Editorial

Esta é a Newsletter Nº 128 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 1812, Ascanio Sobrero. Este químico italiano ficou conhecido por ter descoberto o composto explosivo nitroglicerina. Esta era formada ao adicionar lentamente a glicerina à mistura de ácidos nítrico e sulfúrico. Quando descobriu o poder explosivo mesmo de uma única gota num tubo de ensaio, ele nomeou o novo composto de piro-glicerina. Sobrero ficou horrorizado com o potencial destrutivo da sua descoberta, e não fez nenhum esforço para desenvolver esse poder ele mesmo, embora tenha ficado conhecida como nitroglicerina ou óleo explosivo.

Faz também anos hoje que nascia, em 1860, Elmer Ambrose Sperry. Foi um engenheiro e inventor americano que inventou a bússola giroscópica. Na década de 1890, ele criou invenções úteis em máquinas eléctricas de mineração assim como o sistema de travão eléctrico para veículos. Em 1908, ele patenteou o giroscópio activo impedia que um navio se virasse assim que começasse. Ele patenteou a primeira bússola giroscópica projectada expressamente para o meio marinho em 1910. Este giro de "roda giratória" foi uma grande melhoria em relação ao compasso magnético tradicional e mudou o curso da história naval. O primeiro giroscópio Sperry foi testado no mar a bordo do USS Delaware em 1911 e estabeleceu a Sperry como líder mundial na fabricação de giroscópios militares nos 80 anos seguintes.

Faz igualmente anos hoje que nascia, em 1931, Ole-Johan Dahl. Este cientista da computação norueguês ficou conhecido por ser um dos pais da linguagem Simula e da programação orientada a objectos conjuntamente com Kristen Nygaard. Eles foram os primeiros a desenvolver os conceitos de classe, subclasse (permitindo ocultação de informações implícitas), herança, criação dinâmica de objectos, etc., todos os aspectos importantes do paradigma OO. Um objecto é um componente autónomo (com uma estrutura de dados e procedimentos ou métodos associados) num sistema de software. Estes são combinados para formar um sistema completo. A abordagem orientada a objectos é agora abrangente no desenvolvimento de software moderno, incluindo linguagens de programação imperativas amplamente utilizadas, como Java e C++.

Por fim, faz anos hoje que nascia, em 1952, Roger Heath-Brown. Este Matemático inglês trabalhou no campo da teoria analítica dos números. Heath-Brown é conhecido por muitos resultados impressionantes. Ele provou que existem infinitamente muitos números primos da forma x^3 + 2y^3. Ficou também conhecido pela sua contribuição da chamada constante de Heath-Brown–Moroz, com o seu nome e do matemático Boris Moroz. Esta constante faz parte de uma estimativa assimptótica para a distribuição de pontos racionais de altura limitada na superfície cúbica X0^3 = X1X2X3.

Na semana que passou ficámos a saber que a Alphabet vai usar o seu sistema de balões - Project Loon - para tentar restabelecer as telecomunicações em Porto Rico que ficaram bastante danificadas depois da passagem dos furacões Irma e Maria. Os balões forneceriam serviços de voz e dados através de operadoras locais para telefones dos utilizadores. Na sua aplicação à FCC, a empresa incluiu cartas e e-mails de oito operadoras sem fio de Porto Rico, no qual eles consentiram que o Loon usasse as suas frequências para aliviar a situação de desastre e restaurar comunicações ainda que limitadas.

Também esta semana que passou a SpaceX lançou com sucesso mais 10 novos satélites da rede Iridium. Os satélites Iridium Next foram largados 57 minutos após o lançamento, com todo o processo a levar cerca de 15 minutos, de acordo com o plano de voo da SpaceX.

Ainda esta semana, na conferencia GTC Europe, a NVIDIA anunciou que a Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPDHL), a maior empresa de correio e logística do mundo, e a ZF, um dos maiores fornecedores de automóveis do mundo, se juntaram para implantar uma frota de testes de camiões de entrega autónoma, começando já em 2018. A DPDHL projecta camiões eléctricos com o sistema de auto-condução ZF ProAI, baseado na tecnologia NVIDIA DRIVE ™ PX, para automatizar o transporte e entrega de pacotes, incluindo a "última milha" de entregas.

Também esta semana a Intel anunciou um nome chip para a computação quântica dotado de uma capacidade de 17-qubits. O novo chip foi fabricado pela Intel e possui um design exclusivo para obter melhor desempenho. A disponibilização deste chip demonstra o progresso rápido que a Intel e a QuTech estão a fazer na pesquisa e desenvolvimento de um sistema de computação quântica funcional. Ele também demonstra a importância da ciência dos materiais e da fabricação de semicondutores na realização da promessa da computação quântica. A computação quântica, em essência, é o melhor em computação paralela, com o potencial de resolver problemas que os computadores convencionais não conseguem manipular.

Por fim, o asteriode 2012 TC4, observado pela primeira vez à 5 anos atrás pela Telescópio Pan-STARRS no Observatório de Haleakala, no Havai vai passar muito perto da Terra hoje dia 12. O asteróide do tamanho de uma casa será observado cuidadosamente por astrofísicos e possibilitará às agências espaciais uma rara oportunidade de testar as defesas espaciais do planeta assim como pensar no que fariam se um asteróide maior e mais ameaçador fosse detectado em direcção directa à Terra.

Na Newsletter desta semana apresentamos diversos projetos de maker assim como vários modelos 3D que poderão ser úteis. É apresentada a revista newelectronics de 10 de Outubro assim como o livro Geração de Som 8-bits com o Arduino e o livro Reading in Database Systems.

João Alves ([email protected])

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

Alphabet Closer To Using Balloons For Telecom In Puerto Rico

"LAST FRIDAY, ENGINEERS on Google parent Alphabet’s internet-by-balloon Project Loon tweeted that they hoped to bring emergency connectivity to Puerto Rico after Hurricanes Irma and Maria left more than 90 percent of the island without cellphone coverage. Just seven days later, the Federal Communications Commission Friday gave the company a green light to fly 30 balloons over Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands for up to six months. If all goes to plan, Alphabet's balloons will soon help replace the thousands of cellphone towers knocked out of service by hurricane-strength winds. The balloons would provide voice and data service through local carriers to users’ phones. The details of those arrangements aren’t complete. But in its application to the FCC, Alphabet included letters and emails from eight wireless carriers in Puerto Rico, in which they consented for Loon to use their frequencies for disaster relief and to restore limited communications." [...]

SpaceX Launches 10 New Iridium Satellites, Sticks Rocket Landing

"The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket took off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 8:37 a.m. EDT (1237 GMT/5:37 a.m. EDT), carrying 10 satellites for Iridium Communications, as part of the company's Iridium Next constellation. The first stage of the two-stage Falcon 9 landed on SpaceX's drone ship "Just Read the Instructions" in the Pacific about 7.5 minutes after the launch. "Looks like we've got a good orbit," said John Insprucker, SpaceX's Falcon 9 principal integration engineer, just after the launch during live webcast commentary. The Iridium Next satellites were deployed 57 minutes after liftoff, with the entire process taking about 15 minutes, according to a SpaceX flight plan. "We're 10 for 10!" Insprucker said." [...]

