptex"
] | Once you’ve dialed in your 3D printer calibration settings, you enter the phase of printer ownership where you’re eager to show off what you can make, and you’re sure to impress with [pjensen’s]
3d printed cryptex
spinning around in your hands.
If you’re a regular reader of
our 3D Printering column
, then the behind-the-scenes screengrabs should look familiar: [pjensen] used Autodesk Inventor to sculpt the shapes, staring with the cryptex’s individual rings. After embossing the alphabet across each ring, [pjensen] adds slots into the inner loops for pins to slide through. An outer chamber holds the rings in place and prohibits access to the interior chamber, which is held in place on both sides by an end cap.
Lining up the rings to spell the correct word allows the inner chamber to slide free of the whole assembly, revealing whatever goodies may lie inside. You can follow [pjensen’s] step-by-step guide to build your own cryptex, or just download his model and start printing. | 9 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "1352718",
"author": "Spork",
"timestamp": "2014-04-15T23:05:38",
"content": "All good and fine, but if you get it wrong it’s supposed to destroy the contents!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1352816",
"author": "Galane... | 1,760,376,235.196095 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/15/developed-on-hackaday-oliviers-design-rundown/ | Developed On Hackaday: Olivier’s Design Rundown | Mathieu Stephan | [
"Featured",
"hardware"
] | [
"arduino",
"design",
"developed on hackaday",
"integration",
"mooltipass",
"password"
] | The Hackaday writers and readers are currently working hand-in-hand on an offline password keeper, the
Mooltipass
. A few days ago we presented Olivier’s design front PCB without even showing the rest of his creation (which was quite rude of us…). We also
asked our readers
for input on how we should design the front panel. In this new article we will therefore show you how the different pieces fit together in this very first (non-final) prototype… follow us after the break!
This is the bottom PCB, containing the main micro-controller, the Arduino headers and the FPC connector for the OLED screen. Finding low profile standard .1″ female connectors was one of our longest Google searches. The ones you can see above are
pass-through connectors
, which means that the pins can go through the PCB.
This is the CNC-milled prototype case. On the bottom you may notice two slots having a smaller depth to the other end, positioned right on top of the Arduino connectors. As previously mentioned in our
Developed on Hackaday articles
, we want to give the final users the ability to convert their secure password keeper
into an Arduino platform
. As you may have guessed, converting the Mooltipass will be as simple as cutting this thin plastic layer (see top of the picture) to access the Arduino headers and unlock the platform.
This is how the bottom PCB fits into the case. 4 screws can be used to keep everything in place. The large elevated plastic area serves as a flat surface for the smartcard:
The OLED screen then rests on the case’s sides:
Enough space is left behind the screen for the flex PCB to comfortably bend. Finally, the top board fits in the remaining space and the acrylic panel is put on top of the assembly:
As our last article stated
, we obviously still have some things to perfect. In the meantime, we are going to hand solder a few prototypes and ship them out to our current developers.
Want to stay informed? You can join the official
Mooltipass Google Group
or follow us on
Hackaday Projects
. | 16 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "1352622",
"author": "polossatik",
"timestamp": "2014-04-15T22:02:10",
"content": "It looks sexy.Who thought blue leds could still be cool after all the abuse in horrible products ? :)",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1352623",
... | 1,760,376,235.389765 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/15/step-into-the-ring-with-fight-coach/ | Step Into The Ring With Fight Coach | Will Sweatman | [
"Microcontrollers",
"Wearable Hacks",
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"accelerometer",
"bluetooth",
"boxing",
"fight",
"gloves",
"mma"
] | As MMA continues to grow in popularity, the competition is getting tougher. There’s always someone else out there who’s training harder and longer than you are. So how do you get the advantage over your competitors? More push-ups? Sit-ups? Eat more vegetables? What about installing custom 2 by 1 inch, 5 gram PCB’s armed with an ATmega32U4, a MPU-6050 6 axis accelerometer and an RN-41 Bluetooth module into each of your gloves? Now that’s what we’re talking about.
