Editorial

Esta é a Newsletter Nº 122 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
• Modelos 3D
• Documentação
• Projetos Maker

Faz hoje anos que nascia, em 1663, Guillaume Amontons. Nascido em Paris, na França, este inventor de instrumentos científicos ficou conhecido pela invenção do termómetro de ar - que depende do aumento de volume de um gás (em vez de um líquido) com a temperatura. Surdo desde a infância, Amontons trabalhou em invenções para surdos, como o primeiro telégrafo, que dependia de um telescópio, luz e várias estações para transmitir informações a grande distância. Ficou igualmente conhecido pelas leis de Amontons da fricção: A força do atrito é directamente proporcional à carga aplicada, a força do atrito é independente da área de contacto aparente e o atrito cinético é independente da velocidade deslizante. Estas 3 leis apenas se aplicam à fricção a seco, na qual a adição de um lubrificante modifica significativamente as propriedades tribológicas. Foi responsável pela introdução da Tribologia, um ramo de engenharia mecânica e ciência dos materiais, que estuda a interacção de superfícies em movimento relativo. Inclui o estudo e aplicação dos princípios de fricção, lubrificação e desgaste.

Faz também anos hoje que nascia, em 1821, Hermann von Helmholtz. Este físico alemão nascido em Potsdam na antiga Prússia, deu diversos contributos nas áreas da fisiologia, óptica, electrodinâmica, matemática e meteorologia, incluindo a lei da conservação de energia. Ele também desenvolveu trabalhos na área da termodinâmica, em particular introduzindo conceito de energia livre. Em 1850, ele mediu a velocidade de um impulso nervoso e, em 1851, inventou o oftalmoscópio. Ele descobriu a função da cóclea no ouvido interno e desenvolveu a teoria da visão da cor de Thomas Young. O seu estudo da acção muscular levou-o a formular uma teoria muito mais precisa em relação à conservação da energia do que a proposta anteriormente por Robert Mayer e James Joule.

Faz igualmente anos hoje que nascia, em 1887, Friedrich Paneth. Este químico austríaco melhorou os métodos na década de 1920 para isolar e medir as pequenas quantidades de hélio (apenas 10-10 cm3) libertadas lentamente por vestígios de elementos radioactivos nas rochas. Isto permitiu a determinação tanto da idade das rochas na terra, como da idade dos meteoritos, que implica a idade do sistema solar (actualmente aceite como tendo 4,6 mil milhões de anos). Anteriormente, conjuntamente com Georg Charles de Hevesy apresentaram técnicas de identificação radioactiva (1912-13). Paneth usou o rádio D como um marcador para medir a solubilidade dos sais de chumbo, estendendo a técnica ao estudo dos hidretos instáveis de chumbo e bismuto. Contribuiu para o estudo da estratosfera determinando sua composição como uma função de altitude até 45 milhas.

Por fim, faz anos hoje que nascia, em 1912, Robert Frank Borkenstein. Este oficial da policia norte-americana é conhecido pela invenção do dispositivo usado para estimar o nível de álcool no sangue a partir do bafo - o bafómetro. Conhecido como "Balão" este dispositivo permite medir o teor de álcool na respiração de um individuo. Quando o individuo exala num analisador de respiração, qualquer etanol presente na respiração é oxidado para ácido acético no ânodo. No cátodo, o oxigénio atmosférico é reduzido. A reacção global é a oxidação de etanol para ácido acético e água. A corrente eléctrica produzida por esta reacção é medida por um micro-controlador e exibida como uma aproximação do teor geral de álcool no sangue.

Esta semana o Linux fez 26 anos. Lançado por Linus Torvalds como um projecto académico pouco ambicioso, em 1991, nestes 26 anos tornou-se o sistema operativo open-source que tem uma utilização mais diversificada desde Smartphones, TVs, sistemas embebidos, Portáteis, Desktops, Servidores e todo o tipo de computadores desde o Raspberry PI ao Mainframe zSystems da IBM. Sabia que o linux é usado nos sistemas de controlo dos foguetes do foguetão Falcon 9 da SpaceX ? Também esta semana a Google anunciou que ira disponibilizar o ARCore - Realidade Aumentada para Android. O Android é a maior plataforma móvel do mundo. E nos últimos nove anos, a Google trabalhou para criar um conjunto abrangente de ferramentas, frameworks e APIs que oferecem as criações feitas pelos programadores a todas as pessoas. Esta semana é lançada uma versão de "Preview" do novo kit de desenvolvimento de software (SDK) chamado ARCore. Ele traz capacidades de realidade aumentada para telefones Android existentes e futuros. Os programadores podem começar a experimentar desde já este SDK. Amanhã, dia 1 de Setembro irá passar junto à Terra o asteróide "Florença". Trata-se do maior objecto a passar perto do nosso planeta desde que a NASA começou a registar esses tipos de asteróides que passa próximo da Terra. A rocha espacial tem 4,4 quilómetros de comprimento. Passará pela Terra a uma distância segura de 7 milhões de quilómetros, ou quase 18 vezes a distância entre a Terra e a Lua.

Na Newsletter desta semana apresentamos diversos projetos de maker assim como um modelo 3D de como funciona um Transístor. É apresentado também a revista MagPI nº 61 de Setembro de 2017.

João Alves ([email protected])

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

Happy 26th birthday Linux, Linux turns 26 today.

"The most coolest operating system for geeks, IT professionals, software engineers, hackers turned 26th today. 26 years back on 25th August Linux creator Linux Torvalds posted a message with a sense of seeking help on Google Groups saying he is creating a new operating system based on his hobby. His message writes : Hello everybody out there using minix – I’m doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won’t be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones. This has been brewing since april, and is starting to get ready. I’d like any feedback on things people like/dislike in minix, as my OS resembles it somewhat (same physical layout of the file-system (due to practical reasons) among other things). I’ve currently ported bash(1.08) and gcc(1.40), and things seem to work. This implies that I’ll get something practical within a few months, and I’d like to know what features most people would want. Any suggestions are welcome, but I won’t promise I’ll implement them 🙂 PS. Yes – it’s free of any minix code, and it has a multi-threaded fs. It is NOT protable (uses 386 task switching etc), and it probably never will support anything other than AT-harddisks, as that’s all I have :-(. Last year The Linux Foundation released a detailed report on the Operating system with highlights from the past 25 years. They write that 13,500 developers from 1,300 companies have contributed to the Kernel since the entire project went up on Git in 2005." [...]

ARCore: Augmented reality at Android scale

"With more than two billion active devices, Android is the largest mobile platform in the world. And for the past nine years, we’ve worked to create a rich set of tools, frameworks and APIs that deliver developers’ creations to people everywhere. Today, we’re releasing a preview of a new software development kit (SDK) called ARCore. It brings augmented reality capabilities to existing and future Android phones. Developers can start experimenting with it right now. We’ve been developing the fundamental technologies that power mobile AR over the last three years with Tango, and ARCore is built on that work. But, it works without any additional hardware, which means it can scale across the Android ecosystem. ARCore will run on millions of devices, starting today with the Pixel and Samsung’s S8, running 7.0 Nougat and above. We’re targeting 100 million devices at the end of the preview. We’re working with manufacturers like Samsung, Huawei, LG, ASUS and others to make this possible with a consistent bar for quality and high performance." [...]

Enormous Near-Earth Asteroid 'Florence' Will Safely Fly by Earth Sept. 1

"An asteroid named Florence that will safely sweep past Earth on Sept. 1 is the largest object to give our planet a close shave since NASA began tracking these types of near-Earth asteroids, an agency official said. The space rock measures 2.7 miles (4.4 kilometers) across. It will pass by Earth at a safe distance of 4.4 million miles (7 million kilometers), or nearly 18 times the distance between Earth and the moon. "While many known asteroids have passed by closer to Earth than Florence will on September 1, all of those were estimated to be smaller," Paul Chodas, manager of NASA's Center for Near-Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) at the agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, said in a statement. As asteroid Florence passes by Earth, astronomers will take the opportunity to capture radar images to learn more about the asteroid’s exact size and detailed surface features. The asteroid is named after Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. Astronomer Schelte "Bobby" Bus first spotted asteroid Florence in 1981 at Siding Spring Observatory in Australia. The flyby on Sept. 1 is the asteroid's closest approach since 1890 and it won't get this close to Earth again until after 2500, according to the statement. " [...]

Introducing the Qualcomm Falkor CPU core: purpose-built for cloud workloads

"Unless you’ve been under a rock for the last several years, you’ve undoubtedly come to know and understand the on-going shift in the datacenter industry to a cloud-based computing model. Cloud-based software has become the basis of much of our mobile experience today, with services like ride-sharing or social media that are only viable — or greatly enhanced — with the significant compute resources running in a datacenter. Such mobile services, along with the wide variety of cloud services beyond those associated with the mobile world, have demanded a shift in software architecture to scale with a large number of systems and today’s more powerful, multi-threaded processors. Workloads that traditionally have run on an enterprise’s own compute infrastructure are moving to a public cloud computing model, taking advantage of the economics of scale that such consolidation brings. This shift from the private datacenter infrastructure to cloud computing services continues to accelerate. According to a recent IDC Cloud Server Forecast, more than 50 percent of servers sold by 2020 will be deployed for cloud computing services. And the processors that power those servers need to be optimized to address the demand for scalable performance under the unique characteristics of cloud software and services. Five years ago, as we at Qualcomm Datacenter Technologies began to map out our strategy to enter the datacenter market, we recognized the then-nascent trend to cloud computing and designed a technology roadmap with cloud computing in mind. The cornerstone design point for our datacenter server product roadmap was to deliver right-sized solutions, optimizing throughput performance and efficiency for emerging multi-core cloud workloads. Cloud services need to perform well in highly-loaded and multi-tenant environments, and the hardware platform needs to maximize aggregate compute performance while improving the cloud operator’s operational costs, largely driven by the cost of power and cooling." [...]

Amazon Has Developed an AI Fashion Designer

"Amazon isn’t synonymous with high fashion yet, but the company may be poised to lead the way when it comes to replacing stylists and designers with ever-so-chic AI algorithms. Researchers at the e-commerce juggernaut are currently working on several machine-learning systems that could help provide an edge when it comes to spotting, reacting to, and perhaps even shaping the latest fashion trends. The effort points to ways in which Amazon and other companies could try to improve the tracking of trends in other areas of retail—making recommendations based on products popping up in social-media posts, for instance. And it could help the company expand its clothing business or even dominate the area. “There’s been a whole move from companies like Amazon trying to understand how fashion develops in the world,” says Kavita Bala, a professor at Cornell University who took part in a workshop on machine learning and fashion organized by Amazon last week. “This is completely changing the industry.” A number of forward-thinking retailers are already using social networks like Instagram and Pinterest to track the latest fashion trends and react quickly. And startups like the subscription service Stitch Fix already make personalized recommendations based on user preferences and social-media activity. Amazon, meanwhile, is making moves to bolster its apparel business, developing its own clothing brands, investing in high-quality photography for products, and launching Prime Wardrobe, which lets customers try on clothes before buying them. Its Echo Look app will even give you feedback on your outfits. But Amazon appears to be pushing that algorithmic approach even further. For instance, one group of Amazon researchers based in Israel developed machine learning that, by analyzing just a few labels attached to images, can deduce whether a particular look can be considered stylish. The software could conceivably provide fashion feedback or recommendations for adjustments. The work is innovative because computers usually require extensive labeling in order to learn from visual information. But in many real-world situations, such as an image posted to Instagram, there might be just one label. An Amazon team at Lab126, a research center based in San Francisco, has developed an algorithm that learns about a particular style of fashion from images, and can then generate new items in similar styles from scratch—essentially, a simple AI fashion designer. The approach is crude and hardly ready for Project Runway, but it hints at the possibilities." [...]

