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Robot Magazine has a great article about how to machine custom robot parts. In this article [Matt Bauer] shows the basics of making custom robot parts and skeletal brackets for his humanoid robot creations using a CNC mini-mill. He uses a custom jig overlay designed to make cutting thin sheet stock much easier and to protect his equipment. This template concept creates a platform for many other custom parts going forward. [Matt] includes the .nc g-code files as well as a “how-to” PDF in a ZIP file.
oh my gosh, look what we have here: some links. bet you guys didn’t see that coming did you?
now aside from cnet stealing certain ideas from around here, they’re also reporting that pgp has announced full hard-drive encryption. thus making it harder for hackers to get in.
and as for copy protection required by federal law? pshhh, forget it. Them 0, Us 1.
the uk is on the right path, how long until we catch on?
laser keyboards are up there with the piano necktie [zinquaff]
a $14 steadicam? you can’t beat that when you DIY [john]
tell your pc to take a chill pill using dry ice
violins, speakers, and sounds oh my
two things left. one is important, the other is really important.
important: lego jewelry is available…do you dare make your own?
really important: next time we have ourselves a lazy afternoon (read: wednesday), the senate will be voting for the real id bill. this isn’t good (despite it’s flashy graphics and sim-card-esque features) because freedoms are limited (once again), so check this out: unreal id
[Dan Rosenfeld] does a lot of thinking in his spare time, and one thing he returns to pretty often is videoconferencing. He’s often wondered why it hasn’t caught on enough to become a ubiquitous piece of technology, and his examination of the topic in regards to eye contact and spatial awareness inspired him to create a very unique Halloween costume.
His “Big Head” costume consists of a front-mounted 24” LCD panel that displays the wearer’s face in real time. Inside the large headpiece [Dan] installed a microphone, another LCD screen, a half silvered mirror, and a video camera – not to mention all of the power-related goodies required to keep it running. While the main LCD displays his face, the internal monitor is fed by an externally mounted camera that shows him everything going on outside the box. This image is reflected off the half silvered mirror, allowing him to gaze directly at the camera, while also seeing what’s going on in front of him.
As you can see in the video below, the effect is pretty cool, and devoid of the ‘disconnected’ look most people have when talking to others via a camera and computer screen.
[Minifloat] is using his TI Launchpad development board as an In-System Programmer for AVR chips (translated). There are a ton of homebrew AVR programmers out there, and using an Arduino for ISP is quite popular. But recently we searched for a way to use the Launchpad as a programmer and didn’t find one. We’d venture to say this is the first.
There is one hardware modification that must be made. An external clock crystal (32.768 kHz) must be populated on the board. But since it was designed with the feature in mind that’s a pretty quick process. [Minifloat] followed Atmel’s ISP app note, and extended some of the code written for a different programmer to get things up and running. At first the device wouldn’t communicate with AVRdude, but that turns out to be a problem with the initialization conversation. AVRdude polls the connected programmer to see if it supports block mode, and the firmware on the MSP430G2211 wasn’t expecting this query. The problem was fixed and it now works.
It sounds like there are a couple of bugs left in the system. The first time AVRdude accesses the programmer after it has been plugged into the USB port it will fail. Subsequent attempts will succeed until the MSP430 chip is reset, or the USB connection is replugged. But if you’re just getting into the AVR line, this will let you figure out if you want to invest in a proper programmer.
[Tony Messina] had been fascinated with bat’s echolocation since he was a kid. After he retired, he decided to act on this fascination and built a simple bat detector.
The simple bat detector uses frequency division to lower the bat’s chirping to a frequency we can hear. For example, if a bat is calling at 91kHz the system will divide it by 16 and put out 5.7kHz. The system is digital, so all amplitude is lost. You’ll just hear clicks like a Geiger counter. Being digital has its advantages though. Unlike similar analog devices that have to be tuned to a small frequency range, the simple bat detector can detect a much wider window.
[Tony] has supplied step by step directions on how to assemble the simple bat detector, along with plans for two different models. He not only encourages people to build there own, but seems to really enjoy seeing their work. He’s posted several images of other people’s builds (pictured above) on his site.
[suneth] has taken this idea in a slightly different direction with his Ultrasonic Batgoggles. Built for a school project in Arts, Media, and Engineering, they actually block your vision so you can try to use echolocation to navigate. You don’t hear the echoes, the processor deciphers that for you. You hear a beep that varies in speed based on the distance you are from an object. On the plus side, you will look totally awesome wandering around trying not to bash your nose on stuff.
[via only hacks]
