Editorial

Esta é a Newsletter Nº 108 que se apresenta com o mesmo formato que as anteriores. Se gostar da Newsletter partilhe-a!

Todas as Newsletters encontram-se indexadas no link.

Esta Newsletter tem os seguintes tópicos:

• Novidades da Semana
• Ciência e Tecnologia
• Documentação
• Projetos Maker

Faz hoje anos que nascia a 1889 em Kiev Igor Sikorsky. Este pioneiro da aviação foi responsável pelo desenvolvimento dos helicópteros e dos aviões de asa fixa. O seu nome é ainda hoje associado a esta industria tendo ficado na história por ter conseguido fazer a primeira produção em massa de helicópteros. Sikorsky decidiu-se por um projecto de rotor simples, único, o VS-300, que acabou por ser o primeiro projecto de helicópteros de rotor único de elevação. Depois de experimentar as configurações para neutralizar o torque produzido pelo único rotor principal, Sikorsky estabeleceu um único rotor menor montado na lança da cauda. Faz hoje anos também que nascia John Cocke. Este engenheiro informático norte-americano nascido em 1925 ficou conhecido na história pelo desenvolvimento de arquitecturas do computador e pela optimização do desenho de compiladores. Ele é considerado por muitos como "o pai da arquitectura RISC. É igualmente conhecido pelo algoritmo CYK. Este é um algoritmo usado em informática para a análise em gramáticas livres de contexto. Emprega análise "bottom-up" e programação dinâmica. Faz hoje anos também Jack Steinberger. É um físico de origem alemã que, juntamente com Leon Lederman e Melvin Schwartz, recebeu o Prémio Nobel de Física de 1988 pela descoberta do neutrino de múon. Faz hoje anos igualmente Pieter Zeeman. Este físico holandês, juntamente com Hendrik Lorentz descobriram o efeito de Zeeman. É o efeito de dividir uma linha espectral em vários componentes na presença de um campo magnético estático. É análogo ao efeito Stark, a divisão de uma linha espectral em vários componentes na presença de um campo eléctrico. Similarmente ao efeito Stark, as transições entre diferentes componentes têm, em geral, diferentes intensidades, algumas sendo inteiramente proibidas (na aproximação de dipolo), conforme regido pelas regras de selecção.

Esta semana ficámos a saber que o Dubai vai ter, já este mês um robô policia sendo objectivo destes robôs serem cerca de 25% da força policial até 2030. Uma equipe de investigadores do MIT projectou um fato de treino respirável com abas de ventilação que se abrem e fecham em resposta ao calor e suor do corpo do atleta. Estas abas, que variam de tamanho, são revestidas com células vivas que encolhem e expandem em resposta às mudanças na humidade. Esta semana o campeão chinês de Go, Ke Jie sofreu duas derrotas contra o AlphaGo. Trata-se de um feito notável ter uma maquina a derrotar o campeão humano de um dos jogos mais complexos que existe.

Na Newsletter desta semana apresentamos diversos projectos de maker. Foram publicadas duas revistas da newelectronics, a revista MagPi número 58 de Junho e a revista "Hello World" número 2 - Verão de 2017.

João Alves ([email protected])

O conteúdo da Newsletter encontra-se sob a licença Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

First robot cop to join Dubai Police by May, official says

"The UAE’s first police robot will join Dubai Police in May and robots will make 25 per cent of the force by 2030, officials said on Monday. Brigadier Abdullah Bin Sultan, Director of the Future Shaping Centre of Dubai Police, said: “We are looking to have more robots in future to handle policing. By 2030, we are keen to make robots around 25 per cent of the total police force,” Brigadier Bin Sultan said. The announcement was made by Bin Sultan during a presentation at the 11 Best Police Practices Forum held in Dubai." [...]

Researchers design moisture-responsive workout suit

"A team of MIT researchers has designed a breathable workout suit with ventilating flaps that open and close in response to an athlete’s body heat and sweat. These flaps, which range from thumbnail- to finger-sized, are lined with live microbial cells that shrink and expand in response to changes in humidity. The cells act as tiny sensors and actuators, driving the flaps to open when an athlete works up a sweat, and pulling them closed when the body has cooled off. The researchers have also fashioned a running shoe with an inner layer of similar cell-lined flaps to air out and wick away moisture. Details of both designs are published today in Science Advances. Why use live cells in responsive fabrics? The researchers say that moisture-sensitive cells require no additional elements to sense and respond to humidity. The microbial cells they have used are also proven to be safe to touch and even consume. What’s more, with new genetic engineering tools available today, cells can be prepared quickly and in vast quantities, to express multiple functionalities in addition to moisture response. To demonstrate this last point, the researchers engineered moisture-sensitive cells to not only pull flaps open but also light up in response to humid conditions." [...]

Google AI AlphaGo wins again, leaves humans in the dust

"Two days ago in the Zhejiang Province of China, Google's Go-playing artificial intelligence AlphaGo bested current world Go champion Ke Jie in the first game of a three-part match, sliding by on a half-point victory. Now the second game has taken place -- and once again, AlphaGo has emerged the winner. The human gave it his all. "Incredible," wrote DeepMind founder and CEO Demis Hassabis on Twitter while the match was underway. "According to #AlphaGo evaluations Ke Jie is playing perfectly at the moment." The match took place over a year after AlphaGo bested Lee Sedol, one of the world's top Go players, in four out of five matches in March 2016. It also beat European champion Fan Hui 5-0 in October 2015. Hassabis announced the win against Ke on Twitter. "AlphaGo wins game 2," he said. "What an amazing and complex game! Ke Jie pushed AlphaGo right to the limit." Ke said after Tuesday's match that the AI's improvement was palpable, saying that it now plays "like a god of Go." Perhaps it's time for AlphaGo to go head-to-head against another of its own kind." [...]

Cinematography on the fly

"n recent years, a host of Hollywood blockbusters — including “The Fast and the Furious 7,” “Jurassic World,” and “The Wolf of Wall Street” — have included aerial tracking shots provided by drone helicopters outfitted with cameras. Those shots required separate operators for the drones and the cameras, and careful planning to avoid collisions. But a team of researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and ETH Zurich hope to make drone cinematography more accessible, simple, and reliable. At the International Conference on Robotics and Automation later this month, the researchers will present a system that allows a director to specify a shot’s framing — which figures or faces appear where, at what distance. Then, on the fly, it generates control signals for a camera-equipped autonomous drone, which preserve that framing as the actors move. As long as the drone’s information about its environment is accurate, the system also guarantees that it won’t collide with either stationary or moving obstacles." [...]

Building a better ‘bot’: artificial intelligence helps human groups

"Artificial intelligence doesn’t have to be super-sophisticated to make a difference in people’s lives, according to a new Yale University study. Even “dumb AI” can help human groups. In a series of experiments using teams of human players and robotic AI players, the inclusion of “bots” boosted the performance of human groups and the individual players, researchers found. The study appears in the May 18 edition of the journal Nature. “Much of the current conversation about artificial intelligence has to do with whether AI is a substitute for human beings. We believe the conversation should be about AI as a complement to human beings,” said Nicholas Christakis, co-director of the Yale Institute for Network Science (YINS) and senior author of the study. Christakis is a professor of sociology, ecology & evolutionary biology, biomedical engineering, and medicine at Yale. The study adds to a growing body of Yale research into the complex dynamics of human social networks and how those networks influence everything from economic inequality to group violence. In this case, Christakis and first author Hirokazu Shirado conducted an experiment involving an online game that required groups of people to coordinate their actions for a collective goal. The human players also interacted with anonymous bots that were programmed with three levels of behavioral randomness — meaning the AI bots sometimes deliberately made mistakes. In addition, sometimes the bots were placed in different parts of the social network. More than 4,000 people participated in the experiment, which used a Yale-developed software called breadboard." [...]