Watch 1,069 dancing robots break world record

"WL Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd in China has just broken the Guinness World Records title for the Most robots dancing simultaneously. Taking place in Guangzhou, Guangdong, a jaw-dropping 1,069 synchronised machines were lined up and performed a perfectly choreographed dance routine for the attempt. Well, almost perfect – a few of the robots fell down during the dynamic show, and these had to be deducted from the final record total. The robots – which are named ‘Dobi’ – were all programmed via one group control system." [...]

SpaceX’s Hyperloop Pod speed competition winner tops 200 MPH

"SpaceX held its second Hyperloop Pod design competition for student teams at the test track built near its headquarters today. The mile-long track saw three finalist teams battle it out for speed supremacy, including WARR Hyperloop from Germany, Switzerland’s Swissloop and Paradigm, a North American team with members from Northeastern and Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada. The winner was WARR, which was built by students at the Technical University of Munich, ran at a speed of 324 km/h, which is over 201 mph. That easily topped the next place team, and the WARR unit was the only to even attempt to reach its top speed during the runs. The team earned the praise of SpaceX co-founder and CEO Elon Musk with the victory, who said that it was extremely impressive as a result from a student initiative. Musk ramped up the stakes immediately, however, saying that he believes with work it would be possible to get up to above 500 km/h even in the relatively short mile-long test track SpaceX currently has in place. There will be more opportunities to compete, too – Musk also announced that as of today, SpaceX has decided to host the competition again next year, marking the third running of the pods. The competition itself is a volunteer effort but one by SpaceX (and, notably this year, The Boring Company) employees who volunteer their time on race day and also help mentor the students working on the pods, and prepare for the tests." [...]

Domino's® and Ford begin consumer research of Pizza delivery using self-driving vehicles

"Domino's Pizza (NYSE: DPZ), the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, and Ford Motor Co. are launching an industry-first collaboration to understand the role that self-driving vehicles can play in pizza delivery. As part of the testing, researchers from both companies will investigate customer reactions to interacting with a self-driving vehicle as a part of their delivery experience. This research is important as both companies begin to examine and understand customers’ perspectives around the future of food delivery with self-driving vehicles. “As delivery experts, we’ve been watching the development of self-driving vehicles with great interest as we believe transportation is undergoing fundamental, dramatic change,” said Patrick Doyle, Domino’s president and CEO. “We pride ourselves on being technology leaders and are excited to help lead research into how self-driving vehicles may play a role in the future of pizza delivery. This is the first step in an ongoing process of testing that we plan to undertake with Ford.” As Ford builds out its business enabled by self-driving vehicles, conducting research with companies, like Domino’s, will be crucial to ensuring that the technology is applied in ways that enhance the customer experience. With a plan to begin production of self-driving vehicles in 2021, Ford is taking steps to design a business to meet the needs of both partner companies and their customers. “As we increase our understanding of the business opportunity for self-driving vehicles to support the movement of people and goods, we’re pleased to have Domino’s join us in this important part of the development process,” said Sherif Marakby, Ford vice president, Autonomous and Electric Vehicles. “As a company focused on the customer experience, Domino’s shares our vision for a future enabled by smart vehicles in a smart environment that enhance people’s lives.” Over the next several weeks, randomly-selected Domino’s customers in Ann Arbor will have the opportunity to receive their delivery order from a Ford Fusion Hybrid Autonomous Research Vehicle, which will be manually-driven by a Ford safety engineer and staffed with researchers. Customers who agree to participate will be able to track the delivery vehicle through GPS using an upgraded version of Domino’s Tracker®. They will also receive text messages as the self-driving vehicle approaches that will guide them on how to retrieve their pizza using a unique code to unlock the Domino’s Heatwave Compartment™ inside the vehicle." [...]

NXP Introduces Its Smallest 8-bit S08 Microcontroller Yet for Broad Market

"NXP Semiconductors today announced its smallest 8-bit S08 microcontroller (MCU) – the MC9S08PA4AVDC microcontroller. Measuring just 3 x 3 x 0.9 mm, this new package helps address the growing challenge of shrinking PCB space for tomorrow's technologies, without increasing BOM costs. The MC9S08PA4AVDC can be used in various size-limited applications such as industrial control, BLDC motor control and Internet-of-Things (IoT) control that requires a tiny MCU. The MC9S08PA4AVDC MCU joins NXP's low-cost, high-performance HCS08 family of 8-bit microcontrollers. This new MCU leverages the enhanced HCS08 central processor and is available with a variety of peripherals, memory sizes, and types. Featuring 8-bit S08 core, the MC9S08PA4AVDC MCU reaches up to 20 MHz bus at 2.7V to 5.5V across operating temperature range, offering more durability, flexibility, and reliability in harsh industrial and user interface environments. The MCU also integrates up to 4KB flash, 128 byte EEPROM and 512 byte RAM in the single tiny package. NXP's S08 microcontrollers, including the new MC9S08PA4AVDC, are supported by CodeWarrior IDE. MC9S08PT60 TWR system is a low-cost standalone demo board designed to demonstrate capabilities of the MC9S08P family. It is pre-programmed with demos and enables quick and cost effective product evaluation and application development.NXP is continuing to explore the market of 8-bit MCU, and with this new tiny package is able to help customers save system size and BOM cost when developing new solutions." [...]

Recipe for Safer Batteries — Just Add Diamonds

"While lithium-ion batteries, widely used in mobile devices from cell phones to laptops, have one of the longest lifespans of commercial batteries today, they also have been behind a number of recent meltdowns and fires due to short-circuiting in mobile devices. In hopes of preventing more of these hazardous malfunctions researchers at Drexel University have developed a recipe that can turn electrolyte solution — a key component of most batteries — into a safeguard against the chemical process that leads to battery-related disasters. Yury Gogotsi, PhD, Distinguished University and Bach professor in the College of Engineering, and his research team from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, recently published their work — entitled “Nanodiamonds Suppress Growth of Lithium Dendrites” — in the journal Nature Communications. In it, they describe a process by which nanodiamonds — tiny diamond particles 10,000 times smaller than the diameter of a hair — curtail the electrochemical deposition, called plating, that can lead to hazardous short-circuiting of lithium ion batteries. As batteries are used and charged, the electrochemical reaction results in the movement of ions between the two electrodes of a battery, which is the essence of an electrical current. Over time, this repositioning of ions can create tendril-like buildups — almost like stalactites forming inside a cave. These battery buildups, called dendrites, are one of the main causes of lithium battery malfunction. As dendrites form inside the battery over time, they can reach the point where they push through the separator, a porous polymer film that prevents the positively charged part of a battery from touching the negatively charged part. When the separator is breached, a short-circuit can occur, which can also lead to a fire since the electrolyte solution in most lithium-ion batteries is highly flammable. To avoid dendrite formation and minimize the probability of fire, current battery designs include one electrode made of graphite filled with lithium instead of pure lithium. The use of graphite as the host for lithium prevents the formation of dendrites. But lithium intercalated graphite also stores about 10 times less energy than pure lithium. The breakthrough made by Gogotsi’s team means that a great increase in energy storage is possible because dendrite formation can be eliminated in pure lithium electrodes." [...]

No Batteries Required: Energy-Harvesting Yarns Generate Electricity

"An international research team led by scientists at The University of Texas at Dallas and Hanyang University in South Korea has developed high-tech yarns that generate electricity when they are stretched or twisted. In a study published in the Aug. 25 issue of the journal Science, researchers describe “twistron” yarns and their possible applications, such as harvesting energy from the motion of ocean waves or from temperature fluctuations. When sewn into a shirt, these yarns served as a self-powered breathing monitor. “The easiest way to think of twistron harvesters is, you have a piece of yarn, you stretch it, and out comes electricity,” said Dr. Carter Haines BS’11, PhD’15, associate research professor in the Alan G. MacDiarmid NanoTech Institute at UT Dallas and co-lead author of the article. The article also includes researchers from South Korea, Virginia Tech, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and China. Yarns Based on Nanotechnology The yarns are constructed from carbon nanotubes, which are hollow cylinders of carbon 10,000 times smaller in diameter than a human hair. The researchers first twist-spun the nanotubes into high-strength, lightweight yarns. To make the yarns highly elastic, they introduced so much twist that the yarns coiled like an over-twisted rubber band. In order to generate electricity, the yarns must be either submerged in or coated with an ionically conducting material, or electrolyte, which can be as simple as a mixture of ordinary table salt and water." [...]

Mathematical mystery of ancient Babylonian clay tablet solved

"UNSW Sydney scientists have discovered the purpose of a famous 3700-year-old Babylonian clay tablet, revealing it is the world’s oldest and most accurate trigonometric table, possibly used by ancient mathematical scribes to calculate how to construct palaces and temples and build canals. The new research shows the Babylonians, not the Greeks, were the first to study trigonometry – the study of triangles – and reveals an ancient mathematical sophistication that had been hidden until now. Known as Plimpton 322, the small tablet was discovered in the early 1900s in what is now southern Iraq by archaeologist, academic, diplomat and antiquities dealer Edgar Banks, the person on whom the fictional character Indiana Jones was based. It has four columns and 15 rows of numbers written on it in the cuneiform script of the time using a base 60, or sexagesimal, system. “Plimpton 322 has puzzled mathematicians for more than 70 years, since it was realised it contains a special pattern of numbers called Pythagorean triples,” says Dr Daniel Mansfield of the School of Mathematics and Statistics in the UNSW Faculty of Science. “The huge mystery, until now, was its purpose – why the ancient scribes carried out the complex task of generating and sorting the numbers on the tablet. “Our research reveals that Plimpton 322 describes the shapes of right-angle triangles using a novel kind of trigonometry based on ratios, not angles and circles. It is a fascinating mathematical work that demonstrates undoubted genius. “The tablet not only contains the world’s oldest trigonometric table; it is also the only completely accurate trigonometric table, because of the very different Babylonian approach to arithmetic and geometry."" [...]