Deutsche Post DHL Group Selects NVIDIA DRIVE PX for Autonomous Delivery Truck Fleet

"GTC Europe - NVIDIA today announced that Deutsche Post DHL Group (DPDHL), the world's largest mail and logistics company, and ZF, one of the world's largest automotive suppliers, have partnered together to deploy a test fleet of autonomous delivery trucks, starting in 2018. DPDHL will outfit electric light trucks with the ZF ProAI self-driving system, based on NVIDIA DRIVE™ PX technology, for automating package transportation and delivery, including the "last mile" of deliveries. Taking packages from a central point to their final destinations is considered the most complex and costliest aspect of courier and e-commerce deliveries. DPDHL currently has a fleet of 3,400 StreetScooter electric delivery vehicles, which can be equipped with ZF's multiple sensors, including cameras, lidar and radar, that feed into the ZF ProAI system. This can enable the vehicle to use AI to understand its environment, plan a safe path forward, proceed along a selected route and park itself -- ensuring deliveries can be made with greater accuracy and safety, and at lower cost. "The development of autonomous delivery vehicles demonstrates how AI and deep learning are also reshaping the commercial transportation industry," said Jensen Huang, NVIDIA founder and CEO." [...]

Intel Delivers 17-Qubit Superconducting Chip with Advanced Packaging to QuTech

"Today, Intel announced the delivery of a 17-qubit superconducting test chip for quantum computing to QuTech, Intel’s quantum research partner in the Netherlands. The new chip was fabricated by Intel and features a unique design to achieve improved yield and performance. The delivery of this chip demonstrates the fast progress Intel and QuTech are making in researching and developing a working quantum computing system. It also underscores the importance of material science and semiconductor manufacturing in realizing the promise of quantum computing. Quantum computing, in essence, is the ultimate in parallel computing, with the potential to tackle problems conventional computers can’t handle. For example, quantum computers may simulate nature to advance research in chemistry, materials science and molecular modeling – like helping to create a new catalyst to sequester carbon dioxide, or create a room temperature superconductor or discover new drugs." [...]

Asteroid 2012 TC4 to pass ‘damn close’ to Earth tomorrow testing our space defences - but how prepared are we for a strike?

"On Thursday 12 October an asteroid the size of a house will be watched carefully by astrophysicists as it hurtles “damn close” to Earth. The large space rock, named 2012 TC4, was first spotted five years ago by the Pan-STARRS telescope at the Haleakala Observatory, in Hawaii, before disappearing as it orbits the sun. It then reemerged in July on a trajectory well inside our lunar orbit. Scientists have said the asteroid is on course to pass safely by, just south of Australia, and poses no threat. However it presents space agencies with a rare opportunity to test the planet’s space defences and wargame what they would do if a larger, more threatening asteroid was detected heading straight for Earth. How close will TC4 come to Earth?" [...]

Spacewalkers Wrap Up Robotic Arm Work

"Expedition 53 Commander Randy Bresnik and Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei of NASA completed a 6 hour, 55 minute spacewalk at 3 p.m. EDT. The two astronauts replaced one of two Latching End Effectors (LEE) on the station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2. They also accomplished a couple of get-ahead tasks, including removal of the multi-layer insulation from a spare direct current switching unit. They also prepared a flex hose rotary coupler for future use. This was the first of three spacewalks planned for October. Bresnik will lead the next two, as well." [...]

Lockheed Martin Completes First Flexible Solar Array for LM 2100 Satellite

"After years of development, Lockheed Martin completed the first flight build of its new Multi-mission Modular (MM) Solar Array. This new flexible array advances Lockheed Martin’s significant heritage flying flexible arrays on such programs as the International Space Station and a constellation for the U.S. Air Force. The new design is a major component of Lockheed Martin’s multi-year modernization of its LM 2100 satellite bus, which is part of its newly-enhanced family of buses. The MM Array incorporates three key features in the satellite design: higher power, less mass and compact stowage, and all of this enables satellite designers to better meet customers’ growing power needs. This compact flexible array design delivers 50 percent more power than previous rigid array designs at 30 percent less mass. “The new arrays can generate 20 kilowatts of energy in orbit, enough to power an entire home." [...]

Intel Accelerates Development of Artificial Intelligence Solutions with Open Neural Network Exchange Support

"Today, Intel announced that it joined the Open Neural Network Exchange (ONNX) to enable enhanced framework interoperability for developers that boosts efficiency and speeds creation of artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning models. AI and deep learning are transforming how people engage with the world and how businesses make smarter decisions. The ONNX format was first announced last month by Microsoft* and Facebook* to give users more choice within AI frameworks, as every modeling project has its own special set of requirements that often require different tools for different stages. Intel, along with others, is participating in the project to provide greater flexibility to the developer community by giving access to the most suitable tools for each unique AI project and the ability to easily switch between frameworks and tools. Intel’s addition to the open ecosystem for AI will broaden the toolset available to developers through neon and the Intel® Nervana™ Graph as well as deployment through the Intel® Deep Learning Deployment Toolkit. neon will be compatible with other deep learning frameworks through the Intel Nervana Graph and ONNX, providing customers with more choices for frameworks and compatibility with the right hardware platform to fit their needs." [...]

NVIDIA Announces World's First AI Computer to Make Robotaxis a Reality

"NVIDIA today unveiled the world's first artificial intelligence computer designed to drive fully autonomous robotaxis. The new system, codenamed Pegasus, extends the NVIDIA® DRIVE™ PX AI computing platform to handle Level 5 driverless vehicles. NVIDIA DRIVE PX Pegasus delivers over 320 trillion operations per second -- more than 10x the performance of its predecessor, NVIDIA DRIVE PX 2. NVIDIA DRIVE PX Pegasus will help make possible a new class of vehicles that can operate without a driver -- fully autonomous vehicles without steering wheels, pedals or mirrors, and interiors that feel like a living room or office. They will arrive on demand to safely whisk passengers to their destinations, bringing mobility to everyone, including the elderly and disabled. Millions of hours of lost time will be recaptured by drivers as they work, play, eat or sleep on their daily commutes." [...]

Samsung’s New Image Sensors Bring Fast and Slim Attributes to Mobile and IoT Applications

"Samsung releases ISOCELL Fast 2L9 with Dual Pixel technology and ISOCELL Slim 2X7 with Tetracell technology Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today introduced two new ISOCELL image sensors: 1.28-micrometer (μm) 12-megapixel (Mp) ISOCELL Fast 2L9 with Dual Pixel technology, and ultra-small 0.9μm 24Mp ISOCELL Slim 2X7 with Tetracell technology. Samsung ISOCELL image sensors fall into four categories—Fast, Slim, Bright and Dual—depending on their key attributes. As market demand for sleeker smartphones with advanced features increases, ISOCELL Fast 2L9 and Slim 2X7 both offer high resolution image sensors in small chip packages, delivering detailed pictures in low-light environments without a camera bump. ISOCELL Fast 2L9 With Dual Pixel technology, the ISOCELL Fast 2L9 delivers ultra-fast auto-focus at a reduced pixel size from the previous Dual Pixel sensor’s 1.4μm to 1.28μm. Dual Pixel technology employs two photodiodes in each and every pixel of the sensor instead of only one. With 12 million focus detecting pixels, the sensor is able to not only quickly focus on small still objects, but also lock on and track moving objects without losing focus, even in low-light environments." [...]

mbed OS 5.6.2 released

"We are pleased to announce the mbed OS 5.6.2 release is now available. Summary This patch release includes an update for Nanostack to v6.2.2, bringing with it some TCP protocol improvements. There were a couple of issues found with deepsleep in mbed-os-5.6.1: deepsleep being left locked unintentionally, deepsleep locks not being properly released by the timer class. These have now been fixed. The K66F has been updated to SDK 2.2 providing necessary updates for the DSPI HAL and Flash HAL drivers. In BLE, a flush method has been added to the UART service giving the ability to force send the buffer contents." [...]

