Take a look at this garden robot prototype so called Prospero. This is a pretty simple servo based hexapod robot that is equipped with gardening gear. The main idea is to develop a swarm of these robots that would perform tasks as a group. After it’s finished Prospero robots should perform series of tasks in farm starting with planting seeds, taking care and harvest. In following video you can see on phase – planting seed.
Robot is controlled by Parallax Propeller chip. Continue reading
Posted in Robotics
Tagged game theory, Parallax Propeller, Robot planter, swarm robot
We used to see lots of Open Software projects and they are really cool, because everyone can get involved in developing, improving and tweaking without paying a penny for right to do so. So finally we have first version of Open Source Hardware (OSHW) 1.1 definition ready. Everyone who is developing hardware project can proudly to include a logo and definition.
Open Source Hardware Statement of principles sounds as follows:
Open source hardware is hardware whose design is made publicly available so that anyone can study, modify, distribute, make, and sell the design or hardware based on that design. The hardware’s source, the design from which it is made, is available in the preferred format for making modifications to it. Ideally, open source hardware uses readily-available components and materials, standard processes, open infrastructure, unrestricted content, and open-source design tools to maximize the ability of individuals to make and use hardware. Open source hardware gives people the freedom to control their technology while sharing knowledge and encouraging commerce through the open exchange of designs.
Full OSHW statement can be found here. Keep in mind that that this is a first release version of OSHW definition and there can be some amount of minor changes. Anyway base principle are clear enough to start using it. The exact logo isn’t selected yet, so there are several versions available. If you are looking one to add to your Eagle project you can check out Bens OSHW logos converted to Eagle PCB cad symbols.
Use it, Add logos to your design and be proud of making Open Source Hardware projects!
Atmega128 is equipped with internal 4Kbytes of SRAM memory. Is it enough? Well it depends on what project it’s gonna hold. If your project must deal with loads of data or run larger RTOS code you will definitely run out of RAM pretty soon. Atmega128 microcontroller has an external memory interface built in, which allows to expand RAM up to 64 Kbytes. With that you could do much more, isn’t it? To test things out I used Piconomic Atmega128 development board. Which has a XMEM interface header brought out. All we need is to make XMEM expansion board with some SRAM memory.
I’ve chosen standard 8Kx8 (8Kbytes) memory chip from Aliance memory Inc. I could use 64Kx8 but this is what I had at the moment. To drive memory chip I’ve used 74HC573 non inverting latch. As you may know latch is used for pins that share same pins for address and data buses. In order to access SRAM contents we need to select 16 bit address that points to 8 bit data cell in chip. As we are using 8Kx8 memory chip we are going to use only 13Address lines. Microcontroller has dedicated pins for that: Continue reading
Arduino is well known platform among electronics hobbyists because of its simplicity, robust and intuitive design and ease of use even for non electronics enthusiasts. This time instead of introducing new PCB variants or different microcontrollers on board they made some significant upgrades in Arduino concept. New changes came with two new Arduino boards so called Uno and Mega2560. Probably biggest change is USB to serial converter. They decided to replace seemed to be hard positioned FTDI chip FT232RL with microcontroller Atmega8U2 that has hardware USB interface. With this upgrade Arduino board become much more flexible as microcontroller driver can be configured to be more that simple USB to serial converter. It also is able to convert Arduino to standard keyboard, mouse, MIDI and mass storage device. So, there is much more ways to use Arduino now.
But this is not over yet. Arduino decided to change bootloader too with new Optiboot firmware that brings some improvements as well. New bootloader occupies 1.5kB less code space leaving it for applications and loads firmware to flash faster. Continue reading
Every time when you deal with electronics projects one of the headaches is designing power supply. Depending on your needs you may need to step up voltage let’s say from 5V to 15V, step down or even to convert it to negative voltage. David L. Jones from eevblog has prepared great video post where he takes us through all steps needed to design step-up DC to DC converter.
He chooses well known and widely available converter chip MC34063 which can be used almost for any type DC to DC converter including step-down, step-up and inverting supply. All required formulas you will find on datasheet – all you need is to select output current and output voltage. All needed component values can be easily calculated by using readymade formulas or online calculator. Additionally David made a real design test with load efficiency charts. After this you will find that designing switching power supplies isn’t so hard. [EEVblog#110]
3D printing is used to come up with three dimensional objects and is a form of additive manufacturing. It is now easier and more affordable to come up with a prototype using the 3D technology. Before these technologies were introduced, it used to take several hours, skilled labor and tools to create a prototype.
