Editorial

Esta é a Newsletter Nº 294 que se apresenta com o mesmo formato que as anteriores. Se gostar da Newsletter partilhe-a!

Todas as Newsletters encontram-se indexadas no link.

Esta Newsletter tem os seguintes tópicos:

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

Faz hoje anos que nascia, em 1778, o químico inglês Humphry Davy. Ele descobriu vários elementos e compostos químicos, inventou a lâmpada de segurança do mineiro e resumiu o método científico. Davy descobriu os metais alcalinos: potássio e sódio, um isolamento feito com corrente eléctrica pela primeira vez; bem como metais alcalino-ferrosos: cálcio, estrôncio, bário e magnésio (1808). Ele descobriu o boro ao mesmo tempo que Gay-Lussac. Ele reconheceu o cloro como um elemento que os trabalhadores anteriores confundiam como um composto.

Faz também hoje anos que nascia, em 1797, o físico norte-americano Joseph Henry. Ele foi um dos notáveis cientistas americanos depois de Benjamin Franklin. Quando adolescente, Henry interessou-se por teatro, mas depois de ler um livro de palestras sobre ciências, a sua vida voltou-se para sempre nessa busca. Ele ajudou Samuel F.B. Morse no desenvolvimento do telégrafo. Independentemente de Michael Faraday, Henry investigou a electricidade e o magnetismo e descobriu o fenómeno da auto-indução. (Seu nome foi dado à unidade SI de indutância, o henry, H). Ele foi o primeiro director do Smithsonian Institution (1846-1878), onde iniciou a fundação de um serviço meteorológico nacional. Henry insistiu que a pesquisa básica era de fundamental importância, não um luxo.

Faz igualmente hoje anos que nascia, em 1842, o matemático norueguês Sophus Lie. Ele fez contribuições significativas para as teorias de invariantes algébricos, grupos contínuos de transformações e equações diferenciais. Grupos de Lie e álgebras de Lie foram nomeados em sua homenagem. Lie estava em Paris na eclosão da guerra franco-alemã de 1870. Lie deixou a França, decidindo ir para a Itália. No caminho, ele foi preso como um espião alemão e as suas notas matemáticas foram consideradas mensagens codificadas. Só após a intervenção do matemático francês Gaston Darboux, Lie foi libertado e decidiu regressar a Christiania, na Noruega, onde originalmente tinha estudado matemática para continuar o seu trabalho.

Faz também hoje anos que nascia, em 1861, o engenheiro electrotécnico de origem irlandesa Arthur Edwin Kennelly. Ele fez inovações em métodos analíticos em electrónica, particularmente a aplicação definitiva da teoria dos números complexos para circuitos de corrente alternada (CA). Após sua co-descoberta (com Oliver Heaviside) das propriedades reflexivas de rádio da ionosfera na atmosfera superior, o estrato foi chamado de camada Kennelly-Heaviside.

Por fim, faz hoje anos que nascia, em 1908, o químico norte-americano Willard Libby. Ele descobriu a técnica de datação por carbono-14 (ou radiocarbono) que forneceu uma ferramenta extremamente valiosa para arqueólogos, antropólogos e cientistas da Terra. Por esse desenvolvimento, ele foi homenageado com o Prémio Nobel de Química em 1960. Libby é um especialista em radioquímica, particularmente química de átomos quentes, técnicas de traçadores e trabalho com traçadores de isótopos. Ele tornou-se conhecido na Universidade de Chicago também pelo seu trabalho com trítio natural e seu uso em hidrologia e geofísica. Em 18 de maio de 1952, ele determinou que a idade de Stonehenge era 1848 aC, com base na análise de radio-isótopos no carvão.

Faz hoje anos que, em 1903, os primeiros voos tripulados, motorizados, sustentados e controlados foram realizados pelos irmãos Wright com o The Flyer, um biplano de madeira e tecido, em Kitty Hawk, Carolina do Norte. Apesar de um frio cortante, vento de 27 mph, às 10 da manhã, os Wrights decidiram tentar um voo. Orville Wright, lançado de uma pista contra o vento. O biplano voou baixo sobre o solo por 37 m, no ar por 12 segundos. Pela primeira vez, uma máquina que carregava um homem ergueu-se no ar pela sua própria força em pleno voo, voou para a frente sem redução de velocidade e finalmente pousou num ponto tão alto como aquele de onde tinha partido. Mais três voos foram feitos nas horas seguintes. O último, com Wilbur Wright a bordo, foi o mais longo, cobrindo 260 m em 59 segundos. O vento então perturbou o Flyer, danificando-o e ele nunca mais voou.

Em 1979, o primeiro veículo foguete que alegadamente quebrou a barreira do som em terra foi conduzido pelo piloto acrobático Stan Barrett, que atingiu 1190 km/h (mais rápido que a velocidade do som) numa pista de testes de 4.8 quilómetros em Rogers Lake, Edwards Air Force Base, Califórnia. O seu veículo de três rodas tinha 48.000 h.p. o foguete impulsionado por 12.000 h.p. de um Míssil Sidewinder. Foi interrompido por um pára-quedas de arrasto. O carro em formato de avião custou cerca de US $ 800.000. O recorde de velocidade nunca se tornou oficial porque a média de duas corridas é necessária, e o carro nunca mais andou. Além disso, a carga de combustível do carro era insuficiente para permitir que ele completasse uma milha medida em velocidade recorde, e os motores de foguete não poderiam ser preparados para uma volta de retorno dentro do período estipulado de 1 hora.)

E nesta semana que passou a cápsula da sonda Chang'e-5 pousou cerca das 2 horas locais (18 horas em Portugal) no distrito de Siziwang, na região da Mongólia Interior no passado dia 16. Passaram-se mais de 40 anos desde que as missões American Apollo e a Soviética Luna trouxeram as suas amostras para casa. Os novos espécimes devem fornecer uma nova visão sobre a geologia e a história do satélite da Terra. Não está claro a quantidade, mas possivelmente na faixa de 2-4kg.

Também nesta semana que passou a Agência de Exploração Aeroespacial do Japão (JAXA )tem o prazer de confirmar que as amostras do asteróide Ryugu foram recolhidas dentro do recipiente de amostra dentro da cápsula de reentrada do explorador de asteróide, Hayabusa2. A cápsula Hayabusa2 foi recuperada em Woomera, Austrália, em 6 de Dezembro de 2020 e entregue no Campus JAXA Sagamihara a 8 de Dezembro. Os trabalhos começaram então para abrir o recipiente das amostras dentro da cápsula de reentrada. A 14 de Dezembro, uma amostra de grãos de areia preta que se pensava ser derivada do asteróide Ryugu foi confirmada estar dentro do recipiente de amostra. Acredita-se que sejam partículas presas à entrada do colector de amostras (o recipiente no qual as amostras foram armazenadas).

Também esta semana Linus Torvalds anunciou a disponibilização do kernel de Linux 5.10 LTS. Como de costume, após dois meses de desenvolvimento, o criador do Linux Linus Torvalds lançou oficialmente um novo kernel Linux 5.10. É também o kernel de suporte a longo prazo (LTS) mais recente, que será mantido e receberá correcções de bugs durante os próximos cinco anos até 2026. Como novidades o sistema de ficheiros XFS suporta agora "timestamps" até ao 2486 em vez da limitação anterior para o ano 2038, e o EXT4 suporta o modo de confirmação rápida para um desempenho de reescrita de ficheiros mais rápido. O sistema de ficheiros Btrfs também recebeu melhorias significativas de desempenho na área de operação fsync. Adicionalmente este kernel suporta o display do Raspberry Pi 4 através do driver VC4 DRM. De entre as restantes novidades temos o suporte para o controlador da Nintendo Switch, boot EFI de RISC-V, suporte para extensão de marcação de memória ARM, suporte para placa de som Creative Labs SoundBlaster AE-7, suporte para processador Ingenic MIPS X2000 / X2000E IoT, suporte de processadores de display AMDGPU DC GCN 1.0 “Southern Islands” assim como de encriptação de registos nos ambientes virtualizados de ADM.

Na Newsletter desta semana apresentamos diversas noticias, artigos científicos assim como projetos de maker. É apresentado o livro Data Parallel C++ e a revista MagPI nº 101 de Janeiro de 2021.