Faculty-student team develops origami-inspired robot

"New research from a team of MechSE professors and students, published as an invited paper in Smart Materials and Structures, details how origami structures and bio-inspired design can be used to create a crawling robot. Assistant professors Aimy Wissa and Sameh Tawfick, along with graduate student Alexander Pagano and undergraduates Tongxi Yan, and Brian Chien, used origami paper folding principles to construct and actuate mechanisms and machines for possible integration with small, scalable, and cheap robots as well as deployable adaptive structures. Tawfick said they were inspired by a common theme in the rapid movement of soft plants like the Venus Flytrap and the swimming of uni-flagellated bacteria, both of which use the flexibility of their bodies to quickly snap, allowing fast motion and saving energy. “This paper presents the design of a bio-inspired crawling robot,” Wissa said. “The robot uses origami building blocks to mimic the gait and metameric properties of earthworms and directional material design to mimic the function of the setae on earthworms that prevents backward slipping.” The researchers investigated the concept of using the Kresling crease pattern of origami, which is a chiral tower with a polygonal base. This origami tower couples its expansion and contraction to longitudinal and rotational motion, similar to a screw, and they used buckling instabilities to accomplish a large-stroke snapping motion from small inputs. Their design utilizes a skeleton made from the buckling origami tower as mechanisms to transform motor rotation to fast expansion and contraction of the worm robot, enabling a crawling gait. It can go forward and turn left and right using repeated expansion and contraction. “The ability to produce a functional and geometrically complex 3D mechanical system from a flat sheet introduces exciting opportunities in the field of robotics for remote, autonomously deployable systems or low cost integrated locomotion,” they wrote. Their mathematical analysis is thought to be the first of its kind to use the idea of virtual folds to analyze panel bending in snapping Kresling-like origami towers. This configuration presents an advantage in energy consumption and makes the open loop locomotion control straight-forward. Moving forward, this design can also be used in manipulations, booms, and active structures." [...]

Monitoring network traffic more efficiently

"In today’s data networks, traffic analysis — determining which links are getting congested and why — is usually done by computers at the network’s edge, which try to infer the state of the network from the times at which different data packets reach their destinations. If the routers inside the network could instead report on their own circumstances, network analysis would be much more precise and efficient, enabling network operators to more rapidly address problems. To that end, router manufacturers have begun equipping their routers with counters that can report on the number of data packets a router has processed in a given time interval. But raw number counts are only so useful, and giving routers a special-purpose monitoring circuit for every new measurement an operator might want to make isn’t practical. The alternative is for routers to ship data packets to outside servers for more complex analysis, but that technique doesn’t scale well. A data center with 100,000 servers, for instance, might need another 40,000 to 50,000 servers just to keep up with the flood of router data. Researchers at MIT, Cisco Systems, and Barefoot Networks have come up with a new approach to network monitoring that provides great flexibility in data collection while keeping both the circuit complexity of the router and the number of external analytic servers low. They describe the work in a paper they’re presenting this week at the annual conference of the Association for Computing Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Data Communication. Dubbed Marple, the system consists of a programming language that enables network operators to specify a wide range of network-monitoring tasks and a small set of simple circuit elements that can execute any task specified in the language. Simulations using actual data center traffic statistics suggest that, in the data center setting, Marple should require only one traffic analysis server for every 40 or 50 application servers." [...]

Major leap towards storing data at the molecular level

"From smartphones to supercomputers, the growing need for smaller and more energy efficient devices has made higher density data storage one of the most important technological quests. Now scientists at the University of Manchester have proved that storing data with a class of molecules known as single-molecule magnets is more feasible than previously thought. The research, led by Dr David Mills and Dr Nicholas Chilton, from the School of Chemistry, is being published in Nature. It shows that magnetic hysteresis, a memory effect that is a prerequisite of any data storage, is possible in individual molecules at -213 °C. This is tantalisingly close to the temperature of liquid nitrogen (-196 °C). The result means that data storage with single molecules could become a reality because the data servers could be cooled using relatively cheap liquid nitrogen at -196°C instead of far more expensive liquid helium (-269 °C). The research provides proof-of-concept that such technologies could be achievable in the near future. The potential for molecular data storage is huge. To put it into a consumer context, molecular technologies could store more than 200 terabits of data per square inch – that’s 25,000 GB of information stored in something approximately the size of a 50p coin, compared to Apple’s latest iPhone 7 with a maximum storage of 256 GB. Single-molecule magnets display a magnetic memory effect that is a requirement of any data storage and molecules containing lanthanide atoms have exhibited this phenomenon at the highest temperatures to date. Lanthanides are rare earth metals used in all forms of everyday electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops. The team achieved their results using the lanthanide element dysprosium." [...]

Experiments confirm theory of “superballistic” electron flow

"When many people try to squeeze through a passageway at the same time, it creates a bottleneck that slows everyone down. It turns out the reverse is true for electrons, which can move through small openings more quickly when travelling in large groups than when flying solo. The theory of so-called superballistic flow predicts that electrons can pass more easily through constrictions by interacting with one another, and thereby “cooperating,” than they can individually. The theory was proposed in a paper earlier this year by a team led by MIT professor of physics Leonid Levitov. Now, in a paper published this week in the journal Nature Physics, a team at the University of Manchester in the U.K., working alongside Levitov and MIT undergraduate Haoyu Guo, have confirmed the theory in an experiment employing devices built from an atomically thin layer of graphene. The idea behind superballistic flow is that interactions among electrons make them move in a highly coordinated manner, mimicking the behavior of particles in highly viscous fluids. When electrons traveling individually pass through a constricted opening, they will bounce off the walls at either side, losing their momentum as well as some of their energy. But when the electrons travel in dense groups, they are much more likely to bounce off each other than the walls. Such electron-electron collisions are known as “lossless,” since the total energy and the net momentum of the two particles are conserved. The momentum of individual electrons can change rapidly in the process, however the overall momentum conservation ensures that the losses are very low. As a result, together the electrons are able to travel more quickly, and pass through the constriction more easily, than they would alone. “Viscous flows of electrons have been anticipated in theory but never observed, partly because the materials were not good enough at the time, and partly because there were no good proposals of what to look for,” Levitov says. To make viscous flow easier to identify, Levitov’s theoretical paper suggested forcing electrons to travel through a constriction, generating an electric current. This is a similar idea to the way in which 19th century researchers studied viscosity by passing fluids through a narrow channel." [...]

High-Dimensional Quantum Encryption Performed in Real-World City Conditions for First Time

"For the first time, researchers have sent a quantum-secured message containing more than one bit of information per photon through the air above a city. The demonstration showed that it could one day be practical to use high-capacity, free-space quantum communication to create a highly secure link between ground-based networks and satellites, a requirement for creating a global quantum encryption network. Quantum encryption uses photons to encode information in the form of quantum bits. In its simplest form, known as 2D encryption, each photon encodes one bit: either a one or a zero. Scientists have shown that a single photon can encode even more information — a concept known as high-dimensional quantum encryption — but until now this has never been demonstrated with free-space optical communication in real-world conditions. With eight bits necessary to encode just one letter, for example, packing more information into each photon would significantly speed up data transmission. “Our work is the first to send messages in a secure manner using high-dimensional quantum encryption in realistic city conditions, including turbulence,” said research team lead, Ebrahim Karimi, University of Ottawa, Canada. “The secure, free-space communication scheme we demonstrated could potentially link Earth with satellites, securely connect places where it is too expensive to install fiber, or be used for encrypted communication with a moving object, such as an airplane.” As detailed in Optica, The Optical Society's journal for high impact research, the researchers demonstrated 4D quantum encryption over a free-space optical network spanning two buildings 0.3 kilometers apart at the University of Ottawa. This high-dimensional encryption scheme is referred to as 4D because each photon encodes two bits of information, which provides the four possibilities of 01, 10, 00 or 11. In addition to sending more information per photon, high-dimensional quantum encryption can also tolerate more signal-obscuring noise before the transmission becomes unsecure. Noise can arise from turbulent air, failed electronics, detectors that don’t work properly and from attempts to intercept the data. “This higher noise threshold means that when 2D quantum encryption fails, you can try to implement 4D because it, in principle, is more secure and more noise resistant,” said Karimi." [...]

Drones relay RFID signals for inventory control

"Radio frequency ID tags were supposed to revolutionize supply chain management. The dirt-cheap, battery-free tags, which receive power wirelessly from scanners and then broadcast identifying numbers, enable warehouse managers to log inventory much more efficiently than they could by reading box numbers and recording them manually. But the scale of modern retail operations makes even radio frequency ID (RFID) scanning inefficient. Walmart, for instance, reported that in 2013 it lost $3 billion in revenue because of mismatches between its inventory records and its stock. Even with RFID technology, it can take a single large retail store three months to perform a complete inventory review, which means that mismatches often go undiscovered until exposed by a customer request. MIT researchers have now developed a system that enables small, safe, aerial drones to read RFID tags from tens of meters away while identifying the tags’ locations with an average error of about 19 centimeters. The researchers envision that the system could be used in large warehouses for both continuous monitoring, to prevent inventory mismatches, and location of individual items, so that employees can rapidly and reliably meet customer requests." [...]

Shape-shifters soak up sunshine

"A crystalline material that changes shape in response to light could form the heart of novel light-activated devices. Perovskite crystals have received a lot of attention for their efficiency at converting sunlight into electricity, but new work by scientists at KAUST shows their potential uses extend far beyond the light-harvesting layer of solar panels. Photostriction is the property of certain materials to undergo a change in internal strain, and therefore shape, with exposure to light. Organic photostrictive materials offer the greatest shape change so far reported in response to light—a parameter known as their photostrictive coefficient—but their response is slow and unstable under ambient conditions. KAUST electrical engineer Jr-Hau He and his colleagues have looked for photostriction in a new family of materials, the perovskites. “Perovskites are one of the hottest optical materials,” says He. His work now shows there’s more to their interesting optical properties than solar energy harvesting. The researchers tested a perovskite called MAPbBr3 and revealed it had strong and robust photostriction behavior. To extensively test the material’s photostriction capabilities, the team developed a new method. They used Raman spectroscopy, which probes the molecular vibrations within the structure. When bathed in light, photostriction alters the internal strain in the material, which then shifts the internal pattern of vibrations. By measuring the shift in the Raman signal when the material was placed under mechanical pressure, the team could calibrate the technique and so use it to quantify the effect of photostriction. “We demonstrated that in situ Raman spectroscopy with confocal microscopy is a powerful characterization tool for conveniently measuring intrinsic photoinduced lattice deformation,” says Tzu-Chiao Wei, a member of the team. “The same approach could be applied to measure photostriction in other materials,” he adds. The perovskite material proved to have a significant photostriction coefficient of 1.25%. The researchers also showed that the perovskite’s photostriction was partly due to the photovoltaic effect—the phenomenon at the heart of most solar cell operation. The spontaneous generation of positive and negative charges when the perovskite is bathed in light polarizes the material, which induces a movement in the ions the material is made from." [...]