Be Among The First To Try The Arduino IDE 1.9 Beta

"Today we’re very excited (and a bit nervous) to announce the new development cycle of the Arduino IDE. As you may have noticed, we’ve been continuously removing functionality from the Java package, and migrating them to a collection of external tools. We began this project by moving the build logic to arduino-builder, which now also powers the Arduino Create infrastructure. We think that this split will keep the tools manageable, while giving a chance for third parties to integrate them into their products without the burden of a full-blown IDE. Moreover, we are introducing another couple of tools: One is arduino-cli, which we’ll uncover in the next few weeks as soon it comes out of pre-pre-alpha stage. The other is arduino-preprocessor, which supersedes ctags in the sketch preprocessing phase." [...]

TERES-I Do It Yourself Open Source Laptop update

"We are glad to tell you that we finally have TERES-I released! It was long way but finally we have laptop which works satisfactory to be released. What we changed since revision B? Main board now is with 2GB DDR3 ram and 16GB eMMC Flash memory. We add two new connectors CON3 and CON4 to interface the further FPGA module which will turn TERES-I in oscilloscope and Logic Analyzer. The debug UART multiplexes now with Headphones, so you can plug serial cable to headphone jack and re-direct Debug console UART to Headphone jack." [...]

FAST telescope finds pulsars during trial operation

"After one year of trial operation, China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, has identified multiple pulsars, the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) said Tuesday. It was the first time a radio telescope independently developed by Chinese scientists has found pulsars. Two of the pulsars, named J1859-01 and J1931-01, are 16,000 light years and 4,100 light years from Earth with rotation periods of 1.83 seconds and 0.59 seconds, respectively. According to Li Di, chief scientist at the radio astronomy division of the NAOC, the two pulsars were discovered on Aug 22 and 25 when FAST was drift-scanning the southern galactic plane. The discovery was later confirmed by the Parkes radio telescope in Australia in September. Li said FAST has already detected dozens of promising pulsar candidates, six of which had been confirmed by international organizations." [...]

New data structure allows rapid tracking and policing of network data

"To protect networks from malicious threats, cyber-security solutions must track all the data flowing through the network—just like security guards checking travelers in airports. However, it is hard to design a solution that works fast enough to process all the information in real time, and to block threats before they can strike. Now, A*STAR researchers have designed a way to structure data that is robust against cyber-attacks and allows it to be processed in record time. The team's work improves on widely-used data structures called 'hash tables'. "A hash table maps values to specific locations, labeled with indices," explains Vrizlynn Thing from the A*STAR's Institute for Infocomm Research, who led the study. "To find a value, the hash table performs computations to quickly identify the indices and thus, its location." [...]

Warning: This Algorithm Will Self-Destruct After It’s Used

"Imagine two millionaires—Alice and Bob—who want to decide who is the richer but without revealing their wealth. How do they go about solving their conundrum? This is Yao’s Millionaire Problem, devised by the computer scientist Andrew Yao in 1982. One potential solution is a one-time computer program. This program allows Alice and Bob to enter their data privately, performs the calculation once, gives the answer and then destroys itself. This ensures that nobody can access the original data or the way it was processed." [...]

An Edible Actuator for Ingestible Robots

"Researchers have long been trying to make electronics that are safe to eat. These include edible transistors, sensors, batteries, electrodes, and capacitors, which (if you put them together) are most of an edible robot. What’s been missing so far has been the thing that makes a robot distinct from a computing system, and that’s an edible actuator that would allow an ingestible robot to actually do something useful once you’ve swallowed it. At IROS last week, researchers from EPFL’s Laboratory of Intelligent Systems, headed by Dario Floreano, presented a prototype of a completely edible soft pneumatic actuator made of gelatin. It probably doesn’t taste very good, but it’s biodegradable, biocompatible, and environmentally sustainable, and could enable all kinds of novel applications, as the researchers explain in their paper: The components of such edible robots could be mixed with nutrient or pharmaceutical components for digestion and metabolization. Potential applications are disposable robots for exploration, digestible robots for medical purposes in humans and animals, and food transportation where the robot does not require additional payload because the robot is the food." [...]

The light at the end of electronics’ dark tunnel is… photonics

" Scientists in the Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences have reported they are one step closer to technology that could result in electrons being replaced with photons, solving the looming ‘speed limit’ for electronic gadgets. According to Dr Marcello Ferrera, Assistant Professor in Photonics and Optics, electronics have had long-term success due to how much smaller devices have become, and how robust they are, even when made from a very limited number of fundamental materials. These last two features have been weaknesses in the field of photonics, but Dr Ferrera’s recent findings, published in Nature Communications, could change all of that. Dr Ferrera and his team have, for the first time, shown how aluminium zinc oxide (AZO) reacts to light when beamed with ultra-fast laser pulses of different colours. Since AZO is a compound used in touch-screen technology, the discovery could have an immediate impact for the fabrication of novel photonic components. The nanophotonics experts used one laser beam to explore the optical properties of thin films of AZO, while two different trains of ultra-fast light, pulsed at two distinct frequencies, were shone on the material." [...]

Integrating data to learn more

"Tremendous amounts of data are generated in scientific research each day. Most of this data has more potential than we are using now, says Katy Wolstencroft, assistant professor in bioinformatics and computer science. We just need to integrate and manage it better. What is data integration and why is it so important? ‘There’s an awful lot of data available, and to really improve our knowledge we should be able to use all of it. Humans can only do that to a certain extent: we can read papers and build on the conclusions in those." [...]

Robotic bugs train insects to be helpers

"Tiny mobile robots are learning to work with insects in the hope the creatures’ sensitive antennae and ability to squeeze into small spaces can be put to use serving humans. With a soft electronic whirr, a rather unusual looking ant trundles along behind a column of its arthropod comrades as they march off to fetch some food. While the little insects begin ferrying tiny globules of sugar back home, their mechanical companion bustles forward to effortlessly pick up the entire container and carry it back to the nest. It is a dramatic demonstration of how robots can be introduced and accepted into insect societies. But the research, which is being conducted as part of the EU-funded CyBioSys project, could be an important step towards using robots to subtly control, or work alongside, animals or humans. ‘The idea is to be able to solve (a) problem with a better solution than they (the robots and insects) can produce individually,’ said Dr Bertrand Collignon, who is leading the research at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, in Switzerland." [...]