João Alves ([email protected])

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

China's Chang'e-5 mission returns Moon samples

"China's Chang'e-5 mission has returned to Earth with the cargo of rock and "soil" it picked up off the Moon. A capsule carrying the materials landed in Inner Mongolia at 01:59 local time on Thursday (17:59 GMT, Wednesday). It's more than 40 years since the American Apollo and Soviet Luna missions brought their samples home. The new specimens should provide fresh insight on the geology and early history of Earth's satellite. For China, the successful completion of the Chang'e-5 venture will also be seen as another demonstration of the nation's increasing capability in space. Recovery teams were quick to move in on the returned capsule." [...]

Confirmation of the asteroid Ryugu sample collection by the asteroid explorer, Hayabusa2

"The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is pleased to confirm that samples from asteroid Ryugu have been collected within the sample container inside the re-entry capsule of the asteroid explorer, Hayabusa2. The Hayabusa2 re-entry capsule was recovered in Woomera, Australia on December 6, 2020 and delivered to the JAXA Sagamihara Campus on December 8. Work then began to open the sample container inside the re-entry capsule. On December 14, a sample of grains of black sand thought to be derived from asteroid Ryugu was confirmed to be inside the sample container. These are believed to be particles attached to the entrance of the sample catcher (the container in which the samples have been stored). Work will continue with opening the sample catcher that sits in the sample container." [...]

Linus Torvalds Releases Linux Kernel 5.10 LTS: Here’s What’s New

"As usual, after two months of development, Linux creator Linus Torvalds has officially released a new mainline Linux Kernel 5.10. It is also the latest Long Term Support (LTS) kernel, which will be maintained and receive bug fixes for the next five years until 2026. What’s New In Linux 5.10? Starting with the update on filesystem side, XFS filesystem now supports timestamps to the Year 2486 instead of earlier limitation to the Year 2038, and EXT4 supports fast commit mode for faster file overwrite performance. The Btrfs filesystem has also received significant performance improvements in the area of fsync operation. Furthermore, this 5.10 LTS kernel now offers Raspberry Pi 4 display support with the VC4 DRM driver." [...]

Intel Announces Its Next Generation Memory and Storage Products

"Today, at Intel’s Memory and Storage 2020 event, the company highlighted six new memory and storage products to help customers meet the challenges of digital transformation. Key to advancing innovation across memory and storage, Intel announced two new additions to its Intel® Optane™ Solid State Drive (SSD) Series: the Intel® Optane™ SSD P5800X, the world’s fastest data center SSD, and the Intel® Optane™ Memory H20 for client, which features performance and mainstream productivity for gaming and content creation. Optane helps meet the needs of modern computing by bringing the memory closer to the CPU. The company also revealed its intent to deliver its 3rd generation of Intel® Optane™ persistent memory (code-named “Crow Pass”) for cloud and enterprise customers. “Today is a key moment for our memory and storage journey. With the release of these new Optane products, we continue our innovation, strengthen our memory and storage portfolio, and enable our customers to better navigate the complexity of digital transformation." [...]

Sustainable and Attainable: Zoox Unveils Autonomous Robotaxi Powered by NVIDIA

"When it comes to future mobility, you may not have to pave as many paradises for personal car parking lots. This week, autonomous mobility company Zoox unveiled its much-anticipated purpose-built robotaxi. Designed for everyday urban mobility, the vehicle is powered by NVIDIA and is one of the first level 5 robotaxis featuring bi-directional capabilities, providing a concrete view into the next generation of intelligent transportation. Zoox and NVIDIA first announced their partnership in 2017, with the innovative startup leveraging the high-performance, energy-efficient compute of NVIDIA to build a level 5 vehicle from the ground up. It was a significant milestone toward an autonomous future. Zoox is also an alumnus of NVIDIA Inception, our accelerator program for startups transforming industries with AI and data science." [...]

Microchip Adds 64 Mbit Parallel SuperFlash® Memory to its Family of Radiation-Tolerant COTS-Based Devices for Space Systems

"Complements company’s COTS-based processors and communication interfaces to streamline development of space-qualified and scalable total system solutions To reduce the time, cost and risk of developing spaceflight-qualified systems, designers may start with Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) devices that can later be replaced by their space-qualified, radiation-tolerant equivalent parts available in plastic or ceramic packages featuring the same pinout distribution. Microchip Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MCHP) today announced a radiation-tolerant, 64 Megabit (Mbit) parallel-interface SuperFlash memory device with unrivaled Total Ionizing Dose (TID) tolerance for maximum reliability and robustness in the harsh radiation environment of space missions. It is an ideal companion to Microchip’s space-ready microcontrollers (MCUs), microprocessors (MPUs) and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) that provide the building blocks for this scalable development model. “The SST38LF6401RT SuperFlash device further strengthens our scalable approach to developing total space system solutions using our radiation-tolerant or radiation-hardened microprocessors and FPGAs,” said Bob Vampola, associate vice president of Microchip’s aerospace and defense business unit. “It offers the vital protection these space systems need for the most reliable digital processing where companion Flash memory is required to store the critical software code or bitstream that drives the complete system.” Radiation-tolerant up to 50 kilorad (krad) TID, even while the Flash is still biased and operating, the SST38LF6401RT device enables systems to operate in a broad range of space applications where they cannot afford any loss of code execution that could lead to severe defects and system loss. It is an ideal companion to Microchip’s SAMRH71 Arm® Cortex®-M7-based radiation-hardened SoC processor and can also be used with the company’s RT PolarFire® FPGAs to support in-flight system reconfiguration." [...]

IBM Helps Prepare Clients for Next Generation Encryption Technology

"Today, IBM (NYSE: IBM) Security launched a new service that allows companies to experiment with fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) – an emerging technology designed to allow data to remain encrypted even while being processed or analyzed in cloud or third-party environments. The new IBM Security Homomorphic Encryption Services provide companies with education, expert support, and a testing environment for clients to develop prototype applications that can take advantage of FHE. With the growth of hybrid cloud, sensitive data will be even more broadly stored, shared and analyzed across platforms and parties, exposing it to varying security controls and risks. While current encryption techniques allow data to be protected during storage and in transit, data must be decrypted while it is being processed or analyzed – creating a window of opportunity where data is more vulnerable to theft or exposure. FHE is an emerging and advanced encryption technology that allows data to remain encrypted even while it’s being processed, potentially closing this critical gap in current encryption solutions being used today. “Fully homomorphic encryption holds tremendous potential for the future of privacy and cloud computing, but businesses must begin learning about and experimenting with FHE before they can take full advantage of what it has to offer,” said Sridhar Muppidi, Chief Technology Officer, IBM Security." [...]

Renesas Accelerates ADAS and Automated Driving Development with Best-in-Class R-Car V3U ASIL D System on Chip

"Today, Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, unveiled the R-Car V3U – a best-in-class ASIL D system on chip (SoC) for advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving (AD) systems. Delivering a groundbreaking 60 TOPS with low power consumption for deep learning processing and up to 96,000 DMIPS, the R-Car V3U is built for the performance, safety, and scalability (up and down) demands of ADAS and AD architectures driving next-generation autonomous vehicles. The new R-Car V3U is the first SoC using the R-Car Gen 4 architecture within the open and flexible Renesas autonomy platform for ADAS and AD. With the launch of R-Car V3U, the platform is now ready to offer complete scalability from entry-level NCAP applications up to highly automated driving systems. “We are excited to introduce the newest generation of our popular R-Car SoCs for the next generation of ADAS and AD vehicles,” said Naoki Yoshida, Vice President, Automotive Digital Products Marketing Division at Renesas. “The R-Car V3U leverages assets developed on previous-generation devices, such as ADAS and Level 2 perception stack with the R-Car V3M and R-Car V3H, along with the Renesas autonomy platform, to offer a smooth migration path to single-chip Level 3 automated driving with short development turnaround and safe production launch.” Best-in-class SoC to support the industry’s stringent ASIL D requirements: Automated driving systems require functional safety up to ASIL D – the highest and most stringent automotive safety integrity level specified under the ISO 26262 standard for road vehicles." [...]