Strength of global stratospheric circulation measured for first time

"When commercial airplanes break through the clouds to reach cruising altitude, they have typically arrived in the stratosphere, the second layer of Earth’s atmosphere. The air up there is dry and clear, and much calmer than the turbulent atmosphere we experience on the ground. And yet, for all its seeming tranquility, the stratosphere can be a powerful conveyor belt, pulling air up from the Earth’s equatorial region and pushing it back down toward the poles in a continuously circulating pattern. The strength of this circulation can significantly impact the amount of water vapor, chemicals, and ozone transported around the planet. Now scientists in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences (EAPS) have for the first time determined the strength of the stratosphere’s circulation, based on observations of key chemicals traveling within this atmospheric layer. In a paper published today in the journal Nature Geoscience, the team reports that the stratosphere pulls about 7 billion kilograms of air up through the tropics per second, worldwide, at an altitude of about 20 kilometers. The researchers estimate that the average parcel of air can spend about 1.5 years within this layer before circulating back down to lower layers of the atmosphere. The new estimate can help scientists gauge where and for how long water vapor, ozone, and greenhouse gases remain within the stratosphere. Scientists can also use the team’s method to determine future changes in the stratosphere’s strength — essential information for tracking the recovery of the ozone hole and the progression of global warming. The paper’s lead authors are Marianna Linz, a former PhD student in EAPS who is now a postdoc at the University of California at Los Angeles; and Alan Plumb, a professor emeritus in EAPS; along with researchers from New York University, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Cambridge University, and Caltech." [...]

Tomorrow’s fish farms will be unmanned

"Robotics technology is making inroads into the aquaculture sector, making it possible to regulate facilities from onshore. Currently, service vessels with several crew on board are used to carry out day-to-day tasks on fish farm facilities. Such tasks include everything from fish welfare monitoring to facility inspections, control of feed rationing and lice counting. These operations may become more demanding in the future now that we know that the industry is planning to locate facilities in more open waters where weather and sea conditions are harsher. This is why researchers are working to assemble a team of robots that can do these jobs. Full control around the clock “There are many advantages to using so-called autonomous and remotely operated systems”, says Per Rundtop, a researcher at SINTEF Ocean. “They require less resources, inspections can be carried out around the clock, and the safety of personnel ceases to be a problem”, he says. This is music to the ears of a sector facing tough safety-related challenges. Researchers from SINTEF and NTNU, together with developers from companies including Maritime Robotics, Argus Remote Systems and Lerow, are currently working together to enable robotic systems to implement tasks currently carried out by people. The project is called ARTIFEX. “We have developed a great deal of new technology already”, says Eirik Evjen Hovstein, COO at Maritime Robotics. “Everything from autonomous vessels, drones and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) that can carry out tasks such as inspections and underwater maintenance. The challenge is to get these technologies working well together”, he says." [...]

High-Tech Electronics Made from Autumn Leaves

"Northern China’s roadsides are peppered with deciduous phoenix trees, producing an abundance of fallen leaves in autumn. These leaves are generally burned in the colder season, exacerbating the country’s air pollution problem. Investigators in Shandong, China, recently discovered a new method to convert this organic waste matter into a porous carbon material that can be used to produce high-tech electronics. The advance is reported in the Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, by AIP Publishing. The investigators used a multistep, yet simple, process to convert tree leaves into a form that could be incorporated into electrodes as active materials. The dried leaves were first ground into a powder, then heated to 220 degrees Celsius for 12 hours. This produced a powder composed of tiny carbon microspheres. These microspheres were then treated with a solution of potassium hydroxide and heated by increasing the temperature in a series of jumps from 450 to 800 C. The chemical treatment corrodes the surface of the carbon microspheres, making them extremely porous. The final product, a black carbon powder, has a very high surface area due to the presence of many tiny pores that have been chemically etched on the surface of the microspheres. The high surface area gives the final product its extraordinary electrical properties. The investigators ran a series of standard electrochemical tests on the porous microspheres to quantify their potential for use in electronic devices. The current-voltage curves for these materials indicate that the substance could make an excellent capacitor. Further tests show that the materials are, in fact, supercapacitors, with specific capacitances of 367 Farads/gram, which are over three times higher than values seen in some graphene supercapacitors. A capacitor is a widely used electrical component that stores energy by holding a charge on two conductors, separated from each other by an insulator. Supercapacitors can typically store 10-100 times as much energy as an ordinary capacitor, and can accept and deliver charges much faster than a typical rechargeable battery. For these reasons, supercapacitive materials hold great promise for a wide variety of energy storage needs, particularly in computer technology and hybrid or electric vehicles. " [...]

Robots can heal themselves

"Our paper featuring self-healing soft robotics was published in Science Robotics, including being on the cover! Seppe Terryn, Joost Brancart, Dirk Lefeber, Guy Van Assche and Bram Vanderborght, "Self-healing soft pneumatic robots", Science Robotics 16 Aug 2017: Vol. 2, Issue 9, eaan4268 Soft robotics are rapidly gaining importance for applications involving the handling fragile objects or interactions with humans. However, due to the intrinsic softness of the materials employed, they are quite sensitive to small cuts or perforations. In this paper, reversible covalent networks based on the Diels-Alder reaction between furan- and maleimide-functionalised molecules where used to build self-healing robotic actuators. Actuators that were cut or perforated nearly completely regain their properties after healing them with a little heating. Due to the concept of the material, healing repeated damage in the same location is feasible and the material can be recycled. Our work on the development of self-healing polymers and their application was supported by the European Research Council (ERC), Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO), and the Strategic Initiative Materials in Flanders (SIM)" [...]

Everyone's an expert, but a computer program may be able to pick the best ones

"Combining the intuition of humans with the impartiality of computers could improve decision-making for organizations, eventually leading to lower costs and better profits, according to a team of researchers. In a study, researchers said a computer program that analyzed the estimates of an agribusiness expert helped a business division at Dow AgroSciences improve the accuracy of its forecasts, leading to an increase in profits of 2 to 3 percent and a decrease in costs of 6 to 7 percent, said Saurabh Bansal, assistant professor of supply chain management in Penn State's Smeal College of Business. The team worked with a production expert from Dow AgroSciences management to improve predictions in the company's seed corn division. Producing seed corn, which farmers eventually use as seeds to produce their own crops, can be a tricky endeavor with several factors, including variations in demand and weather, increasing the uncertainty, according to the researchers. "Every year, the company needs to figure out how many acres of land they are going to use to produce seed corn," said Bansal. "But in this competitive industry, many varieties of the seed corn are new, and the company does not have a lot of experience in growing the new type. As a result, it does not know what the yield would be, or how many bushels of corn they will get from its fields. Yet, an estimate of the yield is necessary to optimize the resources used for growing seed corn." Companies often rely on managers as experts to provide estimates of future events and activity because it is more cost effective than sending researchers into the field to conduct studies to gather information. However, these experts, who tend to make these predictions based on mental models drawn from years of experience, often introduce their own biases that can alter the projections. "Everybody likes to claim that they are experts, yet deep down we know that some experts are better than others," said Bansal. "So far, there has been no objective measure whether this expert is better than another and by how much. What we've been able to do is come up with specific metrics that allow us to quantify expertise." The researchers, who report the findings in a forthcoming issue of Operations Research, available online now, developed the computer model to estimate the risk associated with yield. They first gathered judgments for the quantiles of the yield from a domain expert. For example, the expert might estimate that there is a 50 percent chance that the firm will get 55 bushels per acre." [...]

Ames Laboratory scientists move graphene closer to transistor applications

"Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory were able to successfully manipulate the electronic structure of graphene, which may enable the fabrication of graphene transistors-- faster and more reliable than existing silicon-based transistors. The researchers were able to theoretically calculate the mechanism by which graphene’s electronic band structure could be modified with metal atoms. The work will guide experimentally the use of the effect in layers of graphene with rare-earth metal ions “sandwiched” (or intercalated) between graphene and its silicon carbide substrate. Because the metal atoms are magnetic the additions can also modify the use of graphene for spintronics. “We are discovering new and more useful versions of graphene,” said Ames Laboratory senior scientist Michael C. Tringides. “We found that the placement of the rare earth metals below graphene, and precisely where they are located, in the layers between graphene and its substrate, is critical to manipulating the bands and tune the band gap.” Graphene, a two-dimensional layer of carbon, has been extensively studied by researchers everywhere since it was first produced in 2004 because electrons travel much faster along its surface, making it an ideal potential material for future electronic technologies. But the inability to control or tune graphene’s unique properties has been an obstacle to its application. Density Functional Theory calculations predicted the configurations necessary to demonstrate control of the band gap structure. “Ames Laboratory is very good at synthesis of materials, and we use theory to precisely determine how to modify the metal atoms,” said Minsung Kim, a postdoctoral research associate. “Our calculations guided the placement so that we can manipulate these quantum properties to behave the way we want them to.” The research is further discussed in the paper “Manipulation of Dirac cones in intercalated epitaxial graphene,” authored by Minsung Kim, Michael C. Tringides, Matthew T. Hershberger, Shen Chen, Myron Hupalo, Patricia A. Thiel, Cai-Zhuang Wang, and Kai-Ming Ho; and published in the journal Carbon." [...]

New robot rolls with the rules of pedestrian conduct

"Just as drivers observe the rules of the road, most pedestrians follow certain social codes when navigating a hallway or a crowded thoroughfare: Keep to the right, pass on the left, maintain a respectable berth, and be ready to weave or change course to avoid oncoming obstacles while keeping up a steady walking pace. Now engineers at MIT have designed an autonomous robot with “socially aware navigation,” that can keep pace with foot traffic while observing these general codes of pedestrian conduct. In drive tests performed inside MIT’s Stata Center, the robot, which resembles a knee-high kiosk on wheels, successfully avoided collisions while keeping up with the average flow of pedestrians. The researchers have detailed their robotic design in a paper that they will present at the IEEE Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems in September. “Socially aware navigation is a central capability for mobile robots operating in environments that require frequent interactions with pedestrians,” says Yu Fan “Steven” Chen, who led the work as a former MIT graduate student and is the lead author of the study. “For instance, small robots could operate on sidewalks for package and food delivery. Similarly, personal mobility devices could transport people in large, crowded spaces, such as shopping malls, airports, and hospitals.” Chen’s co-authors are graduate student Michael Everett, former postdoc Miao Liu, and Jonathan How, the Richard Cockburn Maclaurin Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT." [...]

New soft robots really suck

"EPFL scientists have created the first functional robot powered entirely by vacuum: made up of soft building blocks, it moves by having air sucked out of them. The robot can be reconfigured to perform different tasks, like climbing vertical walls and grabbing objects. This new robot sucks: to move, air has to be sucked out of its individual components. Inspired by muscle contraction, its individual soft components are activated (they collapse) when negative pressure (vacuum) is applied to them. The robot uses suction to grab objects or to stick to a smooth wall for climbing, so it can really achieve a wide range of tasks because of the unique properties of vacuum. The robot can be reconfigured to perform different tasks, making it highly modular and versatile, with a wide range of applications in both research and in industry. The invention is published today in Science Robotics. “What we have is a fully functional robot which is entirely powered by vacuum, which has never been done before,” says EPFL roboticist Matt Robertson who worked on the project. “Previous work has shown individual components powered by vacuum, but never in a complete system.” Vacuum-powered components are a recent addition to robotics – and, more importantly, they’re safe. Today, most actuators on the market are activated by applying positive pressure, i.e. by injecting air into their components. But containing positive pressure requires stiff high-pressure pneumatics, which also pose a safety threat: in extreme situations, they can explode. By comparison, vacuum-powered actuators are safe, soft, and simple to build." [...]