Breaking Coulomb's law: Scientists find a way around the rule that ‘opposites attract’

"Scientists have taken a big step towards creating the next generation of batteries, as well as more effective water treatment and better alternative energy after defying one of nature’s most fundamental rules on an atomic scale. An international team of researchers has found a way to avoid the established principle that particles of the same charge repel each other – and opposite charges attract. Charged atoms or molecules (ions) normally take on what is called Coulombic ordering where they sequence themselves in positive and negative succession along a straight line. However, in a new paper, ‘Partial breaking of the Coulombic ordering of ionic liquids confined in carbon nanopores', the team shows how this normal Coulombic ordering starts to break down when ions are confined in miniscule carbon pores, less than a nanometer in diameter. Disrupting the natural order of charged particles is important for the development of electrical energy storage devices such as batteries and supercapacitors, and could be pivotal for water treatment and alternative energy production technologies – which all involve ions packed into nanoporous materials. Loughborough University’s Professor Mark Biggs, Dean of School of Science and Professor of Interfacial Science and Engineering, was part of the team and played a vital role in the 3D molecular modelling work that was central to interpreting the experimental data that led to the discovery." [...]

UMass Amherst Chemical Engineers Develop Green, Non-Toxic Nanofiber Fabrics for a Wide Range of Uses

"AMHERST, Mass. – Chemical engineers Jessica Schiffman and Sarah Perry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst have developed nanofiber fabrics that are green and non-toxic that can be used in medical, environmental, personal care and food packaging applications. The research is supported by a three-year, $338,180 grant from the National Science Foundation. Schiffman and Perry say the key to their research is thinking differently about polymers. While traditional methods of making polymer-based fibers require the use of toxic organic solvents, this new approach uses polymers that assemble to form fibers from a solution of water and salt. The resultant fibers are highly stable even if exposed to high temperatures or they are submerged in organic solvents." [...]

New test opens path for better 2-D catalysts

"Rice University researchers have taken a deep look into atom-thick catalysts that produce hydrogen to see precisely where it’s coming from. Their findings could accelerate the development of 2-D materials for energy applications, such as fuel cells. The Rice lab of materials scientist Jun Lou, with colleagues at Los Alamos National Laboratory, developed a technique to probe through tiny “windows” created by an electron beam and measure the catalytic activity of molybdenum disulfide, a two-dimensional material that shows promise for applications that use electrocatalysis to extract hydrogen from water. Initial tests on two variations of the material proved that most production is coming from the thin sheets’ edges. The researchers reported their results this month in Advanced Materials. Researchers already knew the edges of 2-D materials are where the catalytic action is, so any information that helps maximize it is valuable, Lou said." [...]

Building Better Biomaterials

"Research Team Creates Polymer Library That Will Help to Reverse Engineer Biomaterials Synthetic chemists have tried for decades to create materials that mimic biological materials for use in medical implants, prosthetics, tissue engineering and soft robotics, but they have struggled to create materials that have the same combinations of strength, flexibility and softness as those found in biological tissue. Carnegie Mellon University chemist Krzysztof Matyjaszewski, with collaborators at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Akron, has come up with a methodology that fine tunes the characteristics of brush polymers to allow them to more closely mimic the characteristics of biological materials. Their technique is published as a letter in the Sept. 28 issue of Nature. As a rule, when chemists make linear polymers with elastic properties called elastomers, they can make the materials stiff or stretchy but not both. This makes producing strong, flexible materials like those needed for many biomaterials extremely difficult. In addition, linear polymers are made using trial and error and often involve mixing different chemicals and solvents, which limits chemists’ ability to control the material’s properties and can make the material non-biocompatible by causing inflammation." [...]

Sensitivity to Time Improves Performance at Remotely Controlling Devices

"A new study from North Carolina State University finds that people who are more sensitive to the passage of time are better at accounting for the latency – or time lag – inherent in remotely controlling robots or other tools. “There are many situations, from bomb disposal to remote surgeries, in which people want to remotely control devices,” says Federico Scholcover, a Ph.D. student at NC State and lead author of a paper on the work. “However, the longer the lag time between when users issue a command and when they see the results of that command, the longer it takes them to perform a task and the more errors they make. “We wanted to know if an individual’s sensitivity to changes in time affects their ability to cope with this latency – and their resulting performance.” For this study, researchers had 22 participants perform two tasks. One task was designed to test an individual’s sensitivity to changes in time. The second task was to maneuver a remotely controlled car through a prescribed course." [...]

Connecting the dots

"The Big Bang began the formation and organization of the matter that makes up ourselves and our world. Nearly 14 billion years later, nuclear physicists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and their partners are using America’s most powerful supercomputers to characterize the behavior of objects, from subatomic neutrons to neutron stars, that differ dramatically in size yet are closely connected by physics. Through the DOE Office of Science’s Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) program, which concurrently advances science and supercomputing to accelerate discovery, ORNL is participating in two five-year computational nuclear physics projects. Collaborators on the first project, the Nuclear Computational Low Energy Initiative (NUCLEI), will calculate properties and reactions of diverse atomic nuclei that are important in earthly experiments and astrophysical environments. Approximately 30 researchers at 12 national labs and universities are slated to share funding of $10 million. Joseph Carlson of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) heads NUCLEI, with Stefan Wild of Argonne National Laboratory as co-director for applied math and computer science and Thomas Papenbrock of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) and ORNL as the co-director for physics." [...]

Paper-Based Supercapacitor Uses Metal Nanoparticles to Boost Energy Density

"Using a simple layer-by-layer coating technique, researchers from the U.S. and Korea have developed a paper-based flexible supercapacitor that could be used to help power wearable devices. The device uses metallic nanoparticles to coat cellulose fibers in the paper, creating supercapacitor electrodes with high energy and power densities – and the best performance so far in a textile-based supercapacitor. By implanting conductive and charge storage materials in the paper, the technique creates large surface areas that function as current collectors and nanoparticle reservoirs for the electrodes. Testing shows that devices fabricated with the technique can be folded thousands of times without affecting conductivity. “This type of flexible energy storage device could provide unique opportunities for connectivity among wearable and internet of things devices,” said Seung Woo Lee, an assistant professor in the Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “We could support an evolution of the most advanced portable electronics." [...]

LLNL scientists stick to a new efficient magnet

"Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have developed a new, more efficient permanent magnet that removes the deficiencies of conventional samarium and neodymium magnets. The proposed magnet stems from the well-known samarium and cobalt (SmCo5, CaCu5-type structure) magnet, but goes a step further and substitutes most of the cobalt with iron and nickel. More modern neodymium magnets have an advantage over SmCo5 because of their greater maximum energy. But the new magnet removes most of the disadvantages of SmCo5 while preserving its superior high-temperature efficiency over the neodymium magnets. Unfortunately, substituting all cobalt atoms for iron, -- which has a larger magnetic moment that helps increase the maximum energy product -- makes the ordinary hexagonal phase thermodynamically unstable. This phase, however, is critical for the materials properties and it must be retained for a practical magnet." [...]