Qualcomm Announces New Snapdragon 678 Mobile Platform for Immersive Entertainment Experiences

"Snapdragon 678 Meets High-Demand for Premium Mobile Experiences with Upgraded Performance, Dynamic Camera Features, and Enhanced Streaming Capabilities Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 678 Mobile Platform, a follow-on to the Snapdragon 675, to deliver overall performance upgrades, high-speed connections for sophisticated photo and video capture, and immersive entertainment experiences. “We are uniquely positioned to support OEMs in delivering the next generation of devices with in-demand features and performance,” said Kedar Kondap, vice president, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Snapdragon 678 brings advanced mobile capabilities for daily entertainment at lightning-fast speeds over reliable connections and long-lasting battery life for consumers worldwide.” Snapdragon 678 offers the following performance enhancements over Snapdragon 675: Qualcomm® Kryo™ 460 CPU core clock speed up to 2.2GHz Qualcomm® Adreno™ 612 GPU performance increase In addition to these performance upgrades, Snapdragon 678 supports dynamic photography and videography abilities, and immersive entertainment experiences with long battery life over fast, reliable connectivity. Dynamic Photography and Videography: Qualcomm Spectra™ 250L ISP powers the vibrant camera features on the Snapdragon 678. Users can capture every moment in share-worthy detail and true-to-life color through triple camera photos with up to 48 megapixels (MP) and zero shutter lag. The 3rd generation Qualcomm® Artificial Intelligence (AI) Engine and features like Portrait Mode (Bokeh), Low-Light Capture, and Laser Autofocus create smarter photography experiences, allowing users to enhance their photographs. Users can capture limitless HD 4K video with recording features, such as slo-mo recording, 5x optical zoom, and portrait mode, with dual-camera support up to 16 MP." [...]

Aledia Announces it Has Produced its First Nanowire Chips on 300mm Silicon Wafers Using CEA-Leti Pilot Lines

"Company will produce microLEDs on both 200mm and 300mm silicon wafers Aledia, a French startup pioneering a disruptive technology for microLED displays, today announced it has manufactured the world’s first microLED chips produced on 300mm (12”) silicon wafers. The company, which developed its breakthrough technology on 200mm (8”) silicon wafers over the past eight years, will produce the chips on both 200mm and 300mm wafers. The larger wafers provide better economic payoff and cost-effective integration with smaller-node electronics, which are only available on 300mm silicon wafers. Aledia was spun out of CEA-Leti, a French research institute pioneering micro- and nanotechnologies, in 2012, and the work on 300mm wafers has been performed by joint Aledia and CEA-Leti teams. “We believe producing microLEDs on large-area 300mm silicon wafers is a world’s first, and opens this technology to huge potential-volume-manufacturing capabilities,” said Giorgio Anania, Aledia CEO and cofounder. “The larger size allows 60-100 smartphone displays to be made on a single 300mm wafer, versus approximately four-to-six using the present LED industry-standard, 4” sapphire substrate." [...]

Astra narrowly misses reaching orbit on second launch

"Small launch vehicle developer Astra Space fell just short of reaching orbit on its second launch attempt Dec. 15, but the company is “beyond ecstatic” with the performance of the rocket. Astra’s Rocket 3.2 vehicle lifted off from Pacific Spaceport Complex – Alaska at 3:55 p.m. Eastern. The company did not provide a live webcast of the launch but instead offered a series of updates via Twitter as the vehicle made it through its initial phases of flight, including main engine cutoff, stage separation and passing the Karman Line, the 100-kilometer altitude commonly used as the demarcation of space. The rocket’s upper stage fired its single engine, gaining altitude and speed. However, Chris Kemp, chief executive of Astra, said in a call with reporters that the upper stage engine shut down about 12 to 15 seconds early when it depleted its fuel. The rocket reached a peak altitude of 390 kilometers and speed of 7.2 kilometers per second, about 0.5 kilometers short of orbital velocity." [...]

New type of atomic clock keeps time even more precisely

"The design, which uses entangled atoms, could help scientists detect dark matter and study gravity’s effect on time. Atomic clocks are the most precise timekeepers in the world. These exquisite instruments use lasers to measure the vibrations of atoms, which oscillate at a constant frequency, like many microscopic pendulums swinging in sync. The best atomic clocks in the world keep time with such precision that, if they had been running since the beginning of the universe, they would only be off by about half a second today. Still, they could be even more precise. If atomic clocks could more accurately measure atomic vibrations, they would be sensitive enough to detect phenomena such as dark matter and gravitational waves." [...]

Rochester researchers uncover key clues about the solar system’s history

"New clues lead to a better understanding of the evolution of the solar system and the origin of Earth as a habitable planet. In a new paper published in the journal Nature Communications Earth and Environment, researchers at the University of Rochester were able to use magnetism to determine, for the first time, when carbonaceous chondrite asteroids—asteroids that are rich in water and amino acids—first arrived in the inner solar system. The research provides data that helps inform scientists about the early origins of the solar system and why some planets, such as Earth, became habitable and were able to sustain conditions conducive for life, while other planets, such as Mars, did not. The research also gives scientists data that can be applied to the discovery of new exoplanets. “There is special interest in defining this history—in reference to the huge number of exoplanet discoveries—to deduce whether events might have been similar or different in exo-solar systems,” says John Tarduno, the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and dean of research for Arts, Sciences & Engineering at Rochester. “This is another component of the search for other habitable planets.” Solving a paradox using a meteorite in Mexico Some meteorites are pieces of debris from outer space objects such as asteroids." [...]

Oxide tuning by ion transfer

"Jülich researchers discover new formula for changing the electronic and magnetic properties of oxide interfaces (Advanced Materials) Most materials are either magnetic, or they are not. However, scientists at Forschungszentrum Jülich have now discovered a new mechanism that allows for tailoring the electronic and magnetic properties of a material in a targeted and reversible manner. The effect depends on the transfer of ions at the interface of two oxides - the researchers were able to prove the existence of this process for the first time experimentally. Both oxides alone typically show neither magnetism nor significant electrical conductivity. Only in combination, both properties occur at the interface. The quantitative relationships are still unclear." [...]

JILA’s Bigger and Better ‘Tweezer Clock’ Is Super Stable

"JILA physicists have boosted the signal power of their atomic “tweezer clock” and measured its performance in part for the first time, demonstrating high stability close to the best of the latest generation of atomic clocks. The unusual clock, which uses laser tweezers to trap, control and isolate atoms, offers unique possibilities for enhancing clock performance using the tricks of quantum physics as well as for future applications in quantum information processing, quantum simulation and measurement science. Described in a new Nature paper, the clock platform is a rectangular grid of about 150 strontium atoms confined individually by optical tweezers, which are created by a laser beam aimed through a microscope and deflected into 320 spots. This upgraded version of the clock has up to 30 times as many atoms as the preliminary design unveiled last year, due mainly to the use of several different lasers, including a green one for trapping the atoms and two red ones to make them “tick.” Once the laser started atoms ticking in the experiments described in the paper, a selection of these atoms kept vibrating in unison at the same frequency for more than 30 seconds, a record for what is called quantum coherence. The large number of atoms and their long coherence times resulted in excellent clock stability of 5.2 x 10-17 at 1 second averaging time. This means that the duration of each clock “tick” matches the others to within about 1.9 quintillionths of a second." [...]

To the brain, reading computer code is not the same as reading language

"Neuroscientists find that interpreting code activates a general-purpose brain network, but not language-processing centers. In some ways, learning to program a computer is similar to learning a new language. It requires learning new symbols and terms, which must be organized correctly to instruct the computer what to do. The computer code must also be clear enough that other programmers can read and understand it. In spite of those similarities, MIT neuroscientists have found that reading computer code does not activate the regions of the brain that are involved in language processing. Instead, it activates a distributed network called the multiple demand network, which is also recruited for complex cognitive tasks such as solving math problems or crossword puzzles." [...]

Frequency Data for Stable Power Supply

"Research Consortium Studies Fluctuation in Synchronous Grid Areas – Data Recorder Developed by KIT Used for Measurements on Three Continents – Publication in Nature Communications In the renewable energies era, grid frequency will be an increasingly important indicator of stability of power supply. Under the direction of the Helmholtz Association, an interdisciplinary research consortium has analyzed frequency fluctuations in twelve synchronous grid areas on three continents. For data recording, scientists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have developed a portable, GPS-synchronized recorder based on a new measurement technology. First results have now been published in Nature Communications. (DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-19732-7) Grid frequency and its fluctuations provide researchers of various disciplines with important information on the power grid. In particular, they reveal whether and to what an extent the grid is stable, i.e." [...]

Better benzene sensing at laser point

"A laser-based sensor developed at KAUST could improve monitoring of benzene emissions and limit exposure to this pollutant. In collaboration with Saudi Aramco, KAUST researchers have developed a device that accurately senses extremely low concentrations of benzene in real time. Benzene can cause serious health conditions, including cancer and the blood-related disease aplastic anemia. This harmful volatile compound, which originates from natural sources and human activities, mainly exists in industrial settings ranging from crude oil and petrochemical processing facilities to service stations, putting the health of workers at risk. It is also present in vehicle exhaust, biomass-based heating fuels and some consumer products, which can lead to dangerous exposure. Typical approaches designed to control benzene emissions rely on gas chromatography and mass spectrometry but demand stringent maintenance schedules, complex sampling protocols and time-consuming measurements." [...]

