SEGFAULT is an attempt at implementing in hardware principles visited by the control theory and feedback control courses I have taken. The goal is to create a rideable, self-balancing (Segway-like) vehicle whose controller is implemented in continuous-time using “linear time invariant” components and operational amplifiers. Successful completion of the project constitutes demonstrating a connection between the theoretical models presented in classwork and physical hardware with its nonlinearities and nonidealities. Also, custom Segway.
In my previous post, I elaborated on how I reverse engineered the low level protocol the GE Color Effects G-35 strings used. It seems to have been quite popular, and several people have taken that information to hack their own G-35 strings to do cool and amazing things. But what about me? What am I doing with my strings?
Well, it’s a bit late in the year to start putting together some sort of advanced choreographed light show, so I’m staying somewhat simple for now. No music, just a few different algorithmic patterns. And here’s the kicker: I want to be able to control them with the web browser my phone too. Sounds like a job for… the ybox2. Behold, the networked christmas light controller in an altoids tin!
The YBox2 is a DIY networked set-top box. Connect it to your TV and you can design customized content to be delivered direct from the Internet. This project is great for people who want a new platform to experiment with. The video and Internet cores are ready to go and easy to work with. We have some example widgets that demonstrate the YBox2′s capability, and the whole project is open source so you can start hacking your own. If you’ve ever been curious about the Parallax Propeller chip, the YBox2 is a perky little platform with tons of accessories.
What is “Ask an engineer”? From the electronics enthusiast to the professional community – “Ask an Engineer” has a little bit of everything for everyone. If you’re a beginner, or a seasoned engineer – stop in and see what we’re up to! We have demos of projects and products we’re working on, we answer your engineering and electronics questions and we have a trivia question + give away each week. Mosfet the cat stops by too. Previous chats can be viewed at http://www.adafruit.com/ask
We do utilize some commercial software but there is often the alternative choice of utilizing open source software, preferably open source software that implements an open standard. Open source software projects often originate as a labor of love by software developers who are tired of seeing a shared problem solved over and over again in one off solutions, or perhaps they realize that they can offer a more simple and elegant alternative to a commercial product. The great thing about a good open source project that solves a shared challenge is that it develops it’s own momentum and it is sustained for a long time by a virtuous cycle of continuous improvement. At Netflix we jumped on for the ride a long time ago and we have benefited enormously from the virtuous cycles of actively evolving open source projects. We benefit from the continuous improvements provided by the community of contributors outside of Netflix. We also benefit by contributing back the changes we make to the projects. By sharing our bug fixes and new features back out into the community, the community then in turn continues to improve upon bug fixes and new features that originated at Netflix and then we complete the cycle by bring those improvements back into Netflix.
Here are your 2010 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Orders usually ship within 1 to 2 business days unless otherwise indicated – For this week we are open and taking orders around the clock as usual. Postal service will go out on Friday the 26th, UPS Air only on Friday.
United States Postal Service (USA orders):
Place orders by Tuesday – December 14, 2010* – Arrive by 12/23/2010
FOR =ALL= UPS ORDERS WE =DO NOT= OFFER SATURDAY DELIVERY!
UPS ground:
Place orders by Tuesday – December 14, 2010* – Arrive by 12/23/2010
UPS 3-day:
Place orders by Friday – December 17, 2010 – Arrive by 12/23/2010
UPS 2-day:
Place orders by Monday – December 20, 2010 – Arrive by 12/23/2010
UPS overnight:
Place orders by Tuesday – December 21, 2010 – Arrive by 12/23/2010
First class mail international (International orders):
Place orders by Friday – November 26, 2010. Can take up to 30 days ore more with worldwide delays and customs*.
Express mail international(International orders):
Place orders by Friday – December 10, 2010. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs*.
*Orders placed on or after these dates may arrive before December 23rd, but really you shouldn’t risk it
We invite you to combine an RGB-D sensor (e.g. Kinect, PSDK5.0) with ROS to produce something new, interesting, and fun. It could be anything, from a novel robot control interface to a data-driven art project to pure computer vision. Bonus points if it’s also useful (see below). We’re offering $8K in prizes. As we promote open-source software, we encourage participants to share, and our rules and judging will reward participants who act in the spirit of collaboration.
ROS is a community effort, with many institutions contributing to its development. Much of the underlying platform is being developed by Willow Garage and Stanford.
Protect those chips by socketing them! Ever solder in an IC backwards? weren’t you all like “if only there was a way to hold an IC in place but have it replaceable if necessary!” well you are in luck because today’s part finder friday is all about IC sockets. IC leaf sockets are inexpensive and don’t add too much height. I actually prefer these to swiss-pin. Pick up some common sizes today!
Excellent post by Bryce from OATV. OATV is O’Reilly’s VC firm, they’ve invested in DIY & open source hardware companies like the Chumby and Instructables. Some makers, hackers and biz owners ask us about funding, we usually suggest they talk to OATV (assuming there’s a match)…
When Tim, Mark and I were laying out our plans for OATV we began with a foundational belief- the technology that ends up being the most disruptive will come from hobbyists, hackers and alpha geeks. This belief stems from nearly 30 years of Tim watching and participating in multiple waves of massive technology transformation- from the early days of open source and the advent of the web to location aware technologies and the DIY movement. Each began with hackers having fun…
So how do we turn what we’re seeing from the alpha geek community into actionable investment themes? We look at what these hackers do in their spare time then try to find possible connections between them and any underlying trends they’re trying to expose. For instance, what do these Kinect hacks have in common with something like Google’s self driving car? They could be pointing to a trend among alpha geeks of exploring machine vision. If so, we ought to look at what immediate investment opportunities may be available directly in the field; but also, what pieces of infrastructure need to be in place for this trend to be fully realized at scale.
Its signal like this we watch at OATV when formulating our own investment themes. And, its this type of signal that aspiring entrepreneurs should look to when synthesizing what the future is going to look like for their next venture.
A new day is dawning for robotics. The tools of manufacturing have been democratized and robots have become modular and configurable. It is easier than ever to make your own robots.
This conference will shine a spotlight on this fresh approach to robotics and the roboticists that are building a better tomorrow through automation. The day will be have talks, demonstrations, explanations, and robotic wisdom.
This first inagural Botacon has the theme “Robots for a Better Future.” You are invited to submit your talk about your pet robot project, your innovations in robotic stepper controllers, your sweet software for controlling two robotic arms at once or things you can make with a robot that make the world a better place. If you’ve got a tutorial or some wisdom to share, submit it here as a talk. While the audience will be heavily skewed towards MakerBot Operators, you are invited to submit your talk on anything robot related.
Printable catalog (PDF) or (EPUB)
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