Editorial

Esta é a Newsletter Nº 146 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 1564, Galileo Galilei. Este filósofo natural italiano aplicou técnicas do método científico para fazer descobertas significativas na física e astronomia. As suas grandes realizações incluem o aperfeiçoamento (embora não inventando) do telescópio e contribuições consequentes para a astronomia. Estudou a ciência do movimento, a inércia, a lei da queda dos corpos e as trajectórias parabólicas. A sua formulação do método científico iguala escritos de Francis Bacon. O seu progresso chegou com um preço, quando as suas ideias estavam em conflito com o dogma religioso da época.

Faz também anos hoje que nascia, em 1827, Francis Pratt. Este engenheiro mecânico norte-americano e fabricante de máquinas-ferramentas ficou conhecido por, em 1855, ter produzido a fresadora "Lincoln", que usava uma ferramenta de parafusos para melhorar o anterior projecto de cremalheira e pinhão de F.W. Howe. Pratt formou uma parceria com Amos Whitney em 1860 e, em conjunto, desenvolveu o sistema de peças intercambiáveis que foram pioneiras por Samuel Colt, Elisha Root, o primo de Amos Eli Whitney e outros. Isso, por sua vez, levou à necessidade de estabelecer padrões nacionais de medição. A Companhia Pratt & Whitney foi criada em 1869, fazendo vários tipos de medidores para possibilitar esses padrões na fabricação, fazendo ferramentas mecânicas em especial para a indústria de armamento.

Faz igualmente anos hoje que nascia, em 1834, William Henry Preece. Este engenheiro electrotécnico galês foi uma figura importante no desenvolvimento e introdução do telegrafo sem fio e do telefone na Grã-Bretanha. O interesse de Preece em electricidade aplicada e engenharia telegráfica foi desenvolvido como um estudante de graduação sob Michael Faraday. Durante 29 anos, a partir de 1870, foi engenheiro no sistema telegráfico do Correio e contribuiu com muitas invenções e melhorias, incluindo um sistema de sinalização ferroviária que aumentou a segurança ferroviária. Um pioneiro na telegrafia sem fio, ele originou seu próprio sistema em 1892. Ele incentivou Guglielmo Marconi, obtendo assistência do Correio por seu trabalho. Preece também introduziu na Grã-Bretanha os primeiros telefones Bell.

Faz também anos hoje que nascia, em 1845, Robert Wood Johnson. Este fabricante norte-americano ficou conhecido por, com seus dois irmãos, ter fundado a Johnson & Johnson Corporation, para fazer curativos cirúrgicos (1885) e foi seu primeiro presidente. Em 1876, ele inspirou-se numa palestra do notável cirurgião inglês Sir Joseph Lister, pioneiro da cirurgia anti-séptica. Johnson estabeleceu para criar um curativo cirúrgico pronto e que poderia ser usado sem risco de contaminação. Ele trabalhou para desenvolver um curativo que poderia permanecer tão livre de germes quanto possível entre suas fábricas e seus usos médicos em todo o país. Ele também trabalhou para melhorar as práticas sanitárias no século XIX. Ao longo do tempo, a empresa diversificou-se em muitos mais produtos de consumo e agora vende uma ampla gama de produtos de saúde em todo o mundo.

Por fim também anos hoje que nasciam, em 1861, Alfred North Whitehead e Charles Édouard Guillaume. O primeiro era um matemático e filósofo inglês, que trabalhou em lógica, física, filosofia da ciência e metafísica. Ele é mais conhecido pelo seu trabalho com Bertrand Russell num dos livros mais famosos do século, Principia Mathematica (1910-13) para demonstrar que a lógica é a base para toda a matemática. Na física (1910-24), o seu trabalho mais conhecido era uma teoria da gravidade, que competia com a relatividade geral de Einstein por muitas décadas. Posteriormente, a partir de 1924, em Harvard, ele trabalhou em questões mais gerais de filosofia do que em matemática, incluindo o desenvolvimento de um sistema metafísico abrangente o que passou a ser conhecido como filosofia de processo. O Segundo, Charles, era um Físico francês que estudou ligas de ferro-níquel e descobriu a Invar (uma liga de níquel-aço) que lhe permitiu conquistar o Prémio Nobel de Física em 1920. Em 1883, Guillaume tornou-se assistente do novo Escritório Internacional de Pesos e Medidas em Sèvres, perto de Paris, e tornou-se seu director (1915-36). Ele estava preocupado com a termometria; e desenvolver os padrões internacionais para o medidor, o quilograma e o litro. A partir de 1890, investigou intensamente várias ligas. Após um estudo metódico de ligas de níquel-aço, ele inventou a liga invar, tendo uma expansão muito pequena com aumento de temperatura, foi imediatamente adoptada em molas de relógios e outros componentes. Ele também produziu elinvar, com uma elasticidade que permanece quase constante numa ampla gama de temperaturas.

Nesta semana que passou ficámos a saber que a equipa olímpica dos EUA de trenó constrói o seu trenó através de um processo 3D. Este permite-lhes desenhar e construir o trenó com a especificações exactas para o atleta.

Esta semana também ficámos a saber que uma equipa de cirurgiões usam o Microsoft HoloLens para "ver dentro" dos pacientes antes de fazerem operações neles. Uma equipa do Imperial College London está a usar dispositivos HoloLens nas salas de operação para que eles possam detectar os principais vasos sanguíneos, ossos e músculos, tornando os procedimentos mais rápidos e seguros. O HoloLens permite que os cirurgiões façam exames de tomografia computadorizada que já foram completados e sobreponham modelos digitais 3D deles no membro de um paciente durante a cirurgia reconstrutiva.

Esta semana também ficámos a conhecer a proeza de David Nadlinger, que apreende átomos para sua pesquisa de computação quântica na Universidade de Oxford. Ele capturou uma imagem em 7 de Agosto usando uma câmara DSLR padrão. A foto mostra um pinpick de um átomo de estrôncio carregado positivamente iluminado por uma luz azul-violeta num fundo preto. O átomo é mantido quase imóvel por um campo eléctrico que emana de dois eléctrodos metálicos colocados de cada lado. A distância entre as pontas de agulha pequenas da armadilha de iões é inferior a 0,08 de polegada. Trata-se de uma proeza rara que foi partilhada ao mundo através de equipamento normal.

Na Newsletter desta semana apresentamos diversos projetos de maker assim como um modelo 3D que poderá ser útil. São apresentadas as revistas newelectronics de 13 de Fevereiro e a Hackspace nº4.

João Alves ([email protected])

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

How Team USA used 3D printing to build a better luge

"The quest for Olympic gold is the search for the slightest leg up — small changes that could ultimately shave fractions of a second off of one’s time. It’s an ideal platform for a technology like 3D printing, where the ability to customize products can have a dramatic effect on their physical qualities. No surprise, really, that more teams are turning to technology for a leg up. The United States’ luge team jumped on the bandwagon in the lead up to PyeongChang, enlisting the help of Stratasys to design a better sled. This week, U.S. Olympians Justin Krewson and Andrew Sherk will be riding sleds designed with help from the industrial-3D-printing giant. Stratasys applications engineer Dave Dahl tells TechCrunch that two former members of the team approached the company at the International Manufacturing Technology Show." [...]