One form of 3D printing technology is made up of inkjet printing systems. Fine powder layers made of resins, corn starch or plaster is bonded selectively on adhesives produced by the inkjet print heads. This kind of technology makes it possible to print a full color prototype and is considered to be one of the fastest methods. Continue reading
The cornea is the clear protective layer covering the eye. Injuries and diseases affecting the cornea might lead to adverse eye problems like blurred visions. The cornea is responsible for filtering out ultraviolet rays that comes from the sun. However, with the advancement in medical technologies and the constant efforts of scientists through research, corneal diseases can be treated. The artificial corneal implants are the most recent of the treatments.
Artificial corneal implants proved to be beneficial because: it caters for the huge number of people who are waiting for corneal transplants and operations for instance Europe has a waiting list of over 40000 people and a worldwide list of 10 million. They are also biocompatible ensuring that there are no complications when in contact with the eye surface. In cases where traditional corneal transplants (also referred as corneal grafts) have failed to work, artificial cornea can be used. The risk of getting diseases from donors is also reduced. It prevents astigmatism and enhances rapid visual recovery. Additionally, they are useful to patients who have not qualified to get living cornea donors. Continue reading
Brain scan and mind reading of the part of the brain responsible for memory have been used to detect a person’s location in the virtual environment. This enables the location of individuals as they navigate through the virtual rooms. These are used to discern what someone was doing, where they are or were and where they are planning to go. This shows that detailed mind reading will be possible with the advancing technology and research.
The hippocampus underpins the ability of a person’s mind to navigate, form, recollect memories and imagine future experiences. The mind reading and scanning is done by using multivariate pattern classification and high resolution functional MRI to decode activities across the population of neurons in the human medial temporal lobe while the participants navigate in a virtual reality environment. The position of an individual can be predicted accurately even when the visual input and task are held constant. Reading precise locations or other types of memory is difficult because fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) resolves the activity of thousands of neurons at a time. Continue reading
Posted in Biomedical Engineering
Tagged Brain Scan, fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging, Mind Reading
In this era when technology continues to get advanced and better, it may pleasantly surprise many to note that machines are getting closer to humans and they are performing duties that no one hitherto would be possible. In other words, machines and gadgets are being invented that can imitate the human functioning, for example in the human brain, eyes and so forth.
But perhaps one of the latest inventions, that is a clear manifestation of humans getting even closer to humans, is a machine that has been made and which can imitate the human voice. The machine was invented as part of a completion, for the Artificial Conversational Entities, known as the ACE. Several machines that could imitate the human voice were entered for the competition and the winner was really awesome. During the competition, judges selected some of the five best machines and competed for five minutes, to get the best. This comprised if a five minute kind of interrogation, where there were unrestricted conversations with the machines, which tried to pass of as human beings. So real did these machines sound, that one would not tell whether one was a machine, or a human being. Continue reading
With the current talk about global warming, and the impact of carbon emissions on our planet, focus is now shifting to green energy, and wind electricity has reigned supreme in this regard. People, organizations, and even governments are investing heavily in coming up with wind turbines to generate the much needed electricity. However, traditionally wind energy has been associated with huge installation costs, expensive turbines, and so forth. In this regard, researchers have come up with the less expensive Vibro wind set up, which uses less space, is not as expensive, and produces much electricity.
These Vibro wind panels will work like the solar panels do, where they will be fitted on top of buildings, where they will not only generate electricity, but will also convert even minor wind breezes. Unlike windmills and turbines that need plenty of space for them to be installed, the Vibro wind panels will herald a new dawn, where smaller and equally effective wind set ups will be used. It is worth noting that this project is being done in conjunction with engineers and architects, to ensure that it does not flop. This is also meant to ensure that the mechanical energy is easily converted to electrical energy. Conversion of the mechanical energy to electrical energy is being made possible by using a piezoelectric transducer. Continue reading
Posted in Energy Industry
Tagged energy harvesting, Vibrations In To Electricity, wind energy
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