Scientists Developing Innovative Techniques for High-Resolution Analysis of Hybrid Materials

"In an effort to better study a promising class of materials that could energize the solar cell industry, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have developed a new method of analyzing the material’s molecular-scale structure. By combining advanced X-ray spectroscopy measurements with calculations based on fundamental “first principles” theory, researchers obtained an atomic-scale view of organo-lead halide perovskites not easily achieved with current technology. The approach they are taking works well with structurally disordered materials like halide perovskites, which have garnered intense interest in the solar cell industry because of rapid increases in their photovoltaic efficiency over the past few years. Understanding the structure of perovskites will help researchers determine how to maximize the material’s solar efficiency. Halides, such as iodide or bromide, are mixed at different ratios to tune properties in the material, like band gaps, that determine solar absorption efficiency. But doing so creates disorder in the structure, making it difficult to use traditional imaging methods. “Most imaging techniques can’t resolve much of the disordered structure,” said Walter Drisdell, a staff scientist at Berkeley Lab’s Chemical Sciences Division. “X-ray absorption spectroscopy, with high-resolution detection, works because it looks at very local structure and chemical environment around the lead centers without interference from longer-range disorder.” The researchers used an advanced X-ray spectroscopic technique at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) at DOE’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. They coupled their results with theory work conducted at Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry, where they interpreted the data to understand the structural details of the materials. “By coupling to our first-principles calculations, we learned that thermal motions, particularly tilts of the lead-halide octahedra, are really important in these materials,” said Drisdell. “The tilts increase the band gap significantly over what we predict for an ordered structure. Before this, little was known about the local structure of these mixed materials, and how that structure affects the large-scale properties that are important for efficient solar devices. We think this work is a milestone that enables significant advances in understanding perovskite photovoltaic materials.” This work, funded through the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, sheds light on the chemical structure and dynamics in photovoltaic materials, and could lead to improved designs that maximize solar energy conversion. JCAP is an Energy Innovation Hub supported by DOE’s Office of Science. The Molecular Foundry and SSRL are DOE Office of Science User Facilities. More information about this research is available online in the journal ACS Energy Letters." [...]

Painting by numbers

"Conservation of the inherently ephemeral: LMU chemists have developed a simple way of digitally documenting the genuine tonal values of dyes and pigments used in artworks, thus allowing their original colors to be restored. “The Keep” is the title of an installation created by the American artist Mike Kelley (1954- 2012), which is now part of the collection assembled by the Brandhorst Museum in Munich. Roughly hewn planks are nailed together to form what looks at first sight like a garden shed. The interior is visible through peepholes in the walls, and the viewer can discern a bench with circular slots cut in it, reminiscent of an old-fashioned latrine – an impression is further strengthened by the inclusion of a few comics and condoms. In the background, lit up like a house-bar, is an array of bottles and glasses filled with brightly colored liquids. It was, and is regarded as the one of the key works in the artist’s oeuvre. Kelley first made a name for himself as a musician in the noise and underground scene, but with “The Keep” he succeeded in combining apparently harmless and thoughtlessly discarded objects to produce an impression of menace, evoking the melancholy and the dangers that lurk in our everyday lives. How does one go about conserving such an artwork? And how does one decide at what point, and in what state, it needs to be conserved? Art technician Helena Ernst chose to tackle these questions in her M.Sc. thesis at the Technical University of Munich – and she turned to Heinz Langhals, Professor of Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry at LMU, for expert advice. Langhals was particularly interested in the liquids displayed in the “house-bar”. They turned out to contain organic dyes which – unlike many of the inorganic pigments traditionally used by pictorial artists – are very sensitive to light, causing them to change color with time. “Color fastness is a particular problem in the case of homogeneous solutions of dyestuffs, such as inks, because the chromophores –the chemical structures responsible for the colors– are usually present in very low concentrations, ”Langhals explains. “In order to restore the original color tone, these dyes must be freshened up.” This diagnosis raises the fundamental question of how one might reconstruct the original appearance of these elements of any artwork and, furthermore, how one can document this “primal” state and define it as a standard for the guidance of future restorers? “In both cases, an efficient method for the precise long-term documentation of tonal values is required, as conventional color scales are not up to the task,” says Langhals. So, together with Ernst, and his co-worker Thorben Schlücker, who now works on methods for the conservation of illuminated manuscripts at the Bavarian State Library, set out to develop such a technique. The researchers began by examining samples of the dyestuff in Kelley’s work with modern spectrophotometers." [...]

Bipolar Transistor Teaching Aide

"I created this transistor prop to help explain how a Bipolar Transistor works. The design has two main parts: the base and the lever arm.The lever arm represents the amplification of the transistor using water flow as current.A little water flow at the base flap lifts the emitter-collector flap much higher allowing more water (current) to flow.Full explanation is in my Video: https://youtu.be/RI-7TyVWB3sThe waveform stl file has DC and AC representations as seen in the video." [...]

The MagPI 61

"10 Pi Zero W projects you must make The Pi Zero W is a fantastic piece of kit, and The MagPi 61 is packed with ideas to inspire your Pi Zero creativity. Plus all this inside The MagPi 61 Arduino and Pi Master this powerful project tag team Retro Chic: Google AIY Intercom Putting voice recognition inside classic devices Smarter DJ Decks Turntables upgraded with Raspberry Pi power Budget 3D Printing Build your own 3D Printer for a rock-bottom price Control Hue Lights Set up smart lighting in your home" [...]

3D-Printable Rubik's Cube Solving Robot

"This 3D-printed Raspberry Pi-powered Rubik’s Cube solving robot has everything any serious robot does -- arms, servos, gears, vision, artificial intelligence and a task to complete. If you want to introduce robotics to your kids or your students, this is the perfect machine for it. This one-eyed four-armed giant stands 35cm (14") tall. 70 hours of print time and an entire spool of filament are needed to print it, not to mention over $200 worth of hardware, but once fully operational, it will surely wow your friends and neighbors. Scramble your Rubik's cube, place it in the robot’s grippers, press a button, and then sit back and watch this amazingly smart and stunningly beautiful machine put it back together. Watch the video below! This robot is fully 3D-printable. Other that the servos, servo horns, camera, electronics and a few dozen bolts and nuts, it has no traditionally manufactured parts. Absolutely no soldering or breadboarding is required." [...]

Wireless SNES Controller Documentation

"The goal of this project was to build a wireless SNES controller that has the feel and action of the original hardware while also upgrading the interface from the SNES connector to a more modern USB connection. Instead of re-inventing the wireless wheel I started with a proven wireless keyboard and mouse technology. Using a single Logitech Unifying Nano Receiver it is possible to connect up to 6 devices using a single receiver. Once paired the device never needs to be synced again unless you wish to associate with a new receiver. Starting with an unused Logitech keyboard I received with the Logitech Revue that never really took off I was able to integrate the control board inside of the SNES controller for that classic stock gaming feel." [...]

Automated Raspberry PI Camera Surveillance Setup

"This is a Ansible scripted automated setup of an Raspberry PI with an attached camera. After running the script the raspberry will have the surveillance software "motion" running with cronjobs and scripts setup to make it run after reboot. It will record files as avi and save to the tmpfs mounted directory /home/pi/Dropbox/rpi_hostname. The reason for saving recordings to a tmpfs filesystem is that the memory card will otherwise be trashed after a while with too many read/writes. The dropbox_uploader script is used to upload the files to Dropbox since there is currently no Dropbox client for ARM. Hence, an Dropbox app is required that will receive the files. It will end up in a path such as "Dropbox/Apps/app_name/". There will also be a cronjob installed that removes recordings after 7 days from the raspberry. When an alarm is triggered an email will be sent (in this case using gmail through postfix) with an snapshot from the recorded movie to the specified email address including recorded timestamp and from which host." [...]

Battery Tester Using NodeMCU

"Hello, Makers!! In this Instructable, I'll show you how to make a Battery Tester using the NodeMCU. The Battery Tester basically checks the voltage of 1.5V cells or even 3V button cells and by knowing this we'll know how much charge is left. Like Red indicates that the battery is dead and Green indicates that the battery is full while Yellow shows the charge is still left-over." [...]

The Boat PC – a marine based Raspberry Pi project

"In late 2015 I was doing my usual head-scratching about what gifts to get various family members for the holiday season. My wife mentioned making something electronic for my father-in-laws boat, and after a few hours of collecting thoughts came up with an idea: A Raspberry Pi computer, which could be powered off the boats 12v batteries. This computer would have sensors which made sense on a boat. Certainly GPS. I’d have some software which collated the sensor data and displayed it nicely. This could plug into the onboard TV using HDMI. It would all be put into a suitable enclosure. Excellent – a plan. I expected the hardware part to be easy, the enclosure part fairly straightforward, and the software part to be an absolute disaster. I started searching for an already-existing project to take care of the software side of things. That’s when I came upon a project called OpenPlotter. It’s a fully-featured linux distribution for Raspberry Pi, specifically for use on a boat, and includes the relevant software for calibrating, collating and transforming data from various sensors into a form that can be used practically. I’ve got to be honest here – OpenPlotter is solid, does exactly what it advertises, and very simple for someone familiar with RPi/Linux to set up and use. After firmly deciding on OpenPlotter for the software, and knowing I’d be using an old Raspberry Pi 2 I had collecting dust, I looked at what hardware OpenPlotter supported. The list is fairly long, and gave me ideas I had not thought of previously – for example using a USB DVB-T television dongle as an AIS receiver with Software Defined Radio (SDR), allowing real-time data of nearby ships to be displayed. MarineTraffic uses this AIS data, but of course on a boat you can’t rely on an internet connection to pull data from – it’s much better to get the data directly from the VHF signals. In addition to AIS and GPS, I’d add an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU – basically an accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer in one) in the form of an InvenSense MPU-9150, and also a USB to RS422 converter. RS422 is specified as part of the protocol standard for NMEA 0183, which in turn is the communication specification used in marine electronics. Supporting input and output of direct NMEA using RS422 would allow for some extendibility, for example depth sensors that are already present can feed data into OpenPlotter using this port. After going and purchasing all of these sensors, I realised that actually using the TV inside the boat isn’t going to be useful, as it’s not visible from the helm. Thankfully, OpenPlotter allows for headless operation, and will automatically set up a WiFi hotspot so you can connect a phone/tablet to the Raspberry Pi and control it using VNC or other software." [...]

The Polar Coaster – A Drink Coaster Drawing Machine

"I designed this machine to draw custom, round drink coasters. I already have a laser cutter for square coasters and I wanted to try something unique for round coaster. The machine first touches off on a switch to home the linear axis. It then completes the drawing. All structural parts are 3D printed. The motors are NEMA 14 stepper motors. The pen is lifted by a small hobby servo. The firmware is Grbl with a small modification to use the servo." [...]

IoT Base Platform With RaspberryPi, WIZ850io : Echoback Application

"I know RaspberryPi platform for IoT. Recently WIZ850io is announced by WIZnet. So I implemented a RaspberryPi application by Ethernet SW modification because I can handle a source code easily. You can test the echoback application through RaspberryPi and WIZ850io. Please refer to the following step." [...]