An algorithm for your blind spot

"Using smartphone cameras, system for seeing around corners could help with self-driving cars and search-and-rescue. Light lets us see the things that surround us, but what if we could also use it to see things hidden around corners? It sounds like science fiction, but that’s the idea behind a new algorithm out of MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) — and its discovery has implications for everything from emergency response to self-driving cars. The CSAIL team’s imaging system, which can work with smartphone cameras, uses information about light reflections to detect objects or people in a hidden scene and measure their speed and trajectory — all in real-time. To explain, imagine that you’re walking down an L-shaped hallway and have a wall between you and some objects around the corner. Those objects reflect a small amount of light on the ground in your line of sight, creating a fuzzy shadow that is referred to as the “penumbra.” Using video of the penumbra, the system — which the team has dubbed “CornerCameras” — can stitch together a series of one-dimensional images that reveal information about the objects around the corner." [...]

A zero-index waveguide

"Researchers directly observe infinitely long wavelengths for the first time In 2015, researchers at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) developed the first on-chip metamaterial with a refractive index of zero, meaning that the phase of light could be stretched infinitely long. The metamaterial represented a new method to manipulate light and was an important step forward for integrated photonic circuits, which use light rather than electrons to perform a wide variety of functions. Now, SEAS researchers have pushed that technology further – developing a zero-index waveguide compatible with current silicon photonic technologies. In doing so, the team observed a physical phenomenon that is usually unobservable — a standing wave of light. The research is published in ACS Photonics. The Harvard Office of Technology Development has filed a patent application and is exploring commercialization opportunities." [...]

Future smartwatches could sense hand movement using ultrasound imaging

"New research has shown future wearable devices, such as smartwatches, could use ultrasound imaging to sense hand gestures. The research team led by Professor Mike Fraser, Asier Marzo and Jess McIntosh from the Bristol Interaction Group (BIG) at the University of Bristol, together with University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust (UH Bristol), presented their paper this summer [8-11 May] at one of the world’s most important conferences on human-computer interfaces, ACM CHI 2017 held in Denver, USA. Computers are growing in number and wearable computers, such as smartwatches, are gaining popularity. Devices around the home, such as WiFi light bulbs and smart thermostats, are also on the increase. However, current technology limits the capability to interact with these devices. Hand gestures have been suggested as an intuitive and easy way of interacting with and controlling smart devices in different surroundings." [...]

Making renewable power more viable for the grid

"“Air-breathing” battery can store electricity for months, for about a fifth the cost of current technologies. Wind and solar power are increasingly popular sources for renewable energy. But intermittency issues keep them from connecting widely to the U.S. grid: They require energy-storage systems that, at the cheapest, run about $100 per kilowatt hour and function only in certain locations. Now MIT researchers have developed an “air-breathing” battery that could store electricity for very long durations for about one-fifth the cost of current technologies, with minimal location restraints and zero emissions. The battery could be used to make sporadic renewable power a more reliable source of electricity for the grid. For its anode, the rechargeable flow battery uses cheap, abundant sulfur dissolved in water." [...]

Ceramic Pump Moves Molten Metal at a Record 1,400 Degrees Celsius

"A ceramic-based mechanical pump able to operate at record temperatures of more than 1,400 degrees Celsius (1,673 Kelvin) can transfer high temperature liquids such as molten tin, enabling a new generation of energy conversion and storage systems. The new pump could facilitate high efficiency, low-cost thermal storage, providing a new way to store renewable energy generated by wind and solar power, and facilitate an improved process for generating hydrogen directly from fuels such as methane – without producing carbon dioxide. Use of ceramic components, normally considered too brittle for mechanical systems, was made possible by precision machining – and seals made from another high-temperature material: graphite. The research was supported by the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) and reported in the October 12 issue of the journal Nature. The pump was developed by researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology with collaborators from Purdue University and Stanford University. “Until now, we’ve had a ceiling for the highest temperatures at which we could move heat and store it, so this demonstration really enables energy advances, especially in renewables,” said Asegun Henry, an assistant professor in Georgia Tech’s Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering." [...]

A Stanford battery based on sodium may offer more cost-effective storage than lithium

"Industrial forecasts predict an insatiable need for battery farms to store renewable energy like solar and wind. Lithium ion batteries may remain tops for sheer performance, but when cost-per-storage is factored in, a Stanford design based on sodium ions offers promise. As a warming world moves from fossil fuels toward renewable solar and wind energy, industrial forecasts predict an insatiable need for battery farms to store power and provide electricity when the sky is dark and the air is still. Against that backdrop, Stanford researchers have developed a sodium-based battery that can store the same amount of energy as a state-of-the-art lithium ion, at substantially lower cost. Stanford researchers are developing a sodium ion battery based on a compound related to table salt. (Image credit: Getty Images) Chemical engineer Zhenan Bao and her faculty collaborators, materials scientists Yi Cui and William Chueh, aren’t the first researchers to design a sodium ion battery." [...]

Reimagining Hydrogen: A Small Molecule With Large-Scale Ideas

"While hydrogen is often talked about as a pollution-free fuel of the future, especially for use in fuel cell electric vehicles, hydrogen can be used for much more than zero-emission cars. In fact, from enhancing the flexibility of the grid to greening agriculture, hydrogen could play a major role in a clean and resilient energy system. In an effort to bring that vision to fruition, the Department of Energy (DOE) has launched “Hydrogen at Scale,” or H2@Scale, an initiative that explores the potential for wide-scale hydrogen production and utilization in the United States to benefit many sectors of the economy. In support of the initiative scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have been increasingly turning their attention to hydrogen generation. “Hydrogen is a very nice intermediate energy carrier” said Berkeley Lab researcher Adam Weber. “There’s a big focus now to use hydrogen for other end uses, not just fuel cells and vehicles.” The problem with hydrogen is, while it is the most commonly occurring element on our planet, it does not exist anywhere in pure form." [...]

Plant Pot Lid

"Our cats seem to like digging in our pots, I made this to help.This is my 1st attempt at OpenSCAD enjoy.All measurements are in millimeters pad the pot diameter about 4mm print may shrink a little or the pot might not be round and you will need a few to fit.Generate half at a time , makes outside and inside clips to hold things together or you can just use a rubber band, like I did on my first one.." [...]

Modulus Gear Customizer

"Public Domain Modulus Gear OpenSCAD code version 1.0 This code defines a gear based on its modulus rather than pitch in mm, Modulus is the ration of tooth count:diameter, effectively the pitch of the gear is modulus * pi, ie, a gear of mod=1 has a tooth pitch of 3.1514mm. The advantage of using modulus rather than pitch to define a gear is that it is very easy to prototype - for example, a gear of mod = 1 will have a diameter that matches the tooth count, with mod = 2, radius = tooth count. This code is based on the poblic domain Parametric Involute Spur Gear code by Leemon Baird found at http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5505 The file here is designed as both a library file (just use include at the start of your own OpenSCAD file, after removing the modgear call), and as a customizer so you can create and download your own custom gears directly from Thingiverse! Note: If using the options of a square or hexagonal center hole, be aware that the size is diagonal (corner to corner) not the side length. This, for a square bore 4 mm an a side, the hole size should be set to 5.7 mm (This requires applying the Pythagorean theorem). " [...]