[Vincent] and [Jooyoung] of Cornell joined their classmates in turning out another cool piece of electrical engineering.
Fight Coach
records data from the fighter’s gloves so that it can not only be analyzed to improve performance, but also interact with the fighter in real-time. Though not quite as immersive as some
fighter training techniques
we’ve seen, Fight Coach might just give a fighter a slight edge in the ring.
Fight Coach offers 3 modes of training: Defense mode, Damage mode and Free-Training mode. As usual with Cornell projects, all code, schematics and a wealth of information on the project is just a click away. And stick around after the break for a video demonstration of Fight Coach.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hn7gKBAS2c | 5 | 2 | [
{
"comment_id": "1352471",
"author": "wretch",
"timestamp": "2014-04-15T20:26:51",
"content": "Nice! Can something similar be done with a Kinect?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1352519",
"author": "wretch",
"timestamp": "2014... | 1,760,376,234.960478 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/15/retrotechtacular-the-cryotron-computer/ | Retrotechtacular: The Cryotron Computer | Mike Szczys | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"Retrotechtacular"
] | [
"computer",
"cryotron",
"mit",
"vacuum tube"
] | Have you ever heard of a Cryotron Computer before? Of course not. Silicon killed the radio star: this is a story of competing technologies back in the day. The hand above holds the two competitors, the bulkiest one is obviously the vacuum tube, and the three-legged device is what became a household name. But to the right of that tube is another technological marvel that can also be combined into computing machines: the cryotron.
[Dudley Allen Buck] and his contributions to early computing are a tale of the possible alternate universe that
could have been cryotrons instead of silicon transistors
. Early on we find that the theory points to exotic superconductive materials, but we were delighted to find that in the conception and testing stages [Buck] was hacking. He made his first experimental electronic switches using dissimilar metals and dunking them in liquid helium. The devices were copper wire wrapped around a tantalum wire. The tantalum is the circuit path, the copper wire acts as the switch via a magnetic field that alters the resistance of the tantalum.
The name comes from the low temperature bath necessary to make the switches work properly. Miniaturization was the key as it always is; the example above is a relatively small example of the wire-wound version of the Cryotron, but the end goal was a process very familiar to us today. [Buck] was searching for the thin film fabrication techniques that would let him shoe horn 75,000 or more into one single computing platform. Guess who came knocking on his door during this period of his career? The NSA. The story gets even more interesting from there, but lest we rewrite the article we leave you with this: the technology may beat out silicon in the end. Currently it’s one of the cool kids on the block for those companies racing to the quantum computing finish line.
[Thanks Frederick]
Retrotechtacular is a weekly column featuring hacks, technology, and kitsch from ages of yore. Help keep it fresh by
sending in your ideas for future installments
. | 14 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "1352228",
"author": "polossatik",
"timestamp": "2014-04-15T17:53:22",
"content": "A very interesting read, keep those Retrotechtacular posts coming !",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1352324",
"author": "onebiozz",
"times... | 1,760,376,234.917311 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/15/automated-bed-leveling-for-3d-printers-is-now-solved/ | Automated Bed Leveling For 3D Printers Is Now Solved | Brian Benchoff | [
"3d Printer hacks"
] | [
"automated bed leveling",
"bed leveling",
"makerbot"
] | The latest and greatest feature for 3D printers – besides being closed source, having no meaningful technical specs, and being on track towards pulling in $10 Million on a Kickstarter – is automated bed leveling. This amazingly useful feature makes sure your prints have proper adhesion to the bed, reduce print errors, and put even inexpensive printers into the realm of extremely expensive professional machines. Automated bed leveling has been extremely hard to implement in the past, but now [Scottbee] has it figured out
with a working prototype on his Makerbot Replicator 2X
.
Earlier attempts at automated bed leveling used some sort of probe on the tool head to measure the build plate, calculate its flatness and orientation in space, and compensate for any tilt in software. [Scottbee]’s solution to the problem took a different tack: instead of trying to compensate for any odd orientation of the build surface in software, he’s simply making the bed level with a series of springs and cam locks.