Machine Learning Algorithms re-create City in 3D using only image data

"Dynamic 3D modeling like this could help urban planners design smarter and more livable cities. The city of Zurich, Switzerland has been reconstructed in 3D using millions of images and videos. Developed by researchers at ETH Zurich, the Varcity platform pulls from huge volumes of image data and uses algorithms to automatically stitch it all together. There are millions of images of every major city in the world, many of which are shared openly online. The ETH Zurich team realized they could collect this image data — from standard photos captured by tourists to videos streamed through public webcams and use triangulation to replicate regions in detail. “We combined all sources to provide a complete view of a city,” Hayko Riemenschneider, Varcity project manager, told Digital Trends. “The more data we have of an area, the more precise our models get.”" [...]

Imec demonstrates self-learning neuromorphic chip that composes music

"Today, at the imec technology forum (ITF2017), imec, the world-leading research and innovation hub in nano-electronics and digital technologies, demonstrated the world’s first self-learning neuromorphic chip. The brain-inspired chip, based on OxRAM technology, has the capability of self-learning and has been demonstrated to have the ability to compose music. The human brain is a dream for computer scientists: it has a huge computing power while consuming only a few tens of Watts. Imec researchers are combining state-of-the-art hardware and software to design chips that feature these desirable characteristics of a self-learning system. Imec’s ultimate goal is to design the process technology and building blocks to make artificial intelligence to be energy efficient so that that it can be integrated into sensors. Such intelligent sensors will drive the internet of things forward. This would not only allow machine learning to be present in all sensors but also allow on-field learning capability to further improve the learning. By co-optimizing the hardware and the software, the chip features machine learning and intelligence characteristics on a small area, while consuming only very little power. The chip is self-learning, meaning that is makes associations between what it has experienced and what it experiences. The more it experiences, the stronger the connections will be. The chip presented today has learned to compose new music and the rules for the composition are learnt on the fly." [...]

Quantum reservoir for microwaves

"In a recent experiment at EPFL, a microwave resonator, a circuit that supports electric signals oscillating at a resonance frequency, is coupled to the vibrations of a metallic micro-drum. By actively cooling the mechanical motion close to the lowest energy allowed by quantum mechanics, the micro-drum can be turned into a quantum reservoir – an environment that can shape the states of the microwaves. The findings are published as an advanced publication in Nature Physics. László Dániel Tóth, Nathan Bernier, and Dr Alexey Feofanov led the research effort in Tobias Kippenberg’s Laboratory of Photonics and Quantum Measurements at EPFL, with support from Dr Andreas Nunnenkamp, a theorist at the University of Cambridge, UK. Microwaves are electromagnetic waves, just like visible light, but with a frequency that is four orders of magnitude smaller. Microwaves form the backbone of several everyday technologies, from microwave ovens and cellular phones to satellite communication, and have recently gained further importance in manipulating quantum information in superconducting circuits — one of the most promising candidates to realize future quantum computers. The micro-drum, only 30 microns in diameter, 100 nanometers thick and fabricated in the Center of MicroNanotechnology (CMi) at EPFL, constitutes the top plate of a capacitor in a superconducting microwave resonator. The drum’s position modulates the resonator’s resonance frequency and, conversely, a voltage across the capacitor exerts a force on the micro-drum. Through this bidirectional interaction, energy can be exchanged between mechanical vibrations and the microwave oscillations in the superconducting circuit." [...]

Saving energy with a spot of silver

"Tomorrow’s computers will run on light, and gold nanoparticle chains show much promise as light conductors. Now LMU scientists have demonstrated how tiny spots of silver could markedly reduce energy consumption in light-based computation. Today’s computers are faster and smaller than ever before. The latest generation of transistors will have structural features with dimensions of only 10 nanometers. If computers are to become even faster and at the same time more energy efficient at these minuscule scales, they will probably need to process information using light particles instead of electrons. This is referred to as “optical computing”. Fiber-optic networks already use light to transport data over long distances at high speed and with minimum loss. The diameters of the thinnest cables, however, are in the micrometer range, as the light waves -- with a wavelength of around one micrometer -- must be able to oscillate unhindered. In order to process data on a micro- or even nanochip, an entirely new system is therefore required. One possibility would be to conduct light signals via so-called plasmon oscillations. This involves a light particle (photon) exciting the electron cloud of a gold nanoparticle so that it starts oscillating. These waves then travel along a chain of nanoparticles at approximately 10% of the speed of light. This approach achieves two goals: nanometer-scale dimensions and enormous speed. What remains, however, is the energy consumption. In a chain composed purely of gold, this would be almost as high as in conventional transistors, due to the considerable heat development in the gold particles." [...]

Turmoil in sluggish electrons’ existence

"An international team of physicists has monitored the scattering behavior of electrons in a non-conducting material in real-time. Their insights could be beneficial for radiotherapy. We can refer to electrons in non-conducting materials as ‘sluggish’. Typically, they remain fixed in a location, deep inside an atomic composite. It is hence relatively still in a dielectric crystal lattice. This idyll has now been heavily shaken up by a team of physicists led by Matthias Kling, the leader of the Ultrafast Nanophotonics group in the Department of Physics at LMU, and various research institutions, including the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ), the Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnologies (IFN-CNR) in Milan, the Institute of Physics at the University of Rostock, the Max Born Institute (MBI), the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) and the University of Hamburg. For the first time, these researchers managed to directly observe the interaction of light and electrons in a dielectric, a non-conducting material, on timescales of attoseconds (billionths of a billionth of a second). The study was published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Physics. The scientists beamed light flashes lasting only a few hundred attoseconds onto 50 nanometer thick glass particles, which released electrons inside the material. Simultaneously, they irradiated the glass particles with an intense light field, which interacted with the electrons for a few femtoseconds (millionths of a billionth of a second), causing them to oscillate. This resulted, generally, in two different reactions by the electrons. First, they started to move, then collided with atoms within the particle, either elastically or inelastically. Because of the dense crystal lattice, the electrons could move freely between each of the interactions for only a few ångstrom (10-10 meter). “Analogous to billiard, the energy of electrons is conserved in an elastic collision, while their direction can change. For inelastic collisions, atoms are excited and part of the kinetic energy is lost. In our experiments, this energy loss leads to a depletion of the electron signal that we can measure,” explains Professor Francesca Calegari (CNR-IFN Milan and CFEL/University of Hamburg)." [...]