Cocktail Machine with Alexa and PHPoC

"Ask Alexa to make a cocktail you want. Recipes are included in PHPoC script. How System Works When an user says to Amazon Echo Dot: "Alexa, ask Cocktail Machine to give me cocktail_name", the following works will be done: Amazon Echo streams this sentence to Alexa Service Alexa Service process this sentence based on configuration of Cocktail Custom Skill and then send "cocktail_name" to AWS Lambda function via endpoint of the Lambda function (URL or Amazon Resource Names (ARNs)). This Endpoint has been configure in Custom Skill configuration Lambda function publish a message which contains cocktail_name to a topic in MQTT broker. PHPoC (a IoT Hardware platform, which already subscribed the topic) receives this message, It get cocktail_name and control the step motor to make cocktail based on the recipe. I have an article (Amazon Echo – Control DIY IoT devices) which explains in detail and shows step by step how to use Amazon Echo to control DIY IoT devices. Every step of this project is almost the same, there are only some difference on interaction model configuration and source code. You can do step by step on that link. I only show the differences in this article." [...]

How to Make Mini Home Made CNC Machine Arduino+28BJY-48 Stepper Motor

"This is mini CNC have approx 100mm X 100mm plotting are, I have used 28BJY-48 Stepper motor to build this machine this stepper motors drive by L293D Motor shield and arduino. This machine is very easy to build at your own all necessary instructions are provided in post, you can try your own ideas to get something new. I have used regularly available hardware to build this machine no need to buy any high end components just be creative." [...]

Design a Control Board for a Romi Robot Chassis

"In this article, we’ll discuss the hardware design for a robotics PCB, and we’ll write firmware for controlling two DC motors. The mechanical hardware that we’ll be working with is the Romi chassis, sold by Pololu. It’s a low-cost, plastic frame-plus-motors-plus-wheels kit that is relatively easy to assemble." [...]

3D Body Scanner Using Raspberry Pi Cameras

"This 3D scanner is a collaborative project at BuildBrighton Makerspace with the aim of making digital technology affordable for community groups. Scanners are being used in the fashion industry, to customise clothes design, in the games industry for virtual reality and in gyms to monitor health. If they are also available in makerspaces, which provide access to tools for production, there could be more potential for social innovation. I am going to use the scanner to help me design clothes. To start with, I’ve sliced my model using free software, and laser cut a dressmakers dummy out of cardboard that is my exact personal body shape. Next, I’m planning to see what clothes look like on a 3D model in VR, before I commit to making them. Santander gave me a grant of £1000 to build the scanner, as a University of Brighton Digital Award. We spent more than that prototyping different options, but as part of our design brief we've made sure the final version could be replicated within that budget. At that price, other community groups may be able to raise funds to build something similar. Please note: This project uses mains electricity and requires knowledge of wiring, so for safety's sake, the sections about building the scanner show what we did, with a level of detail intended for reference rather than copying, and the sections on coding and using the scanner are written as 'How to' guides. It’s an ongoing project, so I hope to be able to provide full plans for a battery version soon. Check out my website or contact me if you want to know more. For environmental reasons, we chose PLA for the 3D printed connectors and cardboard tubes for the structure. Cardboard is easy to reshape if the parts don't fit perfectly, so it makes a great prototyping tool, and at 3mm thick, the tubes are strong and rigid. It was wonderful working on this collaborative project. Thanks to Arthur Guy for writing the code and other members of BuildBrighton who came and helped on Wednesday evenings, or happened to turn up whenever they were needed. The Materials for this project were: 27 Raspberry Pi Zero W 27 Raspberry Pi camera modules 27 Raspberry Pi zero camera cables 27 USB to Micro USB cables 20 Cardboard tubes 125cm long x 32mm diameter with 29mm diameter core 8 End caps for the tubes PLA 3D printing filament 8 Lids from disposable beer kegs 2 x A3 sheets 3mm laser quality birch plywood 230v-12v Power converter (because mains power is 230v in the UK) 12 CRT 5v power regulators 3 x 30 Amp blade fuses and holders Electric cable A box of 2, 3 and 5 lever wire connectors 50 Ferrules Cable modem router Ethernet cable 27 SD cards (16GB) 5mm Single walled corrugated card 2m Self-adhesive Velcro® 4 x USB battery packs The tools we used were: Apple® computer (the camera server software has been written for the Apple® operating system, but may also work on Linux) PC computer because Autodesk Remake™ stopped providing support for Mac users in the middle of this project Internet (wired and wireless) The free version of Autodesk Remake™ 3D Printer Laser cutter Ferrule crimper Cable cutter Chop saw and band saw Sanding machine" [...]

Make a Twitter Bot App: Tweet at a Press of a Button - Arduino 101 BLE

"This is a Twitter bot which post tweets at a press of a button. It uses the Bluetooth Low Energy connection of the Arduino 101 to connect to a phone and consequently the twitter app and the internet. You can program as many buttons as you want, I chose three. Each button outputs a different tweet. For example the red one tweets a heart "<3". The blue one tweets "Good Night :)!". And the green one tweets "Good morning!"" [...]

How to Use RGB LEDs to Identify Colours - DIY Colour Sensor

"This is a DIY colour detector made only using an RGB LED and a photoresistor sensor. I got a comment and request from one of my Instructables that they would like to see an LED used as a colour detector. Then, I got the idea that if I were to use an RGB LED, I can detect all the colour spectrum possible by sending PWM signals to the LED." [...]

IoT Made Simple: Monitoring Multiple Sensors

"A few weeks ago, I published here a tutorial about monitoring temperature using a DS18B20, a digital sensor that communicates over a 1-Wire bus, sending data over the internet with NodeMCU and Blynk: IoT Made Simple: Monitoring Temperature Anywhere But what we missed in exploration, was one of the great advantages of this kind of sensor that is the possibility of collecting multiple data, from multiple sensors connected to the same 1-wire bus. And, now it is time to also explore it. We will expand what was developed on the last tutorial, monitoring now two DS18B20 sensors, configured one in Celcius and the another in Fahrenheit. The data will be sent to a Blynk App, as shown in the above block diagram." [...]

How to Make PS2 Controller With Arduino and NRF24L01

"This will be a two part tutorial. The idea is to modify this PS2 controller to control this fpv rc hummer (tutorial coming soon). This is not the first intructable about this topic, so I will also point out where I got some of the information and integrate it with my own steps." [...]

IoT Scale

"In this Instructable we will make an IoT scale! You might ask: "What in the world do I need an IoT scale for?", and that is a good question! In truth, you probably don't need one but you also don't need a Tesla but you'd get one if you could :P But in all seriousness, this scale will allow you to monitor the status of anything you place on it. So let's say theoretically you have some sneaky family members whole like to steal your candy and you want to make sure they don't you could candy on this scale, lock the scale, and then be notified whenever someone takes some! Ready for a device that will both weigh stuff for you and keep your favourite treats safe? Let's begin!" [...]

48 X 8 Scrolling LED Matrix Using Arduino

"This is my first Instructable and this is all about making a 48x8 Programmable Scrolling LED Matrix using an Arduino UNO and 74HC595 shift registers. This was my first project with an Arduino development board. It was a challenge given to me by my teacher to try to build one. So at that time of accepting this challenge, i didn't even knew how to blink an LED using an arduino. So, i think even a beginner can do this with a little bit of patience and understanding. I found the circuit diagram online and that was my only reference to build this project. I started off with a little research about shift registers and multiplexing in arduino." [...]

DIY Battery Powered Solder Fume Extractor

"This is a battery powered solder fume extractor. It works up to 3 hours per charge with just one 18650 battery." [...]

4x4 Led Cube Full

"making a simple led cube " [...]

PHPoC - Web-Based Car Race Brick Game

"Relax with the 90's car race brick game on PHPoC. This classic game may make some of us feel childhood nostalgia. The game-play is simple, try to avoid hitting opponent cars and get many score as possible. The car can switch between 5 lanes, and there are 15 different speeds. As speed increases, opponent cars will run faster, making the game more difficult." [...]

E-Ink Display Based Static Desktop eCalendar

"An electronic desktop calendar based on an E-ink display controlled by TM4C123 Tiva(ARM) development board and programmed in Energia IDE. E-Ink displays are special because they can hold data for ages without any power. Power is only required to change the contents of the display. These are excellent under sunlight for readability and best choice for static long cycle non changing information like tags, posters, calendars, ebooks, ID cards etc. I just got one of these cool display on hand, so decided to make a desktop electronic calendar showpiece." [...]

Horus: The Weather Station

"A Raspberry Pi-based weather station that measures temperature, humidity and pressure using the Astro Pi Sense HAT and uploads the data. A year ago I started to work with Raspberry Pi and try to build different devices and develop software for it. One of interesting projects at least for me was building a weather station. I was inspired by John M. Wargo's article. However I decided not just make another copy but add some additional functionality, outdoor waterproof and code improvements, including dew point calculation and exception logging. One more important fact is availability of Astro Pi Sense HAT. The HAT stacks on top of the Raspberry Pi and has the following hardware capabilities: Temperature, humidity, and pressure sensors Accelerator, gyroscope, and magnetometer 8×8 full-color RGB LED display 5-button joystick Another big plus is Weather Underground (WU) letting you set up your own station and upload your data for others to use; your data becomes part of the aggregate weather data, and you (and your neighbors) can view your station’s data separately as well. I decided to extend usage of the HAT. I used its LED display to show different styles: arrow, digits and filled square. I also used joystick to switch between different data (temperature, humidity, pressure) and various styles for each data entity. I also improved outdoor usage of the project by introducing completely waterproof case, bought on ebay and adding cooling system (if needed or just simply adjust temperature results)." [...]

New MATRIX Creator Weather App on Eclipse Day

"In celebration of Eclipse Day we have made this app to tell you what the weather is outside so you know if you can see the eclipse. In celebration of Eclipse Day we have made this app to tell you what the weather is outside so you know if you will be able to see the eclipse or not with your current local weather conditions. This guide provides step-by-step instructions for locating your general location to give you information about the weather via a series of LED animations on a Raspberry Pi with a MATRIX Creator. It demonstrates how to use the IP-API.com to find your location and then feed it to the Dark Sky API to get the relevant local weather information that will be used to show an LED animation on your MATRIX Creator. The main goal of this app was to give an interesting new way to receive your current weather conditions." [...]

RF Remote Control Car

"The RC car is a great project for all ages and it doesn’t require any programming. It uses simple integrated circuits (IC) and it is controlled wirelessly by a remote controller. The remote controller sends out a encoded radio-frequency (RF) signal to the RC car. The RC car decodes the signal and moves accordingly. The car moves like a tank: to turn left, the right motor is turned on and pivots on the left wheel, and vice versa." [...]

Arduino Like Function on Kinetis K82 Freedom Stupid Board

"1000 of K82 Freedom Boards are collecting dust because of the hobbyist unfriendly IDE, pump up the duds with easy Arduino-like functions. Well, not really! The board is not stupid, it has a very powerful MCU in there with lots of advanced functionalities. It's the IDE or me or maybe the documentation is stupid. If you are here, I can guess that you have got one of this board from NXP as a participant of "Flex Your Mind" contest. I also assume that many of us who received this board can't use it because of the daunting IDE environment and professional level documentation. So, I decided to give it a shot and turn this board useful by functionizing I/O, ADC, DAC etc info Arduino like style. I hope it will be of some use to you for doing Analog Sensing and Load Control type projects." [...]