Readings in Database Systems, 5th Edition

"In the ten years since the previous edition of Readings in Database Systems, the field of data management has exploded. Database and data-intensive systems today operate over unprecedented volumes of data, fueled in large part by the rise of “Big Data” and massive decreases in the cost of storage and computation. Cloud computing and microarchitectural trends have made distribution and parallelism nearly ubiquitous concerns. Data is collected from an increasing variety of heterogeneous formats and sources in increasing volume, and utilized for an ever increasing range of tasks. As a result, commodity database systems have evolved considerably along several dimensions, from the use of new storage media and processor designs, up through query processing architectures, programming interfaces, and emerging application requirements in both transaction processing and analytics. It is an exciting time, with considerable churn in the marketplace and many new ideas from research." [...]

Arduino 8-bit sound generation

"This booklet is going to lay the foundations for creating Interactive Sound Machines using a standard Arduino Uno board. However, all the knowledge described here as well as the code can be easily ported to Arduino Mega, Arduino Mini or any other member of the Arduino 8-bit family. Jump the Arduino bandwagon, this stuff comes straight from a creator of the platform! " [...]

newelectronics de 10 Outubro 2017

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

Temperature Sensor Using Lm35 and Atmega 16 in C

"This project is a temperature sensor using Lm35 with avr atmega16 and 7-seg for output. " [...]

Drunky Dumbo

"We made a cute version of the shotbot! This project uses a light sensor to automatically pour you a shot when a glass is placed on the stand. We wanted to make a cute shot pouring station that knew when you put a shot glass down to be refilled. In this instructable we will show you how to pick an animal (or anything!) of your choice and create an arduino shot pouring robot. We modified code from the original ShotBot to create this fun project." [...]

Roobert - A raspberry pi and roomba robot

"Read all articles: - Introduction and head - Neck design and movement - The chassis - Moving the head up and down - Hands and arms - 3d sensor - The front RGB LED display" [...]

Bee Olfactory Conditioning Apparatus

"Honey bees are not only fascinating for providing honey and pollinating flowers, they are also a well-established model organism in many fields of research. When I was working at the University of Osnabrck, Germany, there were several bee hives in our institute. As a behavioral biologist with a strong interest in learning and memory I decided that it was timely to get some student projects started to investigate the learning behavior of our bees. There are many different fascinating tasks that honey bees can learn. For example honey bees have advanced navigation skills, can communicate position of resources by means of waggle dance, and they can learn to differentiate colors, shapes, and fragrances. In 2011 it was shown that there is evidence that whether bees make an "optimistic" or "pessimistic" decision depends upon an emotion analogues inner state." [...]

Robotics and Automation Shrinked With BABYDUINO

"Let's Shrink Arduino Projects, Robotics and Automation You all did with Arduino UNO. Now There is Shrinkified Version, Fully Reliable, Tested and Open Source which allows full 8K Memory. Afterall Every Byte is Necessary. Presented Here is the Working of BABYDUINO Board. The Board needs Arduino or USB to TTL Programmer or Bootloader to Program It. However it is extremely Easy." [...]

WiFi Connected Clock With Westminster Chimes

"My latest digital clock is based on this video and the code found there. It works very well but I wanted something that also gave me auditory announcements of the time. The classic way of doing this is with Westminster Chimes. Such chimes are found on most grandfather clocks as well as mantle clocks. While the Arduino that I am using for this project is capable of producing rudimentary sounds that could resemble Westminster Chimes I opted to use an MP3 player that sounded out recordings of the chimes. This gives much better audio quality and flexibility to use whatever sound you choose to play." [...]

20 PIN PIC Development Board

"Small size multipurpose 20 Pin PIC Micro-Controller development board, includes onboard 5V regulator, prototyping area and ICSP programing port. The board provided with few more components which includes 4 optocoupler, 2 LEDs connected to RA5, RC7 with series resistors, 2 tactile switches and 2 Trimmer Potentiometers. These components help to implement Microchip’s AN1660 single phase AC Motor driver. Just need 3 Phase Inverter IPM module to complete the Motor driver, Code and documents can be obtained from Microchip website. However these components can be used to implement other application or can be left unsoldered. " [...]

Deep learning on the Raspberry Pi with OpenCV

"I’ve received a number of emails from PyImageSearch readers who are interested in performing deep learning in their Raspberry Pi. Most of the questions go something like this: Hey Adrian, thanks for all the tutorials on deep learning. You’ve really made deep learning accessible and easy to understand. I have a question: Can I do deep learning on the Raspberry Pi? What are the steps? And almost always, I have the same response: The question really depends on what you mean by “do”." [...]

Simple IoT Remote Switch With MQTT and ESP8266

"Many years back when I was still quite heavily involved in the day-to-day company IT matters, we need to subscribe to a service called "Smart Finger" when we put our servers in a datacenter. Basically what this service is all about is to allow datacenter technician to help us to press the power or reset buttons on our servers without us driving all the way to the datacenter to just to press a button. However, every now and then, going through with the technician on which and where the button is can be quite troublesome especially when we have a few servers of different models on the same rack. Two years ago before I switched my office computer from a PC to a Mac, my PC took a long time to start up every morning. All these issues prompted me to wonder how nice it would be if there is a small little robot that can help me to push a button remotely as and when I want it. Last year, I finally found a small little device call Switch Bot at Kickstarter that can do the job." [...]

Knight Rider - KITT Scanner Featuring NeoPixels

"Everyone loved Knight Rider. I want to see more KITT scanners in the world. KITT Scanner Something that since childhood have fascinated me, is Knight Rider and the KITT scanner. It was a dream for me to actually implement this. I made several software implementations, but never took the time to actually make a realistic hardware implementation out of it. The KITT scanner is sometimes also called "Larson scanner effect"." [...]

Candy Dispenser

"A simple candy dispenser to enjoy upon your request and to practice arduino & bulding skills! The Project This is an easy way to create a candy dispenser using only IR sensor, servo, and pushbutton. It can be split up into these parts. - Making and using Arduino Uno R3 - Coding and setting up the Arduino - Creating the casing and mechanical parts - Installing the electronics - Testing and usage" [...]

Snake Game With Arduino

"This instructable shows you how to build a portable snake game device. You can play the game on a 8x32 LED matrix, and control it with the help of a joystick. There are two bonus LEDs, which are some power ups, double points or you can go through walls. You can play on different difficulties. I'm planning to make other games too, which can be played with the Joystick and the Potentiometer. I won't go into the details about the programming, if you are interested in it ask me about that." [...]

SEBi: Smart Electric Bin

"Smart and Efficient way to Monitor your Waste Bin and help you to dispose in Correct time . What is Waste management? According to Wikipedia: Waste management or Waste disposal is all the activities and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes among other things, collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste together with monitoring and regulation. It also encompasses the legal and regulatory framework that relates to waste management encompassing guidance on recycling etc. Problem in Waste Management One of the major issues in waste management is to collect the waste at right time, also it's really a headache for waste management agencies." [...]

Laser Piano DIY

"I created a Laser piano using LDR and laser light diode. I used Arduino Leonardo Pro Micro connected to a speaker to generate sound. You can modify the tune of the piano by tweaking in the code and changing the frequency. I wanted to create something cool which can produce music and I ended up making this. " [...]