New understanding of superconductor’s 'normal' state may open the way to solving longstanding puzzle

"Since the discovery two decades ago of the unconventional topological superconductor Sr2RuO4, scientists have extensively investigated its properties at temperatures below its 1°K critical temperature (Tc), at which a phase transition from a metal to superconducting state occurs. Now experiments done at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the Madhavan and Abbamonte laboratories, in collaboration with researchers at six institutions in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, and Japan, have shed new light on the electronic properties of this material at temperatures 4°K above Tc. The team’s findings may elucidate yet-unresolved questions about Sr2RuO4’s emergent properties in the superconducting state. Vidya Madhavan, a physics professor and member of the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Lab at the U. of I., led the experiment. She explains, “We began from the widely held assumption that, in Sr2RO4’s normal metallic state above its Tc, the interactions of electrons would be sufficiently weak, so that the spectrum of excitations or electronic states would be well defined.” Madhavan continues, “However, and this is a big surprise, our team observed large interaction effects in the normal metallic state. Electrons in metals have well defined momentum and energy. In simple metals, at low temperatures the electrons occupy all momentum states in a region bounded by a ‘Fermi surface.’ Here we found that the velocity of electrons in some directions across the Fermi surface were reduced by about 50 percent, which is not expected. We saw similar interaction effects in the tunneling density of the states. This is a significant reduction, and it was a great surprise. We thought we would just find the shape of the Fermi surface, but instead, we get these anomalies.” Eduardo Fradkin, a physics professor and the director of the Institute for Condensed Matter Theory at the U. of I., comments, “The basic electronic properties of this material have been known for some time. Scientists study this material because it’s supposed to be a simple system for testing scientific effects. But the material has also been a source of ongoing debate in the field: this is a p-wave superconductor, with spin-triplet pairing. This has suggested that the superconducting state may be topological in nature. Understanding how this system becomes superconducting is an open and intriguing question.”" [...]

Scientists construct a stable one-dimensional metallic material

"The researchers, from the Universities of Cambridge and Warwick, have developed a wire made from a single string of tellurium atoms, making it a true one-dimensional material. These one-dimensional wires are produced inside extremely thin carbon nanotubes (CNTs) – hollow cylinders made of carbon atoms. The finished ‘extreme nanowires’ are less than a billionth of a metre in diameter – 10,000 times thinner than a human hair. A single string of atoms is as small as materials based on elements in the periodic table can get, making them potentially useful for semiconductors and other electronic applications. However, these strings can be unstable, as their atoms are constantly vibrating and, in the absence of a physical constraint, they can end up morphing into some other structure or disintegrating entirely. According to the Cambridge researchers, encapsulating the nanowires is not only a useful method of making stable one-dimensional (1D) materials, it may be necessary to prevent them from disintegrating. The researchers have also shown that it is possible to alter the shape and electronic behaviour of the nanowires by varying the diameters of the tubes which encapsulate them. Their results are reported in the journal ACS Nano. To make electronics faster and more powerful, more transistors need to be squeezed onto semiconductor chips. For the past 50 years, the number of transistors on a single chip has doubled every two years – this is known as Moore’s law. However, we are getting close to the limit of how small a transistor can be before quantum effects associated with individual atoms and electrons start to interfere with its normal operation. Researchers are currently investigating various ways of keeping up with Moore’s law, and in turn keeping up with our desire for faster, cheaper and more powerful electronics. One-dimensional materials could be one of the solutions to the challenge of miniaturisation. The Cambridge researchers first used computer simulations to predict the types of geometric structures that would form if tellurium atoms were injected into nanotubes, and found that 1D wires could exist in such a scenario. Later, lab-based tests, using the most advanced techniques for the synthesis and atomic-resolution visualisation of such extreme materials, were performed by the Warwick researchers to confirm the theoretical predictions. Not only were the researchers able to successfully ‘build’ stable 1D wires, but they found that changing the diameter of the nanotubes lead to changes in the properties of tellurium. Tellurium normally behaves as a semiconductor, but when injected into carbon nanotubes and confined to one dimension, it starts behaving like a metal. Additionally, while the confinement provided by the CNTs can induce drastic changes in the way that tellurium behaves, the nanotubes themselves do not interact in any other way with the tellurium nanowires." [...]

Electroplating delivers high-energy, high-power batteries

"The process that makes gold-plated jewelry or chrome car accents is now making powerful lithium-ion batteries. Researchers at the University of Illinois, Xerion Advanced Battery Corporation and Nanjing University in China developed a method for electroplating lithium-ion battery cathodes, yielding high-quality, high-performance battery materials that could also open the door to flexible and solid-state batteries. “This is an entirely new approach to manufacturing battery cathodes, which resulted in batteries with previously unobtainable forms and functionalities,” said Paul V. Braun, a professor of materials science and engineering and director of the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Lab at Illinois. He co-led the research group that published its findings in the journal Science Advances. Traditional lithium-ion battery cathodes use lithium-containing powders formed at high temperatures. The powder is mixed with gluelike binders and other additives into a slurry, which is spread on a thin sheet of aluminum foil and dried. The slurry layer needs to be thin, so the batteries are limited in how much energy they can store. The glue also limits performance." [...]

Hydrogen Bonds Directly Detected for the First Time

"For the first time, scientists have succeeded in studying the strength of hydrogen bonds in a single molecule using an atomic force microscope. Researchers from the University of Basel’s Swiss Nanoscience Institute network have reported the results in the journal Science Advances. Hydrogen is the most common element in the universe and is an integral part of almost all organic compounds. Molecules and sections of macromolecules are connected to one another via hydrogen atoms, an interaction known as hydrogen bonding. These interactions play an important role in nature, because they are responsible for specific properties of proteins or nucleic acids and, for example, also ensure that water has a high boiling temperature. To date, it has not been possible to conduct a spectroscopic or electron microscopic analysis of hydrogen and the hydrogen bonds in single molecules, and investigations using atomic force microscopy have also not yielded any clear results. Dr. Shigeki Kawai, from Professor Ernst Meyer’s team at the Swiss Nanoscience Institute and the Department of Physics at the University of Basel, has now succeeded in using a high-resolution atomic force microscope to study hydrogen atoms in individual cyclic hydrocarbon compounds." [...]

Better cathode materials for Lithium-Sulphur-Batteries

"A team at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) has for the first time fabricated a nanomaterial made from nanoparticles of a titanium oxide compound (Ti4O7) that is characterised by an extremely large surface area, and tested it as a cathode material in lithium-sulphur batteries. The highly porous nanomaterial possesses high storage capacity that remains nearly constant over many charging cycles. At present, lithium batteries are one of the best solutions for storing electrical power in a small space. Lithium ions in these batteries migrate from the anode to the opposite electrical pole, the cathode, during the discharge cycle. The anode and cathode generally consist of heavy-metal compounds that are expensive and toxic. One interesting alternative is the lithium-sulphur battery. In this case, the cathode does not consist of heavy metals, but instead of sulphur – an economical and widely available material. As lithium ions migrate to the cathode during the discharge cycle, a reaction takes place there that forms lithium sulphide (Li2S) via various intermediate lithium polysulfides. During cycling, dissolution of lithium polysulfides causes the battery’s capacity to decline over the course of multiple charging cycles via the so-called “shuttle effect”. For this reason, researchers the world over are working to improve cathode materials that would be able to chemically or physically confine or encapsulate polysulphides, such as with nanoparticles made of titanium dioxide (TiO2), for example." [...]

