External News Archives - Page 15 of 211

Vital Care is an Arduino-based device for the continuous monitoring of vital signs

August 24, 2021 by CrackedConsole

It is probably well known by now that COVID-19 can cause serious side effects in people that last for months at time, meaning that recovering from the disease can be an arduous process. Some symptoms include trouble breathing, heart inflammation, and blood clotting, so being able to track these conditions as they progress is vital to ensuring ongoing safety for a patient. In response, Kamrul Hussain created the Vital Care project and entered it into element14’s Design for a Cause 2021 contest, where makers were challenged to use the Arduino Nano 33 IoT in some way for the good of humanity.

DIY Portable Soldering Iron

August 23, 2021 by CrackedConsole

Take your soldering on the go with Electronoobs’ battery-powered iron!

A sizable soldering station is great for when you’re at a permanent workbench. However, if you find yourself in some far-off location, perhaps without access to mains power, this DIY battery-powered soldering iron from Electronoobs may be just what you need.

The device weighs in at just over 100 grams, and while a bit chunky compared to many plug-in irons, it packs a 4.2V battery inside the handle itself. It also features an OLED screen and interface buttons. Power output to the tip is regulated through PWM, using an IRF7424 MOSFET.

MacroPact Is a Raspberry Pi Pico Macro Keyboard

August 23, 2021 by CrackedConsole

This stunning Raspberry Pi Pico macro keyboard features 17 keys, two encoders, an IPS screen, and a 3D-printed enclosure.

The keyboard/mouse combo has worked well for many years, but with the availability of HID-capable microcontrollers, 3D printing, and custom-made circuit boards, it’s possible to buy or construct your own third interface device: a macropad. These auxiluary keyboards can be programmed to do all sorts of tasks in an instant that cost you precious seconds before. Some even include an encoder (or two) and perhaps an auxiliary interface screen.

Sakuu’s 3D printed solid state battery could be a boon for electric vehicles

August 21, 2021 by CrackedConsole

The company will begin mass production in 2022

Something to look forward to: Solid-state batteries are still nebulous outside of the lab. Still, automakers are scrambling to be the first in the race to build the first electric car to take advantage of the added energy density and better safety when compared to lithium-ion designs. To that end, they’re investing in companies like QuantumScape, Solid Power, and Sakuu to develop manufacturing techniques that either build on existing approaches or rely on new additive manufacturing technology.

UC Riverside Roboticists Create Airhead, a Piano-Playing Robot Driven by “Air-Powered” Memory Chips

August 20, 2021 by CrackedConsole

Inspired by player pianos and thermostats from the early 1900s, Airhead ditches electronics in favor of pneumatic RAM modules.

University of California at Riverside (UC Riverside) engineers have created what they describe as “air-powered computer memory,” which drives a robot — dubbed, amusingly, “Airhead” — to play the piano.

“Pneumatically-actuated soft robots have advantages over traditional rigid robots in many applications,” the researchers write in the abstract to their paper. “In particular, their flexible bodies and gentle air-powered movements make them more suitable for use around humans and other objects that could be injured or damaged by traditional robots.”

Robot “Repairs” Clock By Pushing Minute Hand

August 20, 2021 by CrackedConsole

Why replace a broken clock, when you can just get a robot to push the hands for you?

When a clock breaks, the normal choices would be: fix it, replace it, do without, and for Hackster readers, strip for parts. Developer Hendrick, however, seems to have come up with another option: leave it broken, but program a four-axis robot to incrementally move the minute hand. It’s an unconventional choice, but as seen in the video below, who wouldn’t want a clock that functions in such an interesting manner?

Meet Pomodachi, the Productivity “Tamagotchi”

August 19, 2021 by CrackedConsole

This virtual pet sits on your desktop and is fed by your Pomodoro technique work sessions.

Like many, dropopuli started working remotely during the recent pandemic, and – also like many – had difficulty staying focused. One popular method for managing workflow and distractions is known as the Pomodoro technique, which breaks the workday up into manageable ~25 minute increments of focused work. Of course, to pull this off correctly means you need some sort of timepiece.

A Cheap Dipole Antenna From an Extension Cord

August 19, 2021 by CrackedConsole

Dipoles are a classic builder’s antenna, after all they are usually little more than two pieces of wire and a feedline. But as [Rob] shows us in the video below, there are a few things to consider.

The first thing is where to get the wire. A damaged extension cord donated the wire. That’s actually an interesting idea because you get multiple wires the same length inside the extension cord. Of course, it is easy to just pull the conductors out of the extension cord, but how do you feed it? A small balun converts the unbalanced feed line into a balanced connection for the antenna. Although the title says “free dipole” this balun is commercial and probably cost something unless you happen to already have one. However, building a balun isn’t all that tricky, either if you happen to have a ferrite toroid.

Modified 3D-Printer Solders Through-Hole Components.

August 18, 2021 by CrackedConsole

Surface-mount technology has been a fantastic force multiplier for electronics in general and for hobbyists in particular. But sometimes you’ve got no choice but to use through-hole components, meaning that even if you can take advantage of SMDs for most of the design, you still might need to spend a little time with soldering iron in hand. Or not, if you’ve got a spare 3D printer lying around.

View Yourself as Others See You with the Third Person Camera System

August 18, 2021 by CrackedConsole

This camera system lets users see themselves from a different perspective ad they walk around.

A previous attempt

Nearly every human experiences the world with a pair of eyes that are only in one position for their entire lives. TurkeyDev wanted to change this by creating a VR device that allows people to see themselves in the world from a different perspective. In his first attempt at creating this system, TurkeyDev began by taking a DIY Google Carboard VR headset and pairing it with a Raspberry Pi camera, but in doing so ran into several issues. The main problems with this initial setup was the lack of a good, solid headset and too much latency which could cause motion sickness.