Surgeons use Microsoft HoloLens to 'see inside' patients before they operate on them

"Surgeons in the UK are using Microsoft’s mixed-reality headset to “see inside” patients before they operate on them. A team at Imperial College London are wearing HoloLens devices in operating theatres so they can spot key blood vessels, bones and muscles, making procedures quicker and safer. HoloLens allows the surgeons to take CT scans that have previously been completed and overlay 3D digital models of them onto a patient’s limb during reconstructive surgery. The technique has been used to help surgeons successfully move blood vessels from one part of the body to another to help open wounds heal. Patients have included a 41-year-old man who injured his leg in a car crash, an 85-year-old woman who fractured her fibula and a person who developed an infection that required surgery. Dr Philip Pratt, a Research Fellow in the Department of Surgery and Cancer at Imperial College London, said HoloLens is allowing surgeons to understand a patient’s unique anatomy very quickly and accurately." [...]

How a Student Took a Photo of a Single Atom

"The award-winning long-exposure photograph captures a positively charged atom suspended in an ion trap. Sometimes, all it takes to capture a great photo is a DSLR camera, a microscopic atom, and a curious Ph.D. candidate. David Nadlinger, who traps atoms for his quantum computing research at the University of Oxford, captured this image on August 7 using a standard DSLR camera. The photo shows a pinprick of a positively charged strontium atom illuminated by a blue-violet light on a black background. The atom is held nearly motionless by an electric field emanating from two metal electrodes placed on either side of it. The distance between the ion trap's small needle tips is less than .08 of an inch." [...]

Two Small Asteroids Safely Pass Earth This Week

"Two small asteroids recently discovered by astronomers at the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) near Tucson, Arizona, are safely passing by Earth within one lunar distance this week. The first of this week's close-approaching asteroids -- discovered by CSS on Feb. 4 -- is designated asteroid 2018 CC. Its close approach to Earth came Tuesday (Feb. 6) at 12:10 p.m. PST (3:10 p.m. EST) at a distance of about 114,000 miles (184,000 kilometers). The asteroid is estimated to be between 50 and 100 feet (15 and 30 meters) in size. Of potentially greater interest is asteroid 2018 CB,which will also pass closely by Earth on Friday, Feb. 9, at around 2:30 p.m. PST (5:30 p.m. EST), at a distance of about 39,000 miles (64,000 kilometers), which is less than one-fifth the distance of Earth to the Moon). The asteroid, which is estimated to be between 50 and 130 feet (15 and 40 meters) in size, was also discovered by CSS on Feb. 4." [...]

Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Preparing for Years Ahead

"NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has begun extra stargazing to help the space agency accomplish advances in Mars exploration over the next decade. The spacecraft already has worked more than double its planned mission life since launch in 2005. NASA plans to keep using it past the mid-2020s. Increased reliance on a star tracker, and less on aging gyroscopes, is one way the mission is adapting to extend its longevity. Another step is wringing more useful life from batteries. The mission's extended service provides data relay from assets on Mars' surface and observations with its science instruments, despite some degradation in capabilities." [...]

The man who built an arm out of scrap metal

"When a man in a small village in Bali claimed to have made a functioning bionic arm out of scrap metal at home he became a local sensation. But even as serious doubts emerged about the technology behind it, BBC Indonesian's Christine Franciska found his fellow villagers remained enthralled by the mystical aspect of his story. It takes two hours from the Balinese capital Denpasar to reach Nyuhtebel Village in Karangasem, the home of the man who has been dubbed "cyborg" or "Iron Man" by the local press. I Wayan Sumardana, a 31-year-old welder in a small village in Bali, said he woke up one morning six months ago to find he had lost all feeling in his left arm. "At first, I thought it was a light stroke, but my doctor couldn't explain what was happening. He said go to the shaman, but the shamans gave up too," he said." [...]

Airbus completes first flight demonstration for its commercial parcel delivery drone 'Skyways'

"Airbus Helicopters’ Skyways unmanned air vehicle has successfully completed its first flight demonstration at the National University of Singapore (NUS). The drone took off from its dedicated maintenance centre and landed on the roof of a specially designed parcel station where a parcel was automatically loaded via a robotic arm. Once successfully loaded with the parcel, the Skyways drone took off again and returned to land, demonstrating its automatic unloading capability. This inaugural flight demonstration follows the launch of the experimental project with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) in February 2016 to develop an urban unmanned air system to address the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of the air delivery business in cities such as Singapore. The collaboration was subsequently extended in April 2017 with Singapore Post (SingPost) becoming the local logistics partner to the project. Airbus Helicopters is the overall Skyways system architect and provider, contributing its capabilities in drone platforms as well as its concept of future parcel delivery." [...]

Intel Sees Promise of Silicon Spin Qubits for Quantum Computing

"Quantum computing is heralded for its potential to tackle problems that today’s conventional computers can’t handle. Scientists and industries are looking to quantum computing to speed advancements in areas like chemistry or drug development, financial modeling, and even climate forecasting. To deliver on quantum computing’s potential, Intel initiated a collaborative research program in 2015 with the goal of developing a commercially viable quantum computing system. While there’s been significant progress, quantum computing research is still nascent. The industry is at mile one in a marathon, and to realize this new computing paradigm, many problems must be solved and many architectural decisions must be made. For example, it’s not yet clear what form quantum processors (or “qubits”) will take." [...]

Allegro MicroSystems, LLC has announced a family of unique 2D Hall-effect speed and direction sensor ICs

"Allegro MicroSystems, LLC announces the release of a new family of 2D Hall-Effect Latch ICs that feature both vertical and planar Hall elements. The APS12625 and APS12626 sensor ICs enable reduced system size and bill-of-materials (BOM) cost along with an increase in performance and flexibility due to 2-dimensional (2D) sensing. They were developed in accordance with ISO 26262 and qualified per AEC-Q100, making them suitable for automotive and other safety systems. The APS12625 features Speed and Direction outputs whereas the APS12626 has quadrature (Channel A and B) outputs. A unique, optional feature allows the host system to restore the previous state of the sensor after a power-cycle. This reduces the potential accumulation of lost counts in intelligent motion applications such as window lifts with anti-pinch requirements." [...]

Wave energy device tests begin in North Atlantic

"Europe is on a quest to make renewable energy available to remote coastal areas and islands. That’s the motivation behind the testing of a powerful Swedish-designed wave energy conversion system in the North Atlantic. Inspired by the mechanics of the human heart, a new type of wave energy conversion system developed in Sweden is now bobbing in the waves off Orkney, Scotland. It’s undergoing evaluation for survivability, loads and performance in off-grid operations, in order to validate the business case for full-scale implementation in target markets. The project involves industrial and research partners from Portugal, Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Germany, and is funded with a €6.5 million investment by InnoEnergy, the Swedish Energy Agency and Wave Energy Scotland. It’s also supported with another €4 million contributed by the European Commission’s H2020 WaveBoost project." [...]