Available to industry for the first time: New computation tools enable much faster and cheaper product development

"Faster, more accurate and agile computation tools and methods have been developed through the SEMTEC project, led by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland. This will enable the elimination of the expensive and time-consuming prototype phase in the electromechanical industry. Finnish industry will gain a competitive advantage due to the faster product development of electrical motors, generators and transformers, which will enter the markets at lower cost. The project will also result in quieter and more energy-efficient machines. The key result of the SEMTEC project is new computation methods, which can now be exploited by industry for the first time, using companies' own tools. The project produced innovative and accurate methods to control vibrations, dampen noise and improve the energy efficiency of devices. Beneficiaries of the results include the electromechanical industry in particular, which manufactures electric motors, generators and transformers. In addition, cooperation between research and industry will increase when all results are available to everyone via the open-source Elmer software. "Finnish industry will gain a competitive advantage from leaner design processes. Electromechanical devices are seldom mass-produced – each product unit tends to be separately designed. Accelerating product development will therefore markedly shorten delivery times and create a major competitive edge," says project manager Janne Keränen of VTT. For example, the noise generated by lifts and transformers will be reduced. This will enable the reducing of disturbing and tiresome noise in homes and workplaces." [...]

Microsoft Has a Plan to Add DNA Data Storage to Its Cloud

"Based on early research involving the storage of movies and documents in DNA, Microsoft is developing an apparatus that uses biology to replace tape drives, researchers at the company say. Computer architects at Microsoft Research say the company has formalized a goal of having an operational storage system based on DNA working inside a data center toward the end of this decade. The aim is a “proto-commercial system in three years storing some amount of data on DNA in one of our data centers, for at least a boutique application,” says Doug Carmean, a partner architect at Microsoft Research. He describes the eventual device as the size of a large, 1970s-era Xerox copier. Internally, Microsoft harbors the even more ambitious goal of replacing tape drives, a common format used for archiving information. “We hope to get it branded as ‘Your Storage with DNA,’” says Carmean. The plans signal how seriously some tech companies are taking the seemingly strange idea of saving videos, photos, or valuable documents in the same molecule our genes are made of. The reason, says Victor Zhirnov, chief scientist of the Semiconductor Research Corporation, is that efforts to shrink computer memory are hitting physical limits, but DNA can store data at incredible densities." [...]

Engineering Researchers Develop System That Prevents Autonomous Vehicles From Crashing, Being Hacked

"Texas A&M University researchers have developed an intelligent transportation system prototype designed to avoid collisions and prevent hacking of autonomous vehicles. Modern vehicles are increasingly autonomous, relying on sensors to provide information to automatically control them. They are also equipped with internet access for safety or infotainment applications making them vulnerable to cyberattacks. This will only multiply as society transitions to self-driving autonomous vehicles in which hackers could gain control of the sensors, causing confusion, chaos and collisions. Although autonomous vehicles are essentially large computers on wheels, securing them is not the same as securing a communication network that connects desktop computers and smartphones to large geographical areas due to the roles that the sensors and actuators play in the physical layer of the network. Working in the Texas A&M’s Cyberphysical Systems Laboratory, Dr. P.R.Kumar, University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, along with graduate students Bharadwaj Satchidanandan and Woo-Hyun Ko, have applied the theory of dynamic watermarking of sensors in autonomous vehicles to prevent malicious attacks. In their research demonstrations, 10 cameras recorded the movement of the self-driving prototype vehicles. The vision sensors in the system received the images and accurately calculated the exact location and orientation of the vehicles. Then they transmitted this information to a server, which in turn controlled the vehicles." [...]

Quantum dot transistor simulates functions of neurons

"A transistor that simulates some of the functions of neurons has been invented based on experiments and models developed by researchers at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar) in São Paulo State, Brazil, Würzburg University in Germany, and the University of South Carolina in the United States. The device, which has micrometric as well as nanometric parts, can see light, count, and store information in its own structure, dispensing with the need for a complementary memory unit. It is described in the article “Nanoscale tipping bucket effect in a quantum dot transistor-based counter”, published in the journal Nano Letters. The research was supported by FAPESP through the projects “Transport properties and quantum computation in nanostructures”, “Network for nano-optics and nano-electronics”, and “Optical and transport phenomena in nanodevices”." [...]

Next-gen computing: Memristor chips that see patterns over pixels

"Inspired by how mammals see, a new "memristor" computer circuit prototype at the University of Michigan has the potential to process complex data, such as images and video orders of magnitude, faster and with much less power than today's most advanced systems. Faster image processing could have big implications for autonomous systems such as self-driving cars, says Wei Lu, U-M professor of electrical engineering and computer science. Lu is lead author of a paper on the work published in the current issue of Nature Nanotechnology. Lu's next-generation computer components use pattern recognition to shortcut the energy-intensive process conventional systems use to dissect images. In this new work, he and his colleagues demonstrate an algorithm that relies on a technique called "sparse coding" to coax their 32-by-32 array of memristors to efficiently analyze and recreate several photos. Memristors are electrical resistors with memory—advanced electronic devices that regulate current based on the history of the voltages applied to them. They can store and process data simultaneously, which makes them a lot more efficient than traditional systems. In a conventional computer, logic and memory functions are located at different parts of the circuit." [...]

Network Traffic Provides Early Indication of Malware Infection

"By analyzing network traffic going to suspicious domains, security administrators could detect malware infections weeks or even months before they're able to capture a sample of the invading malware, a new study suggests. The findings point toward the need for new malware-independent detection strategies that will give network defenders the ability to identify network security breaches in a more timely manner. The strategy would take advantage of the fact that malware invaders need to communicate with their command and control computers, creating network traffic that can be detected and analyzed. Having an earlier warning of developing malware infections could enable quicker responses and potentially reduce the impact of attacks, the study’s researchers say." [...]

Curiosity May Be Vital for Truly Smart AI

"A computer algorithm equipped with a form of artificial curiosity can learn to solve tricky problems even when it isn’t immediately clear what actions might help it reach this goal. Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, developed an “intrinsic curiosity model” to make their learning algorithm work even when there isn’t a strong feedback signal. The curiosity model developed by this team sees the AI software controlling a virtual agent in a video game seek to maximize its understanding of its environment and especially aspects of that environment that affect it. There have been previous efforts to give AI agents curiosity, but these have tended to work in a more simplistic way. The trick may help address a shortcoming of today’s most powerful machine-learning techniques, and it could point to ways of making machines better at solving real-world problems." [...]

Researchers Find Computer Code that Volkswagen Used to Cheat Emissions Tests

"An international team of researchers has uncovered the mechanism that allowed Volkswagen to circumvent U.S. and European emission tests over at least six years before the Environmental Protection Agency put the company on notice in 2015 for violating the Clean Air Act. During a year-long investigation, researchers found code that allowed a car’s onboard computer to determine that the vehicle was undergoing an emissions test. The computer then activated the car’s emission-curbing systems, reducing the amount of pollutants emitted. Once the computer determined that the test was over, these systems were deactivated. When the emissions curbing system wasn’t running, cars emitted up to 40 times the amount of nitrogen oxides allowed under EPA regulations. The team, led by Kirill Levchenko, a computer scientist at the University of California San Diego will present their findings at the 38th IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy in the San Francisco Bay Area on May 22 to 24, 2017." [...]