SonicDisc: A 360 Ultrasonic Scanner

"Who said autonomous driving was only for the premium car manufacturers? SonicDisc, enables you to autonomously park like a pro for 10$. For some years now, I have been on a never-ending quest to discover the cheapest way for a miniature vehicle to position itself. One that performs decently that is. My latest idea involved the, less-than-a-dollar, HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensors to acquire a holistic view of the surroundings. But let's take it from the beginning... During my summer holidays (and to the dismay of my girlfriend) I was trying to come up with cool projects for the autumn and winter. Then, one day, an idea struck me while eating lunch: A disc-shaped board with many ultrasonic sensors mounted, that would provide a circular view of the surroundings. I googled around for similar projects and did not find something similar, so I decided to move it forward. In the beginning, I thought the concept was flawed. The way I used the HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensors thus far was by triggering each to transmit an ultrasonic pulse, wait for it to reflect on an object and then determine how far away the object stood by the time it took for the "echo" to return. The problem with this lies in sequentially waiting for each measurement. When there are merely a couple of sensors, it is usually acceptable to wait for every one to finish. Empirically, I know it takes more or less 10 milliseconds for each measurement to complete for ranges under 1.5 meters, common for miniature car applications. Therefore, up to around 80 milliseconds could be wasted for the eight sensors I wanted to have on the board. To make matters worse, the results would be slightly inconsistent as the measurements would not have been initiated at the same moment." [...]

'Time to Get Out of Your Chair' Alarm

"This is a device that warns and sets off an alarm when you've been sitting on your chair for too long, reminding you to get off of your @$$ and get some exercise! It's the Pomodoro Clock of Chairs, one chair to rule them all! Working as a software developer as a day job means I am almost always glued to a chair. Many older people suffer from back problems due to the nature of the job. I have created a mechanism that may circumvent this problem by detecting how long you've been sitting on a chair and sounding an alarm if you have been there for too long!" [...]

Morse Code Sender

"This is a device that sends morse code signals giving a short beep for a dot and a long beep for a dash, just like the way it was in the old days. I have designed it to function more like an encoding and decoding game for those who want to practice morse code. This is particularly useful for you if you wan to hash our your morse code sending and decoding abilities. It could also be used in a game of wits and speed, who's faster, you or texting?!" [...]

IOT Humidity And Temperature Display

"Here We will Make IOT Weather And Humidity Sensor which will give graphic Display too. We are Using ESP8266 to Connect it To Wifi, So we also need Logic Level Controller in this project. We have DHT22 to Se" [...]

ESP32: How to Interface LCD With ESP32 Microcontroller Development Board

"In this Instructables we will be learning how to interface a 16x2 LCD with the ESP32 Microcontroller Board. There are currently no tutorials online on how to interface it, so I decided to share with you my experience and knowledge on how to connect this together! The LCD display is one of the most versatile electronic component in the maker market so it is wise to learn how to interface it so as to apply his knowledge to many other applications that you will discover as a maker." [...]

Raspberry Pi Node Red

"Node-RED is a programming tool for wiring together hardware devices and used for Internet of Things. By tarun. IntroductionNode-RED is a programming tool for wiring together hardware devices, APIs and online services in new and interesting ways. It provides a browser-based editor that makes it easy to wire together flows using the wide range of nodes in the palette that can be deployed to its runtime in a single-click. It is build on Node.js. Node Red can be installed on Raspberry Pi and its server can be run on it. A sensor is connected to Raspberry Pi and this data is sent to mobile as a SMS. The whole thing is done using Node Red. The ultrasonic sensor is connected to Raspberry Pi and coding done using Python. Node Red has a inbuilt nodes installed in it. Using the exec node in Node Red it takes the data from ultrasonic sensor. This data is send to mobile using Twilio node in the Node Red. Let's do this in step by step." [...]

Potato chip macrochip with 555 timer circuit

"When I first heard there was a microchip manufacturer called Potato Semiconductor Corporation I immediately knew I had to try to put an electronic circuit on a potato chip, to make my own 'microchip', or 'macrochip', so-to-speak. And so I did. You can see it in action in a video below. For the circuit I wanted something fun that would make some sense. Drawing on my experience with my music player projects, I came up with the idea of having a 555 timer circuit that would play a sound and use a photoresistor to vary the frequency of the sound. The photoresistor is a resistor, as the name implies, but its resistance depends on the amount of light it receives, hence the 'photo' in the name. With the 555 timer circuit, the resistance between pins 6 and 7 is part of what determines the output frequency and therefore the sound. So the photoresistor went there. The result is that you can put the macrochip in the bottom of a bag of chips and the sound would be one frequency (it ended up being a ticking sound, as if there was a bomb in the bag). Then as you remove chips from the bag, the photoresistor gets more and more light and so the frequency changes, until finally you dump it out of the bag and by then the sound is a squeal. I made sure to get plain chips, non-salted, since salt or other ingredients could make it electrically conductive. Once I found a big enough chip, I tested the resistance with a meter to make sure it was infinite resistance. To make the chip solid enough, I coated it in 2 coats of clear epoxy resin and waited a few days to make sure it was stiff." [...]

Very Efficient But Crude DC Power Supply :)

"Today i just build this small power supply, today morning i was getting bored :/ and I wanted to build something. Suddenly i realized that, i have one 12-0-12 transformer and a pair of buck-boost converter laying inside my drawer and, there i got an idea to build a simple dc power supply from it. It is kind of crude build but it can power your projects very efficiently and it will not take a lot of space." [...]

Anti Collision Glasses for the Blind

"We are making so many things and stuffs and all of us with normal eyes are experiencing it. But what if we have no eyes?? Can you imagine??Horrible..right?They face so many problems. So keeping in mind of those people, I'm here presenting a specs for the visually impaired which can prevent collision. It will give an alarm when the person is very near to a obstacle and he/she is going to collide with it." [...]

WiFi Bathroom Humidity Sensor W/Fan Control, App & Automation

"If your like me you always forget to turn on the bathroom fan. In this project I solved my bathroom humidity problem by automating the fan. I used a humidity sensor, wemos d1 mini, relay and the Blynk app." [...]

Automatic IoT-enabled Rabbit Feeder

"IoT enabled rabbit feeder, automatic and controllable via Internet. Github repository: https://github.com/conejoninja/home_food Idea and motivation The main idea was to be able to feed these two little rascals even when I’m not at home. Twice a day, a small quantity at breakfast and a bigger one for dinner (non-spoiled rabbits are supposed to eat timothy during the day when they are not sleeping). I would like to also measure the temperature in case it gets too hot, since rabbits don’t do well on hot weather. The feeder will wake up each 15 minutes, send the temperature and humidity to a server and check if it’s time to feed the monsters. It’s as autonomous as possible (it will feed them if it’s time, even if there’s no internet connection). The feeder will notify if there’s a problem with the temperature and humidity readings or if it’s jammed. It could receive a command to dispense extra food even if it’s not the time to." [...]

Ethernet Controlled ROVER

"This is Ethernet Controlled ROVER that you can watch the images by streamingin your pc. I made this proyect for fun and as cheap as possible. I've learned very much with this proyect so I'm so happy with that." [...]

BluFi - a Portable Bluetooth Audio Adapter

"There isn't a single audiophile or a gamer who doesn't feel the necessity of wireless headphones, speakers etc. or simply, of wireless audio transmission. I also dislike the hassle my wired headphones present while trying to watch from a distance and this led to the inception of BluFi. This adapter, BluFi, converts any audio accessory into a wireless audio accessory. Since it has an in-built TRS female jack, therefore any audio accessory having a male TRS/TRRS jack can be easily plugged into it for bluetooth audio reception. For instance, your wired headphones can be made wireless by simple plugging its audio jack into the adapter and then pairing the adapter with the phone. BluFi is based on XS3868 module which is powered by a 3.7V rechargeable lithium-ion battery therefore you won' t have to worry about exchanging the batteries. It also contains a Female USB 5V DC output socket for powering any USB speakers directly through it. The TP4056 charging module has also been integrated into it for hassle-free and quick charging through our familiar Android smartphone chargers(USB-C port). The reason why I preferred an adapter to integrating it into audio accessories is because this way, our expensive audio accessories won't be tampered with. I also needed something to convert my car's speakers to Bluetooth without any modification to the car(because I wasn't allowed to do so) and that's how BluFi came into being. Additionally, BluFi, being an adapter, is portable and much more compact." [...]

LittleArm Big

"A 6-axis 3D printed trainable Arduino robotic arm controlled with either and Android or Windows App. At Slant we have spent the last year or so working with robot arms for education. The best known of these is the LittleArm 2C. But the LittleArm is small. As kids move forward with robotics the LittleArm does not have the capabilities to keep kids interested into high school and university. We had to create something larger with more potential for practical applications." [...]

Programming Atmel AT89 Series Via Arduino

"This Project will show you how to Burn Hex File For Atmel Microcontroller using Arduino Uno. In this Tutorial I will show you how to Burn Your Hex File To AT89c52 using Arduino Uno in just few easy steps. For this we have to interface AT89c52 to Arduino Uno and give it led indications via interfacing LED to At89c52." [...]

PSOC Office Monitor and Control

"Like many people, I work in a room with a workbench, lights, fans, Air-Conditioning and bench test equipment etc. During work hours I have a habit of taking trips away from the bench for a multitude of reasons which includes visits to the little boy’s room, taking personal phones calls, 15 minutes fresh air breaks after an hour or an hour and a half and even little snack breaks. These away from bench breaks vary in time and have no fixed schedule(well at least not one that I have established) and during this time, every electrical equipment consumes power. The short wastage durations can accumulate to large annual ones and this is the basis for my problem statement. We want to accomplish the following tasks: Detect user presence Control Various appliances in the office which includes Lights, Fans and Airconditioning/HVAC Provide Intelligence management in user absence. Provide Remote Control and Monitoring. Add a Security System to the Office" [...]

Smart Voice Controlled Lock Using HC-05

"hello everyone it's my first instructable so, yea.....i am a newbie and not wasting much time let's get started. First i would like to introduce my project. As the title suggest its a smart lock which can be used anywhere like doors, boxes etc(end of thinking capacity). it can be controlled by any smartphones as we have attached a bluetooth module( for transmitting and receiving data) a LCD display for displaying data and a single slider mechanism is used for locking purpose. Let's keep it SSS (Short,Simple and Sweet). And yea, it is just a prototype not an actual model." [...]