[Scottbee]’s device levitates the build plate on three springs, and replaces the jack screws with three “gimballing pins” and pin locks. With the pin locks disengaged, the bed plate is pressed down with the printer’s nozzle. By moving the extruder across the build plate and locking the pins in place one by one, [Scottbee]’s device defines the plane of the build plate along three points. This makes the build platform parallel to the extruder nozzle, and also has a nice benefit of setting the distance from the build platform to the nozzle precisely with incredible repeatability.
The mechanics of locking the three gimballing pins in place only requires a single DC gear motor, driven by an extra fan output on the Makerbot’s electronics. It’s simple, and with a bit of rework, it looks like most of the device could also be 3D printed.
An awful lot of RepRaps and 3D printers out there already use three points to attach the build plate to a frame. With a little bit of effort, this same technique could be ported and made a bit more generic than the Makerbot-based build seen above. It’s amazingly simple, and we can’t wait to see this applied to a normal RepRap.
Thanks [Josh] for the tip. | 39 | 15 | [
{
"comment_id": "1351908",
"author": "Waterjet",
"timestamp": "2014-04-15T14:55:25",
"content": "“and put even inexpensive printers into the realm of extremely expensive professional machines”Not quite.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1352061"... | 1,760,376,235.149228 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/15/extracting-gesture-information-from-existing-wireless-signals/ | Extracting Gesture Information From Existing Wireless Signals | Mathieu Stephan | [
"Wireless Hacks"
] | [
"Doppler",
"gesture recognition"
] | A team at the University of Washington recently developed
Allsee
, a simple gesture recognition device composed of very few components. Contrary to conventional Doppler modules (like
this one
) that emit their own RF signal, Allsee uses already existing wireless signals (TV and RFID transmissions) to extract any movement that may occur in front of it.
Allsee’s receiver circuit uses a simple envelope detector to extract the amplitude information to feed it to a microcontroller Analog to Digital Converter (ADC). Each gesture will therefore produce a semi-unique footprint (see picture above). The footprint can be analyzed to launch a dedicated action on your computer/cellphone. The
PDF article
claims that the team achieved a 97% classification accuracy over a set of eight gestures.
Obviously the main advantage of this system is its low power consumption. A nice demonstration video is embedded after the break, and we’d like to think [Korbi] for tipping us about this story. | 16 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "1351521",
"author": "SOMEBODY!!!",
"timestamp": "2014-04-15T11:45:07",
"content": "need it naw!!!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1351683",
"author": "Shakipu",
"timestamp": "2014-04-15T12:49:03",
"content": "There w... | 1,760,376,235.824187 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/15/the-egg-bot-gets-a-little-wax-stabby/ | The Egg-Bot Gets A Little Wax Stabby | James Hobson | [
"cooking hacks"
] | [
"egg-hot",
"electro-kistka",
"kistka"
] | With Easter just around the corner, [Windell and Lenore] over at Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories have come out with a new upgrade for their Egg-Bot. It’s called the
Electro-Kistka
and it allows your Egg-Bot to do wax-resist egg dying — in the same style as Ukranian
Pysanky.
This isn’t the first time someone’s strapped a kistka to an Egg-Bot, but after seeing how much fun their customers were having, [Windell and Lenore] decided to make their own. It consists of two main components, a heater assembly that attaches to the Egg-Bot’s arm, and a power control board. To apply the wax they are using a kistka tip (looks like a soldering iron tip with a hole through it) which feeds molten wax onto the egg through capillary action.
It works almost exactly the same as the regular Egg-Bot arm, but allows you to dye your eggs with a very stark contrast as the wax repels dye perfectly. Just take a look at the following intricate designs.