Parasitic Robot System for Turtle’s Waypoint Navigation

"A KAIST research team presented a hybrid animal-robot interaction called “the parasitic robot system,” that imitates the nature relationship between parasites and host. The research team led by Professor Phil-Seung Lee of the Department of Mechanical Engineering took an animal’s locomotive abilities to apply the theory of using a robot as a parasite. The robot is attached to its host animal in a way similar to an actual parasite, and it interacts with the host through particular devices and algorithms. Even with remarkable technology advancements, robots that operate in complex and harsh environments still have some serious limitations in moving and recharging. However, millions of years of evolution have led to there being many real animals capable of excellent locomotion and survive in actual natural environment. Certain kinds of real parasites can manipulate the behavior of the host to increase the probability of its own reproduction. Similarly, in the proposed concept of a “parasitic robot,” a specific behavior is induced by the parasitic robot in its host to benefit the robot. The team chose a turtle as their first host animal and designed a parasitic robot that can perform “stimulus-response training.” The parasitic robot, which is attached to the turtle, can induce the turtle’s object-tracking behavior through repeated training sessions. The robot then simply guides it using LEDs and feeds it snacks as a reward for going in the right direction through a programmed algorithm. After training sessions lasting five weeks, the parasitic robot can successfully control the direction of movement of the host turtles in the waypoint navigation task in a water tank. This hybrid animal–robot interaction system could provide an alternative solution of the limitations of conventional mobile robot systems in various fields. Ph.D. candidate Dae-Gun Kim, the first author of this research said that there are a wide variety of animals including mice, birds, and fish that could perform equally as well at such tasks. He said that in the future, this system will be applied to various exploration and reconnaissance missions that humans and robots find it difficult to do on their own." [...]

Researchers engineer shape-shifting noodles

"“Don’t play with your food” is a saying that MIT researchers are taking with a grain or two of salt. The team is finding ways to make the dining experience interactive and fun, with food that can transform its shape when water is added. The researchers, from MIT’s Tangible Media Group, have concocted something akin to edible origami, in the form of flat sheets of gelatin and starch that, when submerged in water, instantly sprout into three-dimensional structures, including common pasta shapes such as macaroni and rotini. The edible films can also be engineered to fold into the shape of a flower as well as other unconventional configurations. Playing with the films’ culinary potential, the researchers created flat discs that wrap around beads of caviar, similar to cannoli, as well as spaghetti that spontaneously divides into smaller noodles when dunked in hot broth. The researchers presented their work in a paper this month at the Association for Computing Machinery’s 2017 Computer-Human Interaction Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. They describe their shape-morphing creations as not only culinary performance art, but also a practical way to reduce food-shipping costs. For instance, the edible films could be stacked together and shipped to consumers, then morph into their final shape later, when immersed in water." [...]

VTT's autonomous cars take to public roads and start communicating with each other

"Marilyn, the first automated car to be granted a road traffic testing permit in Finland, and its spouse Martti have taken things to a new level together and started exchanging information with each other and their driving environment. They will take the next step in their relationship in the autumn, when the public digital infrastructure can also talk with the couple. The automated cars developed by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland can hear, see and sense, and Finnish intelligence hums in their brains. They are able to follow a pre-programmed route and avoid collisions with sudden obstacles without input from the driver. The cars currently require the lane markings or sides of the road to be visible. This is, however, only the first step; by 2020, the cars will be driving in more demanding conditions on roads covered in gravel and snow. "Our cars already have enough equipment required for automated driving, and now we are taking the most out of them with software technology. The challenges range from small to big ones, but that's fascinating," says project manager Matti Kutila from VTT. The autonomous cars feature a thermal camera for observing people and animals; a stereo camera and radar for high-resolution scanning of the vicinity; laser scanners and long-range radars for seeing farther; and GPS/Glonass receivers for positioning. The cars also have inertia units for determining direction and accelerations. The actuators are cylinders and motors. The sensors and actuators are connected by intelligence that creates a situational awareness and controls the actuators so that the car moves as planned at an accuracy of milliseconds and centimetres." [...]

newelectronics de 22 de Maio 2017

"New Electronics is a fortnightly magazine focusing on technological innovation, news and the latest developments in the electronics sector. Downloadable as a digital page turner or pdf file, or offered as a hard copy, the New Electronics magazine is available in a format to suit you." [...]

newelectronics de 23 de Maio 2017

"New Electronics is a fortnightly magazine focusing on technological innovation, news and the latest developments in the electronics sector. Downloadable as a digital page turner or pdf file, or offered as a hard copy, the New Electronics magazine is available in a format to suit you." [...]

(Hello World) issue 2 - Summer Term 2017

"In issue 2 of Hello World magazine we talk to Mitch Resnick about ten years of Scratch, the visual programming tool that revolutionised learning for an entire generation. We also offer practical advice and inspiration for education beyond the classroom, and much more…" [...]

The MagPI 58

"The MagPi Issue 58 has a huge feature all about making with Minecraft. Minecraft is incredible, but the version for Raspberry Pi is special. Only Minecraft Pi allows makers to hack and code it. Minecraft Pi is digital making on a virtual level. We recommend it to everybody, and this month we have a massive feature on making with Minecraft." [...]

Make an Autonomous "Follow Me" Cooler

"We use an Arduino to build an autonomous "follow me" cooler that connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth and uses GPS to navigate. In this project, we use an Arduino Uno to build an autonomous "follow me" cooler. The robot cooler connects to a smartphone via Bluetooth and uses GPS to navigate. All the electronics will be contained in the base so that other objects can be carried as well." [...]

Handheld Infinity Kaleidoscope Group Kit

"Use the orientation sensor in your Arduino 101 to control a cool Petri dish infinity-mirror illusion. This project is great for groups. This project is great for workshops and group projects. It's basically a micro-sized version of the Kaleidoscope Infinity Mirror in a petri dish! If you make a big batch (20 kits or more) the per-unit cost is about $10 + the cost of an Arduino 101. The electronics are reusable for other projects. For example, you can also use these electronics to make an animated Shadow Theater." [...]

DIY Ambient Light Alarm

"The idea ofthis project is to create an alarm that wakes via ambient light. In itself, this isn’t terribly hard. All you need is some LEDs, a clock and a microcontroller of some kind. Wire it all up, write some code and you’re done. I believe there are already numerous tutorials on how to do something like this. It’s been done many times before and honestly, isn’t very interesting. Thankfully, I decided to make this alarm as a birthday present for my girlfriend who despises anything tec. Apparently, wires are ugly and analog is the way to go. So here is the aim: take some LEDs, a clock and a microcontroller of some kind, wire it all up, write some code for it, and then hide it in a wooden shell to make it look nice and analog. Inspiration for this project is the "DIY Heng Lamp" by JustAddSharks. I love the idea of using floating corks in the middle of a round lamp as a switch to turn the light on and off. This is a perfect concept on how to activate the alarm and how to turn it off again once I’m awake. With the activation switch taken care off, the next step is to find some nice way to set the time at which I want to be woken. Moving away from the Heng Lamp, I decided to make the alarm circular and use two disks to set the hour and minute. This means that the ‘device’ will not actually be able to tell the current time. Considering that I’m building an alarm and not a clock, I think that’s okay. So here is how the alarm works. Set the time at which you want to be woken using the hour and minute disk (similar to a real clock, the set hour and minute are at the top, at the twelve o’ clock location). Connect the two corks in the middle and to activate the alarm. The LED’s in the back will slowly start turning on 15 minutes before the set time. Once the time at which you want to be woken has been reached, the LED’s will have reached maximum brightness and a small piezo speaker will start making some noise. Disconnect the corks in the middle at any point to turn the alarm off." [...]