RGB LED Matrix

"Search Instructable, and you can find many LED matrix projects. None of them were quite what I wanted, which was to explore the interactions of hardware and software design to produce something, and produce the final product in a neat PCB with a driver that let's me draw to the "LED screen" using high-level constructs (e.g, drawing a line as opposed to setting specific pixels). This part was important to me, as many of the LED matrix drivers are bare bones and don't provide much in the way of programmatically creating an image or animation. This doesn't mean you can't create images and animations with the other drivers, just that you would have to do more repetitive work from project to project. So I set out to accomplish my vision. The first step was to design the hardware. This was probably the most challenging for me, as my background is more software. Again, there were many pre-baked designs, and I certainly used them for inspiration, but I wanted to learn through doing, so I prototyped a 4x4 matrix on a breadboard. I learned much through that process, as my first few iterations did not work. But, I did hardware design that worked, which in turn allowed me to start developing a driver. I chose the Arduino as my driver platform because it is widely available and has plenty of references online. While career experience allowed me to get to a working version of a driver more slickly than my hardware efforts, there was still plenty of iterations while I optimized driver performance for the ATMega micro controller and developed a programming API that I liked. This Instructuctable documents the design and some key learnings from my project. More information about this project can be found at my website here, including full kits you can purchase to build your own RGB LED matrix." [...]

ePaper-Based Local Rain Forecast for Fair Weather Cyclists

"See easily the probability of upcoming rain in the next 60mins to decide whether it's OK to take the bike or to better use an alternative. To get every day from home to my work place I usually chose the bike. This Epaper-based project, mounted near the front-door, tells me in one glimpse the probability of starting rain within the next 60 minutes. It thus enables me in time to think about potential alternative transportation means." [...]

Create a fun, simple IoT accelerometer game

"You can create a fun little game to play with your friends and colleagues. With anyone that has a smartphone you can play a game I call "Harlem Shake." (Watch us shake it up at a recent DeepLearning meetup.) Playing is easy: give someone a URL that they access on their smartphone, and then have them shake their smartphone as hard as they can. The person who uses the most energy wins! What happens behind the scenes is pretty basic: accelerometer data from the smartphone is streamed to the cloud, captured in a database, and then a script calculates the winner. It sounds simple and fun. But, you have to build it first. And you'll get to learn a lot about MQTT, NodeRED, ApacheCouchDB, and ApacheSpark along the way." [...]

GPS Speedometer

"Having problems with your car speedometer??Just build a GPS based one. By Hugo Gomes. My company car that I normally drive tends to have a "small" problems from time to time, the speedometer fall to 0 Km/h when driving (after some time it resumes again). Normally this is not a big issue since if you know how to drive a car, you are not, I hope, always looking to the speedometer. You now more or less the speed that you are driving.The problem present it self when you need to decrease speed to the road limit that you are entering and you notice that "the speedometer is down".This presented like a good opportunity to build a new project, "The GPS Speedometer".Of course the ideial solution would be, really repair the car or use a normal GPS or use an app with this function but what would be the fun in this :)" [...]

Home Automation Using HC-05 BT Module

"Using Home Automation one can remotely control any number of devices through a smartphone. In this project we will be building an Home Automation system using HC-05 BT module with arduino and control the devices through an app developed using MIT app inventor. You can recreate this project to automate devices in your room !!" [...]

Ping Pong Faulty Serve Detector

"Those of you who like to play Ping Pong know that a serve in which ball touches a net before hitting the opponent's side of the table is a faulty serve (or a "let" in the official speak). You also know that sometimes the ball touches the net so lightly that it is hard to say whether it did or did not. So... The idea is to build a faulty serve alarm by attaching a vibration sensor to the side of the net, and creating a small device that beeps every time a ball (or something else) hits the net and makes it vibrate. To make this practical and less annoying the device should: Beep and flash an LED when net is disturbed It should only beep once and pause for a reasonable time (at least until the net is not vibrating anymore) Beep only after a certain level of vibration is detected (thus avoiding false beeping on small vibrations caused by the ball bouncing off the table) I found this to be a perfect candidate for an Attiny85 based device." [...]

POV (Persistance of Vision) Display

"In this instructable, we are going to build a Persistence Of Vision device to display messages. The underlying principle on which POV display works is that everything that we see around is retained in our brain for a very small fraction of about 1/16th second. We make use of this illusion to trick our brain by blinking multiple LED's arranged in array and at the same time rotating in a circular fashion which results in letter formation." [...]

Herboponic- a Hydroponic Herb Garden

"Recently, I've become interested in constructing herb gardens that can be found in the cities, where there is limited access to fresh soil. Most could use pots and soil bought at a local Home Depot or Lowes; however in small apartments these may be hard to use because of space and attention needed. With a hydroponic, one can maintain the life of the plants without the constant handling since the pump does most of the work. Taking inspiration from other designs, I developed my own plan for constructing a independent hydroponic water system that can support the life of varying different plants; in this case, herbs" [...]

Private Lock Box With Pin Code - Bluetooth Activated Lock

"We all have some personal items we want to hide away from our pesky annoying siblings. Or maybe it's just me, but I've always felt like I want some privacy or at the very least have the peace of mind of knowing that someone's been snooping around. I've devised a cheap and clever solution for all of us you simply want a little private box to protect our collectibles and keep things private! This is a bluetooth activated locked box with a pin code security system that will lock out for 5 minutes if the wrong password is entered, making it safe, secure, and private!" [...]

AlarmPi - IoT Alarm System

"AlarmPi is an alarm system ESP - Raspberry Pi - Telegram based. As you can see in the explanatory pic: The ESP module works as device for reading the sensor (in this case, for motion detecting by the PIR). After reading, it sends a message to the Raspberry Pi local server (step 1 - 2). Raspberry server, only intercept this message and send it to you through Telegram (step 3 - 4). Then you will receive message on your own chat (step 5)." [...]

ESP8266 Weather Station

"We made another weather station, this time using a Feather HUZZAH ESP8266 WiFi module and uploading our own actual data to Dweet and Wunderground. Right now we only have temperature and humidity thanks to a SHT31 sensor but plan on adding more sensors later. From temperature and humidity we can calculate dew point as well. The weather station updates every 6 minutes and uses a 3D printed Stevenson Shield to protect it from the elements. To power this setup, we are using a 6v solar panel and a 2500MaH lipo battery. We use Dweet so we can also monitor our battery level." [...]

The Air Piano

"A rotary piano with invisible keys, based on BBC micro:bit board, An interesting tool to make FAT KIDS in neighborhood to do exercise By Shahariar. I am no Piano expert nor do I have knowledge about notes, All I understand is that high frequency makes twitty sound and low ones make beatty sound. Think about a piano that has no keys, makes some tone from movement of hand. That's what this project is all about. The micro:bit has an accelerometer and a magnetometer. By moving the board 360 degree round and upward/downward can be sensed with these sensors. There are block functions to generate square waves and showing text on 5X5 matrix. By adding an external speaker/buzzer/peizo tone can be created. Combining all these an air piano can be realized." [...]

SonicScape (Binaural Sensor Glasses for the Blind)

"Obstacle detection glasses for the visually impaired using ultrasonic sensors and a binaural soundscape environment The urban environment is a very difficult place to navigate and orientate yourself through, especially if you are a visually impaired person trying to live your life. That is why I have tried to come up with a technological solution that will help blind people know of their surrounding obstacles in an unknown environment without the help of a walking stick or a guide dog. Further from having a basic Arduino integrated system through the help of a pair of ultrasonic sensors (HC-SR-04) connected through bluetooth (HC-05, HC-06) , I want to also add some sort of GPS or RFID mapping system to the portable device which will allow the blind user to track themselves of where they are currently through a voice-activated agent. It will allow for family or relatives of the blind user to also track them of where they are through an app on their smartphone. That is what I am trying to achieve by the end of this project." [...]

DIY Motion-Activated Sink: How to Make an IR-Controlled Tap

"Despite sinks being critical to hygiene, manual taps are still pretty nasty and so newer “automatic” sinks are used in many public spaces. In this DIY Hacking project, we will create a simple IR water dispenser!" [...]

Simplest Home Automation Using Bluetooth, Android Smartphone and Arduino.

"This project is all about building the most simplified home automation device using an arduino and a bluetooth module. This one is very easy to build and it can be built in a few hours. In my version which i'm explaining right here, i can control up to 4 home appliances using my Android smartphone. Let's have a look at the list of materials and tools you'll need." [...]

Simple Walker Robot

"Building a simple walking robot is really easy. Don't let the number of steps fool you into believing otherwise. This robot is basically made with a handful of household items and some simple electronics that you can easily pick up at Radioshack. In fact, this robot is entirely zip tied together, which makes building it and modding it extremely easy. If at any point you are unhappy with how its built, cut the zip ties away and zip tie it together differently. The "brains" of this robot are also easily modifiable since it is based on an Arduino development board. Programming it and changing the code is extremely straight-forward. Even people with no programming experience can usually get up to speed pretty quickly and start coding their own robotic routines. For me, this robot was mainly an experiment to see what would happen if I built a full-on robot that was like one of the many Simple Bots that I have built. It was interesting to see how much more robust one of these creatures become when you give it some computer logic." [...]

Arduino IR Robot Display Platform

"This is a visual display system based on an Arduino Mega 2560. I built it as a multi-functional expansion board to mount on top of a small robot, and it features a 16x2 LCD display, a buzzer, a light sensor, a beacon light, a police-ish light bar, a small stepper motor and control board, an IR receiver, and tons of places to attach a never-ending assortment of random things that scan, blink, beep, and generally add to the complexity of the robot. In this Instructable, I will guide you through the process I used to design, build, and code this board to run in a variety of situations. The system is currently controlled with a dinky little IR remote (which I hope to upgrade), and runs a looped code based on the input from the onboard IR receiver. I built this about 4 months ago, have made ~10 revisions since then, and have decided to share it with all of you as well." [...]

IOT Speech Recognition

"IOT Speech Recognition, control a servo, led lamp or any device connected to the WiFi, using Android App. By Vicente Arturo Zavala Ortiz. The Internet of Things (IOT) is a new emerging technology these days, a self configurable and adaptive system consisting of networks of sensors and other object including intelligent objects whose purpose is to interconnect with all things, including everyday and industrial objects, in such a way that they become intelligent, programmable and more capable of interacting with humans. All the applications that involve IOT, whether industrial, home, etc. Are controlled and monitored by certain parameters which are implemented and executed by the user or "other". Therefore, their implementation and execution differs with the sets of parameters, for the execution that is specified or desired by the user. Arduino board is one of the important objects in this ecosystem, since it facilitates us to connect and control different devices like sensors, LEDs, step motors, servos and mobile phones. This tutorial describes how to create an Internet of Things with Android and Arduino: Android Application to control a Generic Servo Motor and a Led, according to user speech over mobile phone." [...]

Programmable Laser Light Show -- Arduino Controlled

"This is a laser light show made with 3 swivelling servo motors that can create unique laser effects by taking advantage of a visual phenomenon called persistence of vision. Persistence of vision is an optical illusion that occurs when visual perception of an object does not cease for some time after the rays of light proceeding from it have ceased to enter the eye. We use this to our advantage by moving the servo motors quickly to produce a variety of lighting effects that the human eye will see as light drawings or patterns!" [...]

Laser Pointer Ultrasonic Distance Finder

"This is a ultrasonic distance measuring tool with a laser pointer to find the exact range for that particular point in space. It's also a nice touch if you want to have 'spidey' senses at a comic-con. This is instructables is made with the request of fellow author @watchmeflyy as well as other members of the community." [...]