An example of a 4-step multi-color egg using this method
Still — using the EggBot kinda seems like cheating. Of course it would be fun to make a whole bunch of super intricate eggs, take them to the extended family get-together on Easter, and convince everyone you’re a master egg decorator. | 13 | 4 | [
{
"comment_id": "1351610",
"author": "Morgen",
"timestamp": "2014-04-15T12:24:40",
"content": "Trypophobia anyone?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1352593",
"author": "ET",
"timestamp": "2014-04-15T21:44:05",
"content":... | 1,760,376,235.879329 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/10/3d-printed-cyclone-dust-separator/ | 3D Printed Cyclone Dust Separator | James Hobson | [
"3d Printer hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"cyclone separator",
"dust extractor",
"dust separator"
] | [Nicholas] has been reading Hackaday for a few months now, and after seeing several people’s dust extractor setups, he decided to make his own 3D printed version. And he’s
sharing the files with everyone!
He has a small Lobo mill which produces a lot of dust and to clean up he’s been using a small “Shark” brand vacuum cleaner. It’s a powerful little thing, but has little to no capacity which makes it rather frustrating to use. This makes it a perfect candidate for a cyclone upgrade! If you’re not familiar with
cyclonic separator
it’s a way of removing dust from air using vortex separation — between rotational forces and gravity, this keeps the dust out of your vacuum cleaner and means you never need to change another filter!
Using Autodesk inventor he designed this 4-stage cyclone separator. It’s made for a 1.75″ OD vacuum hose (the Shark standard) but could be easily modified for different vacuums. We’ve seen lots of
cyclone
separators
before
, but this 3D printed one certainly makes it easier to fabricate to exacting standards! | 17 | 7 | [
{
"comment_id": "1340520",
"author": "JRDM",
"timestamp": "2014-04-11T00:43:15",
"content": "Given that the cheapest cyclone dust separator is $50 (an add on for a 5 gallon bucket at that), this might be a worthwhile thing to do.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
... | 1,760,376,236.277033 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/10/developed-on-hackaday-2-days-left-to-submit-your-design/ | Developed On Hackaday: 2 Days Left To Submit Your Design! | Mathieu Stephan | [
"Hackaday Columns",
"hardware"
] | [
"design",
"developed on hackaday",
"mooltipass",
"password",
"security",
"smart card"
] | We’re sure that many of Hackaday readers already know that one of the two main components of the
Mooltipass project
is a smart card, containing (among others) the AES-256 encryption key. Two weeks ago
we asked
if you’d be interested coming up with a design that will be printed on the final card. As usual, many people were eager to contribute and recently sent us a
few suggestions
. If you missed the call and would like to join in,
it’s not too late!
You may still send your CMYK vector image at mathieu[at]hackaday[dot]com by sunday. More detailed specifications may be found
here
.
In a few days we’ll also publish on Hackaday a project update, as we recently received the top and bottom PCBs for
Olivier’s design
. The low level libraries will soon be finished and hopefully a few days later we’ll be able to ship a few devices to developers and beta testers. We’re also still looking for contributors that may be interested in helping us to develop browser plugins.
The Mooltipass team would also like to thank our dear readers that gave us a skull on
Hackaday projects
! | 9 | 3 | [
{
"comment_id": "1340321",
"author": "dmattox10",
"timestamp": "2014-04-10T22:42:44",
"content": "Will the mooltipass be cross platform compatible?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1340359",
"author": "mikeneiderhauser",
"timest... | 1,760,376,235.59513 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/10/recovering-nichrome-wire-from-unexpected-sources/ | Recovering Nichrome Wire From Unexpected Sources | James Hobson | [
"classic hacks",
"Tool Hacks"
] | [
"foam cutter",
"nichrome"
] | Don’t you hate it when you’re in a pinch and all your favorite surplus or electronic stores are closed? You’ve gotta finish this project, but how? He’s a nice
real hack
for you guys.
How to recover nichrome wire from a ceramic heater!
Necessity spawned this idea, as [Armilar] needed to make 45 cuts in two pieces of foam in order to ship some long circuit boards. Not wanting to make the 90 cuts individually, he improvised this nichrome slicing jig. Not having a spool of nichrome handy, he decided to use a less conventional method. He pulled out a sledgehammer and smashed open a ceramic wirewound resistor.