Mbed OS 5.7.5 released

"We are pleased to announce the Mbed OS 5.7.5 release is now available. This is the latest patch release based on the feature set that Mbed OS 5.7 introduces. Summary In this release we have added support for the following new targets : - Laird BL600, - STM32L082CZ and CMWX1ZZABZ-078 module, - STM32L443RC and WISE-1510 module, - GR-LYCHEE, - iMXRT1050 EVK - NINA B1 - MTS xDOT (MTB) - WISE-1570 (MTB/MCB) It should also be noted that a couple of other targets have been renamed to bring them inline with the target naming convention: - CMWX1ZZABZ_078 renamed to MTB_MURATA_ABZ - WISE_1510 renamed to MTB_ADV_WISE_1510 Anybody using the old names will need to update them. There were some functions that were missing in STM32L4 CUBE HAL drivers to enable/disable UART Clock in Stop Mode. These have now been added. 5921 reported that all the public overloads of nsapi_dns_query_multiple() were broken." [...]

'Spectacular' finding: New 3D vision discovered in praying mantis

"Miniature glasses have revealed a new form of 3D vision in praying mantises that could lead to simpler visual processing for robots. Publishing their latest research in Current Biology, the Newcastle University team have discovered that mantis 3D vision works differently from all previously known forms of biological 3D vision. 3D or stereo vision helps us work out the distances to the things we see. Each of our eyes sees a slightly different view of the world. Our brains merge these two views to create a single image, while using the differences between the two views to work out how far away things are. But humans are not the only animals that have stereo vision." [...]

Cosmic x-rays may provide clues to the nature of dark matter

"Physicists propose a new theory of dark matter based on the detection of unusual x-ray radiation from galaxies Dark matter is increasingly puzzling. Around the world, physicists have been trying for decades to determine the nature of these matter particles, which do not emit light and are therefore invisible to the human eye. Their existence was postulated in the 1930s to explain certain astronomical observations. As visible matter, like the one that makes up the stars and the Earth, constitutes just 5 percent of the universe, it has been proposed that dark matter must represent 23 percent of what is out there. But to date and despite intensive research, it has proved impossible to actually identify the particles involved. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have now presented a novel theory of dark matter, which implies that dark matter particles may be very different from what is normally assumed." [...]

Light controls two-atom quantum computation

"MPQ scientists realize mathematical operations with a quantum gate between two trapped atoms that is mediated by photons. Some powerful rulers of the world may dream of the possibility to get in touch with their colleagues on different continents unnoticed by friends or foes. Someday, new quantum technologies could allow for making these wishes come true. Physicists around the world are working on the realization of large scale quantum networks in which single light quanta transfer (secret) quantum information to stationary nodes at large distances. Such quantum networks’ fundamental building blocks are, for example, quantum repeaters that counteract the loss of quantum information over large distances, or quantum logic gates that are necessary for processing quantum information. Now, a team of scientists around Professor Gerhard Rempe, director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and head of the Quantum Dynamics Division, has demonstrated the feasibility a new concept for a quantum gate (Phys." [...]

First 3-D Imaging of Excited Quantum Dots

"A United States research team shows how electronically excited quantum dots can be imaged at multiple orientations to gain a fuller understanding of quantum dot behavior. Quantum dots are rapidly taking center stage in emerging applications and research developments, from enhanced LCD TVs and thin-film solar cells, to high-speed data transfer and fluorescent labeling in biomedical applications. Researchers are still studying how to precisely control the growth of these nanoscale particles and their underlying quantum behavior. For instance, defects form during production of semiconductor materials, so identical dots can differ in composition from one another. To learn more about these defects -- and whether they are a bane or an advantage -- a U.S. research team, from the University of Illinois and the University of Washington, has, for the first time, demonstrated imaging of an electronically excited quantum dot at multiple orientations. They report their findings this week in The Journal of Chemical Physics, from AIP Publishing." [...]

Programming drones to fly in the face of uncertainty

"CSAIL's NanoMap system enables drones to avoid obstacles while flying at 20 miles per hour, by more deeply integrating sensing and control. Companies like Amazon have big ideas for drones that can deliver packages right to your door. But even putting aside the policy issues, programming drones to fly through cluttered spaces like cities is difficult. Being able to avoid obstacles while traveling at high speeds is computationally complex, especially for small drones that are limited in how much they can carry onboard for real-time processing. Many existing approaches rely on intricate maps that aim to tell drones exactly where they are relative to obstacles, which isn’t particularly practical in real-world settings with unpredictable objects. If their estimated location is off by even just a small margin, they can easily crash." [...]

Social robot developed at UNSW set to revolutionise workplace experience

"UNSW's Creative Robotics Lab and the Fuji Xerox Research Technology Group have developed a social robot designed to promote creativity and collaboration in the workplace. Social robot developed at UNSW set to revolutionise workplace experience Twitter Facebook LinkedIn 08 FEB 2018 SUSANNA SMITH UNSW's Creative Robotics Lab and the Fuji Xerox Research Technology Group have developed a social robot designed to promote creativity and collaboration in the workplace. 6_roshan_thapliya_robotics_quentin_jones.jpg Dr Roshan Thapliya in the Creative Robotics Lab at UNSW. Photo: Quentin Jones Workers at the Fuji Xerox R&D Square in Japan are about to welcome a new workmate who will take on many of their mundane tasks and promote collaboration. But there won’t be any welcome drinks or muffins: the new worker is a robot developed at UNSW Sydney. The social robot, designed to improve employee experience in the workplace, is part of a three-year collaboration between the UNSW Creative Robotics Lab and the Fuji Xerox Research Technology Group (RTG) in Japan." [...]

Quantum dots display promise for polymers

"Rice University scientists simplify process to make polymers with light-triggered nanoparticles Rice University scientists plan to employ the power of the sun to build functional synthetic polymers using photosensitive quantum dots — microscopic semiconducting particles — as a catalyst. The luminescent dots are only a few nanometers wide, but are highly tunable for their unique optical and electronic properties. They are beginning to show up in modern displays, but lend themselves to industrial chemistry as well. The Rice lab of materials scientist Eilaf Egap focused on the latter with its demonstration of a stable and economical method to make polymers through photo-controlled atom-transfer radical polymerization. The method could replace molecular catalysts or expensive transition metals currently used to make things like methacrylates (common in plastics), styrene and block copolymers. The work by Egap, Rice postdoctoral researcher and lead author Yiming Huang and graduate student Yifan Zhu is detailed in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Macro Letters." [...]

New Process Allows 3-D Printing of Nanoscale Metal Structures

"Synthesizing organic scaffolds that contain metal ions enables 3-D printing of metallic structures that are orders of magnitude smaller than previously possible For the first time, it is possible to create complex nanoscale metal structures using 3-D printing, thanks to a new technique developed at Caltech. The process, once scaled up, could be used in a wide variety of applications, from building tiny medical implants to creating 3-D logic circuits on computer chips to engineering ultralightweight aircraft components. It also opens the door to the creation of a new class of materials with unusual properties that are based on their internal structure. The technique is described in a study that will be published in Nature Communications on February 9. In 3-D printing—also known as additive manufacturing—an object is built layer by layer, allowing for the creation of structures that would be impossible to manufacture by conventional subtractive methods such as etching or milling. Caltech materials scientist Julia Greer is a pioneer in the creation of ultratiny 3-D architectures built via additive manufacturing." [...]