Deauthentication with ESP8266

"This software allows you to perform a deauth attack with an ESP8266 against selected networks. Hello everyone, the software I introduced below is the mod version of Space Huhn. Due to legal and commercial reasons, SpaceHuhn has deliberately made esp8266 operation not really effective. And I edited it so it could work well. You can flash this software yourself into any ESP8266. " [...]

ESP32/X-Project Cheerlight Badge Using MQTT

"This project uses a dual base shield, and ESP32 (D-Duino) (Display Duino that has a .96 OLED on board). The base shield has headers for the D-Duino, and 2 X-Project shields. It's a unique way to combine both of the projects. I found the dual base shield, with a 4 pixel Neopixel LED x-project board (X-2812b), and a X-Battery charger. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Dual-Base-voor-ESP... You maybe able to find the individual components cheaper, but I thought if they all come in from one place, they should all get here at the same time, and the project could be completed quickly. First a little background." [...]

Solar Tracker

"Solar energy is the biggest renewable energy and it is available almost everywhere in the world, purpose of making this project is that solar plates are stationary so plates can not use 100% solar power. by using solar tracker energy production can be increased by 20 to 30 %" [...]

Electric Wooden Drink Dispenser

"I've seen a lot of cardboard dispensers out there, so I felt inspired to make a drink dispenser myself using a bit more durable materials, because I want to use it at parties and barbeques in the future! " [...]

Deauthentication Detector And Count Packets With ESP8266

"Detect deauthentication frames using an ESP8266 and + OLED = Wifi Count Packets. OverviewIf the ESP8266 detects deauthentication or disassociation frames it will turn on its LED. So this is a good and cheap way to detect a Wi-Fi deauthentication attack.And did you ever wonder how many data packets are flying around you right now? This little project tells you how many Wi-Fi packets are sent every second and on which channel. It's not limited to one network, it scans all traffic on one channel: You can see peaks whenever a device starts surfing the web and it will also warn you when a deauthentication attack is going on the selected channel. " [...]

CoreXY CNC Plotter

"This instructable describes an A2 plotter made from low cost aluminium extrusion, a piece of particle board, two NEMA17 stepper motors, and a few belts and pulleys. The plotter is: - high resolution (80 steps/mm), - fast, - low-cost, - and scaleable The plotter has an on-board interpreter that recognizes the g-code output from "Inkscape" . Metal work is simple ... all you need is a hacksaw, three drills, a rat-tail file, and a screwdriver. " [...]

IoT Mouse-Friendly Live Trap

"An Arduino-controlled IoT live mousetrap based on an ESP8266. It informs you when it captures a mouse. You can also release the mouse. An IoT friendly Mouse Trap.This is a trap to capture the mice without hurting them, so you can release them outside. If the proximity sensor detects the mouse, the Servo motor will close the door. You will receive an instant message and/or an Email, to inform you that you captured a mouse." [...]

Arduino Uno - HX711 Digital Weight Scale

"Need to weigh anything? A Bearded Dragon perhaps? Soooo...the latest member of our family, a bearded dragon named DaVinci had a stomach bug which was really messing with his appetite, etc... We needed a scale with a resolution in the grams/oz. range but with a big enough base to hold him in his entirety so we could make sure he was on the rebound to health with his diet. Gotta eat those BUGS BUDDY BOY! Arduino and HX711 Load Cell weight scale to the rescue." [...]

Quiz Game Show Buzzer

"A good friend of mine who's a teacher was doing quizzes in her class making students compete to answer questions... resulting in them complaining they raised their hands before the others.I decided to give her this quiz show type buzzer for Christmas to solve her problems. When one of the players press it's button (the fastest player wins this), the led of the right colour lights up saying he's in control... and no other buttons from the other players work, until the master of the game decides if the answer is good or not by pressing a little button on the main unit, giving a point or not to the player in control. If you have any questions, comments, constructive criticism... don't hesitate to write :) If you like my build, please like the video on YouTube and subscribe, it would be nice :) P.S. There is a little problem with the display that I couldn't figure out how to solve. When playing a tune, the display doesn't light up anymore, like if no current goes to it anymore... anybody has an idea what the problem could be or how to fix it in code ? See the video if you don't understand what I mean." [...]

Automatic Hall Effect Switch

"Here's what I was thinking, I want to make something that would automatically switch on the light when I open the door. The first thing that came to mind: a sensor detects door opening, sends a digital signal to some kind of a switch, and there is light, simple. These days, the first thing that comes to mind is an Arduino but NO, that's just the lazy voice in my head telling me that it's just so easy to write a few lines of code. Using an Arduino in this kind of project would be such a shameful overkill that I'm not even gonna go there (and I think that we learn some useful basic electronics along the way)... So, here's the way I built it. " [...]

ESP8266 Solar Weather Station

"Get the temperature, humidity and pressure, and display them over the internet; everything is powered by the sun. ESP8266 Version Some months ago I did a IoT project posted on Hackster, ESP32 Solar Weather Station. I decided to apply for the ESP8266 IoT Contest - Simplify the Connected World. However one of the rules was to use the mydevices platform. After some research, I discover that (at the current date) the microcontroller that I was using was not supported. I did several attempts but I could not make the code work." [...]

Simple RC Car (Arduino Nano + HC-05)

"I will share my simple project on how to use your android phone to control robot car. " [...]

Upgrade Your $3 Bluetooth Module to Have HID Firmware

"Ever wanted to get your Arduino project to act like a Bluetooth keyboard/mouse or gamepad? If yes, then this is the tutorial for you!In this Instructable I'm going to show you how to flash your cheap Bluetooth module to make it a whole lot more useful! Evan Kale already has an awesome ible on this topic, which you can checkout here. Evan's method involves using a Parallel port to do the flashing of the chip. Parallel ports are not a common thing found in computers these days so I thought I would share the process I used to achieve the same thing as Evan's instructable using a cheap USB device so it should work on nearly any computer. Lets get to it!" [...]

Remote Controlled + Solar Powered Watering System

"Watering plants can be a hard task, especially for those who have a garden in their house. I have to do this every day and it will be taking forever to get this done daily. So I made this project while looking for an easy way to water my plants without any hassles most importantly with free energy. PROJECT BRIEF: This is a wireless medium watering system using RF signals. And the most highlight feature which i enjoyed adding to this project is Solar power. This system is powered completely by the Solar power (except for the RF remote..quite obvious) ." [...]

Voice Controlled Locking System

"The Voice Controlled Locking System, is an automated locking system, using bluetooth as an intermediate for communication between Arduino and your Android phone. The Voice controlled locking system, unlocks when you say the password as set by you ( I have set it as 'instructables' ) and locks on saying 'lock'. The Voice controlled lock allows you to unlock and lock you drawer or wardrobe, automatically from a range of about 10 Meters without even touching it. Just open the app, and say the password and in a touch of a button you have opened your drawer/wardrobe. I have design the lock or the latch as per my study table drawer. That can be customised as per need by just changing the latch head from the motor shaft." [...]

MappyDot Distance Measurement Badge

"A standalone wearable badge that will show people how far away they are so they don't accidentally run into you. This project will show you how to create a standalone application with the MappyDot working as an I2C master with an I2C 7 segment display. This example can also be adapted for use with a wide range of different client I2C devices for standalone applications. First you want to put the 7 segment display together. The instructions over at Adafruit cover this really well - https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-led-backpack/0-dot-56-seven-segment-backpack. While this project uses the Adafruit I2C 7 segment display, any other I2C based display should work with some minor code modification." [...]