Multitasking and Real-Time Arduino System

"This simple project shows how Arduino can be used with a RTOS. A special version of Arduino called ARTe was used for software development. This simple project shows how Arduino can be used with a real time operating system (Erika). The project is designed to show how Arduino can be integrated with a Real-Time operating system and how to use hardware and software components. A special version of Arduino called ARTe was used for software development. For more information on how to use ARTe, visit the official developer site (http://retis.sssup.it/?q=arte)." [...]

Shampoo Vending Machine

"We are trying to reduce plastic waste. We found out that shampoo plastic bottles are unavoidable, therefore, we made this machine as a vending machine to sell shampoo without bottles. Also, Those plastic bottles are very reuseable. So we try to reuse those bottles. The machine will sell shampoo without bottle." [...]

DIY Analog Alarm System with a TI LM386 Power Amp

"Although it was originally designed to make sure Christmas presents stay under the tree, this device will make a loud and annoying sound when somebody moves an object off of the pad." [...]

Arduino Walking Robot

"Hello everyone! In this instructable I will show you how I made this arduino based walking robot." [...]

Dextra - Open-source myoelectric hand prosthesis

"Dextra is a printable human-sized robotic hand that is being developed as a part of a personal project aimed to develop an open-source and affordable robotic hand prosthesis. The key design points of Dextra are: adaptive grip, compact size, mechanical simplicity and ease of replication. The main element of Dextra is the finger module. The hand is modular: the four fingers are interchangeable, and the thumb is a variation of the finger module. The finger module comprises the printable mechanical finger, the actuator and an encoder. The compact actuator uses a DC micro gearmotor to rotate a spool that winds a fishing line, converting the rotational motion of the motor into a linear motion. The position of each finger module is controlled by a PID loop that uses the value provided by the magnetic encoder of the DC motor as the feedback signal. To be controlled by an amputee, Dextra uses a EMG interface that uses the user's myoelectric signals as the high-level control input." [...]

Self-Watering Plant Stand + Amazon Echo Made With MESH IoT Blocks

"MESH IoT blocks make thirsty plants a thing of the past with this super simple self-watering plant stand with optional, instant-add, voice activation using Amazon Echo. All you need is our MESH GPIO block and a mini water pump to get started building your own. As always, you can get MESH IoT blocks on Amazon at 10% off with discount code MAKERS00 as a thank you for checking out our Instructable and get more information about MESH IoT blocks here." [...]

MKRFox1200 Weather Station

"What if we built a small weather station lasting for about 6 months with 2x AA, talking to Internet and working anywhere with SIGFOX? In this tutorial, I am going to explain how to make a quick and simple weather station connected with Sigfox and using Arduino." [...]

Arduino - PV MPPT Solar Charger

"There are many charge controllers available in market. ordinary cheap charge controllers are not efficient to use maximum power from solar Panels. The ones which are efficient, are very costly. So i decided to make my own charge controller which is Efficient, and smart enough to understand the battery needs and solar conditions. it takes appropriate actions to draw maximum available power from solar and put it inside the battery very efficiently." [...]

Arduino Hamster Wheel Pedometer

"Here are instructions on how to build a custom Arduino hamster pedometer, including the Arduino code. My daughter wanted to track how far her hamster was running in a night so I decided to build a hamster wheel pedometer. I felt the Arduino platform would be the perfect platform to use. I wanted to build it so my daughter could use it and see for herself how far her hamster was running, so I decided to add a LCD display. This was a good combination of engaging my daughter and getting to work with technology! Follow along to see how you too can build an Arduino Hamster Wheel Pedometer and see for yourself how far your hamster runs at night..." [...]

Make Your Own Arduino Weather Station!

"This durable arduino weather station kit includes an anemometer, wind vane, rain bucket and DH11 temperature and humidity sensor. It can transmit data via serial or RF interfaces. This tutorial will demonstrate how to assemble the weather station kit, how to set up basic serial communication to an Bluno M3 and how to output data readings through an LCD shield. From this starting point you can take the kit further and add your own ideas." [...]

Sound Effect Box With Raspberry Pi

"My sound effect box basically consists of twelve buttons, two speakers, a raspberry pi, a box (I printed it on a 3d printer.) and many jumper cables. I couldn't find a battery to put in and used raspberry's cable to plug in. There are twelve buttons to press and hear a sound." [...]

Musical Instrument Using Arduino + Ultrasonic Distance Senso

"How to make a musical instrument using an Arduino and a HC-SR04 ultrasonic distance sensor. The video embedded shows a demonstration. If that link doesn't work, here's an alternative link to the same video: Arduino Musical Instrument - YouTube NOTE: I used an obsolete Iteaduino Lite instead of an Arduino Uno, but an Uno will work better. If you have any issues, let me know in the comments and I will do my best to be tech support!" [...]

NOT Like a BOSS Distortion

"Tired of the same old Boss-like dual-diode-clamp distortion pedals? Want a pedal that offers truckloads of enraged guitar brutality, downright to the border of the obscene, yet is also capable of a mellow bluesy overdrive? Want a stompbox that lets you tune what the distortion sounds like, instead of just having the choice between 'crappy' and 'even crappier' ? Then this pedal is for you. WARNING:Unconventional circuitry ahead The *Not*-Like-a-Boss-Distortion pedal uses a transistor based nonlinear cell, that lets you tune the shape of the distortion. I'll explain how to build the pedal, how the circuit works so you can impress your friends, and hey, just because you clicked and read this instructable, I'll even throw in some tips on how to customize this pedal to make it even more unique! I'll assume you have some experience with pedal/circuit building. If anything is unclear, feel free to ask. Read on..." [...]

Nautilus -1 Exploration Mini Submarine

"Day by day, the planet we inhabit becomes increasingly polluted with unnecessary toxins and waste, all contributed by the human population itself. Over sixty four percent of assessed lake acres along with estuarine square miles do not live up to the standard of cleanliness to support uses such as fishing and swimming. Cost effective quality detection and collection of data is the first step that needs to be taken to prevail over such statistics that still exist in today’s modern world. In order to overcome this complication, we created Nautilus, a miniature remotely controlled submarine that can be utilized for data collection and analyzation. The submarine will enable users to view underneath a body water through videos captured by a camera mounted in the submarine. The camera is also connected to a monitor and receiver which allows users to watch live footage of the underwater exploration. In addition, to make the device multifunctional, a myriad of sensors is attached to the submarine for data collection. These sensors detect, pH levels, turbidity, oxygen, as well as temperature. After the completion of the project, we will test out the device behind our school in the Hackensack river, to study the pollution in the stream and collect sedimentary samples. Nautilus will ultimately contribute to scientific research as well as retrieval for investigation purposes." [...]

Open Source IoT Platform

"Open-source, easy to build IoT dosimeter with sensors and internet connectivity to centralize data. Intended as open source for those who want to build their own dosimeter with their own tools, this is an IOT device that can take several sensors and have the data centralized online. The readings are accessible via a RESTful API, or by connecting directly to the KIT1 unit, in the local LAN. This is useful when you want to monitor several locations, and plot charts or analyze the data. By default it comes with a SBM20 tube to measure gamma radiation and has an extension slot (v1.2.105) to add additional sensors. The code on GitHub offers support for the Bosch BME280 sensor by default. With the integrated Ethernet connectivity to send all measurements automatically via the Internet, to the uRADMonitor server, or to any backend you want. Add a battery and it can also be used as a portable dosimeter, showing all measurements on the LCD." [...]