A step on the way to lithium-free batteries

"Uppsala researcher Dr Laurent Duda and PhD student Felix Massel together with researchers at the University of Oxford, the University of Kent and the Paul Scherrer Institute have come a long way in finding future lithium-free batteries for devices such as smartphones and laptops. Smartphone and laptop batteries operate by light alkali ions shuttling back and forth between the anode and cathode. For this purpose, the rechargeable batteries of today use lithium, which is the lightest and smallest of all metal ions. The abundance of lithium salts on Earth is probably insufficient for satisfying the future total demand of energy storage in the world. Therefore it is crucial to study and increase the capacity of battery cathodes based on other light ions. Such ions are for example magnesium and also sodium, an alkali ion provided plentifully by the world’s oceans and in table salt." [...]

Come meet ZJU's robot dog "Jueying"

"With the Year of the Dog close at hand, a “robot dog” from ZJU makes its debut. This quadruped robot dog, called “Jueying”, is able to clamber up a steep slope, walk on thick snow and regain its balance even after getting a heavy hit. Jueying is devised by a research team led by Professor XIONG Rong at ZJU’s College of Control Science and Engineering. “Its dazzling performance shows that China’s technology in quadruped robot dogs has reached the world-class level,” said ZHU Qiuguo, a leading professor in this project. Jueying, weighing 7 kilograms with a length of 1 meters and a height of 0.6 meter, is capable of accomplishing various tasks. “Driven by motor, Jueying can carry a load as heavy as 20 kilograms and move as fast as 6 kilometers per hour." [...]

UC physicist creates computer chip that mimics the brain

"University of Canterbury Physics Professor Simon Brown is developing a neuromorphic computer chip that may solve one of the biggest problems in the computer industry – power consumption – and create a New Zealand semiconductor industry. University of Canterbury (UC) Physics Professor Simon Brown is developing a neuromorphic computer chip that may solve one of the biggest problems in the computer industry – power consumption – and create a New Zealand semiconductor industry. A neuromorphic computer chip is basically computer hardware that works like the brain, Professor Brown, of the University of Canterbury’s School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, says. “Neuromorphic devices mimic the behaviour of the networks of neurons in the brain, using nanoscale switches that emulate synapses. These devices learn from their inputs, providing functionality that is difficult to implement even in software implementations of neural networks,” he says. “Computers built from neuromorphic devices are expected to be far superior to standard computers in some tasks, such as image recognition." [...]

Research team publish work on solar cell film phase transitions

"A Purdue University professor and a multi-institution team of researchers recently published a paper on solar cells in Nature Materials. Letian Dou, an assistant professor in the Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, worked on the article, “Thermochromic halide perovskite solar cells,” which focuses on the team’s research of the structural-phase transition behaviors in mixed halide perovskite thin films. The phase transitions result in solar cell films with two switchable characteristic states, each having distinct visible transparencies and photovoltaic device efficiencies. These films are expected to be useful in the development of smart photovoltaic windows. “This study, for the first time, demonstrates that inorganic halide perovskites semiconductors are suitable for this type of device because of their ‘soft’ and ‘dynamic’ lattice, which allow reversible phase transition without degrading the electronic properties,” Dou said. “This is fundamentally different from traditional semiconductors such as Si or GaAs." [...]

Smartly containing the cloud increases computing efficiency, Virginia Tech researchers find in first-of-its-kind study

"Not too long ago booting up a computer meant there was time for a lengthy coffee break even before the workday started. For a decade now though, thanks to the cloud, computers have accessed information from virtual machines that exist in the ether, allowing software to launch quickly on demand. Now, in a first-of-its kind study funded by IBM and the National Science Foundation, Virginia Tech researchers have discovered ways to further improve computing efficiency using management tools for cloud-based light-weight virtual machine replacements called containers — frameworks that allow the microservices that power data retrieval from the ether — to deploy in a more agile manner. The research team will present their findings in Oakland, California, at FAST’18, the 16th USENIX Conference on File and Storage Technologies in February. Unlike the software-heavy virtual machines, containers share the core of the underlying operating system, which enables faster deployment of software programs without diminishing performance. “Containers are just now being studied as part of the cloud infrastructure, but our research indicates that how they function in the cloud is critical to developing and distributing future computer systems that maximize efficiency,” said Ali Anwar, lead author on the paper that details the research and a Ph.D. candidate in Virginia Tech’s Department of Computer Science in the College of Engineering." [...]

Crushed wood is stronger than steel

"A chemical bath and a hot-press can transform wood into a material that is stronger than steel, researchers report. The process, and others like it, could make the humble material an eco-friendly alternative to using plastics and metals in the manufacture of cars and buildings. “It’s a new class of materials with great potential,” says Li Teng, a mechanics specialist at the University of Maryland in College Park and a co-author of the study published on 7 February in Nature1. Attempts to strengthen wood go back decades. Some efforts have focused on synthesizing new materials by extracting the nanofibres in cellulose — the hard natural polymer in the tubular cells that funnel water through plant tissue. Li’s team took a different approach: the researchers focused on modifying the porous structure of natural wood." [...]

Researchers From ITMO Create First-Ever Light-Emitting Nanoantennas

"Young scientists from ITMO University have developed a new type of nanoscale light sources based on halide perovskites. The nanosources are subwavelength nanoparticles which serve both as emitters and nanoantennas capable of amplifying light emission inherently without need for additional devices. Moreover, perovskites enable tuning of emission spectrum throughout a visible range by varying the composition of the material. This makes the new nanoparticles a promising platform for creating compact optoelectronic devices such as optical chips, light-emitting diodes, or sensors. The results were published in Nano Letters, one of the leading journals on nanophotonics. Nanoscale light sources and nanoantennas have already found a wide range of applications in several areas, such as ultra-compact pixels, optical detection, or telecommunications." [...]

Scientists Forge a Quantum Leap in Quantum Communication

"Quantum communication, which ensures absolute data security, is one of the most advanced branches of the "second quantum revolution". In quantum communication, the participating parties can detect any attempt at eavesdropping by resorting to the fundamental principle of quantum mechanics – a measurement affects the measured quantity. Thus, the mere existence of an eavesdropper can be detected by identifying the traces that his measurements of the communication channel leave behind. The major drawback of quantum communication today is the slow speed of data transfer, which is limited by the speed at which the parties can perform quantum measurements. Researchers at Bar-Ilan University's Department of Physics and Institute for Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials have devised a method that overcomes this “speed limit”, and enables an increase in the rate of data transfer by more than 5 orders of magnitude (nearly one million times)! Their findings were published in the journal Nature Communications." [...]

New '4-D goggles' allow wearers to be 'touched' by approaching objects

"A team of researchers at UC San Diego and San Diego State University has developed a pair of "4-D goggles" that allows wearers to be physically "touched" by a movie when they see a looming object on the screen, such as an approaching spacecraft. The device was developed based on a study conducted by the neuroscientists to map brain areas that integrate the sight and touch of a looming object and aid in their understanding of the perceptual and neural mechanisms of multisensory integration. The study's first author is Ruey-Song Huang, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering here at the Jacobs School at UC San Diego. But for the rest of us, the researchers said, it has a more practical purpose: The device can be synchronized with entertainment content, such as movies, music, games and virtual reality, to deliver immersive multisensory effects near the face and enhance the sense of presence. The advance is described in a paper published online Feb. 6 in the journal Human Brain Mapping by Huang and Ching-fu Chen, from UC San Diego's Institute for Neural Computation, and Martin Sereno, the former chair of neuroimaging at University College London and a former professor at UC San Diego, now at San Diego State University. "We perceive and interact with the world around us through multiple senses in daily life," said Huang." [...]