An LED that can be integrated directly into computer chips

"The advance could cut production costs and reduce the size of microelectronics for sensing and communication. nect LED technologies to a device’s computer chip. The LED in your smartphone’s proximity sensor, for example, is made from III-V semiconductors, so called because they contain elements from the third and fifth columns of the periodic table. (Silicon is in the fourth column.) These semiconductors are more optically efficient than silicon — they produce more light from a given amount of energy. (You don’t see the light produced from the proximity sensor because it is infrared, not visible.)" [...]

Ultra-thin and highly sensitive strain sensors

"A research team from NUS, led by Assistant Professor Chen Po-Yen, has taken the first step towards improving the safety and precision of industrial robotic arms by developing a new range of nanomaterial strain sensors that are 10 times more sensitive when measuring minute movements, compared to existing technology. Fabricated using flexible, stretchable, and electrically conductive nanomaterials called MXenes, these novel strain sensors developed by the NUS team are ultra-thin, battery-free and can transmit data wirelessly. With these desirable properties, the novel strain sensors can potentially be used for a wide range of applications. Asst Prof Chen, who is from NUS Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, explained, “Performance of conventional strain sensors has always been limited by the nature of sensing materials used, and users have limited options of customising the sensors for specific applications. In this work, we have developed a facile strategy to control the surface textures of MXenes, and this enabled us to control the sensing performance of strain sensors for various soft exoskeletons. The sensor design principles developed in this work will significantly enhance the performance of electronic skins and soft robots.” Precision manufacturing One area where the novel strain sensors could be put to good use is in precision manufacturing, where robotic arms are used to carry out intricate tasks, such as fabricating fragile products like microchips." [...]

A cool advance in thermoelectric conversion

"A quantum effect in topological semimetals demonstrated by MIT researchers could allow for the utilization of an untapped energy source. More than two-thirds of the energy used worldwide is ultimately ejected as “waste heat.” Within that reservoir of discarded energy lies a great and largely untapped opportunity, claim scientists in MIT’s Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE). As reported in a recent issue of Nature Communications, the MIT team — led by Assistant Professor Mingda Li, who heads NSE’s Quantum Matter Group — has achieved a breakthrough in thermoelectric generation, which offers a direct means of converting thermal energy, including waste heat, into electricity. A temperature gradient, or difference, within a material such as a metal or semiconductor can, through a phenomenon known as the Seebeck effect, give rise to an electrical voltage that drives a current. “For many materials, the thermoelectric effect is too low to be useful,” explains NSE Research Scientist Fei Han. “Our goal is to find materials with conversion efficiencies high enough to make thermoelectric generation more practical.” The efficiency of thermoelectric energy conversion is proportional to a material’s temperature, electrical conductivity, and something called the “thermopower” squared; it is inversely proportional to the thermal conductivity." [...]

Sheets of carbon nanotubes come in a rainbow of colors

"Study: Nanotube films come in 466 colors, could be used in electronics, solar panels Nanomaterials researchers in Finland, the United States and China have created a color atlas for 466 unique varieties of single-walled carbon nanotubes. The nanotube color atlas is detailed in a study in Advanced Materials about a new method to predict the specific colors of thin films made by combining any of the 466 varieties. The research was conducted by researchers from Aalto University in Finland, Rice University and Peking University in China. “Carbon, which we see as black, can appear transparent or take on any color of the rainbow,” said Aalto physicist Esko Kauppinen, the corresponding author of the study. “The sheet appears black if light is completely absorbed by carbon nanotubes in the sheet. If less than about half of the light is absorbed in the nanotubes, the sheet looks transparent." [...]

A Necklace of Resonators: How Scientists Efficiently Control Light in Nanoscale

"ITMO University researchers and their collaborators presented a new principle of creating laser resonators. It will allow them to create light generating elements right on silicone chips. In this ITMO.NEWS article, you will learn how it can be used and how it can improve data transfer rate. It’s impossible to imagine contemporary technologies without compact laser systems. They work in various gadgets, transmit our data, even this article arrived in front of your eyes after passing through fiber-optic systems – all that thanks to miniature optical devices. To let optical technologies develop even further, we have to make lasers smaller still." [...]

Researchers find a better way to design metal alloys

"System uses machine learning to analyze boundaries between crystal grains, allowing for selection of desired properties in a new metal. Advanced metal alloys are essential in key parts of modern life, from cars to satellites, from construction materials to electronics. But creating new alloys for specific uses, with optimized strength, hardness, corrosion resistance, conductivity, and so on, has been limited by researchers’ fuzzy understanding of what happens at the boundaries between the tiny crystalline grains that make up most metals. When two metals are mixed together, the atoms of the secondary metal might collect along these grain boundaries, or they might spread out through the lattice of atoms within the grains. The material’s overall properties are determined largely by the behavior of these atoms, but until now there has been no systematic way to predict what they will do. Researchers at MIT have now found a way, using a combination of computer simulations and a machine-learning process, to produce the kinds of detailed predictions of these properties that could guide the development of new alloys for a wide variety of applications." [...]

Ultra-thin designer materials unlock quantum phenomena

"New research, published in Nature, has measured highly sought-after Majorana quantum states A team of theoretical and experimental physicists have designed a new ultra-thin material that they have used to create elusive quantum states. Called one-dimensional Majorana zero energy modes, these quantum states could have a huge impact for quantum computing. At the core of a quantum computer is a qubit, which is used to make high-speed calculations. The qubits that Google, for example, in its Sycamore processor unveiled last year, and others are currently using are very sensitive to noise and interference from the computer’s surroundings, which introduces errors into the calculations. A new type of qubit, called a topological qubit, could solve this issue, and 1D Majorana zero energy modes may be the key to making them. ‘A topological quantum computer is based on topological qubits, which are supposed to be much more noise tolerant than other qubits." [...]

Making industrial robots smarter and more versatile

"EPFL spin-off Aica has developed AI-based software that makes industrial robots easier to program and more capable of adapting. The software is designed in a modular format so that operators can build a customized application based on their needs. Aica’s advancement expands the range of tasks that robots can perform while cutting implementation costs. Industrial robots are used for a variety of tasks that require a great deal of precision and agility, such as assembling high-precision parts, executing tasks that change repeatedly (such as for manufacturing customized prosthetics), and polishing miniaturized components (like watch crystals). The robots must be able to factor in variables such as an object’s size, exact shape and the maximum force it can withstand before being scratched or breaking. Programming these robots so that they perform reliably can take several weeks – and accounts for up to two-thirds of their total implementation cost." [...]

Geologists discover new path to rare earth mineral formation – implications for green energy and tech industries

"Researchers from Trinity have shed new light on the formation mechanisms of a rare earth-bearing mineral that is in increasingly high demand across the globe for its use in the green energy and tech industries. Their discovery has important economic implications because there are no substitute alternatives to these rare earth elements (REEs), which are indispensable due to their ability to form small and very powerful magnets essential for smart devices and low-carbon energy generation (e.g., electronics, wind turbines, hybrid cars). Most REEs are exploited in carbonatite deposits (the largest known carbonatite is the Bayan Obo in China), but scientists still debate how and why they form due to their complicated mineralogy, element composition and geologic history. There are more than 250 known REE-bearing minerals, but only three are economically viable and exploited commercially. Bastnäsite is likely the primary valuable mineral for REEs in the world and was the focus of the Trinity team’s study. By considering how water containing REEs interacted with calcite, a mineral that is ubiquitous in nature and often present in hydrothermal environments, the team discovered a new pathway by which bastnäsite formed." [...]

Tiny quantum computer solves real optimisation problem

"Quantum computers have already managed to surpass ordinary computers in solving certain tasks – unfortunately, totally useless ones. The next milestone is to get them to do useful things. Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, have now shown that they can solve a small part of a real logistics problem with their small, but well-functioning quantum computer.​ Interest in building quantum computers has gained considerable momentum in recent years, and feverish work is underway in many parts of the world. In 2019, Google's research team made a major breakthrough when their quantum computer managed to solve a task far more quickly than the world's best supercomputer. The downside is that the solved task had no practical use whatsoever – it was chosen because it was judged to be easy to solve for a quantum computer, yet very difficult for a conventional computer. Therefore, an important task is now to find useful, relevant problems that are beyond the reach of ordinary computers, but which a relatively small quantum computer could solve." [...]