According to him, nice big ceramic resistors like this 10W one have about a meter of nichrome wire inside! After breaking the ceramic, it’s quite easy to remove. He made up a jig using nylon spacers and rivets, and then wrapped his wire back and forth across the whole length. It worked perfectly — though he was using 240VDC @ about 1.2A…
If you don’t need such a complex setup, there’s always the bare bones
wire foam cutters
we’ve featured many times before. | 41 | 16 | [
{
"comment_id": "1340144",
"author": "the gambler",
"timestamp": "2014-04-10T20:24:30",
"content": "nice but i’m curious as to why he had to have nichrome wire. I recently made a foam cutter for a friend and after way to much reading on making foamies realized that tiedown wire for airplanes, fishi... | 1,760,376,236.472534 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/10/fail-of-the-week-rewiring-robosapien/ | Fail Of The Week: Rewiring Robosapien | Mike Szczys | [
"Fail of the Week",
"Hackaday Columns"
] | [
"fail of the week",
"insulation",
"robosapien",
"wire"
] | Our first thought was “check out all of those TO-92 components!”, but then we saw the wiring nightmare. [Tom] picked up a Robosapien from an estate sale for just $10. Most hackers couldn’t resist that opportunity, but the inexpensive acquisition led to a time-consuming repair odyssey. When something doesn’t work at all you crack it open to see what’s wrong. He was greeted with
wiring whose insulation was flaking off
.
This is no problem for anyone competent with a soldering iron. So [Tom] set to work clipping all the bad wire and replacing it with in-line splices. Voila, the little guy was dancing to his own tunes once again! But the success was short-lived as the next day the robot was unresponsive again. [Tom] plans to do some more work by completely replacing the wires as soon as he receives the replacement connectors he ordered. So what do you think, is this an issue that will be resolved with a wire-ectomy or might there be actual damage to the board itself?
Fail of the Week is a Hackaday column which runs every Wednesday. Help keep the fun rolling by writing about your past failures and
sending us a link to the story
— or sending in links to fail write ups you find in your Internet travels. | 34 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "1339829",
"author": "SOMEBODY!!!",
"timestamp": "2014-04-10T17:15:19",
"content": "I have one robosapien. Thinking of hacking it to work as a real robot o_0",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1339869",
"author": "Matthew",
... | 1,760,376,235.671729 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/10/fake-audiophile-opamps-revealed/ | Fake Audiophile Opamps Revealed | Brian Benchoff | [
"hardware"
] | [
"counterfeit",
"OPA627",
"opamp"
] | The OPA627 is an old, popular, and very high-end opamp found in gear cherished by the most discerning audiophiles. This chip usually sells for at least $15, but when [Zeptobars] found a few of these expensive chips on ebay going for $2, his curiosity was piqued.
Something just isn’t right here
.
[Zeptobars] is well known for his decapsulating and high-resolution photography skills, so he cut the can off a real OPA627, and dissolved one of the improbably cheap ebay chips to reveal the die. Under the microscope, he found an amazing piece of engineering in the real chip – laser trimmed resistors, and even a nice bit of die art.
The ebay chip, if it were real, would look the same. It did not. The ebay chip only contained one laser trimmed resistor and looks to be a much simpler circuit. After a bit of research, [Zeptobars] found it was actually an AD774 opamp. The difference is small, but the AD774 still has much higher noise – something audiophiles could easily differentiate with their $300 oxygen-free volume knobs.
This isn’t the first instance of component counterfeiting [Zeptobars] has come across. He’s found fake
FTDI chips before
, and we’re counting the days until he gets around to putting a few obviously fake ebay 6581 SID chips under the microscope. | 64 | 17 | [
{
"comment_id": "1339466",
"author": "Yarr",
"timestamp": "2014-04-10T14:04:24",
"content": "I believe you mean 6581 SID chips. The 6551 was the Asynchronous Communications Interface Adapter (ACIA).",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1339546",
... | 1,760,376,235.772548 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/10/an-exceptional-basic-computer/ | An Exceptional BASIC Computer | Brian Benchoff | [
"Arduino Hacks"
] | [
"basic",
"TinyBASIC"
] | Since [Dan] has started using microcontrollers, he’s been absolutely fascinated by the fact these chips are essentially low performance computers. Once he caught wind of TinyBASIC, he decided
he would have a go at creating a simple, tiny computer
that’s very simple to the old, tiny, 8-bit computers of yore.