Stacking on the graphene

"Tohoku University researchers have fabricated two types of trilayer graphene with different electrical properties - Researchers in Japan have found a way to form two materials, each made of three layers of graphene. Each material’s graphene is stacked differently and has unique electrical properties. Their work has implications for the development of novel electronic devices, such as photo sensors that convert light into electrical energy. In 2004, two scientists realized they had isolated a single layer of carbon atoms on a scotch tape used to clean a graphite crystal. Since then, graphene has captured the imagination of researchers due to its fascinating properties: it is 200 times stronger than steel, is very flexible, and it is an excellent conductor of electricity. Graphene’s carbon atoms are arranged into hexagons, forming a honeycomb-like lattice." [...]

Stanford researchers develop new method for waking up small electronic devices

"A device that’s turned off doesn’t suck battery life, but it also doesn’t work. Now a low-power system that’s always on the alert can turn devices on when they are needed, saving energy in the networked internet of things. As smartphone users know all too well, a sleeping device can still suck the life out of a battery. One solution for extending the battery life of wireless devices under development by researchers at Stanford University is to add a wake-up receiver that can turn on a shut-off device at a moment’s notice. Angad Rekhi, a graduate student in the Arbabian lab at Stanford, and Amin Arbabian, assistant professor of electrical engineering, have developed a wake-up receiver that turns on a device in response to incoming ultrasonic signals – signals outside the range that humans can hear. By working at a significantly smaller wavelength and switching from radio waves to ultrasound, this receiver is much smaller than similar wake-up receivers that respond to radio signals, while operating at extremely low power and with extended range." [...]

Mass production of new class of semiconductors closer to reality

"Two Waterloo chemists have made it easier for manufacturers to produce a new class of faster and cheaper semiconductors. The chemists have found a way to simultaneously control the orientation and select the size of single-walled carbon nanotubes deposited on a surface. That means the developers of semiconductors can use carbon as opposed to silicon, which will reduce the size and increase the speed of the devices while improving their battery life. "We're reaching the limits of what's physically possible with silicon-based devices," said co-author Derek Schipper, Canada Research Chair Organic Material Synthesis at the University of Waterloo. "Not only would single-walled carbon nanotube-based electronics be more powerful, they would also consume less power." The process, called the Alignment Relay Technique, relies on liquid crystals to pass orientation information to a metal-oxide surface." [...]

Using artificial intelligence to hunt for slow zones in overcrowded networks

"We’re all connected — and not just in a yogic sense. By 2022, there will be 29 billion connected devices across the globe, according to a forecast from the June 2017 Ericsson mobility report. All of these devices will want a piece of the radio spectrum — the cluster of frequencies used by television, radio, and wireless signals — which will overcrowd radio bands. Researchers like Lingjia Liu and Yang (Cindy) Yi, associate and assistant professors, respectively, in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, are approaching the spectrum scarcity problem from various angles. From techniques to tap unoccupied channels and improve spectrum efficiency to establishing protocols for sharing previously restricted bands, Liu, Yi, and their collaborators are exploring new ways to meet the skyrocketing demand. Liu is currently leading three projects totaling more than $2 million in funding." [...]

Energy-efficient encryption for the internet of things

"Special-purpose chip reduces power consumption of public-key encryption by 99.75 percent, increases speed 500-fold. Most sensitive web transactions are protected by public-key cryptography, a type of encryption that lets computers share information securely without first agreeing on a secret encryption key. Public-key encryption protocols are complicated, and in computer networks, they’re executed by software. But that won’t work in the internet of things, an envisioned network that would connect many different sensors — embedded in vehicles, appliances, civil structures, manufacturing equipment, and even livestock tags — to online servers. Embedded sensors that need to maximize battery life can’t afford the energy and memory space that software execution of encryption protocols would require. MIT researchers have built a new chip, hardwired to perform public-key encryption, that consumes only 1/400 as much power as software execution of the same protocols would." [...]

Tissue paper sensors show promise for health care, entertainment, robotics

"University of Washington engineers have turned tissue paper – similar to toilet tissue – into a new kind of wearable sensor that can detect a pulse, a blink of an eye and other human movement. The sensor is light, flexible and inexpensive, with potential applications in health care, entertainment and robotics. The technology, described in a paper published in January in the journal Advanced Materials Technologies, shows that by tearing tissue paper that’s loaded with nanocomposites and breaking the paper’s fibers, the paper acts as a sensor. It can detect a heartbeat, finger force, finger movement, eyeball movement and more, said Jae-Hyun Chung, a UW associate professor of mechanical engineering and senior author of the research. “The major innovation is a disposable wearable sensor made with cheap tissue paper,” said Chung. “When we break the specimen, it will work as a sensor.” These small, Band Aid-sized sensors could have a variety of applications in various fields." [...]

Neural networks everywhere

"New chip reduces neural networks’ power consumption by up to 95 percent, making them practical for battery-powered devices. Most recent advances in artificial-intelligence systems such as speech- or face-recognition programs have come courtesy of neural networks, densely interconnected meshes of simple information processors that learn to perform tasks by analyzing huge sets of training data. But neural nets are large, and their computations are energy intensive, so they’re not very practical for handheld devices. Most smartphone apps that rely on neural nets simply upload data to internet servers, which process it and send the results back to the phone. Now, MIT researchers have developed a special-purpose chip that increases the speed of neural-network computations by three to seven times over its predecessors, while reducing power consumption 94 to 95 percent. That could make it practical to run neural networks locally on smartphones or even to embed them in household appliances." [...]

Round-the-clock power from smart bowties

"Innovative diode design uses ultrafast quantum tunneling to harvest infrared energy from the environment. Most sunlight striking the Earth is absorbed by its surfaces, oceans and atmosphere. As a result of this warming, infrared radiation is emitted constantly all around us—estimated to be millions of Gigawatts per second. A KAUST team has now developed a device that can tap into this energy, as well as waste heat from industrial processes, by transforming quadrillionth-of-a-second wave signals into useful electricity. Unlike solar panels that are limited by daylight hours and weather conditions, infrared heat can be harvested 24 hours a day. One way to achieve this is to treat waste or infrared heat as high-frequency electromagnetic waves." [...]

Micromotors made easy

"Researchers of the ICN2 Nanobioelectronics and Biosensors Group led by Prof. Arben Merkoçi have devised a simple manufacturing method for versatile graphene oxide-based micromotors. Requiring no specialist equipment, it can be used to produce a range of micromotors that can be further tuned for different purposes. Luis Baptista-Pires explains the process in the paper published in Small. Perhaps the easiest way to introduce the concept of a micromotor is to take the familiar idea of a motor and strip it down to its bare essentials: requires fuel, does work. Acting at the microscale, they are materials or structures that can be designed such that, when released into an aqueous environment, they carry out a range of tasks. They rotate, they shuttle, they deliver, they collect… all manner of actions that allow them to interact with living cells, chemical pollutants and even circuitry at a scale that we cannot." [...]