Three-dimensional View of Catalysts in Action

"Operando X-ray Spectroscopy Brings New Opportunities for Materials and Reaction Diagnostics – Report in Nature Catalysis For understanding the structure and function of catalysts in action, researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), in cooperation with colleagues from the Swiss Light Source SLS of Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Switzerland and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in France, have developed a new diagnostic tool. Operando X-ray spec-troscopy visualizes the structure and gradients of complex technical catalysts in three dimensions, thus allowing us to look into functioning chemical reactors. The results are re-ported in Nature Catalysis. (DOI: 10.1038/s41929-020-00552-3) Catalysis is indispensable for many branches. 95% of all chemicals are produced using catalysts. Catalysts also play a key role in energy technologies and environmental protection." [...]

Upcycling: Turning plastic bags into adhesives

"While many cities and eight states have banned single-use plastics, bags and other polyethylene packaging still clog landfills and pollute rivers and oceans. One major problem with recycling polyethylene, which makes up one-third of all plastic production worldwide, is economic: Recycled bags end up in low-value products, such as decks and construction material, providing little incentive to reuse the waste. A new chemical process developed at the University of California, Berkeley, converts polyethylene plastic into a strong and more valuable adhesive and could change that calculus. “The vision is that you would take a plastic bag that is of no value, and instead of throwing it away, where it ends up in a landfill, you would turn it into something of high value,” said John Hartwig, the Henry Rapoport Chair in Organic Chemistry at UC Berkeley and leader of the research team. “You couldn’t take all of this recycled plastic — hundreds of billions of pounds of polyethylene are produced each year — and turn it into a material with adhesive properties, but if you take some fraction of that and turn it into something that is of high value, that can change the economics of turning the rest of it into something that is of lower value.” For most plastics, recycling means chopping it up and forming it into generic products, in the process tossing out many of the properties painstakingly engineered into the original plastic, such as pliability and ease of processing. And while new methods of recycling can break down plastics into their chemical constituents for use as fuels or lubricants, these products, too, are low-value and can be environmentally questionable — another fossil fuel to burn — or have a short lifetime." [...]

Stevens Researchers Create Entangled Photons 100 Times More Efficiently Than Previously Possible

"Super-fast quantum computers and communication devices could revolutionize countless aspects of our lives — but first, researchers need a fast, efficient source of the entangled pairs of photons such systems use to transmit and manipulate information. Researchers at Stevens Institute of Technology have done just that, not only creating a chip-based photon source 100 times more efficient that previously possible, but bringing massive quantum device integration within reach. “It’s long been suspected that this was possible in theory, but we’re the first to show it in practice,” said Yuping Huang, Gallagher associate professor of physics and director of the Center for Quantum Science and Engineering. To create photon pairs, researchers trap light in carefully sculpted nanoscale microcavities; as light circulates in the cavity, its photons resonate and split into entangled pairs. But there’s a catch: at present, such systems are extremely inefficient, requiring a torrent of incoming laser light comprising hundreds of millions of photons before a single entangled photon pair will grudgingly drip out at the other end. Huang and colleagues at Stevens have now developed a new chip-based photon source that’s 100 times more efficient than any previous device, allowing the creation of tens of millions of entangled photon pairs per second from a single microwatt-powered laser beam." [...]

‘Chaotic’ Way to Create Insectlike Gaits for Robots

"Researchers in Japan and Italy are embracing chaos and nonlinear physics to create insectlike gaits for tiny robots — complete with a locomotion controller to provide a brain-machine interface. Biology and physics are permeated by universal phenomena fundamentally grounded in nonlinear physics, and it inspired the researchers’ work. In the journal Chaos, from AIP Publishing, the group describes using the Rössler system, a system of three nonlinear differential equations, as a building block for central pattern generators (CPGs) to control the gait of a robotic insect. “The universal nature of underlying phenomena allowed us to demonstrate that locomotion can be achieved via elementary combinations of Rössler systems, which represent a cornerstone in the history of chaotic systems,” said Ludovico Minati, of Tokyo Institute of Technology and the University of Trento. Phenomena related to synchronization allow the group to create very simple networks that generate complex rhythmic patterns. “These networks, CPGs, are the basis of legged locomotion everywhere within nature,” he said." [...]

Weak force has strong impact on nanosheets

"Rice lab finds van der Waals force can deform nanoscale silver for optics, catalytic use You have to look closely, but the hills are alive with the force of van der Waals. Rice University scientists found that nature’s ubiquitous “weak” force is sufficient to indent rigid nanosheets, extending their potential for use in nanoscale optics or catalytic systems. Changing the shape of nanoscale particles changes their electromagnetic properties, said Matt Jones, the Norman and Gene Hackerman Assistant Professor of Chemistry and an assistant professor of materials science and nanoengineering. That makes the phenomenon worth further study. “People care about particle shape, because the shape changes its optical properties,” Jones said. “This is a totally novel way of changing the shape of a particle.” Jones and graduate student Sarah Rehn led the study in the American Chemical Society’s Nano Letters." [...]

Super surfaces use terahertz waves to help bounce wireless communication into the next generation

"Assembling tiny chips into unique programmable surfaces, Princeton researchers have created a key component toward unlocking a communications band that promises to dramatically increase the amount of data wireless systems can transmit. The programmable surface, called a metasurface, allows engineers to control and focus transmissions in the terahertz band of the electromagnetic spectrum. Terahertz, a frequency range located between microwaves and infrared light, can transit much more data than current, radio-based wireless systems. With fifth generation (5G) communications systems offering speeds 10 to 100 times faster than the previous generation, demand for bandwidth is ever increasing. Facing the emergence of technologies such as self-driving cars and augmented reality applications, the terahertz band presents an opportunity for engineers seeking ways to increase data transmission rates. To harness the expanded space in the terahertz band, engineers will need to overcome some challenges, and that is where the metasurface comes in." [...]

Physicists create time reversed optical waves

"Optics researchers from The University of Queensland and Nokia Bell Labs in the US have developed a new technique to demonstrate the time reversal of optical waves, which could transform the fields of advanced biomedical imaging and telecommunications. Time reversal of waves in physics doesn’t mean travelling back to the future; it describes a special type of wave which can retrace a path backwards through an object, as if watching a movie of the travelling wave, played in reverse. UQ’s Dr Mickael Mounaix and Dr Joel Carpenter, together with Dr Nick Fontaine’s team at Nokia Bell Labs, are the first to demonstrate this time reversal of optical waves, using a new device they developed that allows full 3D control of light through an optical fibre. “Imagine launching a short pulse of light from a tiny spot through some scattering material, like fog,” Dr Mounaix said. “The light starts at a single location in space and at a single point in time but becomes scattered as it travels through the fog and arrives on the other side at many different locations at many different times. “We have found a way to precisely measure where all that scattered light arrives and at what times, then create a ‘backwards’ version of that light, and send it back through the fog." [...]

Toward imperceptible electronics that you cannot see or feel

"Researchers from Osaka University fabricated ultrathin, flexible, transparent sensors with cross-aligned silver nanowire microelectrodes fabricated using print technique that are scalable and require minimal raw materials Transparent electronics—such as head-up displays that allow pilots to read flight data while keeping their eyes ahead of them—improve safety and allow users to access data while in transit. For healthcare applications, the electronics need to not only be cheap and straightforward to fabricate, but also sufficiently flexible to conform to skin. Silver nanowire networks meet these criteria. However, current methods of development create random nanowire alignment that's insufficient for advanced applications. In an upcoming study in Advanced Intelligent Systems, researchers from Osaka University have used high-resolution printing to fabricate centimeter-scale cross-aligned silver nanowire arrays, with reproducible feature sizes from 20 to 250 micrometers. As a proof-of-concept for functionality, they used their arrays to detect electrophysiological signals from plants." [...]

Realization of Si-based Super-high Frequency Nanoelectromechanical Resonator

"Silicon single-electron/hole transistors (SETs/SHTs) and super-high frequency nanoelectromechanical resonators show great potentials in quantum computation, sensing and many other areas. Recently, a group led by Prof. GUO Guoping from CAS Key Lab of Quantum Information, USTC, and Prof. ZHANG Zhen’s group from Uppsala University, Sweden, co-designed and fabricated CMOS-compatible suspended SHT devices. The devices also worked as super-high frequency nanoelectromechanical resonators. The work was published in Advanced Materials on November 16th, 2020. Specifically, if the SHT is suspended, it can also work as a super-high frequency nanoelectromechanical resonator. Such hybrid architecture can demonstrate not only single-hole tunneling behavior, but also excellent mechanical properties." [...]