Colored LED Lamp From Pallet Wood Blocks

"This time I’ll show you how I made a colored LED floor standing lamp from pallet wood blocks. It is fully controlled with remote control and looks awesome in a low lighting. How I did it - you can check by looking DIY video or you can follow up instructions bellow." [...]

Cnc Plotter With Arduino

"this project is very easy to make and very cheap and will u will learn something new here is a clip of the working" [...]

Arduino First to 20 Game!

"This application uses the Arduino board to play the classic first to 20 game. Here's how the game works. You as the user will compete with the computer to reach the number 20 first by only adding either 1 or 2 to the score every turn. The first to 20 wins the game." [...]

CO2meter and Quality Control of the Air Wifi and Lcd Display

"Use of the module ESP8266 and Nokia LCD 5110. A DIY realization of a measuring device co2 pressure temperature humidity with display lcd and transmission in WiFi." [...]

Remote Controlled Microbit Robot

"I use Microbits in tech clubs and wanted a simple remote controlled robot that was easy enough for children to build and code. This project uses two Microbits, one as the controller and one to drive the motors. The robot is controlled by tilting the Microbit controller, it broadcasts the value of the x and y orientation using the accelerometer. They communicate over the onboard Bluetooth ('Radio' in the PXT editor) To keep things simple it uses the Kitronik motor driver board and their own block to drive the motors. It also uses two micro metal gear motors, 3d printed wheels and an old CD as a chassis." [...]

Arduino RTC DS3231 Clock

"For one of my first Arduino projects, I wanted to create a DIY real-time clock. This project would allow me to build on my Arduino programming skills, allow me to work on my 3D modelling skills and circuit design/creation. This project has gotten me excited! I’ve wanted to great a digital clock that I can use in the dark for some time, it would make a great addition to my room." [...]

Useless Machine Instructions

"The Useless Machine is a variation on Marvin Minsky's "Ultimate Machine," which is basically a machine whose ultimate goal is to turn itself off. After building it, you will be amazed how a machine consisting of two switches and a motor and does nothing but disable itself seems to have so much personality. While it does not have much purpose, it always seems to bring smiles to people's faces." [...]

Smart Garden

"I want to start gardening, but I knew I wouldn’t keep up the regular schedule of watering the plants and making sure that they remain healthy. So, I recruited a micro-controllers and suite of sensors to help with this tasks. Watering is the most important cultural practice and most labour intensive task in daily gardening operation. Watering systems ease the burden of getting water to plants when they need it. Knowing when and how much to water is two important aspects of watering process. To make the gardener works easy, the automatic plant watering system is created. Smart Garden is a plant environmental monitoring system. It monitors the soil moisture, air temperature, and air humidity of your plant(s) and automatically waters the plant based on the data received by sensors. Other than that functionalities like Artificial Sunlight and Camera to keep view on plants can also be added. Thing-speak and Blynk application is used to view those sensor data from remote location. With the help of blynk app, notification service can also be added." [...]

IoT Thermometer Using Python

"Zerynth App is a mobile application for Android and iOS that allows fast prototyping of graphical interfaces for your IoT projects. With Zerynth App you can turn any mobile into the controller and display for smart objects and IoT systems! In particular, you can manage and control the connected devices programmed with Zerynth, enabling a bidirectional communication channel between them and your mobile. In this tutorial, we’re going to see how to develop a simple but powerful IoT thermometer, using a Zerynth-powered single-board microcontroller and Zerynth App as the remote display." [...]

WiFi Messenger

"My son is playing games upstairs behind his computer. When we need him to come, we shout upstairs. This problem can be solved, I thought. I had several ESP8266 modules in house, and this was a project I could use them. I first made a test on my desk. Where I tried to let the ESP’s talk to each other. When that worked I added an annoying sound. To prevent my son from ignoring the message. There are several messages to send. The sender get a delivered message, so we can see if the message is arrived. When my son disables the annoying beep, the sender module gets a message. This message tells us that my son has turned off the sound. Which means that he is on his way downstairs. I intended to use two LCD 1602 displays. Somehow I was not able to get the second ESP8266 module control the display using I2C. Changing each component with the other ESP8266 module learned me that all devices were working fine. But not in this config. So for the receiver I attached an I2C Oled display. This did work as expected. After that I made two different housing to put the hardware in. The tiny Oled display is fragile. So I placed a transparent cover before the front of the housing. Both housing were drawn in SolidWorks, and cut on a laser cutter." [...]

Android Mobile Phone Controlled Bluetooth Robot using AVR Microcontroller

"Controlling a robot car wirelessly is very interesting for a beginner or new in the robotics field. But the main question is how to make a robot car?. In this tutorial, we will cover how to make an android controlled robot car. For this project, we have two sections. One is transmitter and second is a receiver. Here transmitter is an android phone and connected with the receiver robot using the bluetooth connection. Android phone already has inbuilt bluetooth. To connect to this android bluetooth, we are using one bluetooth module to the receiver side. We pair both the bluetooth module. After pairing the android phone and robot, we use android application to control the receiver robot. We are using the Bluetooth Controller app to control the android robot. When a forward button is pressed 'A' is sent via this android bluetooth to the receiver bluetooth module. Same with other buttons. At the receiver, we write the code to accept the character 'A' and move the robot forward. Each button assigned a value, which is known by the receiver. And receiver takes action according to the value received. " [...]

Automatic Bartender

"In these instructables, we are going to present you how to do an automatic bartender. The purpose is to be able to order cocktails thanks to an android application." [...]

Solar Draw

"Burning patterns into stuff with the focused suns rays.... about the level of eighth grade earth science before this subject was eliminated by our current Secretary of Education. But what if instead of just killing small arthropods with a death ray and then seeing spots before your eyes for ten minutes you could neatly carve beautiful figures with a solar Etch a Sketch. Controlling the Sun can be done with either moving the beam with a servo-motor mirror system or moving the target. The utility of Laser cutters and CNC machines is demonstrated nearly everywhere--you just need a lot of cash or a nearby well stocked Maker Space to participate in this blooming culture, or do you? The sun is free and the tools to carve into blocks of frozen yogurt or crackers or chunks of wood are easy to obtain from China or Adafruit. This project was done as another instrument to use at Burning Man--the ubiquitous sun, its portability and you can run it for the whole week on a car battery! The output is a little limited--for simplicity sake I designed it to do angles and straight lines but you could jazz it up for circles and curves." [...]

Pool Buddy

"Instead of performing regular checks with tester kits to maintain adequate pH and chloride levels in our (small) swimming pool, I decided to build a project that monitors the water continuously and registers the data online so I can easily inspect it. Although quite expensive, I decided to go with the Ph and ORP kits by atlas-scientific.com. The choice of microcontroller was easy since I'm a big fan of the Particle Photon and I needed WiFi connectivity anyway to send measurements to an online database. I threw in an additional temperature sensor and added a small solar panel to keep the device running autonomously. The Photon firmware boots the device every 5 minutes and takes a series of measurements during one minute: pH, ORP, temperature, battery charge and WiFi strength. The average of each measurement is sent as an event to the Particle cloud where an integration made by Particle takes care of forwarding those events to the Google pub/sub service. On the Google cloud platform, I have a cloud function that stores the value in a datastore. I'm now building the webapp to visualize the measurements online.... to be continued! All the code can be found in the linked github repository. Have fun!" [...]