Environmental Monitoring Rover

"Build a Rover with Sparkfun ESP8266 Thing Dev Board to monitor temperature,humidity, gas readings and upload them to Cayenne for reference. This is a great weekend robotics project you can undertake, using the Sparkfuns ESP8266 thing dev board as the brain of the prototype, which host the code for the web application which is used to drive the motor and post sensor data to Cayenne. For the rover base I am using MakeBlock kit and Sparkfuns motor driver connected to the two motors. As part of the demo video above, I am posting temperature, humidity and Gas sensor values to the Cayenne IoT platform. Cayenne by myDevices.com is a great IoT solution and is the worlds first drag-and-drop IoT Project Builder, which enables customers to bring IoT projects from prototype to mass production, this means it is also great for hobby projects like this one, which can be scaled to an industrial application to monitor spaces on the factory floor, which are hard to get or not habitable. The icing on the cake!" [...]

Controlling Appliances From Smartphone

"We all have switched on lights,fan and other appliances using Bluetooth as a for low range applications. Now we are going to look over controlling appliances using WiFi. Now we are restricted here to local WiFi only but you can host your IP on any site like 000webhost etc. to control it from anywhere from the world.Here we are going to learn that. We would mainly understand here the working of the WiFi to switch on off appliances and the working of relay that we are going to use. NodeMCU will be here the brains of the organisations.It has inbuild WiFi capabilities." [...]

Homemade 3 in 1 Multipurpose Workbench: Table Saw, Router Table and Inverted Jigsaw (Free Plans)

"In this Instructable Im going to show you how I built my 3 in 1 multipurpose workbench. Im going to show you how I turned my router into a router table, my circular saw into a table saw and my jigsaw into an inverted jigsaw. Also, Im going to show you how I collect the dust from these tools. And at last Ill show you how I connected and wired everything. On my website you can find free plans with all the details included. There you can also find some accessories that I plan to make in some of my next videos like: Table Saw Fence, Crosscut Sled, Miter Gauge, Featherboard and Push Stick." [...]

Arduino Wave Generator Tank

"Personalized Water Wave Generator Tank, Ya Bilge Scum Personalized Water Wave Generator Tank, Ya Bilge Scum Welcome me matey to Davy Jones' miniature locker. To analyze yer wave and buoyancy mechanics while we plunder wenches, drink Rum and supplement with vitamin C, we rigged an Arduino Micro, (2) servos and potentiometer with if and for codes to generate various wave frequencies upon the sovereign seas (in a small acrylic case cast from a picture frame). Arrr--gh! " [...]

How to Use PIC Messaging Protocols to Increase Data Transfer Reliability

"Serial ports are one of the easiest ways for PICs to communicate with other devices. However, event serial ports have their flaws, so in this tutorial, we will look at how a message protocol can increase the reliability of data transfers. Modern microcontrollers will usually have many device interface peripherals built into them, including I2C, SPI, UART, and CAN. While I2C and SPI are very specific to devices and heavily rely on either select signals or start/stop signals, UART is more free. One of the biggest disadvantages of UART is the lack of a clock signal, which can result in clock drift of either the transmitter or receiver (which results in a baud difference), frame errors, and even overrun errors when one of the buffers on either side is full. Of course, these problems are relativity easy to overcome with the use of timers, watchdogs, and events." [...]

ESP8266 Based Wi-Fi Controlled Bot With a Smartphone

"Create your own Wi-Fi controlled bot! It's a NodeMCU ESP8266 based Wi-Fi controlled car. This car is controlled by a android phone. It's really simple to make. So lets get started. " [...]

Introduction to Voice Recognition With Elechouse V3 and Arduino.

"Hi there...! Voice recognition technology has been here around the past few years. We still remember the great excitement we had while talking to the first Siri enabled iphone. Since then, voice command devices has grown to a very advanced level beyond our expectations in a very short time. With the introduction of many advanced voice recognition systems there came many other voice assistants like the Google assistant and the Amazon Alexa. The rapid success of Amazons Echo alone proves that we are gradually coming to terms with talking to machines." [...]

Raspberry Pi Thermal Camera

"A portable, battery-powered thermal camera using a Raspberry Pi and an AMG8833 thermal camera sensor. Background & Idea When I heard about the AMG8833 thermal camera module, I knew that I really wanted to make a project with it. It's able to send a thermal image to a screen, similar to a FLIR camera. I like to compare hardware with benchmarks so a project like this would be a great addition to my testing arsenal. The AMG8833 is an Adafruit product and they have a great learning guide on it, showing you how to use it with both Arduino and Raspberry Pi. I chose to use a Raspberry Pi because in the example code provided by Adafruit, it uses bicubic interpolation to basically make the image appear to have a higher definition and not look as pixelated." [...]

Smart Plug

"Smart Plug with details monitoring (temperature, current, voltage, energy), control (automatic, manual, voice, proximity) and notification. Introduction Smart plug is a home automation device and is a hot new thing. Several types of smart plug are available in the market but they are quit expensive. Besides, as a hobbyist I always like to make my own thing and I thing you are same. Generally smart plugs are compact device and plug into traditional wall sockets, upgrading them with remote control, scheduling, and power usage monitoring via smartphone apps. In this tutorial I will show you how I build my smart plug using ESP8266 wifi module which has the following features: - Local and Remote Control - The device is made based on Cayenne and you can easily on/off the plug using Cayenne smartphone app or Cayenne Web app." [...]

DIY LED Video Panel || Dimmable and Color Temperature Adjust

"Hello Internet People!! Welcome to my first Instructable. I'll show you guys how you can make your own Video Light/ Work Light . Feel free to be creative and modify any steps according to your idea! If you have any suggestions do share them with me :D." [...]

Speaking Alarm Clock

"I have habit of setting up alarm clock on my smartphone just before I go to bed. While setting up alarm I usually get distracted by tasks like taking daily notes or recording daily expenses on my smartphone which is not good for my sleep cycle. Well, analog alarm clocks are great substitute and I needed bigger motive to get my hands soldery. Then one day while I was watching Jack Ma's talk which contained few motivational liners on getting up early, I thought it would be great to hear such talk as alarm tone. Well that was it. This miniProject is the result." [...]

How to Make a Simple Mini RGB LED Strip

"In this tutorial i will show you how to make a simple mini RGB LED Strip. To build your own mini RGB LED Strip you can watch the video embedded in this step or continue reading. " [...]

Multitasking FreeRTOS for Arduino

"Multitasking Solution for Arduino. " [...]

Light Following Robot

"this light follower is first of five part robot series. i will start with simple to less complicated. " [...]

Arduino Controlled Piano Robot: PiBot

"Using one Arduino Uno board to control 88 solenoids to play piano. How it begin: Many years ago, Yamaha introduced automated piano. Young and innocent me saw that piano playing music behind glass window of an instrument shop. Enough of small talks, there really isn't big reason why I started this project besides I just wanted to. Overview: A single board of Arduino Mega costs about $40 and two will be required to control 88 solenoids. That's quite expensive." [...]