Better together: Silicon qubits plus light add up to new quantum computing capability

"A silicon-based quantum computing device could be closer than ever due to a new experimental device that demonstrates the potential to use light as a messenger to connect quantum bits of information — known as qubits — that are not immediately adjacent to each other. The feat is a step toward making quantum computing devices from silicon, the same material used in today’s smartphones and computers. The research, published in the journal Nature, was led by researchers at Princeton University in collaboration with colleagues at the University of Konstanz in Germany and the Joint Quantum Institute, which is a partnership of the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The team created qubits from single electrons trapped in silicon chambers known as double quantum dots. By applying a magnetic field, they showed they could transfer quantum information, encoded in the electron property known as spin, to a particle of light, or photon, opening the possibility of transmitting the quantum information. “This is a breakout year for silicon spin qubits,” said Jason Petta, professor of physics at Princeton." [...]

Smart and comfortable: new textiles for high-tech clothing developed in Bayreuth

"Uncomfortable, rigid, with low air permeability: textile materials capable of conducting electricity can be awkward for day-to-day use. However, researchers at the University of Bayreuth, Donghua University in Shanghai, and Nanjing Forestry University have now developed new nonwoven materials that are electrically conductive as well as flexible and breathable. This paves the way for comfortable high-tech clothes which, for example, convert sunlight to warmth, supply wearable electronic devices with electricity, or contain sensors for fitness training. The scientists have published their findings in the journal npj Flexible Electronics. Prof. Dr. Andreas Greiner’s team of researchers at the University of Bayreuth and their Chinese partners have succeeded in producing electrically conductive nonwovens which have all the other characteristics you would expect from clothing that is suitable for daily use. The materials are flexible, and thus adapt to movements and changes in posture." [...]

Physicists create new form of light

"Newly observed optical state could enable quantum computing with photons. Try a quick experiment: Take two flashlights into a dark room and shine them so that their light beams cross. Notice anything peculiar? The rather anticlimactic answer is, probably not. That’s because the individual photons that make up light do not interact. Instead, they simply pass each other by, like indifferent spirits in the night." [...]

Pipe Clips / Cable Clips 20Mm To 60Mm All Sizes

"A full range of cable clips / pipe clips. 40 sizes from 20mm (25/32 in) to 60mm (2 23/64 in) in 1mm increments. These clips are medium duty - being strong enough for most applications. For a low poly, lighter clip see https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2789544 . Please note that the dimension d is the inside diameter of the clip for softer pipes such as hoses the next size down will probably be the best fit. d (mm) d (in) w(mm) w (in) 20mm 25/32" 12mm 1/2" 21mm 53/64" 12mm 1/2" 22mm 55/64" 12mm 1/2" 23mm 29/32" 12mm 1/2" 24mm 15/16" 12mm 1/2" 25mm 63/64" 12mm 1/2" 26mm 1 1/32" 12mm 1/2" 27mm 1 1/16" 12mm 1/2" 28mm 1 7/64" 12mm 1/2" 29mm 1 9/64" 12mm 1/2" 30mm 1 3/16" 14mm 9/16" 31mm 1 7/32" 14mm 9/16" 32mm 1 17/64" 14mm 9/16" 33mm 1 19/64" 14mm 9/16" 34mm 1 11/32" 14mm 9/16" 35mm 1 3/8" 14mm 9/16" 36mm 1 27/64" 14mm 9/16" 37mm 1 29/64" 14mm 9/16" 38mm 1 1/2" 14mm 9/16" 39mm 1 17/32" 14mm 9/16" 40mm 1 37/64" 16mm 5/8" 41mm 1 39/64" 16mm 5/8" 42mm 1 21/32" 16mm 5/8" 43mm 1 11/16" 16mm 5/8" 44mm 1 47/64" 16mm 5/8" 45mm 1 49/64" 16mm 5/8" 46mm 1 13/16" 16mm 5/8" 47mm 1 27/32" 16mm 5/8" 48mm 1 57/64" 16mm 5/8" 49mm 1 59/64" 16mm 5/8" 50mm 1 31/32" 18mm 11/16" 51mm 2 1/64" 18mm 11/16" 52mm 2 3/64" 18mm 11/16" 53mm 2 3/32" 18mm 11/16" 54mm 2 1/8" 18mm 11/16" 55mm 2 11/64" 18mm 11/16" 56mm 2 11/64" 18mm 11/16" 57mm 2 1/4" 18mm 11/16" 58mm 2 9/32" 18mm 11/16" 59mm 2 21/64" 18mm 11/16" 60mm 2 23/64" 18mm 11/16" I plan on uploading a light duty and a heavy duty selection, with different clip sizes." [...]

HackSpace magazine #4

"This month in HackSpace magazine, we’re taking an in-depth look at wearable tech from adding LEDs for extra visibility to complex cosplay builds. It’s not just about makes that you can wear – we also chat with Robot Wars judge, Guild of Makers head honcho and NASA alumna, Dr Lucy Rogers, find out how to ensure you never run out of hot water, discover the best displays to add to your electronics and much more: - An internet connected tea machine - Paperclip trebuchets - Nixie tube countdown - Recreating the world’s first stored program computer - Monitoring solar power generation" [...]

newelectronics 13 Fevereiro 2018

"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. " [...]

Easy Tesla Coil!

"Wireless electricity is here! From wirelessly powered lighting to wireless chargers and even wireless smart homes, wireless transmission of power is an emerging technology with innumerable applications. A light bulb powered with no wires? A cell phone charger that doesn't need to be plugged in? A home with no plugs, no wires and everything just 'works'? It's not magic, it's no mystery, it's science!" [...]

Solar Panel Sun Tracker - Phone Charger

"Fun and easy green robot! Build a sun tracking solar array in under an hour. Bonus: charge your phone with free clean energy! Going Green I have been working in the renewable energy industry in Australia and tinkering with Arduinos for some time now, but its not until this project that I finally decided to combine the two and build my own small solar device. One small note up front, this project obviously requires 5V to power the Arduino and servo, which are used to maximise the output of solar panels that at best at produce 3.4V. So its not exactly paying itself off." [...]

Home Automation System for a Camp with No Internet

"Wouldn't it be nice if you could start warming up the camp before you leave the house? How about using Alexa to do it for you! My Idea is a home automation system for a camp with no internet. Wouldn't it be nice if you could start warming up the camp before you leave the house? How about turn on some lights because your getting there late? Maybe you would like to know what the temperature is in an outside the camp." [...]

Smartphone Control Robot Diy

"Hi Guys!! In this tutorial, I have shown you, How to make smartphone control Robot. " [...]

Voltage Doubler Circuit | Using 555 Timer | Diy | How To Make | Increase Voltage 2X

"Hi Today Instructable is very simple and easy to build DIY Voltage Doubler CircuitA Complete Step By Step Video Tutorial is also given in the video below. Voltage doubler is the circuit where we get the twice of the input voltage, like if we supply 5v voltage, we will get 10 volt at the output. Generally transformers are there to step-up or step-down the voltage, but sometimes transformers are not feasible because of their size and cost. So here is the quick, easy and practical solution to double the voltage, using 555 timer IC" [...]

Vbot Powered By Alexa

"In this instructables, I am going to show and explain the recipe of my voice controlled robot car. I used Amazon Alexa for voice command. I develop a custom skill for the robot. When you say, "Alexa, drive the car forward" or "turn right" Alexa trigger the AWS Lambda and Lambda function sends a command to an MQTT server. For making the car I used Arduino Uno and Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi receives the MQTT message from the server and sends it to Arduino using the USB port." [...]