Non-invasive Alzheimer's Light Therapy Devices

"This project is centered around the creation of devices aimed at being used in the study of the effects of Alzheimer's Light Therapy on humans. In December 2016, after publishing my first Instructable, Mr. Sotiris Melissis (graduate student at NYU) contacted me regarding a newly published article on a new Alzheimer's treatment method by MIT (http://news.mit.edu/2016/visual-stimulation-treatment-alzheimer-1207), he suggested that I build a device to aid in the testing of this therapy on humans. I agreed to create glasses with an LED that can cycle at 40Hz to help administer the light therapy to people as they walk, so that they do not have to stand in a test room to receive the therapy. Later a standalone room lamp that is capable of administering the therapy was also created and a remote with an OLED screen was also added to help the user control the two devices. In addition to the two devices being controllable via the remote, they can also be controlled through a phone or computer with wireless capabilities. The project uses ESP8266 12-E modules to achieve the wireless communication between the 3 core devices and since communication is achieved via Wi-Fi access points, they can also be connected to with a normal computer. Below are the three devices (glasses, standalone light, and remote)" [...]

DIY Glove Controller With E-Textile Sensors

"This Instructable is a step by step tutorial on how to make a data glove with eTextile sensors. The project is a collaboration between Rachel Freire and Artyom Maxim. Rachel is the glove textile and eTextile sensor designer and Arty designs the circuits and software. In this Instructable Arty will be making the glove textile, following Rachel's instructions to test our tutorial. There is a full list of materials with links in the next step and the .PDF pattern can be downloaded in the third step. The glove was designed with VR in mind, but can be used for any number of applications which sense the movement of the fingers. The range of the sensors is not huge, and because we are using textile sensors, their readings will vary for each glove made. This is the simplest version of the glove using stretch resistive fabric as the sensors. They are connected using wires and the circuit is on a breadboard." [...]

Electrical Flexible Lamp

"When I was watching YouTube videos I saw a lamp that was moving without fixed turning points. It seemed like the lamp was turned and bended by strings. I immediately started to think how this could work so I decided to make one my own." [...]

How to Recreate the Connect Four Game Using Arduino and an LED Matrix

"In this project, we’ll learn how to a two-player game of Connect Four using an Arduino R3 and a 7219 8×8 LED matrix. What is Connect Four? Connect Four is a two-player connection game where the players first choose a color and then take turns dropping colored discs from the top into a seven-column, six-row, vertically-suspended grid. The pieces fall straight down, occupying the next available space within the column. The objective of the game is to be the first to form a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line of four with one’s own discs. In the Arduino game, I have implemented, the player has the ability to move to any legal space in the matrix." [...]

Arduino Musical Instrument

"As part of the Musical Human Computer Interaction module of the Audio Technology MSc at the University of Wolverhampton, we were asked to research, design and build a musical interface/digital instrument. I chose to build an instrument based on a harp and designed with children in mind. Having a young daughter she often commented that the strings on a Harp felt hard and slightly painful after a while, so a more tactile interface was researched." [...]

The Antisocial RobotCar (EAL)

"The Antisocial RobotCar moves away from you if you get too close and stops if there is nothing close. We wanted to build an antisocial robot car that moves away from obstacles/people. The way it works is by having 2 Ultra sonic sensors in each end of the car. The car can only move forward and backwards. If anything get to close to the car <50cm it will drive away until the obstacle is out of range. It uses 2 DC motors controlled by a L298 DC dual motor controller to move both forwards and backwards. To power the DC motors we use 3 LIthium batteries cabable to deliver approx 11V to the motors. Everything is controlled by the Arduino Mega 2560 which all of the components is connected to." [...]

Coping with Long-Distance Serial Communication: A New Retimer IC from Texas Instruments

"Signal degradation is unavoidable, but various ICs, such as the DS250DF210, can help to restore what has been lost (or eliminate what has been added). Electrical signals are never really “pure”. Noise is pervasive in every portion of an electronic circuit. Indeed, noise has affected your signal before it ever shows up at an IC’s output pin. And in addition to noise, we have the endless supply of parasitic resistances, capacitances, and inductances that cause a signal to deviate from the idealized version. However, there is no doubt that certain situations make a particularly generous contribution to signal degradation. The situation that we’re focusing on in this article is long-distance interconnection. Signals are often relatively safe when they’re contained within a well-designed PCB, but interconnection between separate PCBs or separate subsystems is a different story." [...]

Motorized Camera Slider With Android App

"The camera slider enables me to capture slow slide videos of stuffs I 3d print or make. The slider can be used with any standard camera/camcorder using a standard quick release mounting plate, or a selfie stick to hold a phone. If you want to add more degree of flexibility to it you can mount it on a tripod stand. If you find it useful I hope you build a copy, or get inspiration for your project." [...]

Wireless Arduino Shooting Game

"This is an game i made for me to shoot at targets with CO2 guns. My other instructable is to my first version of this game, but with cable and hosting on an Arduino Uno. This version is a little more bigger and is wireless and cable possible. The goal with this project is to have an electronic game to shoot at targets. " [...]

How to Make VU Meter

"A VU metre is volume unit (VU) meter or standard volume indicator (SVI) is a device displaying a representation of the signal level in audio equipment. It is used to visualise the Analog signal. I already made a VU meter using Arduino you can check here. In this Instructable I am going to improvise the look of the VU meter. Now I am going to instruct how to make a VU meter using Arduino with less number of components." [...]

Shift Register With 7 Segment Display

"This circuit takes the input of the shift register and outputs the binary representation to 4 LEDs and a 7-segment display. It incorporates a 4-bit bidirectional shift register, BCD to 7-segment display driver, a 7-segment common anode display, a line buffer, several LEDs for checking outputs, several switches, several resistors, a capacitor and a diode for the switch debouncing for the clock signal." [...]

Your Arduino Balancing Robot (YABR)

"Your Arduino Balancing Robot (YABR) is a self-balancing robot that you can build yourself as a school project or as a fun project with your kids. It might look simple but there is a lot that you can learn from building this self-balancing robot. In contrast to most self-balancing robots, this one uses stepper motors instead of regular DC motors. The main reason is that stepper motors are precise and have no performance loss when the battery voltage drops. One pulse is always an exact amount of motion. Regular DC motors can have mechanical friction and electric resistance differences. This can cause performance differences. As a result the robot will not move in a straight line. The total cost to build this robot is approximately $80 if you use the hardware list below. This includes a battery, Nunchuck, charger, stepper motors, etc. The Arduino program that you can download for free is 100% self-written and not based on any other software. The code is well commented and clearly explained. This makes it possible to further develop the code for your own purpose." [...]

Making a Wooden LED Clock

"In this instructable I build a simple wood LED clock, using modern electronics components and traditional wood and metal working techniques. I use a 16x9 LED matrix from Adafruit as a digital clock face, power it with an Arduino nano and use a DS3231 Real Time Clock (RTC) to keep time. I also show how to make the pretty reclaimed wood and aluminum box as the case. All with simple tools (plus small drill press). This is a fairly simple electronics build, I assume basic knowledge of Arduino and an ability to do some simple soldering. " [...]

Hand Gesture Controlled Robotic Arm with Arduino

"For this project, I’ll be controlling a 3D printed robotic arm. But instead of a simple button + joystick setup, I’ll be building a hand gesture robotic arm just like how this bot was controlled. Would you like to build one? Here’s how I did it!" [...]