Physics discovery leads to ballistic optical materials

"Electronics are increasingly being paired with optical systems, such as when accessing the internet on an electronically run computer through fiber optic cables. But meshing optics — which relies on particles of light called photons—with electronics—relying on electrons — is challenging, due to their disparate scales. Electrons work at a much smaller scale than light does. The mismatch between electronic systems and optical systems means that every time a signal converts from one to the other, inefficiency creeps into the system. Now, a team led by a Purdue University scientist has found a way to create more efficient metamaterials using semiconductors and a novel aspect of physics that amplifies the activity of electrons. The study is published in the journal Optica." [...]

Perovskite/silicon tandem solar cells on the threshold of 30% efficiency

"An HZB team has published a report in the journal Science on the development of its current world record of 29.15% efficiency for a tandem solar cell made of perovskite and silicon. The tandem cell provided stable performance for 300 hours – even without encapsulation. To accomplish this, the group headed by Prof. Steve Albrecht investigated physical processes at the interfaces to improve the transport of the charge carriers. Solar cells consisting of two semiconductors with differing band gaps can achieve considerably higher efficiencies when used in tandem compared to the individual cells on their own. This is because tandem cells use the solar spectrum more efficiently. In particular, conventional silicon solar cells primarily convert the infrared components of light efficiently into electrical energy, while certain perovskite compounds can effectively utilise the visible components of sunlight, making this a powerful combination." [...]

A colossal step for electronics

"Scientists at Osaka University develop a new method for controlling the hydrogen content and conductivity of thin-film perovskite rare-earth nickelate resistors using applied electric fields, which may lead to new ion sensors and computer circuits Researchers at Osaka University demonstrated a new technique for modifying the hydrogen concentration of resistors by applying an electrical voltage. The generated electric field drove the diffusion of hydrogen ions deeper into the perovskite rare-earth nickelate lattice, which led to a tunable “colossal” increase in electrical resistance. This research can lead to new gas sensors and electrically switchable smart materials. Computer chips depend on the careful control of electrical signals through semiconductors. Conventionally, the conductivity of silicon chips is modified by intentionally “doping” them with impurity ions. However, this process is usually done once at the factory, and cannot be changed later." [...]

Data Parallel C++

"Learn how to accelerate C++ programs using data parallelism. This open access book enables C++ programmers to be at the forefront of this exciting and important new development that is helping to push computing to new levels. It is full of practical advice, detailed explanations, and code examples to illustrate key topics. Data parallelism in C++ enables access to parallel resources in a modern heterogeneous system, freeing you from being locked into any particular computing device. Now a single C++ application can use any combination of devices—including GPUs, CPUs, FPGAs and AI ASICs—that are suitable to the problems at hand. This book begins by introducing data parallelism and foundational topics for effective use of the SYCL standard from the Khronos Group and Data Parallel C++ (DPC++), the open source compiler used in this book." [...]

The MagPI 101

"Discover the best Raspberry Pi 400 projects and guides! Learn coding and computing with the latest all-in-one computer. Inside The MagPi magazine #101 Retro gaming joystick. Wire up a DB9 retro joystick to Raspberry Pi 400 with a connector. Code an interface. Create your own graphical user interface programs with Python." [...]

Raspberry Pi Streaming Video Loopback

"As part of spiffing my video presence for SquidWrench Zoom meetings, I put a knockoff RPi V1 camera into an Az-El mount, stuck it to a Raspberry Pi, installed the latest OS Formerly Known as Raspbian, did a little setup, and perched it on the I-beam over the workbench. The toothbrush head has a convenient pair of neodymium magnets affixing the RPi’s power cable to the beam, thereby preventing the whole lashup from falling off. The Pi, being an old Model B V 1.1, lacks onboard WiFi and requires a USB WiFi dongle. The white button at the lower right of the heatsink properly shuts the OS down and starts it up again. Zoom can show video only from video devices / cameras attached to the laptop, so the trick is to make video from the RPi look like it’s coming from a local laptop device. " [...]

nerfnet: Wireless Networking over nRF24L01 2.4GHz Radios

"I recently picked up a set of nRF 2.4GHz radio transceivers. These are low-cost radios with a SPI interface that allow exchanging 32 byte packets across a radio link that can run at up to 2MBit on-air data rates. They are popular among hobbyists who want to introduce wireless to their Arduino-flavored projects. I was able to buy ten of these radios with trace antennas for just $11 and three more with SMA-connected antennas for $18. My first inclination is to try something a bit more extreme with this hardware. There is a GitHub project named RF24Audio that allows transmitting audio data over these radios." [...]

Checkout So Easy - Real-time Smart Retail System For FPGA

"Deploy an object detection model on DPU to build a system which can show detected commodities in VCU decoded video or images from camera. Introduction : Checkout So Easy is a smart retail system on ZCU104 with VCU and DPU. As following, there are two scenario of Checkout So Easy. 1.Checkout So Easy acts as a cloud All things start with a video which records the commodities. A video with format such as mp4 been sent to the system. With the help of VCU decoder, we will feed the frames of the video after decoded into DPU to calculate the price of the commodities." [...]

How to Make LEDs DIY Face Mask Using LED Strip, Arduino Nano

"Make a DIY 224 LEDs strip face mask. We have made a LEDs face mask with voice control before, but due to too small to reflect our rich expressions, we redesigned a larger LEDs mask with 224 LEDs using LED strips. You can DIY any face icon you want, but only 88 pixel. Parts: Arduino Nano 224 Pixels WS2812B RGB LED 5V power bank" [...]

Arduino Audiometric Device

"This is a cool way to measure your hearing. Hope you enjoy it! I had a medical test and the doctor measured my hearing. When I left the medical center I said to myself.... I have to build one with Arduino :-) To make it work, you need to plug the headset in your left year and then start increasing the volume until you hear a sound. When you hear the sound, you need to press the knob that will allow you to check on the next frequency." [...]

LoRa GPS Tracker Tutorial | LoRaWAN with Dragino and TTN

"We will make a LoRa based GPS tracker and connect it to the TTN, this gives your GPS Tracker maximum range without internet. A couple of projects back we had a look at the LoRaWAN Gateway from Dragino. We connected different nodes to the Gateway and transmitted data from the nodes to the Gateway using TheThingsNetwork as the server. We went through the whole configuration process of the Gateway. In this project, We are going to take that game one step further by connecting a GPS tracker to the Gateway. In fact, we will connect two GPS trackers to the Gateway one by one." [...]

DIY Dashcam: Car Security Camera with a Raspberry Pi Zero W

"Dashcams (video cameras in cars) are a great security and safety feature. As with the rest of the vanlife IOT, I built my own DIY dashcam that has some unique features — like motion detection and automatic recording. On its surface, this is a post about using the MotionEyeOS to create a security camera. However, it is also a segue into more advanced security concepts (like detecting humans+animals+faces, sending alerts, and more). " [...]

M5Stack Christmas 3D POV Display

"I made a mini 3D POV (Persistence of Vision) Display to enhance the Christmas spirit. Constitution The LEDs are arranged three-dimensionally and rotated to display an image with an afterimage. I used a compact ATOM Lite as a microcomputer. The photo reflector sensor QTR-1A detects rotation. Power is supplied to the rotating part by the wireless charge module. " [...]

High voltage Half-Bridge with Current Feedback using L6390

"The project presented here is a versatile high voltage Half-Bridge with current feedback. The board is built using L6390 IC from ST Semiconductor. It is suitable for DC-DC converters, EHT drivers, induction heater drivers, battery chargers, LED drivers, DC motor speed controller and field-oriented control (FOC) motor driving application etc. The user can make a FOC Brushless motor driver with 3 of these units, Bidirectional Brushed DC motor can be controlled with 2 units. FDH3632 MOSFETs rated at 100V DC and 80A Current drive the output. Other High voltage and high current MOSFET can be used as per voltage and current requirements." [...]

Petalinux Build, new app definition and Dynamic-Static IP

"Build a simple image and enable a Dynamic-Static IP via power up script (put aside Paw Patrol Zuma my son decided to place on the uZed). In the following blog I will cover a use case of defining a dynamic static ethernet IP address in Petalinux. For this I'll walk through the following stages: I'll start by going over the basic steps for building a Petalinux Image. I will then create a simple script to run at power up. Adding and mounting a "STUFF" partition in the SD card. Lastly, defining a dynamic static IP." [...]