Retro Rotary Dial Internet Connected Lock

"A quick internet connected combination lock project for your retro rotary dial! I've had this old retro telephone rotary dial lying around for many years, and my son has asked me over those years if we could make an electronic push button combo lock. So after recently teaching him the basics of C programming, we decided it was time to whip up a crazy project at 1am that made use of this old rotary dial instead of a push button keypad. It's just so satisfying to dial in a number, and hear the wheel whir counter-clockwise after each digit. These are how things unfolded: What do these wires do, we asked? Of course I didn't remember, so we connected a continuity meter and checked the two white wires." [...]

Calibration Of Ds18B20 Sensor With Arduino Uno

"DISCLAIMER: The device you see in the pictures is used in another project as a Thermostat for film developing process. You can find that project here. In order to calibrate a sensor, or more than one, you'll need just what you'll find in this project, nothing more, and it's pretty basic, too! Let's go! Here is a list of what you need: - Arduino UNO (or MEGA) - DS18B20 sensor(s) - 4kOhm - 5kOhm resistance (I used a 5k1Ohm) - LCD screen to read values (you can also use a laptop and just read them on a serial monitor) - A sketch that use the sensor and show somehow the values First of all you have to connect your modules and sensor to your controller. I'll leave the complicated part of the LCD for you to search the web, and I will just tell you how to connect the sensor." [...]

How To Make Simple 4 Channel On Off Remote Control

"Hi guy today I show you How to Make Simple 4 channel ON OFF remote control. For remote control light,remote control fan,remote control motor,remote control light bulb...." [...]

Arduino Digital Clock With Alarm Function (Custom Pcb)

"In this DIY guide I will show you how to make your own digital clock this alarm function. In this project I decided to make my own PCB that is based on Arduino UNO microcontroller - Atmega328p. Bellow you will find the electronic schematic with PCB layout so you can easily produce it. By pressing the buttons you will be able to set time/date/alarm and alarm state (on/off). The alarm can be turned off by pressing the alarm button or by shacking the box. Updates and more can be found here: http://www.ardumotive.com/arduino-digital-clock-with-alarm-functionen.html Let's get started." [...]

Build an All-in-One ESP32 Weather Station Shield

"In this project I’ll show you how you can build an all-in-one ESP32 weather station shield and display the sensor readings on a web server. The web server displays data from all the sensors and automatically updates the readings every ten seconds, without the need to refresh the web page. " [...]

Arduino MIDI Drums (Wii Band Hero)+Daw+Vst

"Hi! This tutorial is about how to modify a Wii console drum kit, the band hero, featuring a snare, 2 toms, 2 cymbals and kick pedal. Also, how to get the sound from the drum kit, with a step by step guide, using a DAW and VST availables for free. Just keep in mind, this is not a professional drum kit, so treat as such. This tutorial is based on Evan Kales work with a Rockband's drum kit. So if you have one of those, go for his tutorial: https://www.instructables.com/id/Convert-Rockband-... You can always make this project by making the drum pads by yourself." [...]

Using Arduino Uno For Xyz Positioning Of 6 Dof Robotic Arm

"This project is about implementing a short and relatively easy Arduino sketch to provide XYZ inverse kinematic positioning. I had built a 6 servo robotic arm but when it came to finding software to run it, there wasn't much out there except for custom programs running on custom servo shields like the SSC-32(U) or other programs and apps that were complicated to install and communicate with the arm. Then I found Oleg Mazurov's most excellent "Robotic Arm Inverse Kinematics on Arduino" where he implemented inverse kinematics in a simple Arduino sketch. I made two modifications to adapt his code: 1. I used the VarSpeedServo library in place of his custom servo shield library because I could then control the speed of the servos and I wouldn't have to use the servo shield he used. For any one considering running the code provided here I most insistently and emphatically recommend that you use this VarSpeedServo library,rather than the servo.h library, so that you can slow down your robotic arm movement during development or you may find that the arm will unexpectedly poke you in the face or worse because it will be moving at full servo speed." [...]

ESP8266 (NodeMCU) ADC analog value on dial gauge

"This is advance tutorial it uses knowledge for JavaScripts, ESP8266, CSS and HTML. In this example we are reading analog value of ADC and display it on HTML web page, which is served by ESP8266 or NodeMCU web server, To get more details on basic HTML page creation in ESP8266 read this. ESP8266 have only one adc channel. Lets begin to read analog and make something cool" [...]

Automatic Vision Object Tracking

"On my last tutorial, we explored how to control a Pan/Tilt Servo device in order to position a PiCam. Now we will use our device to help the camera to automatically tracking color objects as you can see below: This is my first experience with OpenCV and I must confess, I am in love with this fantastic "Open Source Computer Vision Library". OpenCV is free for both academic and commercial use. It has C++, C, Python and Java interfaces and supports Windows, Linux, Mac OS, iOS and, Android. On my series of OpenCV tutorials, we will be focusing on Raspberry Pi (so, Raspbian as OS) and Python. OpenCV was designed for computational efficiency and with a strong focus on real-time applications." [...]

Attiny EMF Detector

"As is tradition, finished product image first. Inspired from masteruan's similar build, which I will link below, I set off to build my own micro sized Electro-Magnetic Field Detector. The goals were to make this as small as possible while retaining enough stability that it would not break in someone's pocket. The challenge to that was the antenna. As you can see from my finished picture, I decided to use the protoboard to help the antenna keep its shape, which I believe it does marvelously. " [...]

BB8 Droid - Arduino | Remote Controlled | 3D Printed

"I was long impressed by BB8 and how it moves. When I then learnt that they made various working models for the film I set about figuring out how to build my own. After a lot of trial and error, misprints and expletives I settled on this design. This is an easy to build Disney Star Wars BB8 inspired robot. It's controlled by an Arduino UNO over a bluetooth connection from your smartphone. It's a very simple design, so I hope people can build it and add to it their own enhancements." [...]

Wifi Temperature Logger (With ESP8266)

"Hello, glad to see you here. I hope that in this instructable you will find some useful information. Feel free to send me suggestions, questions, ... Here are some basic data and a quick overview of the project. For mobile users: Video. I've recently bought a NodeMcu (esp8266 based) board just to give it a try so this is not a really advanced project." [...]

RGB LED Strip Bluetooth Controller + Music Sync

"This project use arduino to control a RGB led strip with your phone via bluetooth, you can change the color of it, make it fade out and in ( or make any animation you want in the code :) ) and even make it sync with music beat. " [...]

Designing a Small Footprint, Low Profile 5v to 170v Nixie Tube Power Supply (Part 1)

"Nixie Tubes are cool retro looking decimal digit displays useful for many modern DIY projects like the venerable Nixie tube digital clock. The Nixie tube, invented in the 1950’s, can provide a great fusion of old display technology with new innovations. Unfortunately, one major difficulty in using them is that Nixie tubes need voltages up to 170V to energize. While this voltage can be made several ways, a convenient way and the subject of this blog is to generate this voltage from a 5v supply. This will allow the use of the same 5v supply used to power the Raspberry Pi, Esp8266, Arduino or other microcontroller that controls the display or IOT project. Most solutions already available on the internet required a 9-16v input supply." [...]