The computer is built on an Arduino shield, using TinyBASIC, the TVout library, and the PS/2 keyboard library. After piecing together a little bit of code, the Arduino IDE alerted [Dan] to the fact the TVout and PS/2 libraries were incompatible with each other. This inspired [Dan] to use the ATMega328P as a coprocessor running the TVout library, and using the capacious ATMega1284P as the home of TinyBASIC and the PS/2 library.
A circuit was put together in Fritzing using minimal components, and a PCB milled out of copper board. After the board was tinned, [Dan] had a beautiful minimalist retro computer with nearly 14kB of RAM free and an RCA display.
Future versions of the build will probably be based around the Arduino Mega, allowing for a TV resolution of 720×480. Also on tap are an SD card slot, LEDs, pots, and possibly even headers for I2C and SPI. | 39 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "1339261",
"author": "Aztraph",
"timestamp": "2014-04-10T11:31:10",
"content": "now all it needs is an audio in for a tape recorder to load a program, I believe I have an old version of prince of persia around here somewhere. Cool!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replie... | 1,760,376,235.962131 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/10/resetting-drm-on-3d-printer-filament/ | Resetting DRM On 3D Printer Filament | Brian Benchoff | [
"3d Printer hacks"
] | [
"3d printer",
"da vinci",
"drm"
] | The Da Vinci 3D printer is, without a doubt, the future of printing plastic objects at home. It’s small, looks good on a desk, is fairly cheap, and most importantly for printer manufacturers, uses chipped filament cartridges that can’t be refilled.
[Oliver] over at Voltivo
was trying to test their new printer filament
with a Da Vinci and ran head-on into this problem of chipped filament. Digging around inside the filament cartridge, he found a measly 300 grams of filament and a small PCB with a Microchip 11LC010 EEPROM. This one kilobyte EEPROM contains all the data about what’s in the filament cartridge, including the length of filament remaining.
After dumping the EEPROM with an Arduino and looking at the hex file, [Oliver] discovered the amount of filament remaining was held in a single two-byte value. Resetting this value to 0xFFFF restores the filament counter to its virgin state, allowing him to refill the filament. A good thing, too; the cartridge filament is about twice as expensive as what we would normally buy. | 94 | 28 | [
{
"comment_id": "1338968",
"author": "ScottishCaptain",
"timestamp": "2014-04-10T08:27:46",
"content": "I’m confused.Is this an advertisement for a crappy 3D printer I’ve never heard of, or an article that’s trashing said printer for your usual inkjet bullshit of non-refillable cartridges?For that f... | 1,760,376,236.22108 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/12/diy-linear-actuators-for-a-flight-sim/ | DIY Linear Actuators For A Flight Sim | Brian Benchoff | [
"hardware",
"Robots Hacks"
] | [
"flight sim",
"linear actuator"
] | [Roland] has already built a few very cool and extremely realistic flight sims, but his latest project will put his current rig to shame. He’s building a six degree of freedom simulator based on
homebuilt linear actuators of his own design
.
The actuator is powered by a large DC motor moving timing belts along the length of the enclosure. These timing belts are connected to a shaft that’s coupled to the frame with a few bungee cords. The bungee cords are important; without them, the timing belts would be carrying all the load of the sim – not a good thing if these actuators are moving an entire cockpit around a living room.
Also on [Roland]’s list of awesome stuff he’s building for his flight sims is
a vibration system
based on the
BFF Shaker
. This board takes data in from sim software and turns it into vibrations produced by either unbalanced DC motors or one of those ‘bass kicker’ transducers.