DIY Simple Sensitive Metal Detector

"Pulse induction Metal Detector. It can detect a metal coin at a distance of 15 cm and a larger metal object at a distance of 40 cm and more. This is a modified version of the well-known Russian pulse induction metal detector called "PIRAT", this time made with the help of Arduino Nano, which greatly simplifies its production. It can detect a metal coin at a distance of 15 cm and a larger metal object at a distance of 40 cm and more. That's a relatively good result considering its simplicity. Pulse Induction (PI) Metal detector use a single coil as both transmitter and receiver." [...]

IKEA Bekant Desk Automater

"Who has time to wait for minutes per day to push a button? Let's automate the motion of an electric IKEA desk with an Arduino Nano! I have an electric IKEA Bekant sit/stand desk. It's designed so that you need to hold down the up and down buttons for the desk to move. The desk takes about twelve seconds to move from a comfortable sitting position to a standing position, and vice versa, for me. I certainly don't have time to wait for minutes... MINUTES I TELL YOU... per day to push a button." [...]

RoboScan

"Parts You'll need these items to build RoboScan: A digital camera with a macro lens: must be compatible with libgphoto2 with image capture and preview support. A Raspberry Pi: you may choose a Pi 4 if your camera supports USB 3, otherwise a Pi 2 or 3 is fine. A 28BYJ-48 Stepper Motor with Driver: easy to find and cheap (about $6) 3D-print an adapter to integrate the stepper motor in the legos: use the stepper mount and axis adapter provided by this project (you'll need some bolts to attach the motor to the adapter) Adafruit White LED Backlight Module. A LED driver such as Recom Power RCD-24-0.70/PL/B. A high-power LED, such as New Energy LST1-01G03-4095-01: a 4000K white LED, with a CRI (Color Rendering Index) of 95. Build the lego part" [...]

Make an EASY Infinity Cube | NO 3D Printing and NO Programming

"Everyone likes a good infinity cube, but they look like they would be hard to make. My goal for this Instructable is to show you step-by-step how to make one. Not only that, but with the instructions that I'm giving you, you'll be able to make one of any practical size without doing complicated math or calculations. I'm also doing this without a 3D printer, and I'm not doing any kind of programming. If you would like to see a video version of this Instructable, you can see that here: https://youtu.be/kKO4VUDaLxw Tools - Scissors - Precision Tweezers - Soldering Iron - Hot Glue Gun - LED Alignment Jig - Wire Cutters - Straight Edge Ruler - Sharpie - Square - Jig Saw - Jig Saw Plexiglass Blade - Utility Knife - Dremel - Bit #EZ406-02 (Metal Cutting Disk) - Bit #115 (Carving Cylinder) - Small File - Drill - Drill Bit 1/16" - Drill Bit 1/4" - Drill Step Bit - Custom Screwdriver Parts - Addressable SK6812 LEDs, RGB+W, Natural White - Addressable SK6812 LEDs, RGB+W, Warm White - Addressable SK6812 LEDs, RGB+W, Cool White - Wooden Skewer - LED Wire Connectors - Addressable RGB LED Controller #1 - Addressable RGB LED Controller #2 - 5v Power Supply - Plexiglass, 3/16" Thick (minimum 8" x 11") - One Way Mirror Window Tint, Silver - 1/2"x1/2" aluminum angle - Box Corners Supplies - Solder - Solder Flux - 22 Gauge Wire - Painters Tape - Aluminum Foil Tape - Hot Glue Sticks - Mirror Film Spray - Gorilla Epoxy" [...]

DIY RGB Tube Lights

"RGB Tube Lights made using Arduino Nano and WS2812B LEDs. DIY RGB Tube light is a multi functional tube light which can be used in photography, light painting photography, film making, gaming, as a VU meter and more. The tube light can be controlled by Prismatik software or by a push button. These tub lights are made using a Arduino Nano and WS2812B LED strip. " [...]

M5Stack Christmas Snow Globe

"Modern times make modern solutions possible. Therefore, the step to a digital snow globe is not that far. What? Snow globes and lava lamps have one thing in common: they are impressively simple and beautiful to look at. And you can't get enough of both of them! A snow globe is nothing more than a transparent sphere that contains a miniaturized scene." [...]

Build an Interactive Menu with TextDisplayMenu Using Meadow

"Learn how easy is to create interactive menus with editable values and submenus using TextDisplayMenu with a ST7789 display and push buttons In this project we're going to learn how easy is to use TextDisplayMenu, a new Meadow.Foundation library to make interactive menus with very little code. With this library, all we need to provide is the display the menu will be rendered on, and a menu structure which can be written in C# or load a Json file and the menu will be generated for you. To interact with it, we can use push buttons, analog joystick, even rotary encoders! Meadow.Foundationa platform for quickly and easily building connected things using.NET on Meadow. Created by Wilderness Labs, it's completely open source and maintained by the Wilderness Labs community. If you're new working with Meadow, I suggest you go to the Getting Started w/ Meadow by Controlling the Onboard RGB LEDproject to properly set up your development environment." [...]

Plant translator

"Using Wio terminal and sensors. New inspiration I've been using some of my spare time to design boards, testing garden and weareable electronics and testing things I had in my lab, in order to slowly have fun again with my electronics. Wio Terminal Before going further I'd like to start with Wio Terminal. The nice people of seeed sent me a Wio Terminal to test it out, although at the moment the resources weren't as nice as now and the implementation with Arduino, my main and favourite IDE, didn't work very well and needed a few hours to get an example running, which frustrated me (The port kept messing up, the uploading therefore failed, etc) but I didn't want to write with su little testing. Last couple of months, though, they launched some veeery nice libraries and configuration files for Arduino, so now it works like a charm! I found myself very happy to have the opportunity of testing it again." [...]

Middle of the Night Bathroom Light

"Some of us experience the need to use the bathroom in the middle of the night. If you turn on a light, you may lose your night vision. White or blue light makes you lose the sleep hormone, Melatonin, making it more difficult to go back to sleep. So this little light uses one red LED, fastens to the wall, and gives just enough light to see without waking you up as much. The LED is on a swivel, and can be pointed in the desired direction. The housing is 3D printed." [...]

MicroBot V1 ESP32 Robot

"Micro Gear Motor based small robot powered by a Wemos D32 Pro and controlled by Blynk app. So this is my microbot V1 which is an ESP32 based robot which is powered by a Wemos d32 pro and controlled by Blynk. Its body is a 3D printed square surface that has mounting holes for the same size PCB which is mounted with this setup with screws in the sandwich config to hold the battery in middle. The battery is 12V 2.6A li-ion and the Motors that I've used are small Micro Gear DC Motor I prepared this robot with a custom PCB which is basically a breakout board for Wemos D32 pro and l293d motor driver IC. Motors are powered by a 12V battery but the esp32 board that I'm using doesn't have a buck converter circuit onboard so I added an AMS1117 setup on it for stepping down the 12V to 3.3V for the MCU. Materials Required these are the things that I've used in this project." [...]

LIDAR Intrusion Detector

"Using the Garmin LIDARLite v3HP, Arduino MKR WIFI 1010 and Pushsafer to detect an intruder and send a push notification to a smartphone. Story I needed an outdoor intrusion sensor for my driveway with a longer range than PIR and free from false alarms. The range needed was 40 feet and most PIR sensors only do about 30 feet with a tendancy to generate false alarms. I have a home security system but there were no reliable sensors that could cover my entire driveway. The power source would be a 5 vdc USB transformer plugged into an AC outlet but I also wanted to experiment with battery power since there are no nearby outside AC outlets near the entrance to my driveway. I started out with the Arduino Uno and experimented with a variety of sensors including PIR, thermal camera, ultrasonic PING and X-band radar." [...]

Using Two (x2) Micro:bits to Control an RC Car

"If you have two (x2) micro:bits, have you thought of using them for remotely controlling an RC car? You can control an RC car by using one micro:bit as the transmitter and another one as the receiver. When you use MakeCode editor for coding a micro:bit, you can find an extension named Radio which allows one of your micro:bit to broadcast data over the air to another micro:bit in the same group. You can easily send and receive data using Radio extension for many projects. In this tutorial, we will learn how to use two (x2) micro:bits to remotely control an RC car. We will check the steps to set up two (x2) micro:bits and use MakeCode editor for explaining how the sample files are coded." [...]