Web-Controlled LED Animations with Raspberry Pi and Arduino

"Set up your Arduino and Raspberry Pi to control lighting and animation on an RGB LED strip from your smartphone or PC. Arduino Light Animation (ALA) is an Arduino library for controlling LEDs and running colorful animations with the minimum amount of effort. The library provides more than 30 predefined animations and several color palettes. For more information about ALA library you can visit my blog. This project introduces a Raspberry PI 3 board that will provide a web page that allows to control the animations, colors and speed from a smartphone or a PC using the web browser. Here is a short video of AlaWeb in action." [...]

Arduino Nano Logic Probe

"This project is a new version of my Arduino Logic Probe, but now constructed with an Arduino Nano instead of an Arduino Uno. A 3-digit display, a few resistors, and the Arduino Nano are practically the components of this interesting project that also did with EasyEda software. This tester can only test "0's" and "1's" from +5V TTL circuit. " [...]

How PIR Sensor Work

"PIR sensors allow you to sense motion, almost always used to detect whether a human has moved in or out of the sensors range. They are small, inexpensive, low-power, easy to use and don't wear out. For that reason they are commonly found in appliances and gadgets used in homes or businesses. They are often referred to as PIR, "Passive Infrared", "Pyroelectric", or "IR motion" sensors.PIRs are basically made of a pyroelectric sensor (which you can see below as the round metal can with a rectangular crystal in the center), which can detect levels of infrared radiation. Everything emits some low level radiation, and the hotter something is, the more radiation is emitted. The sensor in a motion detector is actually split in two halves." [...]

Voice Controlled 3D Printed Tricopter

"This is a fully 3D printed Tricopter drone that can be flown and controlled with voice control using Amazon's Alexa through a ground station controlled by the Raspberry Pi. This Voice Controlled Tricopter is also known as Oliver the Tri. A Tricopter unlike the more commonly drone configuration of a Quadcopter only has 3 propellers. To make up for one less degree of control, one of the rotors is tilted by a servo motor. Oliver the Tri features a Pixhawk Autopilot, an advanced autopilot systems largely used in the research or advanced drone industry. This autopilot system is capable of wide variety of flight modes including follow-me, waypoint navigation, and guided flight." [...]

Arduino UV Meter using the UV30A Ultraviolet Sensor

"Ultraviolet rays, also known as UV for short are rays emitted by sun. Due to the depletion of the ozone layer, these rays tend to get to extreme levels that could lead to sunburns etc for those under it, that’s why daily and hourly forecast of the UV index is always available to help people keep track and stay safe. For monitoring purposes, why not own a personal UV meter? Today, we will build a UV meter using the Arduino and the ultraviolet sensor (UVM30A) with a Nokia 5110 LCD display as the display for the meter. The Nokia 5110 is used to display the UV index which is an international standard unit for the intensity of ultraviolet rays from the sun being experienced in a particular place and at a particular time. The Purpose of measuring the UV index in a particular place and at a particular time is to prevent people from the dangers caused by high UV index rays as it could lead to things like sunburn etc." [...]

Water Speaker Equalizer

"In my first Instructable I'm going to go through the steps needed to create Water Speakers that act as an equalizer. Water speakers from the store are great to watch, but I felt they could do more. so many years ago I had modified a set to show the frequency of music playing. At the time I used the Color Organ Triple Deluxe II, combined with a set of photos cells potentiometers and transistors I was able to get a set of 3 speakers to function. I then a few years ago had heard about the IC MSGEQ7 which has the ability to separate audio into 7 data values for an arduino to read. I utilize an arduino mega 2560 in this project because it has the required number of PWM pins to drive five water towers." [...]

Cubic Meter (Arduino + HC-SR04 Sensors)

"Uploaded project was designed and programmed by Rodrigo Mejas (Santiago-CHILE). The product consists of measuring from a simple linear distance, square meters and up to cubic meters. Since we are using HC-SR04 ultrasound sensors, distances should not exceed between 3.5 meters and 4 meters long,and especially there should be no obstacles in the line that is registering the measure According to the measurement that we select in the TFT screen menu, the LEDs will begin to flash indicating where each sensor should point, so that each distance registers the angle for square meters, cubic meters, or simply linear distance. After that, just make click on center of ROTARY ENCODER to Start collecting ("MEDIR option") each distance. An single 3-axis graphic will show each measure and confrimed by each LED that stays ON. And according selected Option in menu Mts2 or Mts3, results will be shown on top right corner." [...]

Living Art Led Desk Lamp

"I made this Living Art LED lamp from plywood and an Arduino-controlled LED matrix. The Arduino Nano is programmed to creates colorful moving patterns, aka, living art. However, it is also practical for use as a desk lamp, table lamp, or bedside lamp, since an LED push button allows you to switch from the living-art mode to normal white-light modes, and a red-nightlight mode. Check out the YOUTUBE VIDEO above to see ALL THE STEPS that are documented here. I made three versions of this lamp two out of bamboo plywood, and one out of walnut plywood. You could use any type of plywood you like to build the lamp." [...]

An Attiny85 Twist-To-Set Kitchen Timer

"I like the old fashioned twist-to-set kitchen timers. It's so user friendly, but are not very helpful when it calls to time like 30 seconds for brewing some tea or coffer. On the other hand, I really don't feel like to press some buttons a number of times to set a digital kitchen timer. As a result, I often end up not using my digital timer and get very over brewed coffee and tea. Anyway, I didn't find product of this kind in stores in Taiwan, so I started to design one my own. (Although I later found some twist-to-set kitchen timers on ebay.)" [...]

Arduino 3D Printed Wifi Neopixel Led Mask

"Arduino 3D Printed WiFi NeoPixel LED Mask. Control it from your phone via a web browser or infrared remote control. For masquerade // carnival" [...]

RGB Led Driver Shield for Arduino Nano

"This is my second project for LED Driver based on CAT4101 IC. The first project was for single White LED. This project has been designed to drive 3 channels of RGB LEDs with PWM signal which helps to create multicolor LED light. Arduino Nano is used to generate PWM signal for RGB LED and board has 3 tactile switches and Analog signal input to develop various RGB LED related applications. Each channel can drive load up to 1A and input supply up to 12V DC. 1A X 3 Constant current LED driver shield for Arduino Nano has been designed for verity of LED related applications." [...]

Feather-based Hue lighting controller

"The Philips HUE lighting system is very cool. Wifi control of your lighting, full color lighting, etc. You simply replace your regular bulbs with HUE bulbs and gain the an immediate improvement by having switched to LED lighting. Open up the HUE app on your smartphone and you can have very precise control of on/off, brightness, and color (with color bulbs) of individual bulbs. That's great, but is having to dig out your phone is as bad as having to walk to the wall switch, other than not have to get out of bed to turn lights on/off. And who carries their phone when going for a midnight snack?" [...]

Garage Door Opener Using A Raspberry Pi

"Control garage motor from a smartphone or any device able to browse a webpage (with AJAX!). The project was started as I only had one remote for my garage. How fun was it to buy a second one? Not enough. My target was to be able to control and monitor my garage door from my smartphone with a single page. I haven't put any fancy security around it as the RPi is not exposed outside of my LAN." [...]