It’s all very cool stuff, and with all the crazy upgrades [Roland] is doing to his sim rig, he’s doing much better than paying $300/hour to rent a Beechcraft Baron. | 17 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "1344909",
"author": "Waterjet",
"timestamp": "2014-04-12T17:48:05",
"content": "“Flight Sim” AKA Sex Robot.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1344974",
"author": "hack",
"timestamp": "2014-04-12T18:29:46",
"content": "... | 1,760,376,236.097473 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/12/transcribing-piano-rolls-with-python/ | Transcribing Piano Rolls With Python | Eric Evenchick | [
"Musical Hacks",
"Software Hacks"
] | [
"MoviePy",
"music",
"piano",
"python",
"video processing"
] | Perforated rolls of paper, called piano rolls, are used to input songs into player pianos. The image above was taken from a YouTube video showing a player piano playing a Gershwin tune called Limehouse Nights. There’s no published sheet music for the song, so [Zulko] decided to
use Python to transcribe it
.
First off the video was downloaded from YouTube. This video was processed with
MoviePy
library to create a single image plotting the notes. Using a Fourier Transform, the horizontal spacing between notes was found. This allowed the image to be reduced so that one pixel corresponded with one key.
With that done, each column could be assigned to a specific note on the piano. That takes care of the pitches, but the note duration requires more processing. The Fourier Transform is applied again to determine the length of a quarter note. With this known, the notes can be quantized, and a note duration can be applied to each.
Once the duration and notes are known, it’s time to export sheet music.
LilyPond
, an open source language for music notation, was used. This converts ASCII text into a sheet music PDF. The final result is a playable score of the piece, which you can watch after the break. | 26 | 13 | [
{
"comment_id": "1344719",
"author": "Jacques",
"timestamp": "2014-04-12T15:44:08",
"content": "Bravo! A great hack!",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": []
},
{
"comment_id": "1344723",
"author": "Gerrit Coetzee",
"timestamp": "2014-04-12T15:45:55",
"content":... | 1,760,376,236.538931 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/12/this-is-not-your-fathers-power-wheel/ | This Is Not Your Father’s Power Wheel | Rich Bremer | [
"Toy Hacks"
] | [
"Power Wheels",
"powerwheels",
"toy hack",
"toys"
] | If you had a Power Wheel vehicle as a kid you may have been the envy of the neighborhood. Even as fun as they were you probably out grew them. Lucky for a few youngsters, [Bob] hasn’t. Not only does he have several Power Wheels for his children to use, he does some
pretty cool mods
to make them even more fun.
Changing the stock motor out for a cordless drill is one of the first things that gets done. A few brands have been used but the Ryobi 18v Cordless Drill is the favorite. The entire drill is used, including the reduction gearbox. The gearbox is switched to LOW gearing so that the drill has enough torque to move the combined weight of the vehicle and child. As much as it may sound odd to use a drill in this manner, the Power Wheel can get up to about 15 mph. A stock Power Wheels maxes out at 5 mph
The stock Power Wheel ‘gas’ pedal is a simple on/off switch and may have one or two speeds. It’s replaced by the variable speed trigger switch from the drill giving the tiny driver full control of the speed. In most cases the batteries that came with the drill are responsible for supplying the necessary electrical power.
Plastic wheels aren’t going to cut the traction mustard. These are upgraded to rubber tires and metal wheels like the ones you would find on a rider lawn mower. Not only are the rubber tires much quieter than the originals but they give superior traction that can handle rain, snow and steep hills.
So how do all these mods hold up over time? [Bob] says some of his modded Power Wheels are still working after 2 years of regular use. There are several different conversions on his site so head over and check them out. | 36 | 12 | [
{
"comment_id": "1344379",
"author": "foolishdane",
"timestamp": "2014-04-12T12:02:17",
"content": "Oh how I envy those kids, I wish I had toys like this when I was a kid.",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1344461",
"author": "agejio",
... | 1,760,376,237.233007 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/12/play-peek-a-boo-with-blind-spot/ | Play Peek-A-Boo With Blind Spot | Adam Fabio | [
"Misc Hacks"
] | [
"processing",
"Vertical Blinds"
] | You’re at a concert, and a car filled with balloons is in a glass box. As you approach the box, vertical blinds close to block the view directly in front of you. You move left, more blinds close to block your view. The blinds follow your every move, ensuring you can’t get a close up view of the car inside. You’ve just met
Blind Spot, an interactive art installation
by [Brendan Matkin].