Star Wars Droid Build

"This is a down and dirty Instructable to really let this community know about a fun project that I discovered some other Star Wars Junkies were building. I have a few SCI FI items in my movie room and once I saw this, I had to make this. This is the summation of two resources and me doing the work. There is a guy in the UK who details a number of Droids in CAD / STL files and sells the files on Etsy (see link below). And another gentleman designed the arduino circuit that detects motion and plays sounds when motion is detected in front of the droid. I had to modify the original droid 3D files to fit it up for the arduino circuit." [...]

ESP8266 Weather Station Clock

"This project is a nice way of displaying the time and weather in a small convenient package. I will explain the project, how it works and show the code here. You can press different buttons to show the current weather in a set location as well as temperature and pressure. The default view is the time which is pulled from an NTP server. There is no need to set the time as the time is synchronised from the NTP server and is very accurate. In this configuration I have the time and the local IP address." [...]

DIY Anemometer

"An anemometer is a device used for measuring wind speed and direction. While there are many different types of anemometers, the most common versions are cup anemometers, vane anemometers, hot wire anemometers, and pitot tube anemometers. This project, based on the vane style, creates a DIY handheld version using readily sourceable electronic components. This whole project is designed around the average computer cooling fan. Cooling fans typically come in one of three styles, each improving on the controllability of the latter. Two-wire fans are used for the most basic applications." [...]

Nasa Control Panel for Kids

"I built this for my sister in law that runs a day care. She saw my lager one I built almost three years ago for a company maker faire and really liked it so I built this one for her for a Christmas present. Very straight forward design, hopefully it will hold up to kids using it in a daycare. Plywood base and fiber board top. Panels laser cut on my eBay laser cutter. Two arduinos involved, one connected to an encoder with a small screen and another driving 5 LEDs in a flashing pattern based on which button is pushed." [...]

CheApR - Open Source Augmented Reality Smart Glasses

"A little backstory. This project began when I saw a video from Tilt Five on Youtube. I did a quick google search to learn more about this amazing device. Sadly like every cutting-edge hardware, it is hard and pricey to put your hands on the early runs, so I decided to try to build one for myself. While I was doing the early research, a few projects inspired me, but none were as mind-blowing and eye-opening as the ScreenshotSender by Lovyan03. Without his help and amazing Lovyan03 GFX library, this project would not have been possible." [...]

Battery-powered Water Collector Level Sensor

"Our house has a water tank fed from the rain falling on the roof, and used for the toilet, the washing machine and watering plants in the garden. For the last three years the summers were very dry, so we kept an eye on the water level in the tank. So far, we used a wooden stick, which we put in the tank and marked the level. But surely it must be possible to improve on this! This is where this project comes in. The idea is to attach an ultrasonic distance sensor at the top of the tank." [...]

3D Printed Raspberry Pi Spider Robot Platform

"This is a fun beginner project for anyone to make! It is a four legged spider robot platform using Raspberry Pi as the brain, 3D printed parts as the body, and many readily available electronics from amazon or banggood. No custom PCB is required. With step-by-step video guides it is a good project for anyone who wants to tinker with Raspberry Pi, Python programming, 3D printing, and robotics. As mentioned above all of the electronics are readily available on Amazon or Banggood or even your local hobby store. Here is the bill of materials with links provided for you to make this robot: 1 x Raspberry Pi 3B+ 1 x 5MP OV5647 Pi camera module 1 x POWERADD 5000mAh Power Bank (needs to be this one or similar size) 1 x PCA9685 16 Channel 12 Bit PWM Servo Driver 1 x LM2596 Buck Converter, DC-DC step down module 12 x MG90S Servo motor 4 x Lipo 3.7v battery (if you are unable to get this battery then get a similar size one with capacity around 700mAh) 1 x Toggle Switch Some Jumper wires Some M3 nuts & bolts You will need a 3D printer or access to 3D printer to print the body parts of the robot." [...]

Water Surface

"This Instructable will show you how to make an atmosphere lamp that lights up just like making little waves on the water surface. It can be placed on your table, shelf, or bedside to create a harmonious atmosphere, bringing an absorbing experience to the user. To do this, you'll first want to gather the following materials: - Arduino Uno - Capacitive touch sensor breakout - Neopixel ring - 12 x 5050 RGB LED - Neopixel ring - 24 x 5050 RGB LED - Neopixel ring - 40 x 5050 RGB LED - Neopixel digital RGB LED strip - 9V battery clip with 5.5mm/2.1mm plug or Power bank with cable - Cardboard 25cm x 25cm - Ceramic bowls 20cm x 6.2cm - Rounded acrylic sheet 20cm - Hot melt glue gun - Soldering iron & Solder - Soldering stand - Wire strippers - Stranded-Core wire spool (multiple color） - Third-hand tool - Conductive tape - Flush diagonal cutters - Nylon cable ties - Ventilation tape" [...]

D.I.Y Single Arm Scara Robot

"In this tutorial, I'd like to share how to build a homemade Arduino based SCARA Robot. My aim is to easily assemble on my own and learn about the robotic arm by using the simple materials in hand without having to purchase 3D printed parts. Before getting started, please check my videos below First testing with project description. Updating the pen lift. 1. Main components: 1pcs x Arduino Uno R3." [...]

Pyramid Levitator

"Pyramid Levitation System - How it works: The Pyramid Levitator uses two Piezo ultrasonic transmitting speakers pointing towards each other. The opposing beams of 40kHz sound waves create what's called standing waves and pressure nodes. Small items will levitate at those pressure nodes due to the acoustic radiation pressure. Acoustic radiation pressure is the physical pressure that a sound wave can exert on a surface, in this case balancing the pull of gravity and causing levitation. In the picture is a piece of styrofoam being levitated. The Pyramid has an LED on top that slowly changes colors and illuminates the floating objects.There are no magnets, just ultrasonic sound to do the levitating." [...]

DIY Arduino Bluetooth Controlled Car

"Hello friends! My name is Nikolas, I am 15 years old and I live in Athens, Greece. Today I will show you how to make a 2-Wheel Bluetooth Controlled Car using an Arduino Nano, a 3D printer and some simple electronic components! Make sure to watch my YouTube Video to see the car in action to follow the instructions from there if you prefer! Motivation I got into basic electronics when I was 9 years old when my dad brought me some batteries, a switch and a small light bulb to play with, I was super excited. Around that time with the help of my dad I made my first ever car which was as simple as it could be." [...]

WiFi Controlled LED Strip Matrix Display Clock Light

"Programmable LED strips, e.g. based on WS2812, are fascinating. Applications are manifold and you rapidly can get impressive results. And somehow building clocks seem to be another domain which I think about a lot. Starting with some experience in building a word clock based on single LEDs, an Arduino and a digital clock module I moved to web based NTP time which is a neat component of a WLAN integrated nodemcu (ESP8622) module. Hence building a led matrix display clock out of an LED strip and a nodemcu controller is all but obvious." [...]

4 to 20 MA Industrial Process Calibrator DIY | Electronics Instrumentation

"Industrial and electronics instrumentation is a very expensive field and it's not easy to learn about it if we are just self-educated or a hobbyist. Because of that my Electronics instrumentation class and I designed this low budget 4 to 20 mA process calibrator that is perfect to test our processes controllers responses to an step or ramp input. Here I show you step by step how to make yours. " [...]

DIY Mini Lab Power Supply

"A bench power supply is extremely useful for electronics hobbyists, but they can be expensive when purchased from the market. In this Instructable, I will show you, how to make a mini-lab power supply with a limited budget. It is a great DIY project for beginners as well as anyone interested in Electronics. The Power Supply is based on XL4015 DC-DC buck converter module. This module can provide an adjustable output-voltage from 1.4V, up to the input voltage and current output from 0mA to 5A. It only requires only a DC power supply with a voltage range between 12-30V." [...]

Automated SolarPanel Cleaner by Bolt WI-FI using Servo motor

"Controlling the turning ON and OFF of the Servo Motor using Bolt Wi-Fi Module. The project is all about to control the servo motor by using Internet. Have u notice about the car wipers? which is used to remove rain drops, ice, dust/or debris from a vehicle window so that vehicle’s operation can work better and to see what’s ahead of them. Similarly the Solar Power Plants will be kilometer long and every solar panel uses brushes needs to be cleaned once in a while. If the dust gets on it, the efficiency of the solar panel decreases." [...]

Circadia - sunrise lamp

"I love sleeping. More to the point, usually, I really don't love waking up. I drag myself around and it usually takes until I arrive at work before I am really what you might call awake. Alarm clocks are annoying. Clock radios are better but depend on what's on the radio that day. Winter is worse than summer due to the lack of daylight filtering through the windows." [...]