Blind Spot was presented at
Breakerhead
, an incredible arts and engineering event which takes place every September in Calgary, Canada. Blind Spot consists of a car inside a large wooden box. Windows allow a view into the box, though there are 96 vertical blinds just behind the glass. The vertical blinds are individually controlled by hobby servos. The servos are wired to six serial servo controllers, all of which are controlled by an Arduino.
A PC serves as Blind Spot’s brain. For sensors, 6 wide-angle webcams connect to a standard Windows 7 machine. Running 6 webcams is not exactly a standard configuration. To handle this, [Brendan] switched the webcams to friendly names in the windows registry. The webcam images are read by a
Processing
sketch. The sketch scans the images and determines which of the 96 blinds to close. The code for Blind Spot is available on
github
. | 32 | 10 | [
{
"comment_id": "1344086",
"author": "Adobe/Flash hater",
"timestamp": "2014-04-12T09:07:19",
"content": "A derivation of “the totally useless machine ” ?",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_id": "1344261",
"author": "Jumping Jeremy",
"t... | 1,760,376,236.730555 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/11/ispnub-a-stand-alone-avr-in-system-programmer-module/ | ISPnub – A Stand-Alone AVR In-System-Programmer Module | Mathieu Stephan | [
"hardware"
] | [
"AVR",
"isp",
"programmer"
] | [Thomas] tipped us about his latest project:
a stand-alone AVR programmer module named ISPnub
. As you can see in the picture above, it is a simple circuit board composed of a main microcontroller (ATmega1284p), one button and two LEDs. Programming a target is a simple as connecting the ISPnub and pressing the button. The flashing operation success status is then shown using the green/red LED.
ISPnub gets its power from the target circuit so no external power supply is needed. It works over a wide voltage range: 1.8V to 5.5V. The module also features a programming counter which can be used to limit the number of programming cycles. A multi-platform Java tool is in charge of embedding the target flash contents with the ISPnub main firmware. The complete project is open source so you may want to check out the official
GitHub repository
for the firmware and the project’s page for the schematics. | 12 | 5 | [
{
"comment_id": "1343650",
"author": "ldm r0!, {r1-r10}",
"timestamp": "2014-04-12T06:01:26",
"content": "Hey, this would be pretty good for being at group events for programming a crapload of microcontrollers with, say, the Arduino Bootloader. You could just pass it around and people could flash th... | 1,760,376,236.781933 | ||
https://hackaday.com/2014/04/11/using-bitcoin-to-detect-malware/ | Using Bitcoin To Detect Malware | Brian Benchoff | [
"Security Hacks"
] | [
"bitcoin",
"BitcoinVigil",
"dogecoin",
"TO THE MOON"
] | Now that you can actually buy things with bitcoins, it’s become a playground for modern malware authors. [Eric] recently lost about 5 BTC because of some malware he installed and decided to do something about it.
He came up with BitcoinVigil
, a web service that constantly looks at bitcoin honeypots and alerts you when bitcoins are surreptitiously removed.
The idea behind BitcoinVigil is to set up a Bitcoin wallet with a small amount of coins in it – only about $10 USD worth. When modern, Bitcoin-seeking malware is run on a computer, it looks for this ‘moneypot’ and sends an email out notifying the owner of the coins to stolen money.
[Eric] was at a LAN party a few weeks ago and ‘borrowed’ a friend’s copy of Starcraft 1. Just a few seconds after installing it, he received an alert notifying him about a few stolen bitcoins. This time [Eric] only lost a few microBTC, but better than the thousands of USD he lost before. | 27 | 6 | [
{
"comment_id": "1343066",
"author": "Eugene V. Dabs (@red_mercer)",
"timestamp": "2014-04-12T02:01:21",
"content": "The best way to avoid malware is to stay well the fuck away from anything having to do with Bitcoin",
"parent_id": null,
"depth": 1,
"replies": [
{
"comment_... | 1,760,376,236.659679 |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.